Several classic enemies from the Zelda franchise made a return in Tears of the Kingdom. These included Like Likes and Gibdos, the latter of which many eagle-eyed viewers spotted in one of Tears of the Kingdom's teaser trailers. A species of monster that did not make the cut was the Wallmaster as well as its ground-crawling counterpart, the Floormaster. However, a new type of enemy called Gloom Hands seem to take some inspiration from Floormasters.
Gloom is a new gameplay concept to Tears of the Kingdom, and it's practically everywhere in The Depths and even in some places on The Surface of Hyrule. Gloom Hands consist of five hands made of gloom with large, yellow eyes. If they get their hands on Link, they can easily drain away permanent hearts and trigger a Game Over if players don't know how to deal with him. The best solution is to run away, but those stocked with the right materials/projectiles will find the odds in their favor.
Gloom Hand Spawn Locations
Gloom Hands can be seen in puddles of gloom, making it difficult to tell which gloom to avoid. The short answer is: All of them. Gloom is a dangerous element that can be difficult to heal if players are lacking gloom-restoring meals or gloom-resistant armor.
There are several areas that Gloom Hands spawn in Hyrule/The Depths:
- Akkala Citadel Ruins: 3321, 1436, 0425
- Great Hyrule Forest Depths: 1063, 1281, -0495
- Korok Forest (inside the Great Deku Tree): 0437, 2094, -0588
- Kolomo Garrison Ruins: -0426, -1269, 0031
Gloom Hands can be sighted primarily at night, but the ones at Kolomo Garrison Ruins are present during the day. Thus, it's best to avoid these areas. When Gloom Hands spot Link on The Surface, the sky will turn red (like it would before a Blood Moon) and ominous music will start to play. The Gloom Hands will then start moving towards Link.
If Link is caught, players can worm free by pressing buttons or moving the control sticks. Unfortunately, these monsters are fast, so unless Link is able to climb out of reach, they're likely to get ahold of him once more.
Tips for Defeating Gloom Hands
If players intend on fighting back, they'll want to have at least 10 Bomb Flowers in their inventory, a decent bow, and enough Stamina to scale a wall that's out of the Gloom Hands' grasp. The best way to take down all five Gloom Hands is to defeat them before they notice Link.
- Locate the Gloom Hands, but don't make too much noise or get too close.
- Climb onto a ledge (if possible) and take out a bow with ZR-button.
- While holding down ZR, press up on the directional pad, and scroll with R-stick to a Bomb Flower or Fire Fruit.
- Aim for the Gloom Hands; attack the eyes to deal critical damage.
Gloom Hands need to be defeated quickly and, preferably, all at once or shortly after one another. Leaving one will cause them to revive any that Link has defeated.
In some scenarios, it will be impossible to fight Gloom Hands from high ground. The one place that comes to mind is the Chasm in the Great Deku Tree. Here, Link will face off against Gloom Hands and have little area to move around thanks to the gloom puddles. If this happens, quickly fuse a Bomb Flower and start blasting.
Before battling Gloom Hands, it's always best to have meals cooked with Sundelions. The Sundelions are a new type of flower in Tears of the Kingdom that can be cooked to recover any hearts that Link can lose from gloom. If players are in The Depths, warping/activating Lightroots are another way to restore permanent hearts.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is available for Nintendo Switch.