Gloom Hands Guide — Defeating the Horror of the Gloom

Gloom Hands are TotK's most terrifying encounters — swarms of red, Gloom-covered hands that chase Link at speed and deal massive Gloom damage. They appear in 12 specific locations across Hyrule and serve as guards for sealed Phantom Ganon encounters. This guide covers how to fight them and all spawn locations.

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What Are Gloom Hands

Gloom Hands are a group of 5 crimson hands that emerge from the ground (usually from a Gloom puddle or chasm shadow). They:

• Chase Link at high speed
• Deal Gloom damage on contact (reduces max hearts temporarily)
• Have high HP per hand
• Respawn as a group — you must defeat all 5 to win
• If any one hand reaches you: massive Gloom infection + knockback

After defeating all 5: Phantom Ganon spawns immediately and must be fought back-to-back.

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Where Gloom Hands Spawn

Fixed spawn locations (12 total):

1. Hyrule Castle exterior (south approach) — most commonly found
2. Hyrule Castle interior — courtyard area
3. Quarry Ruins (northwest Hyrule Field)
4. Crenel Hills (north Hyrule Field)
5. Gloom's Lair chasm (Central Hyrule)
6. Deepback Bay (East Akkala coast)
7. East Necluda (rock formation area)
8. Goronbi Lake (Eldin)
9. Gerudo Valley west (near Gerudo Canyon entrance)
10. Hebra Mountains area
11. Faron Grasslands (isolated spawn)
12. Depths entrance near Korok Forest

Detecting their presence: A red swirling Gloom pool on the ground indicates a Gloom Hands spawn point. Avoid stepping on it to delay the encounter.

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How to Fight Gloom Hands

General Strategy

Key principles:

1. Height is safety — Gloom Hands cannot reach Link on high terrain. Climb a rock, tree, or ruin before engaging
2. Arrows from height — shoot from elevation; each hand has a specific HP pool
3. Fire arrows burn off Gloom — Fire Fruit arrows or Fire-fused arrows deal significant extra damage AND delay their regeneration

Recommended Setup

• Armor: Gloom Resistance armor (Ancient Armor from Depths labyrinths) helps, but is not mandatory
• Weapons: Any weapon with damage — Lynel Fused weapons kill hands in 2-3 hits
• Food: Sundelion-based meals BEFORE the fight — Gloom damage is inevitable; Sundelion restores Gloom-lost max hearts
• Arrows: 30+ Bomb/Fire arrows for aerial barrage

Step-by-Step

1. Find high ground immediately when the Gloom pool activates
2. Shoot from height — target each hand individually. Aim for the center of each hand
3. Fire arrows: Fire Fruit fused arrows deal bonus damage and light the hands on fire briefly
4. When a hand is downed: It dissolves — move to the next
5. If surrounded on ground: Sprint and jump to find height — do NOT stand still
6. After all 5 down: Phantom Ganon spawns immediately. Prepare before the last hand dies

Emergency Tactics (Stuck on Ground)

• Flurry Rush: Dodge a hand's grab attack (just before contact: backflip) → Flurry Rush to deal rapid damage
• Recall: If a hand throws anything (some variants), Recall it back
• Bomb Shield: Parry a hand strike with Bomb Shield → explosion staggers multiple hands

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Phantom Ganon — After Gloom Hands

Phantom Ganon spawns after every Gloom Hands defeat. He is a Gloom-armored doppelganger of Ganondorf:

Phantom Ganon Stats

• High HP, high damage
• Uses a Gloom-infused weapon
• Two phases: normal → enraged (faster attacks when at low HP)
• Weak to: all damage types — no specific elemental weakness

Phantom Ganon Drops

• Phantom Armor set pieces (from certain Phantom Ganon encounters — NOT the hideout versions)
• Gloom Sword / Gloom Club — high-damage Gloom-infused weapon
• Rare materials (Gloom-adjacent drops)

Fighting Phantom Ganon

• He is aggressive but telegraphs — dodge his heavy swings → Flurry Rush
• Mounted combat: If you have a horse nearby, mounted Lynel-Horn-fused weapon hits deal extreme damage
• Sage abilities: Riju's lightning on a charged spin attack is one of the highest burst combos
• Flurry Rush windows: His overhead slam has a wide dodge window → backflip to trigger

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Gloom Hands Tips

• Don't panic run — Gloom Hands are fast but predictable. Find height first, then systematically eliminate
• Sundelion meals before Phantom Ganon — after clearing the hands, you'll have taken some Gloom damage. Eat a Sundelion meal between the final hand dying and Phantom Ganon appearing (brief window exists)
• Fire arrows are the best tool — Fire Fruit fused arrows hit for bonus damage AND visually signal which hands you've already hit (they glow orange)
• Blood Moon respawn — Gloom Hands respawn at their fixed locations on Blood Moon. Phantom Ganon's equipment respawns too — reliable Gloom weapon source
• Phantom Armor set from specific Phantom Ganon encounters — not every Phantom Ganon drops Phantom Armor pieces. The armor is in specific Depths labyrinth encounters. See Phantom Armor Guide

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See also: Gloom Guide | Minibosses Guide | Combat Basics Guide