Phantom Blade Zero Tips and Tricks: Combat Habits and Missable Accessories to Get Early
Phantom Blade Zero tips and tricks: how to chain regular and Sha-Chi attacks, when to swap accessory loadouts, which elemental wards to polish, and the missable rewards in the first two regions, including Boulderguard, the Feather Bow, the Medicine Case and the Twin Fish Pendant.
Phantom Blade Zero only really teaches its combos at the start, and it leaves you to work out which accessories to wear when. A handful of rewards in the first two regions also vanish if you push the story too far. This guide covers the combat habits worth building and the missable items worth grabbing before they're gone.
If you're stuck on a specific quest such as the Crimson Manor, the Illusory Pipa or Secrets of the Baishan Sect, our Phantom Blade Zero walkthrough covers those step by step.
Quick list
| Tip | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Lead with regular attacks, then finish with Sha-Chi attacks | You get longer, harder-hitting combos than the two strings on the weapon card |
| Save your best combo for a broken guard | That's the short window where damage piles up fastest |
| Drink medicine while dodging | You heal without stopping |
| Run a boss loadout and an exploration loadout | Defensive accessories for bosses, damage accessories for clearing mobs |
| Polish the elemental wards | One polish takes their damage reduction from 50% to 80% |
| Grab Boulderguard, the Feather Bow and the Medicine Case early | All three can be missed in the first two regions |
| Don't kill Red on the roof in the Mandate Encampment | Leaving her alive is how you get the Twin Fish Pendant |
Combat tips
Mix regular and Sha-Chi attacks
Each weapon card lists two strings, a standard combo and a Sha-Chi combo, but those aren't the only options. You can open with one, two, three or more regular attacks and then switch to Sha-Chi attacks, and each extra regular hit at the start makes the whole string longer.
Jagged Steel shows this well. One regular attack into Sha-Chi attacks gives a three-hit combo. Two or three regular attacks first give you a longer string that hits more often. The card also lists four- and five-hit regular combos, so the longest strings start there. Jagged Steel's slashes inflict Bleeding, so a longer string also builds bleed faster.
When you pick up a new weapon, test its combos before you need them. Then use your longest string the moment an enemy's defense breaks, rather than throwing out random attacks during that short window.
Use Power Surge after the break
Sha-Chi attacks also fill the purple Sha-Chi essence that powers Power Surge. One rhythm that works well against bosses is to unload your best combo when their defense breaks, then hit them with Power Surge once their Sha-Chi has recovered.
Heal on the move and swap weapons when you're low
- Drink medicine while dodging. You keep moving and don't lose time standing still.
- Swap weapons when your Sha-Chi bar is low or broken. Switching is key to being able to defend yourself against incoming attacks.
Two early weapons worth trying
- White Serpent & Crimson Viper (dual-wield). Bai Chilian drops it as the boss at the end of Crimson Forest, the second region. It spins the Crimson Viper blade around you, staggering and damaging enemies. Every hit lowers the Sha-Chi of enemies who keep blocking, and it's good against groups.
- Wild Oriole Sword (one-handed), received from Mu Xiaokui. It applies marks that boost your damage and Sha-Chi depletion. Mark a target, then follow up with a Sha-Chi attack.
Build a boss loadout and an exploration loadout
Accessories that suit bosses aren't the ones that suit regular enemies, so it pays to keep two setups:
- Exploring: wear damage accessories so the many regular enemies go down faster.
- Bosses: switch to defensive accessories so you survive at least to the next phase. Don't save medicine for a second phase. If you die after reaching it, you restart at that phase.
The elemental wards matter most in boss fights. Flameward cuts fire damage and Burn buildup, Thunderward cuts Lightning damage and Paralysis buildup, and Frostward cuts Chill and Freeze duration. Each does this by 50% at first and by 80% after one polish. Wear the one that matches the boss's element.
Polishing accessories
Once Jewel has polished an accessory for you, you can polish at any Bell under Upgrade Equipment > Polish Accessory. Each polish costs Remnant Dust plus a crystal material, starting with a Tainted Crystal Shard. Unlike weapon upgrades, polishing materials aren't refunded, so polish the accessories you'll actually keep wearing.
