Night City isn't just a place. It’s a meat grinder. If you’ve spent any time in Cyberpunk 2077 or flipped through the sourcebooks of the original tabletop RPG by Mike Pondsmith, you know that the neon lights of Watson and the desolate landfills of the Badlands aren't empty space. They’re occupied. Specifically, they're occupied by groups that would sooner harvest your chrome than look you in the eye. Honestly, the Tyger Claws and the Vultures represent two ends of a very brutal spectrum of survival in a world where "humanity" is a sliding scale.
The Tyger Claws are the neon-soaked nightmare of Japantown. On the flip side, the Vultures are the literal scavengers of the wastes. You’ve probably fought a hundred of them in-game without thinking twice, but their history and their "business models" are actually pretty distinct if you look at the lore closely.
The Tyger Claws: More Than Just Katanas and Neon
Don't call them a street gang. Well, you can, but you'd be wrong. The Tyger Claws (or Tyger's Claw in the original 2020 lore) are more like a massive, decentralized criminal franchise. They’ve got their fingerprints on everything in Watson and Charter Hill. If there’s a braindance parlor worth visiting or a high-end brothel that hasn't been raided, the Claws are likely taking a cut.
What's wild is their relationship with Arasaka. It’s an open secret. While Arasaka officially denies any ties to street-level thuggery, the Tyger Claws often act as the corporation's unofficial security force or "problem solvers." This gives them access to tech that other gangs like the Valentinos or the Maelstrom can only dream of. They have high-end thermal katanas and reflex boosters that make them a nightmare in close quarters.
They’re protective. If you’re Japanese-descent and living in Japantown, they might actually be the closest thing you have to "police," which says a lot about how broken Night City really is. But if you’re an outsider? Good luck. They value loyalty and tradition, yet they’re fast to embrace the most predatory aspects of late-stage capitalism. It’s a weird mix of old-world honor and new-world greed.
Why the Tyger Claws dominate Watson
You ever notice how the Claws don't really use heavy cyberware that turns them into borgs? Unlike the Maelstrom, who want to replace their souls with silicon, the Claws prefer "subtle" enhancements. Think high-speed processors and skin-integrated armor. They want to stay fast. They want to stay human enough to enjoy the money they’re making.
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Their territory is basically a fortress. From the Clouds club at the top of Megabuilding H8 to the back alleys of Kabuki, they run a tight ship. They use glowing tattoos—literally luminous ink—to identify each other. It’s flashy. It’s arrogant. And because Arasaka usually has their back, NCPD rarely kicks in their doors unless they absolutely have to.
Vultures: The Scavengers Nobody Talks About
If the Tyger Claws are the corporate-backed elite of the street, the Vultures are the bottom-feeders. But don't underestimate them. In the lore of Cyberpunk Red and the older editions, the Vultures are a Nomad pack, though "pack" might be too generous a term. They’re more like a collection of desperate survivors who realized that the easiest way to get gear is to take it off a warm corpse.
They hang out in the Badlands. They linger around the edges of battlefields. While the Aldecaldos have a sense of family and the Wraiths are just pure chaotic evil, the Vultures are purely opportunistic. They're the reason you don't break down in the desert without a loaded shotgun.
Survival at the Edge of the Map
Vultures aren't trying to run a drug empire. They aren't trying to take over a city block. They just want your boots. And your cyberdeck. And maybe your car. Because they live in the wastes, their gear is often a Frankenstein’s monster of salvaged parts. You’ll see a Vulture with a Militech optical sensor glued to a rusted-out nomad rifle. It’s ugly, but it works.
Honestly, they’re sorta the most "punk" in a weird, depressing way. They have zero corporate backing. No one likes them. Even other Nomads think they’re gross because they strip the dead. In the Cyberpunk universe, there’s a certain respect for the dead, but the Vultures view a corpse as a loot box.
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Comparing the Two: Tyger Claws vs. Vultures
It’s a study in contrasts. You’ve got the Claws, who are all about aesthetics, high-tech weaponry, and corporate shadow-deals. Then you’ve got the Vultures, who are all about grit, rust, and whatever they can pull out of a scrapyard.
