- For the Dark Souls III variant, see Dark Hand (Dark Souls III).
The Dark Hand is a gauntlet in Dark Souls. It is a versatile weapon that can also function as a shield.
In-Game Description
- The Darkwraiths, incited by Kaathe, use the power of the dark soul to absorb humanity, an art shared by this weapon, which also acts as a special shield. The ancients, particularly, could sap the humanity of even a replete saint in the blink of an eye.
Availability[]
The Dark Hand is either granted by Kaathe to the player upon joining the Darkwraith Covenant, or it can be found off the Darkwraith enemies as a drop.
General information[]
As a shield, the Dark Hand has an 80% damage reduction from all damage types, is able to parry, is tied with the Small Leather Shield for lowest weight in the game, and one of the highest lightning damage reductions of all shields. This makes the Dark Hand a very well rounded Small Shield alternative. It also has the highest durability available and is hidden when not actively blocking, helping to offset its very low stability negative.
As a weapon, the Dark Hand's special right handed strong attack is the only action capable of stealing liquid humanity from NPCs and other players. How much it steals is dependent on the rank the player has progressed in the Darkwraith Covenant, as listed:
- +0 (or not in the Darkwraith covenant): 1 humanity stolen
- +1: 3 humanity stolen
- +2: 5 humanity stolen
- +3: 10 humanity stolen
Note: Humanity stolen is per attack. Multiple attacks will yield more humanity if the victim has any left.
The special attack has a very long windup time and a small hitbox, so one must choose wisely when deciding when to use it. Dark Hand users may not steal more humanity than is available on their target; for example, if a Darkwraith +3 were to use the grab on someone with 8 humanity, they'd only steal 8 and not 10. Certain NPCs carry liquid humanity on them, and can have all their humanity stolen without becoming hostile towards the player thanks to the very low damage the Dark Hand deals to NPCs when initiating the grab move.
Resistance Defense[]
Along with Physical and Elemental damage reduction, weapons also have hidden stats that reduce the amount of status build-up while blocking.
| Resistance | Reduction |
|---|---|
|
85% |
|
75% |
|
75% |
|
50% |
Moveset[]
| Attack | Description |
|---|---|
| One-handed Weak Attack |
Right hook. Further input yields additional swings, alternating between right hooks and back-hands. |
| One-handed Strong Attack |
Humanity drain. High starting lag; small hitbox. If sweet-spotted, player will drain humanity from human opponents (if there is any to drain) while dealing very minor damage. If not sweet-spotted, more damage will be inflicted instead. Unlike grabs from enemies, this attack can be blocked. |
| Two-handed Weak Attack |
Cannot be two-handed. |
| Two-handed Strong Attack |
Cannot be two-handed. |
| Jump Attack | Forward jumping punch. |
| Running Attack | Back-hand. |
| Rolling Attack | Upward diagonal back-hand. |
| Kick | Knee; functionally identical to the standard kick. |
| Left-handed Weak Attack |
Blocks. |
| Left-handed Strong Attack |
Standard parry. |
Characters that carry liquid humanity[]
- Balder Knight in Dark Anor Londo: 3 humanities, regardless of game difficulty
- Berenike Knight in Dark Anor Londo: 3 humanities, regardless of game difficulty
- Griggs of Vinheim: 3 humanities
- Ingward: 4 humanities
- Laurentius of the Great Swamp: 5 humanities
- Lautrec of Carim: 4 humanities (8 in NG+)
- Maneater Mildred: 8 humanities, regardless of game difficulty
- Nico of Thorolund: 3 humanities
- Paladin Leeroy: 3 humanities
- Patches: 7 humanities
- Petrus of Thorolund: 2 humanities
- Reah of Thorolund: 12 humanities
- Sieglinde of Catarina: 10 humanities
- Siegmeyer of Catarina: 4 humanities
- Solaire of Astora: 5 humanities
- Vince of Thorolund: 5 humanities
Trivia[]
- The Dark Hand is the only weapon in the game without a Strength requirement.
- It is likely that the Dark Hand was initially intended to be upgradable, as a +5 version exists within the game files.
- If the Ring of Fog is being worn, blocking will not show its warping animation although it will still work as normal.
Gallery[]
| Gauntlets |
|---|
| Caestus • Claw • Dark Hand • Dragon Bone Fist • Fists |