Phantom Blade Zero upgrade guide: what to upgrade first

Remnant Dust pays for upgrades, skills and shop stock alike in Phantom Blade Zero. Spend it badly in the first region and you are short for everything else. The upgrade systems also behave differently from each other. Some can be taken back and some cannot, and that is the main thing to plan around.

What you can upgrade

Skills draw on the same pile. Train Abilities at a bell takes Remnant Dust too, so dust poured into one weapon is dust missing from the skill tree. Two skills worth saving for are Fluid Form and Boundless Capacity, the second of which opens another accessory slot.

Unlocking the Forge

Forge works from an open-air smithy at the Outpost, past a gate that the guards open once you talk to them. Speak to her twice and the Upgrade weapons option appears. From then on the bell menu carries an Upgrade Equipment row, and the Outpost trip is a one-off. Take the Sanguine Reach from beside her before you leave. It is a free two-handed weapon and it gives you a second class to try.

The first upgrade is a tutorial. Jagged Steel rises one level for nothing, then the game makes you undo it. Real prices start after that.

Main weapon costs

Each class eats its own metal. One-handed weapons use Forged Metal, two-handed use Broadplate Metal and dual-wield weapons use Twinned Metal. Solvent goes into every main weapon. Remnant Dust rises with each level, while metal and Solvent step up every second one.

Shops charge 1,040 per metal and 832 per Solvent. Buying every material for a level 5 Sanguine Twin comes to about 30,000 Remnant Dust once the upgrade fees are added, which is steep for one weapon. Shop stock is limited, so check each chest you pass. One in the first region held two kinds of metal at once.

Weapon perks at level 5 and 10

Every weapon picks up a technique at level 5. On Jagged Steel that means Blood Blade, a slash for guard-broken enemies, with Relentless Bleed following at level 10. Level 10 can also reach past the weapon itself. Sanguine at level 10 grants Phantom Execution to every one-handed weapon, and Sanguine Twin grants Shadow Execution to every dual-wield weapon. Raising one favorite to 10 therefore helps its whole class.

That makes level 5 the first stop and level 10 the second. The levels in between only raise damage and the status numbers.

Refunds and Reforge Talismans

Open the upgrade screen, press T on PC or Y on an Xbox pad, then hold Space or A. The weapon drops to level 1 and every metal, Solvent and Remnant Dust comes back. A Sanguine Twin reverted from level 4 returned 10 Twinned Metal, 5 Solvent and 4,455 Remnant Dust. That makes weapons cheap to test. Boss rewards arrive at level 1 and can feel weak next to the sword you have been leveling, but the refund lets you move the materials across.

The Weapon Reforge Talisman and Phantom Reforge Talisman are separate items. Each restores a weapon or Phantom Edge to its starting level. Quick Hand Zhang stocks both at 2,000 Remnant Dust, and some turn up as pickups in the world, so keep any you find.

Phantom Edge upgrades

Phantom Edges level separately and skip Solvent. Each type needs one material, and it comes in three tiers that open up as the edge climbs:

The Dread Axe shows the pace. Its first step is 1 Darkfire Charcoal and 640 Remnant Dust, and the climb to level 8 adds up to 18 charcoal plus 11,200 dust. Two edges of the same type share one material, so the Iron Gauntlets and Hunter’s Chain Sickle compete for Exotic Copper Ingot. Pick one edge from each type you use often and ignore the rest until you have spare materials.

Accessories and Soul Temper

Crystals are the first spend that cannot be taken back. Polishing eats Tainted Crystal Shards, and a few pieces go one step further with Refined Indigo Crystal. Bell shops sell them and the cracked light-blue chests hide more, so polish only the accessories that fit the weapon class you will carry to the end.

Soul Temper is the same story at a higher price. One weapon gets one, and the price is 5,000 dust along with a material made for that weapon. It is permanent. Settle on your main weapon before you pay. Many of the materials sit behind Phantom Edges you pick up later in the story, so read the tool list before you backtrack.

Upgrade order

1. Meet Forge. Take the Sanguine Reach and use the free tutorial level.
2. Test weapons. Raise a weapon from each class a few levels and see which feels right. Reverting is free, so no early weapon upgrade locks you in.
3. Commit one main weapon. Take it to level 5 for the perk, then to 10 once you know it suits you.
4. Add one Phantom Edge. Choose the edge you use most and take it up a few levels.
5. Train abilities. Keep some Remnant Dust back for skills and the extra accessory slot.
6. Polish and temper last. Crystals and Soul Temper go on the pieces you will still be using at the end.

Extra boosts

Two item types raise your stats without costing dust. Blackstone Shards give a permanent 10 percent more attack and guard break once you hold four. Four Sha-Chi Amber Shards lift maximum Sha-Chi by 10 percent. Check chests and side areas for them before spending anything on a marginal upgrade.

None of it matters if you cannot survive the fights that drop the dust, and the beginner tips are for that.