Best Early Game Skills In Phantom Blade Zero

Published Nov 3, 2026, 9:54 AM EST 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. The skill tree in Phantom Blade Zero might not be as massive as in other action RPGs, but it still offers plenty of variety. Which abilities you focus on first can significantly affect your gameplay, depending on your play style. Some abilities focus on attacks, while others improve your defensive abilities. The skill tree works differently than in many other games: you can only upgrade certain abilities depending on the resources you have. This means you can't choose from everything in the skill tree all the time, but the main currency, Remnant Dust, carries across all abilities regardless of what other resources you have. Ability Resources To upgrade any abilities, you'll need one of four different resources: Blackstone, Sha Chi Amber, Memory Flowers or Banyan Hearts. You get each resource by exploring the world and finding chests, except Banyan Hearts, which you get by defeating challenges in Banyan Trees. You gain Blackstone when you collect four Blackstone Shards, which increase your attack and guard break. Sha Chi Amber works the same way, but increases your Sha Chi instead of your attack and guard break. Memory Flowers are found throughout the world and give bits of lore and exposition as you collect them, but the full flowers vary based on the story being told. Some require only two Memory Flower petals, while others require up to seven or more. Complete Memory Flowers increase your max health. Best Offensive Abilities To Upgrade First Of the early abilities, Fluid Form is the best choice for improving combat performance. It lets you close the gap on distant enemies after parrying or dodging blue- or red-glint attacks, respectively, breaking an enemy's guard or defeating them. This makes you less vulnerable to getting attacked mid-combo or after taking down an enemy, and can get you across the battlefield a bit quicker. It helps the overall combat experience flow better, and requires a Blackstone to unlock. Best Defensive Abilities To Upgrade First For defensive abilities, Healing Art is a great option if you struggle to get through tougher fights. It gives you extra uses of your medicine, meaning you can heal more times during a fight, which can make all the difference. This affects whatever medicine you're using, not just your default Healing Gourds. If a medicine gives you two uses to start, you'll have three after unlocking Healing Art, and if it gives you three uses, that bumps up to four. It's on the Memory Flowers ability tree, so you can unlock it once you enter the Crimson Forest. Best Banyan's Heart Ability To Upgrade First After you complete your first Banyan Tree challenge, you can choose between Flow Like Water and Still Mind on the skill tree. Both are good options, but Flow Like Water is a bit more versatile earlier on. Flow Like Water lets you block or dodge mid-combo without interrupting it. Usually, blocking or dodging an incoming attack breaks your combo's flow and forces you to start over, which can be incredibly frustrating on longer combos. Instead, you can maintain the momentum you've built up, and blocking or dodging those attacks will also break an enemy's guard even further. Stringing together the right abilities early can set you up for success later.