ELDEN RING – Claw Guide (PVE / PVP)

Claw in PVP

PvP Viability 

Claws are fast weapons in Elden Ring, and are positioned in C tier. Their Heavy attacks are all very fast, so much so that the 2h R1 single-handedly catapults Claws into B+ tier. They synergize very well with Rot Drawstring Grease.

Raptor Talons

Raptor Talons have more range but lower damage than the other claws. It is one of the few weapons to get a true combo on its non ash of war attacks. Since it scales well with Dexterity you can apply the Keen affinity for optimal damage. This makes it a very good option for Dex builds who utilize status or Bloodflame Blade, significantly better than the other claws. Drawstring Blood Grease can up 98 bleed to the heavy true combo when it is buffed.

Hookclaws

They are the longest claw.

Venomous Fang

They are the shortest claw however they get deadly poison making them useful in high latency or against opponents you can pressure enough to not Bolus.

Bloodhound Claws

They are a higher damage version of Hookclaws with worse range.

PvP Tier List

Click to enlarge…

Claw in PVE

PvE DPS at Rune Level 125

2h R1 (Poise damage per second{PDPS}: 13.1[Cragblade PDPS 14.411])

Heavy Venomous Fang 1,206.424

• Status 17.345
• Total 1,223.769
  • Cragblade 1387.387 
• Status 17.345 
• Total 1,404.732

Occult Bloodhound Claws 1077.085

• Status 348.482
• Total 1,425.567
  • Cragblade 1238.648
• Status 348.482
• Total 1,587.296

Occult Hookclaws 1031.68

• Status 358.204
• Total 1,389.884
  • Cragblade 1186.432
• Status 358.204
• Total 1,544.636

Occult Raptor Talons 993.618

• Status 355.065
• Total 1,348.683
  • Cragblade 1142.661
• Status 355.065
• Total 1,497.726

Heavy Bloodhound Claws + base stat Bloodflame Blade 1,156.669

• Status 364.882
• Total 1,521.551

Heavy attack DPS (calculated with Bloodhound Claws {Charged includes Axe Talisman and Spiked Cracked Tear})

Uncharged 841.276 (PDPS: 11.234)

• Status 223.307
• Total 1,064.583

Charged 942.765 (PDPS: 16.851)

• Status 145.737
• Total 1,088.502

Raptor Talons Charged 794.021 (PDPS: 17.217)

• Status 151.307
• Total 945.328

Use this Build Planner to find the optimal stat distribution for your level, for PvE allocation change the defense and damage negation values to the following for average defense/negation:

To understand the following discussion better, note that Claws are very short weapons and even though I included Cragblade in the DPS testing you will probably want to use Endure as your ash of war due to how short they are to maintain DPS.

Venomous Fang is the best Claw when not factoring status, however it is the shortest claw. It is found in Abandoned Cave in Caelid so you can run there at the very start of the game if you want. 

Bloodhound Claws is the best Claw when factoring status, when not optimizing for status it works best on the Heavy affinity. It can be found midgame in Volcano Manor, you technically don’t need to fight any bosses to get it.

Hookclaws offer slightly higher bleed buildup on Occult than Bloodhound Claws for less damage, when not optimizing for status it works best on the Keen affinity. It is the longest claw and since you can find it in Stormveil these will be the best claws for a decent portion of the game until you get Venomous Fang or Bloodhound Claws.

Raptor Talons offers a unique heavy attack that when charged is worse than the standard charged heavy attack. It is outclassed in every way. When not optimizing for status it works best on the Keen affinity. Given they are found in Sages Cave you will already have access to the Hookclaws meaning even in a best case scenario the Raptor Talons are useless. 

PvE Tier List

Click to enlarge…