Driger F

Attack Ring: Cross Fang

Weight: 3.7g

• Thin, 4 sided AR with slight outward angles.

• Decent balance but an unremarkable weight distribution.

Right Spin:

• Fragile in this direction due to thin design and contact point angle.

• Contact points lack range.

• Also too outward angled to be an effective Attack AR, as hits are not well focussed and recoil is increased by providing excessive leverage to opponents.

Left Spin:

• Competent Zombie AR in this direction due to relatively small size.

• Somewhat more recoil-heavy than top tier options.

• Weight distribution isn't very helpful.

• Slightly too wide at the tips to have the low recoil needed to be a top tier Zombie part.

• Nonetheless usable, but tier 2 to tier 3.

Weight Disk: Eight Balance

Weight: 14.1g

• Middling weight and unremarkable weight distribution.

• Outclassed by pretty much every common competitive Weight Disk, particularly Ten Balance. Heavier plated versions can sometimes reach the same weight however, which makes them an equal, if niche and impractical alternative.

• Generally though, no competitive use.

Spin Gear Shaft: SG (Full Auto Clutch Version) Shaft

Weight: 1.70g

• Flat metal tip on a bearing supported shaft creates a unique mix of aggression and stamina, though defense is fairly poor ranging from average with tips which expose it well to very poor with its original Blade Base.

• Compatible with various casings, though few other than SG (Free Shaft Version) and SG (Full Auto Clutch Version) are used due to height.

• With SG (Free Shaft Version) Casings, usable in almost all bases compatible with Shaft SG's, properties mean Defense Grip Base 2 is almost ubiquitous thanks to good distribution and excellent LAD, with Customize Bearing Base being runner up, with Customize Grip Base being an alternative which can use its rim for excellent LAD, but does struggle more at catching the ridge.

• Free Spinning setups are somewhat less over-aggressive and significantly more controllable with banking practice, with better recoil absorption. With correct part choice, mixes of Attack and Spin Stealing are possible, this setup being the basis of Spin Stealing Attack customs.

• Full Auto Clutch Base makes for a very aggressive combination which has some issues catching the ridge, weakening recoil control, however it does have superior early aggression and solid LAD, making a viable option for Spin Stealing Attack, though a slightly harder one to use. With this base, SG (Full Auto Clutch Version) is the best option for casings.

• Can be used with Right Customize Gear (Free Shaft Version) which fixes it in place (usually requiring plain metal bearings or plastic bearings) by being a very tight squeeze to assemble. This results in a very aggressive metal flat-tipped Base. While largely outclassed by SG Metal Flat Base (Gaia Dragoon V Version) due to the latter's tighter flower patterns and greater controllability, it is nonetheless a very viable Tier 2 option.

• As mentioned above, Customize Grip Base provides excellent LAD, and does so while being no easier to KO than a standard Zombie Setup with similarly excellent LAD (i.e. Neo SG (Double Bearing Version) Shaft in the same Base), and the excellent stability it provides makes it very effective against Circle Survivor Defense when using Zombie ARs - making it a legitimate top-tier Zombie Part.

• Particularly notably, this setup is so stable it negates the stability troubles of Gyro Defense, allowing for an exceptional Left-Spin Zombie which also has the ability to KO defensively poorer opponents (though it does still struggle to catch the ridge somewhat), with Tiger Defenser being a viable Right-Spin alternative.

• Can also be fixed in place by Double Bearing Core depending on the thickness of the bottom bearing (plastic bearings tend to allow more free spin), allowing it to be more aggressive. This can be useful if requiring SP or improved LAD without free spin, the primary use being in more offensively-focussed Driger V2 combos.

• Overall a very unique and useful part.

Notable Mold Differences:

• The Hasbro version of this part has a raised rim on the bottom of the tip as well as lacking the top platform of the tip section where the shaft enters. Despite these changes, there is minimal if any performance difference between it and the Takara version.

Blade Base: Full Auto Clutch Base

Weight: 8.5g

• Best used with SG (Full Auto Clutch Version) as the fins prevent the small risk of the clutch mechanism becoming dislodged, however SG (Free Shaft Version) is acceptable with no measurable performance difference.

• Gimmick causes aggression by fixing shaft at start of battle (using a spring-mounted clutch and centripetal motion), then releasing it for bearing-supported free spin at the end.

• Intention was to KO opponents early and OS those it couldn't later, apparently as a counter to certain popular combinations of the era - though the lack of Tornado Ridges in contemporaneous stadiums would seem to make this challenging.

• Very good LAD, second only to Spiral Change Base when used with Wide Survivor.

• With SG (Full Auto Clutch Version) Shaft (the only viable option), it produces very aggressive movement at the start of the battle, then releases the shaft to allow free spin for better spin stealing later in the match.

• Has some trouble catching the tornado ridge, making it struggle more with recoil, especially early in the match where it lacks free spin to mitigate this.

• Overall a competitive choice for Spin Stealing Attack, but one which is harder to use than alternatives.

Overall

• Driger F comes with a unique and truly excellent shaft, a competitive if somewhat niche Blade Base and a passable AR, however it is worth noting the former does require a few other parts to be truly useful. On the whole though, Driger F is an excellent purchase, and no serious blader should regret picking it up.