Persona 4 Golden: Master the Happiness Hands Encounter

Conquering Happiness Hands in Persona 4 Golden: A Comprehensive Guide

Happiness Hands are formidable foes in Persona 4 Golden, randomly appearing in dungeons and leaping from chests. Each encounter presents a progressively tougher challenge, making them some of the game's most difficult early enemies. Despite their difficulty, defeating them yields substantial XP, making the effort worthwhile. This guide focuses on overcoming Happiness Hands in Yukiko's Castle, early in the game.

Happiness Hand Weaknesses and Strategies

Happiness Hands boast significant resistance to elemental attacks. The key to victory lies in exploiting their vulnerability to physical damage. While Almighty attacks are effective against Golden Hands later in the game, they're unavailable early on. 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 targeting a single Happiness Hand if multiple appear; defeating even one before they flee is a significant achievement.

Defeating Happiness Hands: A Step-by-Step Approach

The most effective strategy involves fusing the Persona Orobas, which possesses the invaluable skill Hysterical Slap. This skill delivers two hits and has 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 the following Persona combinations:

• Apsaras + Forneus
• Apsaras + Slime

Before engaging, ensure your party is fully healed. Concentrate solely on physical attacks that consume HP, avoiding any other actions. Utilize these attacks repeatedly:

• Yosuke: Sonic Punch
• Chie: Skull Cracker
• Protagonist: Hysterical Slap

Success relies heavily on luck early in the game due to limited options. However, defeating a Happiness Hand provides significant experience point gains at low levels.

Crucial Note: If a Happiness Hand is downed, refrain from using an all-out attack unless a kill is guaranteed. Otherwise, it will recover and flee.