Iron Claw

The Iron Claw is a Claw-class weapon introduced in Golden Sun: Dark Dawn.

Basic Description by Game
The Iron Claw increases the wielder's base Attack by 105 points. It can be sold for 5400 coins and subsequently rebought for 7200 coins.

In Dark Dawn, the Iron Claw can be found in the Artifact section of the weapons shop at Yamata City. Like all Claw-class weapons, the Iron Claw can only be equipped by Sveta. It has two Unleashes: Wind Blade and Spin Slice. Wind Blade is a Jupiter-based Unleash that multiplies damage by a factor of 1.5, and may lower the target's Attack by 25%. Spin Slice is a Jupiter-based Unleash that multiplies damage by a factor of 1.7. Spin Slice targets up to three adjacent foes, and may lower each target's Attack by 25%.

Analysis
In general, the Iron Claw is outclassed by the Beast Knuckles, which are found earlier in Belinsk. However, the Beast Knuckles can be easily missed, and thus the Iron Claw may see some use in that situation. Both Wind Blade and Spin Slice are fairly solid Unleashes, damage-wise, and Spin Slice's range helps increase its usefulness. However, each Unleash's chance to lower Attack is not as useful as Defense, as the target can simply use an attack based on elemental power. However, since both Unleashes have the same side effect, the overall chance of lowered Attack is larger compared to other weapons.

There are a variety of stronger weapons available as an upgrade to the Iron Claw, with the main option being the plot-required Umbra Knuckles. It should be noted that Fist-class weapons, like the Umbra Knuckles, have a separate experience gauge from Claw-class weapons, like the Iron Claw, despite the two often being grouped together. Thus, any experience gained with the Iron Claw will not carry over. If this is a concern for the player, then the player may prefer to equip either the Spiked Knuckles, or preferably, the Beast Knuckles, which can carry over experience to the Umbra Knuckles.