The best weapons in Phantom Blade Zero, going by the launch-week guides that rank them, are Jagged Steel for damage and the Outlaw Warblade for survival. Both come from story bosses in the first two regions. Put your first upgrade materials into Jagged Steel, then level a second weapon of a different class, because each class uses its own metal. Keep both at level 10 or below while you experiment, since reverting a weapon is free up to that point.
We haven’t played the game, so this isn’t our own tier list. It combines four ranked guides published on launch day, October 29 (UTC): Maxroll’s best weapons guide (by Tenkiei), PC Gamer (Sean Martin), Wccftech (Francesco De Meo, written after a full Hellwalker playthrough) and KeenGamer’s tier list (Ali Amir). A weapon ranks higher here when more of them pick it. Every “best” below is their opinion, and we say whose. Where each weapon drops is covered in our Phantom Blade Zero weapons list, so this page sticks to the ranking and the upgrade order.
- Best overall: Jagged Steel. It’s the top pick at Maxroll and PC Gamer, and S tier at KeenGamer.
- Best defensive pick: the Outlaw Warblade, a “best” at Maxroll and Wccftech. Its light combo heals you.
- Best easy late-game pick: Seamless Death. Maxroll calls it “exceptionally easy to use” against the hardest bosses.
- Upgrade first: Jagged Steel to level 5 (a new special attack), then a Two-Handed or Dual-Wield weapon.
- Experiment freely: reverting is free from level 1 to 10. It costs 1 Weapon Reforge Talisman from level 11 to 20, and 2 from level 21 (Maxroll).
- Don’t miss: the Wild Oriole Sword and the Fiend Saws. Both are missable in the Village of Lu, per PowerPyx.
Jagged Steel builds bleed with almost every hit, but Puppets ignore bleed until you find the Livingwood Talisman. AI-generated illustration
Table of Contents
Phantom Blade Zero best weapons, ranked
Maxroll ranks on three things: how easy a weapon is to use, how early you get it, and how well it handles the most dangerous bosses. It also stresses that most weapons are balanced enough to finish the game. Wccftech’s review made the same point, adding that even the starting sword can. Treat the list as a shortlist of reliable picks, not a list of the only good ones. The base damage figures are level 1 numbers from Maxroll’s weapon database. Each one is a single hit at level 1, not damage per second.
| Rank | Weapon | Class (metal) | Base damage | Who rates it | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jagged Steel | One-Handed (Forged Metal) | 240 | Maxroll best, PC Gamer best, KeenGamer S | Bleed on almost every hit and an easy level 5 special. It’s the first boss weapon you get. |
| 2 | Outlaw Warblade | Two-Handed (Broadplate Metal) | 240 | Maxroll best, Wccftech best early, KeenGamer A | The light combo heals you, and its special has a long invincibility window (Wccftech). |
| 3 | Seamless Death | Dual-Wield (Twinned Metal) | 288 | Maxroll best, KeenGamer A | Dodging leaves an afterimage that fires back when an enemy hits it, and the special is a ranged attack. |
| 4 | Tianmiao · Wild Oriole (Soul Tempered Wild Oriole Sword) | One-Handed (Forged Metal) | 295 (Wild Oriole Sword) | Maxroll best, KeenGamer A (untempered) | Once tempered, a second blade joins most specials, so it plays almost like a dual-wield weapon. |
| 5 | Whiteshadow | Two-Handed (Broadplate Metal) | 308 | Maxroll best, KeenGamer A | Builds chill until enemies freeze, and that works on Puppets too. It swings fast for a two-hander. |
| 6 | White Serpent & Crimson Viper | Dual-Wield (Twinned Metal) | 260 | KeenGamer S, Wccftech (best partner for the Warblade) | Alternating light and heavy attacks keeps one long combo going, which builds Sha-Chi Essence fast. |
Situational picks are strong in the right hands but harder to use, or you get them late:
| Weapon | Class | Base damage | Who rates it | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soft Snake Sword | One-Handed | 288 | KeenGamer S, Maxroll situational | From level 5, holding guard no longer drains your own Sha-Chi, but Maxroll calls it harder to use than most |
| Freezing Chaos | One-Handed | 324 | KeenGamer S, Maxroll situational | You need to keep switching between its Fire, Steel and Frost stances to get the most from it |
| Scarlet Wraithblade | Two-Handed | 240 | KeenGamer A, Maxroll situational | Its spider lilies break whole groups, but Maxroll says it’s weaker against mobile bosses |
| Armybreaker | Two-Handed | 288 | KeenGamer A, Maxroll situational | A charging special that chains interrupts. Strong mid-game, but riskier than the Warblade. |
| Fiend Saws | Dual-Wield | 302 | KeenGamer S | Missable, and only one of our four guides ranks it |
| Parting Hooks | Dual-Wield | 288 | KeenGamer S | A defensive counter weapon that only one of our four guides ranks |
Where the guides disagree: KeenGamer puts The Fanatic’s Broken Blade in B tier. Maxroll calls it “a ton of fun” but leaves it off its list because you need to land Drunken Counters to get the most from it. KeenGamer also ranks Freezing Chaos and the Soft Snake Sword in S tier, while Maxroll lists both as situational because they’re harder to use.
