Claw Stars Beginner’s Guide: Tips, Tricks & Strategies to Restore Life on All Planets Throughout the Galaxy

Claw Stars is a brand new game from developer Appxplore (iCandy), a studio you might already be familiar thanks to titles such as Hellopet House and Masketeers: Idle Has Fallen. The company’s latest mobile title is an epic casual arcade game with an adorable Sci-Fi plot at the center of it.

In Claw Stars a bunch of hamsters were launched into space for survivability experiments. However, something unexpected happened and the cute furry animals slipped through a temporal wormhole and ended up evolving into a race of super-intelligent interstellar rodents. Wanting to get home, they build a super powerful spaceship and embarked on the journey back only to discover that all the living creatures got trapped by mysterious orbs.

The goal in Claw Stars is to find and save all the animals by releasing them from their prison. You’ll work from within your custom designed spaceship which has a claw attached that swings from its bottom and your job is to fish out the special orbs that might contain the creatures you seek.

Once you finally restore balance on your home planet, you’ll realize that this plague of orb imprisonment has spread throughout the galaxy. Countless species are waiting to be rescued and now that you have the required skills you are in a great position to help. Travel throughout the solar system to perform countless rescue missions, while you also rebuild their ravaged settlements.

On top of the claw grabber machine element, the game also pits you against other players by allowing you to kidnap creatures for ransom, loot for gold and blockade their buildings. Stay with us if you want to learn the basics of Claw Stars, and we’ll throw in a bunch of tips and tricks too on how you can improve your progression and become a master world rescuer!

1. Position The Ship Carefully Before Lowering The Claw

While playing Claw Stars you’ll be spending the bulk of your time in the so-called Claw Zone, an abandoned area filled with all kinds of items. The main goal is to lower the claw you have attached to your spaceship in order to get to the colored orbs hiding down below.

You can use the paw-shaped lever to move the spacecraft left and right in the environment. When it’s finally time to send the claw to dig through the rubble, just press on the large purple button underneath. By default, you have 24 claws at your disposal and each time you attempt to extract an item you will spend one of them, and so on until you run out.

Once there are no more claws in your inventory, you’ll have to take a break and wait until they get restored. It works very much in the same way as energy does in other mobile games. Basically, your gameplay is sustained by the amount of claws you have at your disposal.

Given that it takes quite a while for your claws to fully get restored, you’ll normally be able to play Claw Stars only a few times a day. Unless you’re lucky and you uncover a few extra claws hidden in the orbs that can supplement your supply.

Due to the scarcity of claws, it’s important that each time you lower one into the zone you are able to grab something of value. Basically you shouldn’t just aim them randomly. Make sure you position yourself properly before sending the claw in for a dig. Target a particular piece and maneuver the spaceship in the right position before attempting to grab it.

Sometimes the outcome might not be always as expected, but that’s alright, try and learn from your mistakes so as to improve your chances of grabbing the item you want from the first try.  Don’t worry, it’s not the end of the world if you can’t catch an orb or a capsule. You’ll still be able to collect some resources, for example, small nuggets of gold which can be turned into cash.

2. Prioritize Getting The Orbs And Capsules Out First

The pile of junk in the Claw Zone contains lots of different items. The most common ones are the little golden pieces that can be turned into money when removed. However, the best way to sustain a decent progression in this game is to prioritize grabbing the Blue orbs. These are elements that might contain the creatures you have to rescue.

Each planet is home to a number of species and you need to find and release them all before you can move on to the next one. In addition, you’ll also have to invest some of the gold coins you’ve accumulated by scavenging in the Claw Zone to restore the buildings that have been destroyed on each planet.

Anyway, the blue orbs can sometimes contain the creatures you are seeking, but that’s will not always be the case. More often than not, they come bearing other gifts, including:

Bomby Worm: A power-up that when dropped back in the pile will blow up surrounding stones and reveal Ores that can be then collected. Unfortunately, the Bomby Worm can only be dropped from the position where you first lowered the claw from. It’s not possible to move somewhere else and use the Worm to clear away another area – for instance, one that’s richer in Ore. Nevertheless, it’s a pretty useful tool that clears away most of the rubble and allows you to get quick access to better elements.

Oxygen: Oxygen is a resource that allows you to level up Boosters. In Claw Stars, Boosters are actually little cute animals, each with their own unique powers. For example, Harry is a Blockade Booster who can improve the amount of blockade rewards you get.

Rubies: Rubies are a type of premium resource that can come quite handy in the game. For one, it can buy additional claws, although we don’t recommend spending in this direction all too often. Instead, make it a point to conserve your Rubies as much as possible, and put them to good use only in cases where you feel like you really want to continue playing.

DNA: You can uncover pieces of DNA from time to time. Grab enough and you’ll be able to create new forms of life aka Boosters. These creatures also have special powers in the sense that they can help you boost your earnings. Just make sure you don’t forget to feed them Ice Cream in order to activate them.

