7 Early Game Tips for Phantom Blade Zero

Getting stronger in Phantom Blade Zero involves more than winning fights. Reading documents, following quest clues, and exploring side paths can lead to new weapons, optional encounters, and permanent upgrades.

These seven early game tips will help you make the most of your discoveries, understand useful item effects, and build a more effective equipment setup.

For help with parrying, managing Sha-Chi, and landing counterattacks, check out our Phantom Blade Zero combat guide.

Books, letters, reports, and case files can contain clues that connect to quests and encounters beyond the main story.

When you collect a document, look for named characters, locations, requests, or investigations. These details can point you towards someone worth speaking to or a situation you can investigate further.

Check your quest log or archive afterwards to see whether the discovery has added a new lead. Some clues are the first step in a longer chain, so their purpose may only become clear after you reach another area or meet the right character.

You do not need to memorise every entry. Collect the documents you find, read their important details, and use your objectives to keep track of anything that needs following up.

Some documents can also lead you towards content that rewards weapons. Collecting the document gives you a clue to follow, rather than necessarily unlocking the weapon immediately.

A book might introduce an investigation that leads to a quest or encounter. Following that thread and completing the related objectives can eventually expand your arsenal.

After finding a relevant entry, check your objectives and follow any connected leads. Pay attention to the rewards you receive as the quest progresses.

When you unlock a weapon, read its description and try its attacks. A different moveset or status effect may give you a useful alternative against enemies that your current setup struggles to handle.

NPC conversations can introduce quests, explain clues, and move existing objectives forward. Take time to speak with the people you meet, especially anyone mentioned in a document or quest description.

If a clue names a particular character, seek them out and check whether they have relevant information. Afterwards, review your objectives to see whether the conversation has added another step.

It can also be useful to return to the characters involved after making progress. Completing an objective or discovering another clue may give you something new to discuss.

Not every conversation starts a quest or produces a reward, but dialogue can connect information you already have to the next part of an investigation.

A weapon’s damage number does not tell you everything about its usefulness. Its moveset and effects also influence how well it performs against different enemies.

Jagged Steel, for example, inflicts Bleeding and builds an enemy’s Bleed Gauge. Filling the gauge triggers Blood Loss. However, Bleed has no effect on Puppets, Golden Bodies, or Phantom Bodies.

A weapon that relies on Bleed loses an important benefit against these enemies. If your usual effect is not working, consider switching to another weapon or source of damage that better suits the encounter.

Read weapon descriptions and watch the enemy’s gauges during combat. You do not need to memorise every matchup, but recognising when an effect is ineffective helps you adjust your approach.

Different weapons also have different attack patterns, so changing your equipment can help even when status effects are not the deciding factor.

Blackstone Shards contribute to a lasting character upgrade. Collecting four fragments permanently increases Attack and Guard Break by 10%.

Each shard brings you closer to that bonus. The full increase comes from completing the set of four, rather than from each individual fragment.

Because the upgrade is permanent, it continues to benefit your character as you change weapons and equipment. Keep track of your progress towards the next set while exploring.

Apply the same habit to other unfamiliar collectibles. Read their descriptions to understand whether they contribute to an upgrade or need to be collected as part of a set.

We’re adding location walkthroughs to our Phantom Blade Zero collectibles guide.

Exploration can help you prepare for harder encounters by providing useful items and resources. Moving straight from one main objective to the next makes it easier to overlook these opportunities.

Check nearby side paths and investigate places that catch your attention. When you find an unfamiliar item, read its description and check the relevant menu so you understand what it contributes towards.

If a boss is giving you trouble, review your equipment and consider whether there are nearby routes you have not explored. A new weapon, useful accessory, or completed Blackstone set may improve your preparation for another attempt.

If you encounter Hua during your exploration, our Hua, Deathly Betrothed boss guide explains her attacks and how to approach the fight.

Accessories are divided into Offensive, Defensive, and Support categories. You can equip no more than three accessories from the same category, even as you unlock additional slots.

Check both an accessory’s effect and its category before adding it to your setup. If you already have three Offensive accessories equipped, another Offensive item needs to replace one of them.

Choose effects that support your weapons and address the problems you are having. Extra damage may help you finish encounters faster, while defensive or support effects may make your current playstyle more manageable.

Review your equipment whenever you find a new accessory or unlock another slot. Additional space gives you more options, but the category limit still determines which combinations you can use.