Phantom Blade Zero Walkthrough

Although Phantom Blade Zero doesn't have a fully open world, its locations are packed with secrets and hidden bosses. Step into the shoes of the swordsman Soul and fight to reclaim your life by defeating terrifying enemies and lifting the curse that will kill him in 66 days. To make the story and its challenges easier to tackle, we've prepared this walkthrough covering consumable locations, secrets, and boss strategies.

Eight days earlier. The game opens with a duel between two warriors, Soul and Zuo Shang. Just watch the cutscene as they wound each other. We then travel 16 years into the past. Soul is much younger and undergoing training. Pick up the wooden sword and head forward while learning the basic controls.

Eventually, you'll reach Zuo Shang, who tells you where Shifu has been disappearing to.

The combat tutorial begins. Learn the basic moves and defeat your opponent in a proper fight, this time without prompts.

Immediately after the fight, the action shifts to the present, where Soul is now an adult. Fight Zuo Shang for real. The battle looks difficult, but it's actually just an impressive showcase. Your health gradually regenerates, so feel free to try everything and enjoy the spectacular moves.

The chapter ends in the same place where it began.

Soul chooses a new heart from the mysterious Flesh Sculptor, gaining another 66 days. This doesn't affect gameplay; it's simply a story detail. The hero wakes up inside a wagon in the present day. He's heading to the city of Pangzhen, but the driver claims that a strange illness has taken hold there. Suddenly, the wagon comes under attack.

Once you gain control, hold Block to deflect the bullets fired by the two riders. When they get close, defeat them with your sword.

Another enemy will appear, followed by the miniboss The Hunt, Hunter of the Order. The Hunt attacks with his hooks, so immediately block his first few strikes, followed by his blue attack. There is almost no room to maneuver inside the wagon, so your only real strategy is to parry and land successful combos. After a series of rapid attacks, The Hunt will leap into the air. Once again, block his sweeping hook strikes. Remember to attack whenever you have an opening. There is no point in doing nothing but parrying. Once you win, watch the spectacular cutscene that reveals more about Soul's objectives.

After recovering from the fall, heal yourself. You have 65 days left. Learn how to use the map. Move forward to receive a new optional objective: investigate the source of the crying. Immediately afterward, jump onto the ledge, where you'll see an enemy. After a quick fight, a group of enemies awaits farther ahead, but turn back and follow the river to pick up 218 Remnant Dust. Now kill two more altered enemies and collect Remnant Dust from a dying man.

Climb farther up to find the first bell, The Beginning. Bells serve as save points and places to develop your abilities. Continue onward and pay attention to the terrain. Remnant Dust is the main resource used to upgrade skills, and it's scattered throughout the world. These deposits glow with a golden light and can sometimes be difficult to spot.

Another group of weak enemies awaits. Near them stands a large carved stone slab. Continue ahead and pick up the Remnant Dust without climbing any higher. You can then jump onto the ledge. There's more dust behind the crates. Cross the fallen tree to the other side and turn left. Defeat several enemies and collect the note "Investigating the Villagers' Belongings: Abandoned Land Sale Notice." To the right is a ladder leading to the upper level. Here, you'll learn how to perform stealth kills. When you reach the long wall you need to run along, climb down the ladder on the right to activate The Lady's Rift bell. There's a rift nearby. Enter it and you'll immediately encounter a powerful boss, the Aberrant Three-Faced Puppet. Defeating her at this stage is extremely difficult, so it's better to return later with upgraded equipment.

After respawning by the bell, Soul will even say that now isn't the time for this fight. Climb back to the path and wall-run across. Here, you can find a Traversal Talisman, an item that lets you return to a bell. Jump onto the chain, then across to the other side. Defeat the enemy wielding two hammers and collect Hunter's Insight, an accessory that increases damage and Sha-Chi depletion against attacking enemies by 7%. There's more Remnant Dust to the right, on a beam.

Learn to use Mind's Eye to track the direction of your current objective. Swing across another chain onto the wooden walkways and defeat two enemies. Then descend to the campfire and meet Yu'er. During your conversation, she'll give you several clues about the waterfall and the Flesh Lily. Continue ahead and pick up Sanguine Twin, a new weapon consisting of two short swords. A little farther on, you'll find a save point and some Remnant Dust.

The path leads to a mountain road occupied by a group of enemies. You can obtain Battle Wraps from them, increasing damage by 5%. Ahead you'll find a fork, a save point, and red threads that you cannot pass through yet. Swing across the chasm on a chain and descend into the shrine below to pick up Forged Metal. Follow the available route until you reach a bridge. A couple of enemies and some Remnant Dust await here. Push the boulder down onto the enemies and finish off the survivors.

Pick up the Mechanical Gear where the water begins. On the same level as the boulder, you'll find a note about a peasant's loan. Near the save point and in the house opposite, you can find notes about the Four Axes Rebellion.

Ahead is an enemy with a shield, and behind him is a chest containing a Sha-Chi Amber Shard, as well as Solvent. Collecting four amber shards increases your maximum Sha-Chi by 10%. After the shield-bearing enemy dies, a passage will open through the threads. Fast-travel to the corresponding bell to save time.

Two fighters who jump out to confront you will immediately be dragged away by chains. You'll hear the voice of The Hunt, who is not only alive but still pursuing Soul. Just beyond the barrier, pick up Captain Chen Zhu's Secret Letter. A little farther ahead, listen to a dying warrior, then enter the arena with the boss Jagged Steel, the Frenzied Brute.

This boss is another training encounter. The game uses him to make you practice dodging. Note that two other fighters are battling him alongside you, but they will also attack Soul. Defeating the boss rewards you with a new sword, Jagged Steel. There's a bell nearby. After saving, don't head upstairs yet. Instead, follow the water to the far end of the area, where you'll find 2 Forged Metal.

