Best Beginner Tips In Phantom Blade Zero

Published Oct 30, 2026, 12:48 PM EDT Nick is a gaming news writer for TheGamer, and has been covering the games industry for over three years at sites such as Twinfinite, DotEsports and The Phrasemaker. Born and raised in a small town in Pennsylvania, Nick studied Media and Professional Communications at the University of Pittsburgh, refining his writing and fact-checking to ensure clarity and entertainment value in everything he writes. Phantom Blade Zero comes with an inherent level of challenge that could be troublesome for some beginners, or even pros of the genre. However, that's not to say that it can't be helped by a few small things that will go a long way over the course of the game. This isn't to say that these tips will make the game a breeze, though. Some bosses are just going to be challenging, or certain groups might give you a real headache. These tips are intended to help you think about the game a bit differently, and maybe that perspective can be enough to get you through. Use Your Combos Wisely Combos are the best and fastest way to deal the most damage possible. You have different combos depending on the weapon you're using and the types of attacks you strike with. Some weapons have longer combos, so if you're fighting faster enemies, it might be better to swap for something more practical. Every weapon has a different group of combos, and many of them have different triggers. Many Sha Chi combos need to occur after a regular strike, so be sure to learn what each weapon can do. These will deal noticeably more damage than just spamming buttons at random, so make sure you're intentional with each button press. Bells Are Your Best Friends The bells throughout the world serve as your checkpoints, but they're way more useful than just that. First of all, Phantom Blade Zero is more forgiving than many games of its kind. Whenever you interact with a bell, all the enemies that you've already defeated will not respawn, meaning you're free to move about the map unhindered. This means you can heal after a rough fight and not have to worry about fighting the same fight over and over, when it's not even a boss. You also use the bells to fast travel, upgrade weapons and train abilities. They're really a hub for everything in-game, so don't be afraid to give 'em a flick. Revert Your Weapon Upgrades One of the best features of Phantom Blade Zero is the ability to revert your weapon upgrades. This is because, when you revert the upgrades, you get back a full refund of your upgrade materials and remnant dust. This means that you can give every weapon you find a fair shake. Each weapon type needs a different kind of upgrade material, which changes after level 10. Given that upgrade materials are dependent on weapon types, you can use all the materials you've gathered on the weapons you're actively using. If the weapon doesn't work with your style, you can revert the upgrades back, use the materials on another weapon, and find the right one for you. Be Patient Phantom Blade Zero is a real game of patience. Not only is it a long, long game, but the boss fights can take you some serious time to get through if you find yourself stuck. The time between bosses can move quickly, but those bigger fights may take up some serious time. However, patience goes a long way in both the overall game and individual fights. Sometimes, you have to stand there and block onslaughts of attacks before you can get three good strikes in, but that's the name of the game. Whittle down your opponents slowly, because rushing in will likely get you killed. Even if your opponent has the smallest bit of health left, it's often wise to simply let them get through their flurry of attacks and break their guard, because going for a few cheap shots can open you up to getting killed right at the end, Know When To Heal In games like Phantom Blade Zero, healing will be the difference between life and death, quite literally. However, just because you can heal doesn't mean you should. The strategy of healing is often just as important as the strategy of your fighting style. Using the right medicine for the situation can really go a long way. The Healing Gourds are useful, but they only affect your health and don't do anything for your other stats. However, some of the other medicines affect your Sha Chi as well, so use these to balance out your offense and defense. Don't Be Afraid To Block Blocking is obviously one of the most simple things you can do in the game, given that it's one of the first things you're shown how to do. However, just because it's simple doesn't mean it's not useful, or sometimes even the better option. Even when you could dodge, if you've got the Sha Chi to spare, blocking can buy you extra time. Generally speaking, parrying is the best way to avoid incoming damage, and when there's a red-flash attack, you're gonna want to dodge fast. That being said, sometimes it's better to just hold the block and avoid as much damage as possible, rather than risking a parry only to mistime it and take damage. Don't Neglect Your Accessories Accessories are a great way to really boost your combat abilities, either aiding your offense or your defense. However, it's easy to let them fall to the wayside when you're focused on upgrading weapons and Phantom Edges. You can polish your accessories with Tainted Crystal Shards to make them more powerful, which becomes exceptionally useful as the game goes on. Accessories that might boost a stat by 15% might get polished to boost the same stat by 25%, making a critical difference in some of the harder boss fights. Know When To Dodge Simply put, dodging is one of the core fundamentals of Phantom Blade Zero. Obviously, for red-flashing attacks, you're supposed to dodge, but you can dodge out of any incoming damage - even blue-flashing attacks. Sometimes, like when you fight Jing Ye, there are certain attacks that can be blocked or parried, but you still take damage from making any contact at all. When this happens, it's always better to dodge so you're not affected by the effects of those attacks, and you can go back to pressing your advantage.