Early accessories worth getting
| Accessory | Effect (base / polished) | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Reflex Device | Parry and Perfect Dodge timing windows +15%, rising to +20% and then +25% | Major Chest by the Valley Sha-Chi Tower Base bell, Weeping Creek Valley |
| Treasure Basin | Remnant Dust drops +10% / +20% | Pre-order bonus. It's also in a Major Chest near the White Serpent House Dock bell, Meigu Lake |
| Boulderguard | Damage taken -15% / -20% while not Guard-Broken | Grave near the Axemaster's Holding Cell (missable, see below) |
| Medicine Case | Medicine healing +20% / +30% plus Super Armor | Apprentice Healer quest reward (missable) |
To open the Reflex Device's chest, use the Sha-Chi Furnace Inspection Crank on the furnace at the tower base. You take that crank from the other furnace while doing A Severed Mindseal, the Shadow Warden's quest. Don't skip that quest either: the first Primal Stone has to be handed in before you leave Weeping Creek Valley.
The Treasure Basin's Remnant Dust boost helps most early on. Remnant Dust gets much easier to find later.
Missable rewards in the first two regions
At certain points in the main story, friendly NPCs in the early camps turn hostile. After that you can't talk to them, so their quests and dialogue are gone. These are the ones to finish early:
| Reward | What to do | Do it before |
|---|---|---|
| Boulderguard | In the Outpost, enter the house and talk to the man inside, then talk to him again so he gets up and sits on a box. Then go to the Axemaster's Holding Cell bell and examine the grave nearby | The camp NPCs turn hostile |
| Feather Bow (Phantom Edge) | Purge the Sect: talk to the Brooding Old Archer on the Outpost roof, kill the archers at the Ruthless Archer Camp, and bring back the Broken-String Bow | Defeating Bai Chilian |
| Medicine Case | Apprentice Healer: bring Yu'er three herbs, Blood-Stopper Vine, Congealeaf and Blemish Goldweed | Defeating Jing Ye in Crimson Forest |
| Flesh Lily quest | Defeat Hua, Deadly Betrothed and bring Yu'er the Twin Flesh Lilies | Defeating Bai Chilian |
| A Healer's Mercy | Yu'er's next quest, from the Thieves' Camp in Crimson Forest. Treat four wounded thieves | Defeating Bai Chilian |
| Secrets of the Baishan Sect | Accept it from Lanlan on the rope bridge past the Outlaw's Trap bell | Defeating Bai Chilian |
The Feather Bow can shoot down crates for extra loot. If Hua is still too tough when you first find her, you can come back to her arena after clearing some of Crimson Forest, as long as you finish before Bai Chilian. Missing A Healer's Mercy also costs you a trophy/achievement later on. As a rule, talk to every friendly NPC you meet and clear blue-scroll Tales as soon as you can.
Two Mandate Encampment rewards
You can reach the Mandate Encampment from the Village of Lu once you find its key in Pangzhen. Two rewards here are easy to lose:
- Broken Vessel. If you're running Secrets of the Baishan Sect, examine Bi Taotao's body (the quest icon) before you beat Yubi, the region's final boss. Then beating Yubi earns the trophy and the Broken Vessel, which raises the damage of Sha-Chi Combos that spend Sha-Chi by 15% (25% polished).
- Twin Fish Pendant. When you meet Red, the Mysterious Swordswoman, on a rooftop, don't fight her. Leave by the nearby chain instead. She joins partway through the second phase of the Chief Disciple of the Seven-Stars Formation fight later in the region. Beat both of them there and you get two Memory Flowers instead of one (Memory Flowers raise your HP), plus the Twin Fish Pendant, which raises your damage as your Sha-Chi drops, up to 20% (30% polished). If you beat her on the roof, she won't join that fight and won't drop these rewards.
Phantom Blade Zero is out now on PS5 and PC. You can find it on Steam.