When I first encountered one of the Gloom Hands in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, it absolutelyterrifiedme, which was made worse when it started to chase Link with its hands swinging to try and grab him. Absolute nightmare fuel. Luckily, you can defeat it—here’s how to beat the Gloom Hands enemy in Tears of the Kingdom.
Note that this guide contains some light spoilers, so continue reading at your own risk.
How to defeat Gloom Hands enemy in Tears of the Kingdom
Make no mistake: this opponent isn’t supposed to be easy in TotK. So if, like me, you run into it early on in your adventure and get your butt absolutely handed to you, don’t be surprised. Or, you might be luckier than I was and manage to beat it on your first try—in which case, hats off to you!
The best way to defeat the Gloom Hands is touse Link’s bow and arrows, hitting it right in theeyein the center of each of its hands. This willstunit for a second, allowing you to either rush in with a sword or pelt it with more arrows from afar.
Related:Where to farm Bomb Flowers in Tears of the Kingdom (TOTK)
Another tactic that I used was throwingBomb Flowersat it. This allowed me to damage multiple hands at once, though this depends on how many Bombs you have in your inventory.
Once the Gloom Hands is down, though, don’t celebrate just yet…An even tougher fight is coming.
How to beat Phantom Ganon in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom
Yeah, that’s right; now you’ve got to fightPhantom Ganon. And if you thought that the Gloom Hands was tough, you’re in for a ride. Phantom Ganon willrush youat every opportunity and, if you don’t have enough hearts, will one-shot you pretty much straight away if he hits you. There arethree typesof Phantom Ganon you may run into:sword,club, andspear. My recommended strategy is the same for all of them.
You can’t even climb somewhere high to escape because he just chases you down, so don’t try. It is stress-inducing! Your best bet is touse arrowsand aim atPhantom Ganon’s headto stun him, thenrush inand chip away at his health with a sword in the short window of time you have before he attacks you again.
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Come prepared withfoodandelixirsand heal Link as soon as he takes damage, and you may just prevail. It took me a few run-ins with Phantom Ganon to finally defeat him, though it was a close call.
What do you get for defeating Gloom Hands and Phantom Ganon in Tears of the Kingdom?
Once Phantom Ganon is down, he will drop someDark Clumps, aGloom Sword, and aDemon King’s Bow. TheGloom Swordhas a base stat of41 damagebut dealsGloom damage to Link over timeas he wields it.
TheDemon King’s Bowhas a base stat of12 damage, whichincreaseswith the moreheartsLink has. I use this whenever I fight minibosses like the Hinox, and it’s pretty broken (in the good way).
Where to find Gloom Hands in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom - locations
I’ve found Gloom Hands in three locations so far, with all three respawning after a Blood Moon:
For more information on The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, check outHow to fuse items with arrows in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom (TOTK)on Pro Game Guides.