Why Jagged Steel is the best early weapon
You get Jagged Steel from Jagged Steel, The Frenzied Brute, the first story boss in Weeping Creek Valley, and three of the four guides would keep it all game. Its mechanic is Blood Blade, a stacking buff that raises bleed buildup and bleed damage. PC Gamer lists what each upgrade adds:
| Jagged Steel level | What it unlocks (PC Gamer) |
|---|---|
| Level 5 | A special attack on guard-broken enemies that grants a Blood Blade stack |
| Level 10 | More bleed buildup |
| Level 15 | A charged slash that builds Blood Blade stacks before releasing them |
| Level 20 | More bleed buildup again |
There’s one catch. Bleed doesn’t work on Puppets, Golden Bodies or Phantom Bodies until you pick up the Livingwood Talisman, an accessory in a chest near the Smuggler’s Tunnel in the Village of Lu. PC Gamer says it lets bleed work on those enemies at 50%, or 70% once you polish it. Maxroll adds that Soul Tempering Jagged Steel lets it build bleed even when an enemy blocks.
Why the Outlaw Warblade is the safe second pick
The Outlaw Warblade drops from Jing Ye, The Outlaw, a mandatory boss in the Crimson Forest, so you can’t miss it. Wccftech explains the trade-off. Its light combo heals Soul for a share of his missing health, and that healing goes up at levels 10 and 20. Its heavy combo turns some of your HP into recoverable damage, which you lose if you get hit. Its Power Surge special restores a lot of HP and has a big invincibility window. Wccftech calls it “a great get-out-of-jail option” against regular enemies and bosses.
Wccftech’s pairing tip: you build Sha-Chi Essence faster with a quick weapon, so put the Warblade next to a dual-wield weapon such as White Serpent & Crimson Viper, the reward for beating the Crimson Forest region boss. The weakness, again per Wccftech, is that its damage falls off near the end of the game even when fully upgraded. They still call it “one of the most reliable weapons in the entire game.”
What to upgrade first in Phantom Blade Zero
Enemies don’t respawn, so you can’t farm materials, and every weapon class uses its own metal. That’s why the upgrade order matters. This order follows the facts in the guides above:
- Meet Forge at the Outpost in Weeping Creek Valley. After that, every bell gets an Upgrade Equipment option (All Things How, updated Oct 30).
- Take Jagged Steel to level 5 first. That’s where its guard-break special unlocks. Maxroll says levels 5, 15 and 25 usually add a new move, and levels 10, 20 and 30 boost a passive.
- Make your second weapon a different class. One-Handed weapons use Forged Metal, Two-Handed weapons use Broadplate Metal, and Dual-Wield weapons use Twinned Metal. All three also need Solvent and Remnant Dust. Maxroll and PC Gamer both suggest pairing two classes so the weapons don’t compete for one metal. That makes the Outlaw Warblade (Two-Handed) a natural partner for Jagged Steel (One-Handed). KeenGamer suggests the starting Wooden Sanguine instead for guard breaks, but that’s also One-Handed and shares Forged Metal.
- Stay at level 10 or below while you’re testing weapons. Reverting gives back every material and all the Remnant Dust. It’s free through level 10, costs 1 Weapon Reforge Talisman from 11 to 20, and costs 2 from level 21 (Maxroll). Maxroll also says the game hands out “a generous number” of talismans.
- Grab the Livingwood Talisman in the Village of Lu before you rely on bleed against Puppets.
- Soul Temper your main weapon in Pangzhen. Myst unlocks tempering there. Jagged Steel needs the Iron Butcher Mask, the Outlaw Warblade needs the Six Paths Warrant, and the Wild Oriole Sword needs the Supreme Order Token, which turns it into Tianmiao · Wild Oriole (Maxroll).
- Later, upgrade more weapons. Maxroll says you find plenty of materials in the later areas and can max out several weapons.