Now you can climb the stairs. On the right is a note titled "Outposts: Rare Havens of Peace." Climb the rocks and look at the crates ahead. Enemies are hiding among them, so approach carefully. You can pick up a Sha-Chi Amber Shard and Remnant Dust from them. Farther ahead, on the left, is a chest containing Twinned Metal, Forged Metal, and Remnant Dust.

Swing across the chasm using the chain. There's Remnant Dust on the collapsed bridge and tall grass farther ahead. Hide in it and attack the enemy from behind. Two regular enemies are waiting by the campfire, followed by a save point.

Drop down onto the rooftops and eliminate three enemies. Inside a house is the note "Four Axes Rebellion: Confusion." You can find Twinned Metal on the second floor and Solvent on the roof. Move into the second part of the village and defeat the enemies there. Local guards will help you in the fight. Before speaking to them, head down to the locked door and collect some Remnant Dust. Talk to the guards to gain access to the residential part of the village.

Speak to all the available characters, including the female blacksmith. Behind the forge, next to the weapon rack, pick up a new weapon, Sanguine Reach.

Continue exploring the village, keeping to the right. Just before leaving the area, you'll find a path up into a house. Pick up two Forged Metal inside, then jump through the window. Climb higher and collect the Cell Key.

You'll need it back near the start of the village, where there was a small downward path before the outpost. There's Remnant Dust in the neighboring house. Inside the unlocked cell, you'll find a Blackstone Shard. Collecting four shards increases attack power and guard penetration by 10%.

Now return to the far end of the village and head outside. You'll immediately face a boss, Peng Meng, the Axemaster. He's fairly slow, but still dangerous. He wields an enormous axe and has two particularly threatening attacks. The first is a grab. If Peng Meng catches Soul, he'll deal massive damage. The second is a sweeping axe strike that covers a wide arc.

Speed and well-timed dodges will help, as will high resilience, though parrying remains important. You can try the new longsword, which offers a decent balance of damage and attack speed, but the twin blades are also a good choice. As a reward, you'll receive the Dread Axe, which lets you progress by cutting through iron chains. The boss also drops a note, "The Axemaster's Final Request." Approach the crane-shaped bell nearby to trigger an animated cutscene about the hero's past.

You have 64 days left. Return to the village and cut through the chains blocking the optional passage. Two new enemies, powerful swordsmen, will immediately appear beyond it. There's Remnant Dust inside the house, and farther up the road is a spearman who drops a Sha-Chi Amber Shard. In a hut slightly higher up, you'll find Darkfire Charcoal, which you can collect while progressing through the "Festering Secret" side quest. Return to the forge and talk to Yu'er. She'll ask you to find three herbs, starting the "Apprentice Healer" quest.

Return to the arena, where you'll find another set of chains. From there, head uphill along the stream, collecting Remnant Dust along the way. You'll encounter The Hunt again, but only in a cutscene for now. Afterward, pick up the note "Captain Wu's Final Letter" from the table. In a nearby house, you can find Forged Metal and a Weapon Reforge Talisman, which resets weapon upgrades. Keep exploring the houses to collect Solvent and the "Property Report" in a gap in the floor. There's Remnant Dust on a grave farther ahead.

Leave the outpost. You'll have three directions to choose from: straight ahead across the bridge, left after cutting through some chains, or underneath the bridge. Go under the bridge. You'll encounter stronger regular enemies, but they shouldn't be too difficult to defeat. Pick up Blood-Stopper Vine here, one of the plants the healer asked you to bring back. Turn around and keep to the left until you reach a chest containing Broadplate Metal.

Head onto the bridge and fight a pair of shield-bearing enemies. You can break their defenses with the axe. After winning, smash through another barrier to reach a large building. Speak to the dying man and collect a Phantom Reforge Talisman nearby. The path leads onto a bridge, bringing the chapter to an end.

Activate the save point, then talk to the warrior nearby. He needs a key located at the top of the Steel Tower. This starts another optional quest. Ahead is a short cutscene featuring The Hunt, followed by a crowd of weak enemies. Two archers appear here for the first time. Once you've dealt with them, climb the far staircase. At the top, drop onto the enemy on the right and collect Remnant Dust. Then climb the nearest ladder, where you'll find an archer and a note inside the hut titled "Ruins of the Sha-Chi Tower."

Another archer and a group of enemies await ahead. After defeating them, you can climb higher toward the tower or take the bridge to the left. Go toward the tower first. Another archer drops a Blackstone Shard and the Broken-String Bow, which you can repair in the village. Open the golden chest to obtain the Token of Pursuit accessory, which increases damage dealt to guard-broken enemies by 7%. There's a note titled "Garrison Soldier's Diary" a little to the left. Slightly farther up are a save point and a hut. Inside, you can pick up a Phantom Reforge Talisman. Talk to the dying archer, then go outside and turn right. Break the crates and collect Remnant Dust from behind the house.

Return to the village and find the old archer on one of the rooftops. Have him repair the bow to receive a new weapon, the Feather Bow. Immediately shoot the bag hanging from the tree to obtain Broadplate Metal. Another bag hangs at the entrance to the valley plains and contains Ancient Timber. Return to the save point where you found the bow. There's one more bag here, which drops metal and timber.

Now run across the bridge. An enemy on the other side throws incendiary bombs, so act quickly. A group of regular enemies waits on the platform in front of the tower entrance. There's Broadplate Metal at the far right edge. You'll see threads leading to a save point. A Shadow Warden will appear before you reach the bell. Defeat him and activate the safe area.