Blue orbs aren’t the only ones that can contain creatures. At the bottom of the junk pile you might notice a bunch of colorful orbs that are almost half buried into the ground. Get to them and you might be able to uncover the missing animal from the collection you’re trying to complete.

In addition, you’ve probably noticed there a bunch of Purple capsules scattered around the Claw Zone. These can contain a lot of goodies, some of which can trigger actions. Others will reveal cards instead. We’ve compiled a list of the most common ones below, as to give you a better idea of what you can uncover:

Kidnap Cage: When you draw a Kidnap cage it will trigger an action. You’ll travel to another player’s planet and kidnap one of their creatures in exchange for ransom. Simply tap on the animal you want to steal and you’ll get your hands on a nice sum of gold.

Drone: Drones are rare birds which you can occasionally stumble upon while cracking open capsules. They offer protection for you creatures in case your habitat gets invaded by random players looking to snatch an animal or two. You can have up to 3 drones patrolling at the same time, but unfortunately these flying mini robots don’t pop up as often as we’d like.

Blockade: The Blockade gives you another option to raid others. This time, instead of targeting a player’s creature, it goes after their buildings. Select a building and drop a fence on it to block it and get a reward consisting of gold coins. Don’t worry if the structure has been targeted by someone else before, you can stack up several blockades on top of a building, no problem. You’ll still get your reward.

Hacking Pod: You won’t dig out the Hacking Pod all that often, but when you do, it’s definitely going to be worth it. With the Hacking Pod, you can steal almost all the cash another player has accumulated. You have to play a mini game where you have to select and tap on 3 terminals out of the 5 that appear on screen. But be careful, you don’t want to choose the malfunctioning one or else you won’t be able collect as much coins.

Extra Claws: Purple capsules might contain extra claws, but they are quite scarce. You’ll stumble upon one of these rare jewels from time to time, so don’t put too many of your hopes in finding such items. Most of the times, you’ll just have to wait for the claws to refill naturally over time in order to get digging again.

Style Tokens: Style tokens allow you to purchase new looks for your super clever hamsters. You can get a style each day for free, but otherwise you’ll need to pay in tokens OR Rubies. If you have enough Style Tokens go ahead and spend them, if not we don’t really encourage you to spend these scanty gems on something like outfits. Apart from the visual variation they provide, new styles don’t do anything to improve the scavenging abilities of your hamsters.

Fool Stone: Play a prank by sending someone a Fool Stone wrapped in the package of a capsule. You can get a few extra Ore pieces.

Additionally, cracking open Purple capsules like that can also reveal cards. These can provide additional tools to help you enhance your gameplay. For example, the Electric Shield allows you to free from a Blockade for 3 times. Other cards you might stumble upon include:

Coins Replicator: 3x Coins multiplier for 5 Claws.

Meaty Ore: Drops several large Ore particles for you to collect.

Ruby Rain: Drops a bundle of Rubies in your junk yard.

These cards are not limited to the Purple capsules, you can also find them in the large Green spheres, so don’t shy away from getting one when you have the chance.  Another interesting card which you only got by drawing a Green sphere is the X-Ray card. This allows you to visualize where a creature is hiding, so you can head straight to the target.

There is additional stuff you can find in these orbs and capsules. For example, you might stumble upon an Astro Key which is a card that allows you to spin a wheel and win prizes consisting of coins and Rubies.

Other stuff you can fish out from the pile of junk are Gold balls. These are large golden nuggets that provide an extra cash infusion. You can’t have too many coins in Claw Stars, so if you’re ever in need of extra money don’t hesitate to pick up on of these balls.

3. Use Ore To Build A Giant Claw

We’ve talked about Ore a little bit in the previous section, but what we didn’t tell you is that it can be used to create a Giant claw. You’ll need a mega claw like this in order to pick up those Jumbo piggy capsules you’ve probably noticed in the pile of junk.  These items can unlock substantial rewards.

You have to collect 30 pieces of Ore to forge the Giant claw. Look for the brown stones in your junk yard and don’t hesitate to send your claw for them. Additionally, if you’re lucky you might draw a capsule containing the Meaty ore card which drops several larger Ore pieces (5 units each). This card helps you create a Giant claw in no time, but in most cases it will take time to make one, so be patient.

It can get frustrating seeing how you’re unable to pick up these much larger spheres immediately, but you’ll eventually get there. Rewards that hide in these Jumbo capsules are much larger than what you’d get with the normal sized-ones. For example, it’s possible to get a 4x Hacking Pod which will produce 4x times more coins when activated.

Jumbo capsules are annoying because they can restrict access to some items underneath, which is why it’s important that you work towards crafting those big claws. Don’t neglect Ore. While rewards for gathering this resource are certainly not as glamorous, the resource has an important purpose to fill in the Claw Stars universe.

