Driger V2
AKA: Driger Vulcan 2 (Full Name)
-A Quick Note on Driger V2 Customizations-
The incredible chemistry of the parts of this Beyblade, in particular the AR and SP, are so definitive and unique in their action that they are the basis of an entire customization type. As such, many of the properties of Driger V2 as a whole rather than its individual parts will be covered in the upcoming Type Page for Driger V2 Customs, and that page should be read as an accompaniment to this entry. As a quick summary, Driger V2's weight, weight distribution and versatile behaviour make for a particularly powerful all-rounder, being capable of outspinning a surprising number of combinations via weight distribution and destabilisation, ramping attackers up its ramps for KOs (left spin, particularly) while withstanding their hits somewhat with its weight, and knocking out survival types and some defense types, only really struggling with Defensive Zombies and Circle Survivor Defense. The most effective version is arguably simply adding Wide Defense and a Heavy Metal Core to a stock Driger V2, and as these are must-have parts anyway, this is generally quite accessible, but an uncustomized Driger V2 is still capable of sweeping much of what is present at tournaments without these improvements as long as one launches well.
Weight: 5.0g (Mold 1) | 5.5g (Mold 2)
Right Spin:
Solid Upper Attack and Upward Smash (from the change in slopes), make Upper Claw an effective Attack Ring for all types of Upper Attack.
Well angled tips of slopes and 'mane' spikes provide powerful Smash Attack, similar to its successor, Triple Tiger, and make Upper Claw a competitive Smash Attack AR - like Triple Tiger, it mixes some Upper Attack and Upward Smash into the Smash Attack, and its overhanging design allows it to compensate for the height of taller Blade Bases. Generally though, Triple Tiger's sturdier design and the fact Upper Claw is generally used with the other parts of Driger V2 when available mean Triple Tiger is more popular.
Round sides of sloped sections and relatively edged focused weight distribution allow it to be effective in Spin Stealing Attack combinations, the main advantage being the additional Smash Attack it offers. However, the Right Spin limitation is a severe detriment to its usefulness here, as Right Spin SSA combos are generally not all that useful due to the lack of relevant opponents.
Overall an excellent AR in its own right, however, like many parts of Driger V2, its individual use is overshadowed by its chemistry with the other parts of the Beyblade, meaning it is rarely used outside of Driger V2 customs.
Chemistry with Upper Attack SP mean it is useful on all offensive SP-Compatible Base Setups that do not scrape, with Customize Grip Base, for example, providing a more offensive approach, while Customize Metal Change Base allows for a more balanced and defensively-capable setup.
Left Spin:
While the spikes on the forehead of the tiger details provide some smash attack, the relatively small amount of this compared to the severe recoil makes this pointless.
The inverted slopes are intended to provide Force Smash but instead only serve to create vertical recoil which results in fairly severe destabilization of the Upper Claw user.
Overall, not worthwhile in this spin direction.
Mold Differences:
A second mold of the Attack Ring was used for later Takara versions, including the Red Fukobako 2003 recolor, and all Hasbro versions. The slopes of this mold have additional plastic along the bottom to help prevent the tips snapping, as well as to hold the SP in place better. This mold is generally preferred for durability and weight, but the difference is quite minimal.
Weight: 15.0g
Decent weight, with a compact yet edge-focussed distribution which makes for good all-around performance.
Thanks to the additional weight, the weight distribution provides a good mix of RPM maintenance/grinding and overall survival ability.
Generally outclassed by Wide Defense unless a more compact weight distribution is required. This is most noticeable in Compacts and Semi-Flat Base Stamina, where the compact weight distribution helps their stability and grinding ability while providing a little extra survival over mode compact options. However for compacts, the greater weight of Ten Heavy is generally preferred.
Overall a good part.
SonoKong G-Blade Mold (as opposed to their earlier mold) is generally very similar to the regular mold, meaning it can be used interchangeably.
Spin Gear: Neo Right SG (Metal Weight Version)
Weight: 1.15g ea (total 2.3g)
Generally preferred to regular Right shells due to being compatible with all SG-Compatible bases, in particular for being compatible with Neo SG Cores and the Heavy Metal Core.
