Conquering Happiness Hands in Persona 4 Golden: A Comprehensive Guide
Golden Hands, formidable foes randomly encountered in Persona 4 Golden's dungeons, present a significant challenge, especially early in the game. While defeating them is difficult, the substantial XP rewards make the effort worthwhile. This guide focuses on overcoming Happiness Hands, the Golden Hands variant found in Yukiko's Castle.
Happiness Hand Weaknesses and Strategies
Happiness Hands exhibit strong resistance to elemental attacks. The key to victory lies in exploiting their weakness to physical attacks. While Almighty attacks are typically effective against Golden Hands, they're unavailable early in the game. Happiness Hands inflict minimal damage and may even skip turns, but they'll flee if given the opportunity. A weakness exploit or critical hit will trigger their escape. Prioritize focusing down one Happiness Hand at a time, especially when facing multiple enemies, as defeating even one before they flee is a significant accomplishment.
Essential Persona: Orobas
The most crucial element in defeating Happiness Hands is fusing the Orobas Persona. Orobas possesses the invaluable skill Hysterical Slap, a two-hit attack with a chance to inflict the Rage status effect. A Raged Happiness Hand will continuously use its basic attack, preventing its escape. Orobas can be fused using either of these Persona combinations:
- Apsaras + Forneus
- Apsaras + Slime
Battle Strategy
Before engaging Happiness Hands, ensure your party is fully healed. Focus solely on physical attacks that consume HP, avoiding any other actions. Utilize the following strategy:
- Yosuke: Sonic Punch
- Chie: Skull Cracker
- Protagonist: Hysterical Slap
Repeat this attack cycle until victory. Early-game success heavily relies on luck due to limited options. However, defeating even one Happiness Hand provides substantial experience at low levels.
Crucial Note: If you manage to knock down a Happiness Hand, refrain from using an All-Out Attack unless you're certain of a kill. Otherwise, it will recover and flee.
