How to Defeat Israel Hands in Windrose

Windrose offers a long main questline that takes you all over the map. As part of this questline, you are tasked with defeating multiple bosses, with the first of them being Thomas Richards.

After progressing through the campaign and reaching the Needle in the Haystack quest, you are tasked with tracking down Israel Hands and sending him to the afterlife. Of course, this is much easier said than done, as this boss is far more difficult than the first.

Let's break down everything you need to know to help you take down Israel Hands in Windrose with as little trouble as possible.

Preparing for the Israel Hands Boss Battle

Israel Hands is much more difficult to defeat than your standard enemy, and is a good step up in difficulty from the first boss in the game. Luckily, tricks from the first boss can help you prepare for the second.

First, you will want to take advantage of the two food buff limit. At this point in the game, you should have a farm built, and have some cooked food. Instead of relying on simple foods like bananas, you will want to be sure to consume two different cooked foods.

I recommend eating foods that also apply buffs to your current stats. For instance, if you prefer to use agility-based weapons, you will want to consume foods that increase your agility. Either way, you will benefit greatly from the health increases provided by these foods, and they will help tremendously during the boss fight.

Second, you will want to make sure you are bringing strong weapons and armor into the fight. By now, you can level your weapons and armor up to level 10. You should also be able to ascend your jewelry and weapons, so be sure to do this before the fight.

Some recommended weapons and armor for this fight are:

• Rapier of a Thousand Cuts: Dealing damage causes the enemy to bleed, dealing damage over time. Heals temporal health when ascended.
• Dueling Greatsword: Successful parries grant you retaliation, increases your damage by up to 30%.
• Sturdy Mace: Increases your posture points by 1.
• Sturdy Rapier: Increases the perfect block timing window.
• Conquistador's Armor Set: Two pieces increase your damage resistance.
• Pikeman's Armor Set: Two pieces increase your max health by 160.

Additionally, you will want to wear jewelry that further enhances your abilities. For instance, if you are using a rapier, you will want a piece of jewelry that increases piercing damage.

Finally, you will want to make sure you bring plenty of potions. You can carry stacks of 10 potions, so having one stack should give you plenty of healing for the fight. Additionally, you may want to bring Elixirs of Cruelty to further increase your damage.

Israel Hands Attacks

Being a boss, Israel Hands has multiple attacks that you will need to worry about, with some of them being impossible to block, forcing you to dodge. Keep in mind that this boss has both ranged and melee attacks, so keep on your guard.

Israel Hands Strategy

Israel Hands is a much quicker boss than the first one, so be prepared to react a bit faster. At the start of the fight, you will want to charge in and attack as Hands is getting up, as this will allow you to get some damage.

After this, be prepared for Hands' retaliation. He will most likely attack with his sword combo, so be prepared to block. The other move seen most often is the sword spin. If he uses this, dodge back and then attack.

You will only want to hit Hands two or three times, as the opening to attack is fairly small. If you are using a two-handed weapon, only attack once or twice.

Hands is more erratic than the previous boss, meaning he isn't baited into using specific attacks as easily. Keep on your guard, and if he lifts into the air, watch out for skulls flying at you or for him to charge. In both instances, you can dodge the attacks by sprinting or dodging.

When dealing with Hands' sword attacks, keep in mind that he attacks three times in a row on most occasions, and be sure to time your blocks accordingly to stagger him.

He typically attacks with two combos back to back, allowing you to easily break his posture if you are good at blocking. Use this opportunity to punish him with attacks.

While you can use ranged weapons during this fight, they are largely ineffective against Hands. This is because he will normally dodge the bullets you fire. Occasionally, you will be able to hit him with a bullet, but they are mostly wasted, so it is better to time your shots carefully or not waste the ammo.

Additionally, you should be able to unlock the boar companion prior to this boss fight. This companion can die fairly quickly in the fight, but they are a great distraction if you need to heal or need a small break from the fight.