Phantom Blade Zero Combat System
Read incoming attacks and manage your combat resource through weapon swaps and counters. The actions below include effects unlocked through ability training.
Field Notes · Updated
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How combat resources work
| Mechanic | Effects and conditions |
|---|---|
| Health | Health-upgrade collectibles raise the maximum. Potions and weapon effects can also affect health during a fight. |
| Sha-Chi | Soul and most enemies have this meter. Hits, stance, automatic blocks and Sha-Chi attacks drain it; recovery begins after a pause. Enemy blocks also spend their meter. Collectibles increase Soul’s capacity. |
| Special-technique charge | Reducing enemy Sha-Chi builds a separate charge used by weapon techniques. The source does not establish the full accumulation formula. |
Equipment and their roles
| Mechanic | Effects and conditions |
|---|---|
| Loadout limits | Two main weapons, two Phantom Edges, two potion types and six accessories. |
| Main weapons | Damage, guard pressure, moves, techniques and executions differ by weapon. Some weapons also change dodge behavior. |
| Phantom Edges | Swap between two equipped secondary weapons. They spend a separate resource that kills can replenish. Uses include shields, particular enemies and exploration. |
| Potions | Effects include healing, attack boosts, faster technique-charge gain and altered moves. Defeating regular enemies can restore uses. |
| Accessories | Passive effects support different weapon setups and fighting styles. |
Attacks, defense and swapping
| Mechanic | Effects and conditions |
|---|---|
| Guarding stance | Holding guard drains Sha-Chi while automatically blocking many attacks and applying some meter pressure. It is unavailable while guard-broken. |
| Basic and resource attacks | Basic attacks cost no Sha-Chi and do not directly drain an enemy’s meter. Sha-Chi attacks trade your meter for theirs; some weapons gain effects at high charge. |
| Combos | Combine attack types into combos and cancel into guard or dodge. Weapon upgrades unlock additional strings. |
| Dodge and jump | Dodges have invulnerability, with behavior affected by weapons. Main and secondary weapons can attack during jumps, sometimes with different moves. |
| Weapon swap | Swapping restores Sha-Chi and can clear guard break. The swapped-out weapon enters cooldown. |
| Stealth attacks | Crouch behind regular enemies for executions, including chains against close pairs. An aerial approach can execute an unaware enemy before combat. |
Attack cues and counters
| Mechanic | Effects and conditions |
|---|---|
| Timed guard | A well-timed guard against a normal attack costs no Sha-Chi and drains the enemy’s meter. |
| White-flash attacks | Automatic blocking is costly and staggers Soul. Timed guarding can trigger a repositioning counter, recovering your meter and heavily draining theirs. |
| Red-flash attacks | These cannot be blocked. A precise dodge can trigger the repositioning counter and recover Sha-Chi; some enemies add contextual button prompts. |
| Black flash and enemy counters | Blocking a black-flash attack heavily drains Sha-Chi; timed-guard effectiveness remains unconfirmed in the source. Attacking an enemy’s counter stance can trigger a throw. |
| Follow the counter | After the correct white-flash guard or red-flash dodge, Soul moves behind the enemy for attacks they cannot block. |
Breaks, follow-ups and finishers
| Mechanic | Effects and conditions |
|---|---|
| Guard break | An emptied meter causes stagger and increased damage taken. Resource moves and stance become unavailable; enemies cannot block. Recovery refills the meter, or Soul can swap weapons. |
| Weapon techniques | Spend the separate technique charge, with costs varying by weapon. These moves damage health and Sha-Chi and interrupt many attacks; interruption resistance is not fully established. |
| Pursuit | Use a Sha-Chi attack after a white-flash timed guard, red-flash precise dodge, enemy guard break or kill to close automatically on a target. |
| Executions | Regular enemies and some bosses allow low-health executions. Soul is invulnerable during the animation; contextual prompts can add rewards. |
| Groups and surroundings | Breaking a meter through a weapon combo near other enemies can trigger protected group animations. Enemy-specific interactions, allies and environmental objects add further options. |
Source：BWIKI