Each weapon class needs its own metal plus Solvent and Remnant Dust, so two classes don't compete for materials. AI-generated illustration
What early upgrades cost
All Things How recorded these costs on its upgrade screens. Lower-tier metals cover the early levels, and the Polished and Flawless versions take over later (Maxroll).
| Upgrade | Metal | Solvent | Remnant Dust | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jagged Steel, Lv. 1 to 2 | 2 Forged Metal | 1 | 1,080 | 240 to 264 |
| Jagged Steel, Lv. 2 to 3 | 4 Forged Metal | 2 | 1,620 | 264 to 288 |
| Sanguine Twin, Lv. 1 to 2 | 2 Twinned Metal | 1 | 990 | 200 to 220 |
| Sanguine Twin, Lv. 4 to 5 | 6 Twinned Metal | 3 | 2,475 | 260 to 280 |
| Sanguine Twin, Lv. 5 to 6 | 6 Twinned Metal | 3 | 2,970 | 280 to 300 |
If you’re short on metal, the store at the Mirrorwood Lóng Pillar bell in the Crimson Forest sells Forged, Twinned and Broadplate Metal for 1,040 Remnant Dust each, with 12 of each in stock. It sells Solvent for 832 each, with 36 in stock. Weapon Reforge Talismans cost 2,000 (All Things How). Maxroll has one more tip: upgrading the Sanguine, Sanguine Reach and Sanguine Twin unlocks a new skill for every weapon of the same class. That makes the cheap starter weapons worth a few levels too.
Best Phantom Edges to upgrade
Phantom Edges don’t use Solvent or weapon metals. Each Edge type has its own material: Exotic Copper Ingot for Martial, Darkfire Charcoal for Destruction, Mechanical Gear for Artifice, Ancient Timber for Ranged and Incense Ash for Summon (All Things How). The Mirrorwood store stocks only 6 of each of the first four, so pick one or two Edges to level. Only one of our four guides ranks Phantom Edges. KeenGamer’s S tier is:
- Dread Axe (Destruction): breaks shields with heavy hits. It goes from 309 to 587 damage between levels 1 and 10, per All Things How.
- Iron Gauntlets (Martial): good against shields, with a stoneskin effect.
- Kuye Temple Prayer Beads: summons Bronze Men to fight with you.
- Inanis’ Radiant Fan: recovers HP and Sha-Chi. It’s a tale reward in the Mountain of Imprisonment (PowerPyx).
KeenGamer’s A tier adds Flaming Mane, Thunder Spear and Puppeteer’s Bell, plus three Edges that also open new paths: the Hunter’s Chain Sickle, Feather Bow and Bashpole.
Don’t miss these weapons
PowerPyx flags two of the ranked weapons as missable. The Wild Oriole Sword sits on the dock after the Mu Xiaokui fight in the Village of Lu, and the elevator breaks once you leave. The Fiend Saws require the Young Mistress tale (five ribbons) before that fight. Our Phantom Blade Zero side quests guide lists every missable tale. Most other weapons come from bosses, and the bosses list by region shows which boss drops what.
Going for the platinum? Steam’s “Overwhelming Force” and “Skill Over Strength” achievements ask for a weapon and a Phantom Edge at level 30, and “A Tempered Ten” asks you to temper 10 weapons. Our Phantom Blade Zero trophy list has the rest. New players should start with our beginner’s guide for parrying and Sha-Chi basics.
One caveat on all of these rankings: they’re from the launch version. As of October 31, 14:30 UTC, S-GAME’s Steam announcements list no post-launch balance patch. If one changes weapon numbers, the picks above may shift.
FAQ
What is the best weapon in Phantom Blade Zero?
Jagged Steel is the most common pick. Maxroll and PC Gamer call it the best, and KeenGamer puts it in S tier. You get it from the first story boss. For a safer style, Maxroll and Wccftech pick the Outlaw Warblade.
Can you reset weapon upgrades in Phantom Blade Zero?
Yes. Reverting at a bell returns the weapon to level 1 and refunds everything you spent. It’s free up to level 10, then costs 1 Weapon Reforge Talisman (2 from level 21), per Maxroll.
What is the max weapon level in Phantom Blade Zero?
Level 30. Steam’s “Overwhelming Force” achievement is for upgrading a weapon to level 30, and “Skill Over Strength” is the same for a Phantom Edge.
Sources: PlayStation Blog (Oct 28, 2026); Maxroll best weapons guide and weapon database (Tenkiei, Oct 29); PC Gamer Jagged Steel guide and top 20 tips (Sean Martin, Oct 29); Wccftech Outlaw Warblade guide (Francesco De Meo, Oct 28 10 pm EDT); KeenGamer best weapons tier list (Ali Amir, Oct 29); All Things How upgrade guide (updated Oct 30); PowerPyx Village of Lu collectibles; Steam achievements and S-GAME’s Steam announcements. Checked October 31, 2026, 14:30 to 14:50 UTC.
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