Side quests and how they change the ending
Phantom Blade Zero's side quests decide which ending you reach: they have several outcomes, some open new story paths, and the true ending needs the purple ones finished before set points of the story. The director puts side missions and extra content at about 20 hours on top of the story.
By Edwin Galibert · Updated
How side quests change the story
- A side quest can end more than one way, and some outcomes open new story paths.
- Certain story beats check whether you carry a specific item. Having it or not branches the story.
- Who you kill or spare carries forward: the Red Wraith comes back later if you let her go.
- Quests marked in purple are the ones to do first: they lead to hidden bosses, new gear and extra story, and some secret bosses are needed for the true ending.
What you can miss
The story checks what you carry at set points, so an item you do not have when a check comes sends the story down another branch. What the true ending asks for is on the endings page. These are the moments that close content for good:
| Moment | What you lose | Do this first |
|---|---|---|
| Leaving Quick Hand Zhang in his cage by the Trail of Cages bell, Crimson Forest | The Quick Hand Pendant, The Wily Hare's Three Dens, Quick Hand's Request with the Flying Dagger, and the trophy Lost and Found | Open the cage and talk to him |
| The fight with Bai Chilian, end of Crimson Forest | The people of the Mandate outpost and the Thieves' Camp turn Maskless and hostile, and their quests end | Finish Apprentice Healer before Jing Ye, then A Healer's Mercy (heal four thieves), the Flesh Lily for Yu'er and Secrets of the Baishan Sect |
| The fight with Mu Xiaokui, end of Village of Lu | Her third phase against Iron Fiend and the Jade Dancer, with the Fiend Saws | Finish Young Mistress |
| Entering Mirage Estate | The first limit for the true ending | Finish The Four Serpent Houses and the purple quests listed on the endings page |
Seven trophies can be missed this way: With Heart and Blood, Forbidden Arts Beneath the Lake, Phantom and Blade, The Last of Baishan, The Healer's Legacy, Lost and Found and The Two Blade Masters.
In Village of Lu, finish the quest Young Mistress before you fight Mu Xiaokui. Her fight then gets a third phase against Iron Fiend and the Jade Dancer, who drop the Fiend Saws, a Fist Fragment: Core and Puppet No. 44's Eye. One guide ties the quest to five of her ribbons hidden around the village.
Side quests named in the finished game
Launch-review footage of the English build shows these quests in the Tales tab or as on-screen banners, with the objective the game gives. Quests behind a trophy are on the trophy list.
| Quest | Objective on screen | Where it was seen |
|---|---|---|
| Four Fierce Axes | Uncover the truth behind The Four Axes Rebellion (banner); Gather evidence of the conspiracy against The Four Axes (7 pieces) (quest list). Piece 5 is Gu Lingran's letter to Sect Leader Ming, proposing the trap that lured the Four Axes | Weeping Creek Valley |
| A Severed Mindseal | Find a Primal Stone in Weeping Creek Valley for the friendly Shadow Warden; Give the Primal Stone to the friendly Shadow Warden in Weeping Creek Valley | Given by the Shadow Warden at the Valley Sha-Chi Tower Summit; the stone comes out of the tower's furnace. Its trophy is Spectral Blade |
| Bloodline Awakening | Find all five Lóng Pillars and complete their trials (0/5) | Starts at the Lóng Pillar of Weeping Creek Valley; its trophy is Phantom and Blade |
| Crimson Manor | Continue exploring to find a way into Crimson Manor | Banner at the manor's puppet-shaped lock, Weeping Creek Valley |
| Flesh Lily | What Nourishes the Flawless Bloom? | Weeping Creek Valley quest list; part of The Healer's Legacy trophy |
| Triple Threat | Learn more about the Three-Faced Puppet | Banner at The Lady's Rift bell after a first try at the Aberrant Three-faced Puppet |
| Apprentice Healer | Find the three herbs listed in Yu'er's medicinal recipe in Weeping Creek Valley (3) | Given by Yu'er at the Mandate outpost; part of The Healer's Legacy trophy. One herb is Congealeaf, a thick-leaved white plant at the foot of a cliff among yellow wildflowers. Her reward is the Medicine Case accessory, +20% healing from Medicine |
| Festering Secret | What secret lies within the outpost's chain-sealed courtyard? (banner); Investigate the chain sealed courtyard at the outpost; Uncover the truth of how the Mandate disciples became Maskwalkers; Confront the captain about the suspected Transcension; Deliver the captain's order to his lieutenant at the Sha-Chi Tower outskirts; Show the captain evidence of Gu Lingran's crimes | Mandate outpost, Weeping Creek Valley; the courtyard is chained shut until you have the Dread Axe |
| Purge the Sect | Eliminate the Old Archer's corrupted disciples at the Ruthless Archer Camp | Banner on the outpost rooftops, Weeping Creek Valley. The camp gives the Broken-String Bow, which the Brooding Old Archer turns into the Feather Bow |
| Pillars of Kunlun | Discover what happened to the Pillars of Kunlun | Banner |
| Secrets at the Heart of the Lake | Find Firefly's Memory Flowers (6) | Banner; its trophy is Forbidden Arts Beneath the Lake |
| Resonant Strings | Collect Memory Flowers of Inanis and the Chord (6) | Banner |
| Illusory Pipa | Recover the head, strings, and backplate of the Chord's pipa (3) | Banner |
| Quick Hand's Request | Trade with the merchant Quick Hand Zhang | Banner; all of them unlock Lost and Found |
Several of these quests pay out in Memory Flowers, which raise maximum HP: completing the three petals of the Mandate Masters' Memory Flower gave +7% HP in the footage.
