The Dragon Claw is a weapon for Tifa in Final Fantasy VII. It can be purchased at the Icicle Inn, and has stats on-par with other weapons from there. It provides six Materia slots, four of which are linked. As with all of Tifa's gloves, it cannot be thrown, and like most, provides Tifa an improved critical hit rate.
Obtained[]
Dragon Claw can be purchased at Icicle Inn for 10,000 gil.
Mechanics[]
As the Dragon Claw has a base Attack stat bonus of 38, the base damage for physical attacks when the Dragon Claw is equipped is in the following formula:
where "Level" is Tifa's current level and "Strength" is her Strength stat. The Dragon Claw also has an Attack% (Accuracy) of 114%, grants a +13 bonus to Tifa's Magic stat, and provides Tifa an improved critical hit rate of +2%.
Use[]
Promotional render.
The Dragon Claw can be acquired upon reaching Icicle Inn, and is the strongest weapon for Tifa at that point. The weapon has six Materia slots, four of which are linked, and well-rounded stats. Due to Tifa's high Strength stat and her multi-hit Limit, she is best using the weapon to build towards physical damage.
Dragon Claw has two lots of two linked Materia slots, meaning Support Materia can be used for her, and two unlinked slots. Unlinked slots can be given to Independent Materia, such as Counter Attack, to build on her strength for physical attacks. Remaining slots can be given to Command, Magic, and Summon Materia, to link it with Support Materia. Because Tifa is better served for physical damage, an efficient use is to give her Command Materia that depends on her physical damage rather than magical damage, to give her curative Magic Materia (such as Restore), or to give her attack Magic Materia that can be paired with Elemental or Added Effect.
Dragon Claw remains Tifa's strongest weapon until the Crystal Glove is acquired from Mideel. Alternatively, the player can acquire the Work Glove from the Temple of the Ancients, which has a stronger Attack stat, but no Materia slots; this can work for Tifa due to her reliance on physical damage, but limits her utility compared to Dragon Claw. The Kaiser Knuckle can also be found around the Whirlwind Maze and provides eight Materia slots but a lower Attack stat, meaning it is only beneficial for Tifa if the player has many Independent Materia.
Etymology[]
A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, which is featured in the myths of many cultures.
Tifa also has another weapon called "Tiger Fang". In East Asian cultures, the dragon and the tiger are considered eternal rivals. Various artworks depict the two fighting an epic battle, the dragon representative of things of Yang polarity and spirit, with the tiger representative of things of Yin polarity and matter. Ultimately, they represent the inevitable reconciliation of opposing but equal forces. The dragon is a creature of the skies, whereas the tiger is considered the king of all terrestrial beasts, and their bouts always end in a draw.
In the context of Eastern and Asian martial arts, the dragon represents the aspects of soft style and internal martial arts, focusing on accuracy, mental alertness, and fluid reactivity. The tiger represents the aspects of hard style and external martial arts, focusing on explosive speed, raw strength, and countering an opposing force with one's own. In martial arts fiction and fantasy, internal based martial arts are often seen with abilities centered on chi energy and spiritual powers, while external martial arts are depicted with unparalleled physical proportions, with the most reputable martial arts being able to harmonize and utilize both aspects as one force.