This means they are a necessity for Compacts, Weight Based Defense, Force Smash, Traditional Upper Attack and Driger V2 Combinations, at least aside from the rare occasions Left Spin is desired for one of these types, in which case Neo Left Shells are preferred.
Overall a crucial competitive part, but thankfully exceedingly common.
Weight: 2.5g
Only compatible with Neo Shells.
Has a cylindrical metal part in the centre to add weight
Slightly lighter than Magnecores, which limits its usefulness, even for Attack Types where the small difference between it and other cores in terms of weight means it generally fails to find a niche, or at least fails to stand out as significantly better in most cases.
This does not mean it is outclassed for all setups, however, odds are it provides the right mix of recoil control and speed for some setups, it is just that the difference it would be best by would inevitably be quite small.
Does still work well for Attack Types in general, despite usually being outperformed by other options the difference is quite minimal.
Weight: 1.78g each (Mold 1) | 1.86g each (Mold 2)
Combine with Upper Claw to extend the above slopes, allowing for Upper Attack from a very low height and across a huge vertical range.
Heavy SP (in fact, counting both parts, more than half a gram heavier than the next heaviest), adding to the overall weight and weight distribution that makes Driger V2 so effective.
The only Support Parts that are effective for Attack, though primarily only for Driger V2. On other combinations they have an odd effect of appearing very effective in testing when the attack combination is launched second, in actual 1v1 testing it doesn't have a big impact.
Cannot be legally used inverted as even though some Heavy WDs will just fit, it bends the BB slightly and doesn't sit flush.
In Left Spin they do produce smash from their leading edge, however the inverted slopes underneath and the overall shape results in noticeable recoil. While their weight means this is less of an issue than for Fin Tector and other offensive SP, there is still no real reason to use them over defensive SP like Defense Ring or Twin Guard.
Mold Differences:
A second mold of the Support Parts was used for later Takara versions, including the Red Fukubako 2003 recolor, and all Hasbro versions. This mold features plastic connecting the ends of the slopes to the inner structure of the Support Parts. As the first mold is rather fragile in this area, this version is greatly preferred.
AKA: CMCB
Weight: 6.4g
Mid-Height Support Part-compatible Blade Base with a Metal Change tip
Metal Change Tip is somewhat sharper than Metal Change Base, resulting in easier use without aggression, though it makes it slightly less useful offensively and as such it is perhaps a worse implementation of the Change Tip than Metal Change Base
It is nonetheless versatile, as well as catching the Tornado Ridge well, allowing use in Driger V2 Combos, Compacts and Weight Based Defense.
Surprisingly heavy between its own thickness and size and compatibility with SP, which puts it near SG Metal Ball Base for weight, allowing use in Weight Based Defense Combos. The Change Tip also allows it to make a versatile base for this type, being able to sit in the middle or be aggressive, and having some ability to catch the tornado ridge, and having overall better stamina when not making contact with the opponent versus SG Metal Ball Base, allowing it to perform better against opponents attempting to stall it out.
For Driger V2, the metal tip and sharp point are a key part of the overall Beyblade, working with the weight distribution to provide impressive survival, especially with Wide Defense.
For Compacts, Metal Change Base is more manipulable and more offensively capable making it more versatile, however Customize Metal Change Bases weight allows for more defensively focused compacts, to the point they cross over into Weight Based Defense.
Possible Mold Differences:
There are rumors of a rare mold with a completely sharp tip. Based on testing with tip swaps, this would result in far worse stability, negating many of the benefits of Customize Metal Change Base for little gain, and as such if one has this mold it should not be considered competitive. Based on the rarity, this is most likely a production error rather than an actual mold - or a tip swap.
Overall
Not only are Driger V2's individual parts useful, but it is absolutely, hands down, the strongest uncustomized Beyblade of the entire generation, being a well-rounded competitive combination right out of the box, with minor improvements available from other parts which are already must-haves on their own. As such, Driger V2 is a must-buy for the competitive (or want-to-be competitive) blader, even if only to test against prior to tournaments.