Upper Claw

Attack Ring: Upper Claw

Weight: 5.0g (Mold 1) | 5.5g (Mold 2)

Right Spin:

- Solid Upper Attack and Upward Smash (from the change in slopes), make Upper Claw an effective Attack Ring for all types of Upper Attack.
- Well angled tips of slopes and 'mane' spikes provide powerful Smash Attack, similar to its successor, Triple Tiger, and make Upper Claw a competitive Smash Attack AR - like Triple Tiger, it mixes some Upper Attack and Upward Smash into the Smash Attack, and its overhanging design allows it to compensate for the height of taller Blade Bases. Generally though, Triple Tiger's sturdier design and the fact Upper Claw is generally used with the other parts of Driger V2 when available mean Triple Tiger is more popular.
- Round sides of sloped sections and relatively edged focused weight distribution allow it to be effective in Spin Stealing Attack combinations, the main advantage being the additional Smash Attack it offers. However, the Right Spin limitation is a severe detriment to its usefulness here, as Right Spin SSA combos are generally not all that useful due to the lack of relevant opponents.
- Overall an excellent AR in its own right, however, like many parts of Driger V2, its individual use is overshadowed by its chemistry with the other parts of the Beyblade, meaning it is rarely used outside of Driger V2 customs.
- Chemistry with Upper Attack SP mean it is useful on all offensive SP-Compatible Base Setups that do not scrape, with Customize Grip Base, for example, providing a more offensive approach, while Customize Metal Change Base allows for a more balanced and defensively-capable setup.

Left Spin:

- While the spikes on the forehead of the tiger details provide some smash attack, the relatively small amount of this compared to the severe recoil makes this pointless.
- The inverted slopes are intended to provide Force Smash but instead only serve to create vertical recoil which results in fairly severe destabilization of the Upper Claw user.
- Overall, not worthwhile in this spin direction.

Mold Differences:

- A second mold of the Attack Ring was used for later Takara versions, including the Red Fukobako 2003 recolor, and all Hasbro versions. The slopes of this mold have additional plastic along the bottom to help prevent the tips snapping, as well as to hold the SP in place better. This mold is generally preferred for durability and weight, but the difference is quite minimal.