Tesla Claw

The Tesla Claw was a powerful Gadgetron weapon which could be purchased once Ratchet first visited Oltanis. It generated static electricity at the front and progressed through an electro - vortex in between the two ends of the claw, this allowed Ratchet to aim the beam. It was most effective against large numbers of small enemies, or a few stronger ones. The technology for the Tesla Claw was later used to develop the Clank Zapper. If the player had the persuader, it could be bought for 30,000 bolts.

A weapon very similar to the Tesla Claw was found mounted in Electroids and Electroids v2.0.

Gold Tesla Claw
The Gold Tesla Claw could be purchased for 60,000 bolts and four gold bolts. Its ray became green, longer, and attacked more enemies at once. Quite obviously, it also got 2x strength.

Mega Tesla Claw
In Going Commando, the Tesla Claw could be upgraded into the even more powerful Mega Tesla Claw with a green ray that attacked multiple enemies at once with 400 ammo.

Behind the scenes

 * In a behind-the-scenes video in the goodies menu of the original Ratchet & Clank, at one point the game creators mention the Tesla Claw and early footage is seen. According to them, the early version of the Tesla Claw had a different function, the electric arc picked enemies up and threw them into the air, killing them. This function was later removed, and the electric effect was changed.
 * Its name was a homage to Nikola Tesla, a famous inventor and physicist known for his discoveries about electricity. The Tesla coil, a device he created, discharges electrisity similar to the Tesla Claw.

In-game summaries

 * "Tesla Claw! Blast the bad guys with bolts of electricity!" - Vendor Description
 * "Using state-of-the-art electrostatic technology, the Tesla Claw is the pinnacle of Gadgetron weapons technology. The Tesla Claw sends a powerful stream of charged particles to your nearest foe, destroying it with deadly efficiency. The Tesla Claw will automatically seek a new target whenever its current target is obliterated." - Help Menu Description
 * "The Gold Tesla Claw is a more powerful version of one of Gadgetron's most effective weapons. Fry your enemies even faster with this dynamo!" - Help Menu Description (Gold version)

Trivia

 * The ammo of Tesla Claw was misspelt in Ratchet & Clank as 'Tesla claw ammo' (without capitalization), thus ignoring the color code of the game system similar to the bug in Drone Device.
 * The Tesla Claw was the one of the most effective weapon in Ratchet & Clank; however, its power was much lower in Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando.
 * The Tesla Claw's firing animation was the same as Pyrocitor's, but the Tesla Claw had no handle on the left side of the weapon where Ratchet held his hand in the air.
 * The Tesla Claw might be a reference to Command & Conquer: Red Alert, more directly to the Soviet Shock Trooper, who was armed with a 1950s-style backpack-mounted version of the Tesla Claw (called a Shock Rifle).

Appearances

 * Ratchet & Clank
 * Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando


 * es = Garra Tesla