4. Don’t Store Too Much Gold (At First)

Having a lot of gold is a good thing in Claw Stars, but storing it and leaving the game – not so much. Every time you run out of claws and need to take a break, make sure you invest what you’ve accumulated before you leave. You’ll want to try and pour funds into the upgrading of buildings, of course. While you’re visiting your Habitat, check to see if any of your animals have been kidnapped or blockades have been dropped.

You could use the money you’ve accumulated to pay the ransom notes and to unblock the constructions. The reason why we’re telling you to drain your resources before you go is to prevent other players from raiding your planet while you’re gone and leave with all the cash you left behind.

There are no means to really protect your buildings from assaults. If you happen to have a few drones patrolling around that should keep your animals should safe from abductors who will only receive a small sum for their kidnapping efforts. But the constructions can’t be secured against invaders.

Additionally, other players playing the Hacking Pod mini game will be able to tap into your gold reserve. If you don’t want to lose important sums of cash, it’s a good idea to spend most of what you’ve accumulated and only then exit the game.

5. Activate The Rewards Multiplier When It Finally Becomes Available And Conserve Your Gold

When you eventually make it to the third world, the game finally unlocks a rewards multiplier. At first, you only get the 2x option, but later on more advanced multipliers will be made available. Anyway, the way this works is that the multiplier will double the income you produce by lowering the claw once.

Stumbled upon a Hacking Pod? The multiplier will double the sum you manage to collect by the end. Drawn the Meaty Ore card? You’ll get 10 pieces of Ore for every big chunk you end up collecting instead of just 5. With the multiplier turned on you’ll be able to improve your game progression considerably.

There’s another thing you can do. You can log in with your Facebook account and invite your friends to play with you. Then instruct them to hoard their gold instead of spending it every time a bit more accumulates. Then, with your multiplier activated, you’ll be able to grab more cash during raids and vice-versa. This won’t really work if you’re playing against random people, though, but it’s an interesting tactic you might wish to apply within your group of friends.

6. Complete Stamp Albums

Another avenue for spending your gold is buying Stamp packs. Tap on the yellow ticket in the lower left side of the display (on top of the Booster section) and then on the “+” button at the top to access the Shop. From here you can buy Stamp packs. There’s three of them to choose from:

Paper Pack – includes 2 stamps;

Golden Pack – includes 4 stamps;

Premium Pack – includes 8 stamps.

Naturally, the Premium one is the most expensive of the bunch, as it can take you back with 50,000 coins (at first, as this amount increases as you advance in the game). These stamps are then grouped in various albums. Complete an album and you’ll be awarded a series of really awesome rewards which consist of extra claws, Rubies, Oxygen and surprise Bowls.

It’s definitely worth not forgetting about stamps, and a great way to ensure you always get fresh packs is to simply visit the shop once you run out of claws. Use the money you’ve accumulated to buy a few packs in order to start working towards completing these albums. The first two albums are quite easy to complete, but then things start getting a little trickier as a lot of the cards you’ll be drawing get revealed as doubles.

With enough patience, though, and a willingness to invest your resources this way, you’ll eventually complete them in full. For the time being, there’s only 7 such available albums to finish, but we expect that more options will be added with upcoming updates.

7. Collect The Hearts Produced In The Habitat

Visit your Habitat regularly and collect the little hearts that appear next to your creatures, as well as the buildings. As a means to say thank you, your new friends want to show you their love which fortunately, can be turned into something practical.

Collect enough of them and you’ll be able to redeem prizes that consist of Green spheres. You’ll find them in the Claw zone waiting for you.

It might be easy to forget about checking on your Habitat all that much and focus on spending your claws and digging up stuff, but our recommendation is to remember to go back for a visit from time to time, so that you can get your hands on more goodies.

At the same time, you should also check your Home space. From time to time, you can fish out furniture items from the pile of junk and use them to decorate your homes on the planets you visit. Sometimes, creatures visiting you might leave a present or two so make sure you remember to go back and take a look just in case.

8. What Do You Do When The Claw Zone Is Almost Empty?

To clear a world, you’ll have to find and release all the creatures pertaining to that habitat, as well as reconstruct their buildings. But what happens when there are no more items to collect in the Claw Zone? You’ll need more obviously! If you can clear all the items away, you’ll also receive a nice gift.

Just check in the lower right part of the display, next to the joystick and see if a green token has popped up. It should show a countdown to the next item refill. You might have to wait a bit before that happens, so while you do that you can work on your Habitat or you can simply take a break and come back to a fresh pile of junk to go through.

There you have it! With this tip we wrap up our Claw Stars beginner’s guide. If you happen to know additional strategies or tricks for this game, don’t hesitate to share them with us via the comment section below!