Summary
- Gloom Hands are the new terrifying enemies in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, replacing Guardians.
- Using ice weapons, high-damage arrows, and Zonai devices can help defeat Gloom Hands.
- Sage powers and waiting it out are also effective strategies when facing these tough foes.
In The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, players experience a constant fear of coming across Guardians. A laser suddenly lighting up Link or the horrifying crescendo of music marked the end of it all, leading to a moment of unbridled panic that could only be avoided by a successful parry or simply running. Thankfully, Guardians are nowhere to be found in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Instead, they've been replaced with something equally terrifying — Gloom Hands.
Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom – 8 Most Dangerous Enemies (Outside Of Bosses)
Tears of the Kingdom has some pretty intense enemies, and some of the more common enemies can be more dangerous than the bosses.
This new enemy wasn't announced in the run-up to The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom's release, which meant a lot of players were stuck dealing with the overwhelming menace of Gloom Hands. Running away often feels like the only option. Still, there are numerous ways to get the upper hand from these horrifying creatures.
Updated on February 24, 2024 by Ritwik Mitra: Tears of the Kingdom was a natural evolution of Breath of the Wild's formula that fans lapped up happily. The sheer number of things to accomplish in this sequel was truly mind-blowing, and players could spend hundreds of hours exploring the game world and accomplishing the wealth of content this game has to offer. One of the many new enemies added to the game are the Gloom Hands, a group of Malice-coated limbs that are a pain to deal with without the right strategy, and as such, more tips and tricks have been added here for tackling these tough enemies.
10 Fusing Arrows With Red Chuchu Jelly
Serves As A Great And Economical Way To Hit Multiple Enemies In One Go
While most people agree that 
Bomb Flowers are a great way to deal damage to Gloom Hands, these valuable materials will be in short supply if players spam them over and over again. So, it's better for players to use something more economical to have much of the same effect.
A great fusible material to help accomplish the same result is Red Chuchu Jelly. The fiery effect of fusing this material with a bow may not be as prominent as a Bomb Flower, but it's pretty significant and way better for players who want to take out the Gloom Hands without running out of any valuable materials in the process.
9 Using High-Damage Triple-Fire Arrows To Maximize Damage
Powerful Ranged Attacks Make This Conflict More Manageable
Ranged attacks are the way to go if players want to defeat the Gloom Hands efficiently. However, the Hands can close the distance to players in no time flat, so it's important to max out one's damage and wipe out these enemies as quickly as possible.
A great way to accomplish this is to use triple-fire arrows to hit for immense damage. Fusing materials to arrows fired from these bows means that the Gloom Hands will be toast in no time.
8 Reducing The Health Of Every Gloom Hand Before Taking Them All Out With An AoE Attack
Leaving Any Hand Alive For Too Long Will Cause Others To Respawn
One thing to keep in mind while dealing with Gloom Hands is their ability to regenerate. This can make it really frustrating if players are left with a single Gloom Hand to deal with, only for its buddies to come out of nowhere.
So, it's better for players to space out their damage until each Gloom Hand is at very low health. After they've accomplished this, players should unleash some form of an AoE attack to take out all these hands in one fell swoop, spawning the dreaded Phantom Ganon.
7 Bomb Arrows
Collectively Damages All Hands In One Go
Bomb Flowers are Link's best friend in Tears of the Kingdom, especially when dealing with Gloom Hands. Players should use a bow that can fire three arrows when facing these fiends, as it will deal out the maximum amount of damage but only consume one arrow. If players have farmed dozens of Bomb Flowers at this point, they'll have enough to decimate the Gloom Hands in only a few hits.
8 Best Gaming Characters With Ice Powers
These video game characters wield significant ice powers to defeat their enemies.
If players run out of arrows, they can chuck Bomb Flowers at the Gloom Hands. They don't necessarily need to aim their throws or arrows at one hand — just fire off into the middle, and it will diminish the health of each without them having the time to respawn.
6 Ice Weapons
Freezes The Hands Preventing Their Dreaded Grab Attack
Ice weapons can be a lifesaver in many situations, allowing players to whittle down a herd of enemies to focus on one at a time while the rest are frozen in place. The same goes for dealing with Gloom Hands. However, they won't remain frozen in place for long — especially if the frost Link directs their way via Ice Arrows, Magic Rods, or other means that don't hit all of them at once.
While frozen, even for a short period, it allows players to either rethink their strategy or get some powerful hits in. And above all else, it means players can quickly remove themselves from the situation if unprepared.
5 Attack From Above
Staying Just Out Of The Hands' Reach Is Ideal
Gloom Hands don't randomly appear on the map; they'll spawn in specific places dotted around Hyrule. But players encountering them for the first time without prior knowledge of this may panic and need help knowing what to do. Instead of attempting to fight the enemy head-on, climbing to a higher vantage point is best. This will not only allow them to think about what to do next, they'll be out of harm's way because the Gloom Hands can't reach past certain points.
From there, players can rain whatever weapons they choose on the Gloom Hands to defeat them. Gliding above the Gloom Hands will also give players extra time to think things through and get powerful shots via airtime.
4 Zonai Devices
Clever Use Of Combat-Ready Zonai Mechanics Like Cannons Can Help Out Quite A Bit
Bomb Arrows can deplete very quickly, but if players have been farming Zonai Devices as they come across the dispensers, they may have some 
Zonai Cannons on hand. These can be fused with arrows, which can create a different form of Bomb Arrow to help defeat powerful enemies like Gloom Hands.
Zonai Cannons can be used in other ways aside from being fused to an arrow, like being mounted on a Homing Cart or attached to a vehicle using various homing weapons to focus blasts on the Gloom Hands, including the cannons.
3 Electric Arrows
Stuns And Damages Gloom Hands Effectively
Elemental materials fused to arrows are always the best resort for fighting a group of enemies, especially one that can produce a significant hit radius like electricity. By fusing Shock Fruit, Electric Keese Eyes or Wings, and Topaz to arrows, Link can fire off a barrage of electricity to incapacitate the Gloom Hands for a moment to throw some strong shots in.
If players use Electric Arrows, they need to make sure that Link is outside the vicinity of the electricity's radius if he's facing the Gloom Hands on the ground. Otherwise, he'll be affected by the blast simultaneously.
2 Utilize The Sages
Sage Powers Can Help Out Quite A Bit Against These Tough Foes
As players cross Hyrule and engage in the story, they'll acquire powers from each region's Sages. Once these individuals awaken their hidden powers with the Secret Stones, they can give Link the ability to call upon their avatars to help during fights.
These avatars can be especially helpful during situations involving many enemies in a small space, which is precisely what happens when attacked by Gloom Hands. The Sages will fight whatever Link is trying to defeat, which may also distract some of the Gloom Hands in the process.
1 Wait It Out Or Run
Sometimes Running Away Is The Smart Thing To Do
By waiting it out from a vantage point where the Gloom Hands can't get Link, the enemy will eventually despawn and drop Dark Clumps. This material can be used to create Gloom Resistant recipes, which will help immensely when fighting Gloom Hands and wearing Gloom Resistant armor. It gives Link an extra layer of protection if players decide to fight them on the ground, which means inevitably coming into contact with the Gloom.
If players feel unprepared, there's always the option of running away. But bear in mind, these things are fast. Teleporting to the nearest Shrine is a player's safest bet, then returning once they feel more prepared to take on the Gloom Hands.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
- Released
- May 12, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2
- Genre(s)
- Adventure, Action, Open-World
