Burrowing Claws

Burrowing Claws

	Physical
	3
	Left Hand, Right Hand
	yes
	BurrowingClaws
	no
Infobox data from game version 2.0.206.63

Burrowing Claws

You bear spade-like claws that can burrow through the earth.

4 successful attacks dig through a wall
Claw penetration vs walls: (level based)
Claws are also a short-blade class natural weapon that deal (level based) damage to non-walls.

(if prerelease content is enabled):
Can dig passages up or down when outside of combat

Burrowing Claws is a physical mutation that replaces the player's natural fists with claws that are classified as Short Blade natural weapons, with different properties depending on if the player's target is a structural object or not.

Burrowing Claws allows a creature to destroy a wall within four attacks that successfully penetrate. The penetration bonus is determined by mutation level and is independent of the →PV used against non-structural objects, which is instead determined by the creature's Strength bonus (with an uncapped maximum PV depending on strength). If the creature is wielding a weapon in a hand with claws, walls can still be broken within four successful attacks, but the →PV of the weapon wielded will be used instead (which can include the guaranteed penetration of vibro weapons).

Having this mutation grants the player the "Dig" activated ability; this ability is a form of autoact which allows the player to select a tile as a target destination, regardless of distance or visibility. Confirming one's selection will cause the player to move in a straight line to the destination, while automatically attacking and destroying any walls in the way.

The claws granted by Burrowing Claws also act as weapons falling under the Short Blade skill tree, benefitting from any skill the creature has within that tree. Claws will only be used as weapons if nothing occupies the hand slot they are located on.

If the player has unfinished and prerelease content enabled, Burrowing Claws grants two additional abilities that allow the player to create staircases up or down when out of combat.

Formulas

The following formula is used to determine penetration bonus based on mutation level.

Penetration Bonus	Level × 3

Damage is not determined by a formula and is instead determined by reaching specific level thresholds.

Advancement Table

Mutation Level	PV Bonus Against Walls	Damage
1	+3	1d21-2 (Avg: 1.5)
2	+6	1d21-2 (Avg: 1.5)
3	+9	1d21-2 (Avg: 1.5)
4	+12	1d31-3 (Avg: 2)
5	+15	1d31-3 (Avg: 2)
6	+18	1d31-3 (Avg: 2)
7	+21	1d41-4 (Avg: 2.5)
8	+24	1d41-4 (Avg: 2.5)
9	+27	1d41-4 (Avg: 2.5)
10	+30	1d61-6 (Avg: 3.5)

Mutation Level	PV Bonus Against Walls	Damage
11	+33	1d61-6 (Avg: 3.5)
12	+36	1d61-6 (Avg: 3.5)
13	+39	1d81-8 (Avg: 4.5)
14	+42	1d81-8 (Avg: 4.5)
15	+45	1d81-8 (Avg: 4.5)
16	+48	1d101-10 (Avg: 5.5)
17	+51	1d101-10 (Avg: 5.5)
18	+54	1d121-12 (Avg: 6.5)
19	+57	1d121-12 (Avg: 6.5)
20	+60	1d121-12 (Avg: 6.5)

Mutation Level	PV Bonus Against Walls	Damage
21	+63	1d121-12 (Avg: 6.5)
22	+66	1d121-12 (Avg: 6.5)
23	+69	1d121-12 (Avg: 6.5)
24	+72	1d121-12 (Avg: 6.5)
25	+75	1d121-12 (Avg: 6.5)
26	+78	1d121-12 (Avg: 6.5)
27	+81	1d121-12 (Avg: 6.5)
28	+84	1d121-12 (Avg: 6.5)
29	+87	1d121-12 (Avg: 6.5)
30	+90	1d121-12 (Avg: 6.5)

Advantages & Disadvantages

This section is opinion-based. Your mileage may vary.

Advantages

• Allows the player to dig through walls, making exploration of areas with locked doors or tight corridors much easier
• If the player has unfinished and prerelease content enabled, they can create staircases when out of combat, allowing for much easier exploration of the underground
• Being able to dig through walls gives the player several tactical advantages, such as the ability to create bottlenecks or break line of sight with ranged enemies
• Provides short-blade class natural weapons, which have no penetration cap

Disadvantages

• The mutation's listed penetration bonus only applies to walls. Penetration against creatures is instead determined by your strength
• Requires significant mutation levels in order to match the damage output of higher tier weapons
• As they are a short-blade and are always equipped, both the left hand and right hand claws are eligible for Rejoinder, and can heavily impact the player's DPS with that skill if the claws are not leveled up

Considerations

• Any Mutated Human can temporarily get mid-level Burrowing Claws by using a skulk injector
• Both Mutated Humans and True Kin may also get it by cooking with congealed skulk
  • Without a recipe (such as Bone Babka), this can take several tries
• Digging with vibro weapons will quickly destroy any wall even at Burrowing Claws level 1, and higher levels don't further improve this.
  • If though multi-wielding you have four or more vibro strikes per attack, this will allow you to break through any wall in a single turn including forcefields
• This mutation may cause accidental destruction of walls in towns, though that can be prevented by toggling digging off when it is unwanted.
• For unarmed combat, waxflab on hands will do slightly more damage than level 10 Burrowing Claws, although it uses a different skill

Creatures with Burrowing Claws

• mopango charioteer(Level 4)
• mopango pilgrim(Level 4)
• mopango tombdweller(Level 4)
• mopango watcher(Level 6)
• Doyoba(Level 6)
• Dadogom(Level 6)
• Gyamyo(Level 6)
• Yona(Level 6)
• Agyra(Level 6)
• Lebah(Level 6)