- Resources: Claws have Arasaka's surplus. Vultures have whatever was left behind after a corporate convoy got ambushed.
- Philosophy: Claws follow a twisted version of Bushido and corporate hierarchy. Vultures follow the "if you're dead, you don't need it" rule.
- Presence: Claws own the night under the neon. Vultures own the silence of the trash heaps.
If you’re playing the game and you see a group of guys with glowing bikes and katanas, you’re dealing with the Claws. If you’re out in the dirt and you see people picking through a crashed AV (Aerial Vehicle) with rusted tools, those are the Vultures. Both will kill you, but the Claws will do it because you’re in their way, while the Vultures will do it because your cyberware is worth a week’s worth of water filters.
Real Talk on Combat Tactics
Dealing with Tyger Claws requires high-mobility hacks. They’re fast. If you try to out-sword them, you better have a high Reflex stat. They love using Smart Link technology, which means their bullets curve to hit you. To counter them, you need "Subliminal Signal" perks or high-grade Jamming software.
Vultures are different. They use numbers and ambush tactics. They aren't going to challenge you to a duel. They’re going to wait until you’re fighting something else and then start sniping from the ridgeline. In the tabletop version, Vultures are notorious for having "junk" gear that malfunctions—but they also have weird, custom tech that can surprise a seasoned Solo.
Why does this matter for your playthrough?
Understanding these factions changes how you approach the world. When you're in Tyger Claw territory, you're in a "civilized" area where the rules are just different. You pay the bribe, you stay quiet, and you might survive. In Vulture territory? There are no bribes. There is only the desert and your ability to keep your engine running.
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People often overlook the Vultures because they aren't as "sexy" as the Moxes or the Maelstrom. But in terms of world-building, they represent the absolute failure of the social contract. They are what happens when the city spits you out and the Nomads won't take you in. They’re the ghosts of the landfill.
How to Handle These Factions Like a Pro
If you want to actually survive encounters with these two, you need a plan that isn't just "shoot everything." Night City is about leverage.
- For Tyger Claws: Look for Arasaka connections. If you’re playing a corpo-lifepath, you sometimes get dialogue options that reveal you know who’s actually pulling the strings. Use Quickhacks like "Weapon Glitch" because their high-end gear is more susceptible to interference than the low-tech scrap the Vultures use.
- For Vultures: Keep your distance. They rely on scavenging, so they usually don't have the best long-range optics. A solid sniper rifle or a long-range tech weapon will pick them off before they even realize you've spotted them among the dunes.
- Check the Lore Shards: Seriously. Reading the encrypted shards found in their hideouts reveals the actual names of sub-leaders. In the case of the Claws, you'll find links to the "Jig-Jig Street" bosses. For Vultures, you might find logs of where they're planning to scavenge next.
Night City doesn't have heroes, it just has people trying to get to the next day. Whether it's the Tyger Claws building a criminal empire under the protection of a megacorp, or the Vultures just trying to find enough copper wire to trade for a meal, they’re all just parts of the machine.
Actionable Insights for Your Next Session:
- Scan Everything: Tyger Claws often carry "Smart" weapons; ensure you have the "Tyrosine Lace" or similar dermal imprints to prevent them from locking onto you.
- Loot Management: When fighting Vultures, don't expect high-tier iconic drops. They carry components. If you need crafting materials, farming Vulture-heavy areas in the Badlands is actually more efficient than hitting city gangs.
- Stealth over Strength: In Watson, the Claws have cameras everywhere. Invest in "Camera Shutdown" hacks early. In the Badlands, the Vultures have physical scouts. Invest in a good pair of "Lynx Paws" for silent movement on gravel.
The world of Cyberpunk isn't getting any friendlier. Knowing who's trying to kill you—and why—is the only way to make sure you aren't the next piece of scrap a Vulture picks up or the next "example" a Tyger Claw makes in a neon-lit alleyway.