Weapon Tier List - Phantom Blade Zero

Phantom Blade Zero features a total of 30 main weapons on release, each with their own playstyle, combos, and unique features. Most can be obtained by defeating bosses, while others require completing side quests and exploring side areas or performing Soul Tempering on a base weapon.

With our Weapon Tier List for Phantom Blade Zero, you'll learn about the best weapons in the game, including our best picks and recommendations.

You can check out our Phantom Blade Zero collectibles guide for more information on how to find each weapon. For more guides, visit our Phantom Blade Zero Gamebase section.

Keep in mind this Tier List is a work in progress and might get updated in the future.

S Tier

S-tier weapons are the best in the game: They have the highest damage among all weapons, decent move sets and Power Surges, and come with extra abilities or elemental damage.

• Aureate: One of the best weapons in the game thanks to its ability to summon multiple swords that attack on their own. However, you can only get it after reaching the True Ending of the game, so you won't be able to use it for the main story.
• Infernal Rouge: The best general-purpose weapon thanks to its high stats, making it simple to use. You should constantly apply the damage buff from its ability to maximize its efficiency.
• Shadowless Edge: Has high stats, and its ability summons a shadow that attacks enemies automatically, making it great when dealing with multiple enemies at once.
• Baishan Stormswords: They are not as strong as Shadowless Edge, but you can obtain them earlier in the game. They can deal Lightning damage, which makes them useful against certain enemies.
• Whiteshadow: Deals high Freeze damage and can freeze enemies, making it a great choice for one-shotting weaker enemies. Its slow two-handed moveset and freeze gimmick make it not as universally great as other S-Tier choices, but it is still a great weapon with high damage potential.
• Bonesaw: It has a powerful Bleed effect, which can melt late-game bosses when paired with accesories that enhance Bleed like Snow and Blood. However, its efficacy falls off against Puppets, Phantoms and Golden Bodies, which are immune to Bleed.
• Parting Hooks: The Parting Hooks have a unique playstyle focused on parrying enemies, but can't keep up in damage with other S-Tier weapons. However, its defensive stance alone makes it a good secondary weapon, especially if you find yourself relying on blocking attacks or if you're learning an enemy's moves.

A Tier

The A-Tier has excellent weapons which will be useful throughout your playthrough. You can't go wrong with any of these. Some weapons have slightly lower damage compared to our S-Tier options, or have status effects that aren't universally useful.

• White Serpent & Crimson Viper: Great early and mid-game weapons, but their damage falls off greatly later on.
• Jagged Steel: This weapon is great for the early game, since it can inflict Bleed and has a special Sha-Chi attack that unlocks when upgraded to Lv. 5. Its damage and efficacy fall off later, as you will be faced with several enemies immune to Bleed, like Puppets and Phantoms.
• Wild Oriole Sword: Great mid-game weapon with high attack speed. Its damage falls off compared to other late-game weapons, which makes it a worse investment for upgrades.
• Fiend Saws: Great general-purpose Dual Blades. Its niche Erosion status can occasionally stop enemy combos. However, its damage falls off in the endgame compared to S-Tier options.
• Freezing Chaos: It can inflict Burn and Frost, but its three-stance gimmick makes it much harder to use than other weapons.
• Outlaw Warblade: Great two-handed moveset with lifesteal capabilities and a special HP-recovering attack unlocked at Lv. 5. Like other status weapons, it becomes much less useful when facing Puppets.
• Armybreaker: Features slow, heavy-hitting attacks that quickly deplete enemy Sha-Chi. However, it is overclassed by other weapons as it is not reliable late game.
• Blazing Edge: Decent two-handed weapon, but its stats are lower than other weapons in S and A-Tier.

B Tier

Weapons in the B-Tier have clear drawbacks that make them a worse choice than A-Tier weapons. They often feature sub-par damage, and their move sets are not as useful as other weapons.

• Scarlet Wraithblade: Great early-game damage output, but its slower move set makes it much harder to use against mobile enemies later in the game.
• The Fanatic's Broken Blade: Its ranged attacks make it useful in the early game. However, it is outshined by the Wild Oriole Sword in the mid-game, and its damage falls off later on.
• Sanguine Twin: Starter Dual-Wield weapon with a fast and versatile moveset. It is a decent option for the first area, but you should replace it as soon as you get better Dual-Wield weapons.
• Sanguine: Starter One-Handed weapon with low damage. You should replace it with Jagged Steel.
• Juggernaut: Good general-purpose weapon, but its stats can't keep up with other weapons in the late game. Only use it if you don't have access to higher-tier weapons.
• Sanguine Reach: Starter Two-Handed weapon. Its move set is slower than Sanguine and Sanguine Twin, but its damage is not high enough to compensate. A better Two-Handed option early game is Outlaw Warblade.
• Tianxuan Bronze Sword: Has the lowest damage out of all the ranged weapon options, making it one of the worst weapon choices.
• Wooden Sanguine: Has the lowest damage in the game due to its wood build.

Check back later for more information on the following weapons: Crescent Blade, Fiend Saws, Seamless Death, Soft Snake Sword, Tianmiao Wild Oriole Sword, The Lady's Fan, The Fanatic's Drunken Sword, Sundering Dual Axes and Soft Snake Sword.

While Phantom Blade Zero lets you upgrade all weapons, some will outperform others, especially early on. These are some of the strongest weapons you can get your hands on in the early game:

Jagged Steel

Jagged Steel is a one-handed weapon that you can obtain early on in the first chapter by defeating the Jagged Steel boss. It has an innate Bleed effect, which can melt bosses.

Once upgraded to Lv. 5, it has a special Sha-Chi combo after breaking an enemy's guard, which allows you to use the Axe Phantom Edge for free if you have it equipped! The Bleed effect + Guard Break combo make Jagged Steel arguably the best weapon for Chapters 1 and 2.

How to get: Obtained by defeating the Jagged Steel boss in Chapter 1.

Outlaw Warblade

The Outlaw Warblade is a two-handed weapon with lifesteal and HP recovery capabilities, making it a forgiving weapon when you're learning the game. However, its damage falls off later, and lifesteal doesn't work against puppet enemies, which makes it less useful in the mid to late game.

How to get: Obtained by defeating The Outlaw boss in Chapter 2.

White Serpent & Crimson Viper

White Serpent & Crimson Viper are excellent Dual Blades for the early and mid game, with a great move set and ranged executions. Its special combo allows you to loop it indefinitely, increasing its damage.

How to get: Defeat Bai Chilian in Chapter 2.

While S-Tier weapons are generally the best, some other picks shine against bosses or in specific scenarios. You should get and upgrade these weapons to make your life easier in late-game encounters:

Bonesaw

The Bonesaw can melt bosses that can be affected by Bleed, making it a very powerful choice for some encounters. It has a slow move set, which can be hard to get used to, but its damage more than makes up for it.

How to get: Defeat The Crusher and The Saw in Mount Soulrend.

Baishan Stormswords

Baishan Stormswords are excellent weapon options for the mid and late game. Their Lightning damage is useful against Puppet enemies, which you'll encounter often in later areas, and their move set is strong and can be further enhanced with upgrades.

How to get: Defeat Yubi in Pangzhen.

Infernal Rouge

The Infernal Rouge is the Sanguine's upgrade, obtained after performing Soul Tempering. It has some of the best stats in the game and an all-rounder move set that is further enhanced by its buff. You should aim to get your hands on this weapon as soon as you can.

How to get: Obtained by Soul Tempering the Sanguine. This is possible after reaching Pangzhen in Chapter 4. Requires the Bastion of Mó Mask.