These Phantom Blade Zero tips will give you a helping hand if you've just started the wuxia adventure through the Wulin, as there's a lot to learn and master. As a fast-paced action game with all sorts of weapons to wield, you need to learn how to use them all effectively, be that through deft parrying and weapon switching and just knowing how best to upgrade them and sort your build. And then there's plenty to do in each region of the game too, from pages to collect and quests to complete. With that all that in mind, here are 12 Phantom Blade Zero tips for new players just getting into it.
1. Learn how to parry
Parrying is an essential mechanic in Phantom Blade Zero, so my number one tip is to learn how it works as soon as possible – it's the same in most other games in that you want to press the button (L1 on PS5) just before an enemy attack hits you. Thankfully, it's pretty forgiving, with most enemy attacks having plenty of parry-able frames and most of Soul's attacks and combos being easily interrupted to parry. Just don't try and parry red-flash attacks as these can only be dodged!
When bosses use long attack combos, blocking by holding the button instead will do you just fine. But a perfect parry against a blue-flash attack deals substantial Guard Break damage, massively draining an adversary's Sha-Chi to stagger them faster. Nailing parries makes boss fights much easier!
2. Interact with everything in sight
Phantom Blade Zero features all sorts of collectibles and interactables around the world, from things like book pages to gather and bloody writing on walls to read. It's worth engaging with all of these as you're rewarded with Remnant Dust (the game's main currency) for doing so. Admittedly, not loads of the stuff, but it all adds up, helping you afford crucial weapon upgrades or work towards new Abilities.
3. Explore each area thoroughly before moving onto the next one
While you can freely travel between regions using Bells, I found that it's best to ensure you've done as much as possible before leaving a region. Try and find things like keys before heading off as they're usually not too far from the thing they unlock, such as the Phantom Blade Zero cell key. There are also quests you can fail by leaving them too long, such as the 'A Healer's Mercy' quest in the Crimson Forest, which will lock you out of getting a reward.
4. Don't spend loads of Remnant Dust on upgrade materials
By rinsing each area as I went, I also found that I had plenty of upgrade materials for my weapons and Phantom Edges. That also meant I rarely felt compelled to buy materials from the shop while resting at a Bell and I recommend similarly restraining yourself so that you don't waste your Remnant Dust. And it's not like selling materials is especially lucrative either, so save your materials for when you need them and keep your Remnant Dust for other upgrades.
5. Be prepared to backtrack
While I strongly recommend mopping up quests and investigating secrets as you go, you also need to recognize that there are lots of things you just won't be able to do until you come back several hours later. Conveniently, many of these things are marked on the map with a red icon that turns green when you have the thing you need. As an example, very early on you'll find obstacles that can only be dealt with using a specific Phantom Edge that you won't get for another few hours after a boss fight (and this happens a lot throughout the game), and there's also an optional puppet boss found in a rift that is extremely difficult to fight, so you'll need to come back later when you're stronger.
Furthermore, lots of quests in Phantom Blade Zero follow a Dark Souls/Elden Ring format in that you do a few objectives and then then the quest will effectively go cold and continue elsewhere, such as the Phantom Blade Zero Flesh Lily quest. This is often in an entirely different region, so some side quests are long term adventures that you complete alongside the main quest.
6. Switch weapons in combat often to keep your Sha-Chi up
Phantom Blade Zero teaches you this very early but I need to reinforce how important it is. Quickly tapping the button (D-Pad Left on PS5) to switch to your other equipped weapon will instantly refill your Sha-Chi, potentially saving you from a Guard Break after facing an onslaught of enemy attacks or letting you keep up a relentless combo of Sha-Chi attacks of your own. Importantly, there is a cooldown timer for switching – a very short one when you switch once but then a much longer one if you switch again – but you can reduce it with certain Abilities.
To keep your Sha-Chi up, you also need to avoid boss attacks that can instantly drain all your Sha-Chi. Rather than being telegraphed with a blue or red flash, your screen will turn black and white very briefly instead, indicating that you need to dodge out the way. Getting hit, by one of these leaves you highly vulnerable to fatal follow-up attacks.
7. And you should change your weapons outside of combat too
Phantom Blade Zero gives you new weapons, whether they're regular armaments or special Phantom Edges, at a fairly regular pace and most of them steadily improve upon ones you already have. It's therefore a good idea to be adjusting your build often, using the best weapons you have available to you and then choosing appropriate Accessories top round things out.
This also encourages you experiment with all the weapons you get to find what you like. It might be that you find a new favorite or really don't get on with a particular weapon, even if it has slightly better stats compared to what you were using before. In which case, there's no real harm in using what you know and upgrading it until you find something you definitely prefer.
8. Upgrade only the weapons you're currently using
Speaking of upgrades, Phantom Blade Zero has a slightly complicated but very convenient weapon upgrade system in that you can revert any weapon back to level 1 at any time, refunding all spent upgrade materials. And you should revert every weapon back to level 1 when you stop using it to ensure you're not wasting upgrade materials on useless gear. This means you can maximize the power of your current weapons, and you'll often be left with plenty of spare Remnant Dust that you can spend on Soul's Abilities or shop items instead.
9. Ensure your build is made to exploit boss weaknesses
If a boss keeps killing you, spending some time adjusting your build at a nearby bell before rushing back in, especially if they have obvious unique mechanics or weaknesses that can be exploited. For example, if a boss has a blue shield bar over their Sha-Chi bar, you should increase your shield-breaking power – I recommend wearing the Shieldbreaker Talisman and using the Dread Axe Phantom Edge. Similarly, fleshy enemies can also suffer bleed damage, so you might want to use the Jagged Steel sword to exploit that, but puppets and other foes will be immune to this effect.
Generally, you should be thoroughly reading about what each weapon does, as each one has its own special attacks and tricks, with more to unlock as they level up. Combining these appropriately is how you'll get the most damage out any weapon, so it pays to know how they work and the sorts of enemies they're best for.
10. The Wooden Sanguine sword is pretty good
It sounds absurd that a wooden sword could be so good in Phantom Blade Zero but with the best Guard Break power in the early-game, it's well worth using Wooden Sanguine, particularly against bosses. When a boss goes on the offensive, draw the wooden sword and parry as best as you can to deal high damage to their Sha-Chi bar for an easy stagger. At this point, switch to your other weapon and go nuts until the boss's Sha-Chi bar regenerates.
In general, I strongly recommend aiming to maximize your Guard-Breaking power and anything that reduces enemy Sha-Chi for boss fights, and this sword is another tool in your arsenal you can use to help with this. Once an enemy's guard is broken, you can unleash a high-damage Power Surge (L2 on PS5), assuming you have a Sha-Chi Essence to spend.
11. Get Boundless Capacity as soon as you can
It's the second Ability in the top row and costs 10,000 Remnant Dust. Unlocking it gives you a third accessory slot, which is well worth getting as early as possible as Accessories can provide some potent buffs for Soul. Having as many as possible is never a bad thing. There are even more Boundless Capacity upgrades to get across the Ability tree in Phantom Blade Zero too, maxing out at six accessory slots.
12. A stealth approach can be very efficient
The stealth system in Phantom Blade Zero isn't especially deep which means it's sometimes easy to forget it even exists like I did, but it's well worth exploiting to make combat encounters easier. Approach an enemy from behind without them moving to attack and you can perform a high-damage assassination which often results in an instant kill on weaker foes. Best of all, if there are multiple enemies close together, a quick-time event will pop up, letting you chain your assassination to thin the crowd. So, spending a little time sneaking can make fights much quicker and easier overall.
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