Quick Hand's Request has more than one objective. Another banner reads "Collect all the treasures in the Crimson Forest (2/3)", the first on-screen mention of a Crimson Forest, the second region of the story.
Story quests use the same banners. Snake's Reflection, a story quest, gives the objective "Find another way into Pangzhen".
Where each side quest starts and what it gives
| Quest | Where it starts | Reward |
|---|---|---|
| Flesh Lily | Weeping Creek Valley: Yu'er, by the campfire at The Beginning bell | Leads to Hua, Deadly Betrothed, who drops the Scarlet Wraithblade |
| Apprentice Healer | Yu'er, at the Mandate outpost | Medicine Case: +20% healing from Medicine |
| A Healer's Mercy | Yu'er again, at the Thieves' Camp in Crimson Forest | Not confirmed. Yu'er's other accessory, the Calming Gourd, is the likely reward: using Medicine clears Guard Break and stops Sha-Chi costs for 3 seconds |
| Purge the Sect | The Old Archer, on the roof of the house east of the Outpost bell | Feather Bow |
| Festering Secret | The chained courtyard by the Outpost bell, which opens once you have the Dread Axe | Not known yet |
| A Severed Mindseal | The friendly Shadow Warden at the Valley Sha-Chi Tower Summit bell | The trophy Spectral Blade |
| Honor Among Thieves | A blood letter dropped by an enemy at a campfire north of the Outlaw Trap bell | Silent Wrap |
| Secrets of the Baishan Sect | A woman on the bridge south of the Outlaw Trap bell, the way into the Crimson Forest hub | The Soft Snake Sword and the Baishan Stormswords |
| The Wily Hare's Three Dens | Free Quick Hand Zhang from his cage by the Trail of Cages bell, then talk to him | Quick Hand Pendant: +10% damage with one-handed weapons |
| Quick Hand's Request | Zhang's hideout at the Thieves' Camp: bring him three treasures | Flying Dagger |
| A Puppet's Wooden Heart | Village of Lu: the Songstress Puppet at the Temple of Blue Fireflies bell | A Puppet's Wooden Heart, an accessory: summons last 25% longer |
| Young Master Lan | Village of Lu: Lan Shaodi at the Young Master Lan's Hideout bell | Crimson Resolve: land three hits within a second and your damage rises 15% for 2 seconds, once every 5 seconds |
| Young Mistress | Village of Lu | A third phase in Mu Xiaokui's fight, against Iron Fiend and the Jade Dancer, who drop the Fiend Saws |
| Xue, Admirer of Heroes | Mandate Encampment, after the fight with Corpse-Eating Xue | Sha-Chi Headscarf |
Honor Among Thieves: the three answers
In Crimson Forest, an enemy by a campfire drops Wulin Tales: Blood Letter from the Nimble Thief, and the banner asks you to deliver it to his brother, the Gentle Thief. He sits on crates in a building just off the bridge into the forest's hub and asks three questions about the letter.
| Question | Answer to pick |
|---|---|
| What did he do at thirteen that he never stopped bragging about? | Stole a patron's jade belt |
| What did the head of the hairpin that doomed him look like? | Butterfly |
| What became of the child? | The letter didn't mention the child. It seems his fate is unknown. |
Three right answers end the quest and give the Silent Wrap, a Support accessory: "Reduces noise from footsteps and Assassinations by 50%."
Secrets of the Baishan Sect and the Thieves Camp Dungeon Key
A woman on the rope bridge into the Crimson Forest hub starts Secrets of the Baishan Sect: "Find Junior Sister Meng at the mountain lodge". The lodge is the house on the rock by the Cliffside Lodge bell; the basement door below it is marked Does not open from this side.
- Clear the enemies around the lodge for the Crimson Forest Cellar Crank, and fit it into the cellar mechanism on the ledge above the basement.
- The tunnel below is poisoned and guarded by a large enemy. Along it lie the Memory Flower petal On Perfect Transcension, IV. The Means to Resist, a Blackstone Fragment in a chest behind bars, and the Crimson Forest Secret Chamber Crank, clenched in a dead Baishan disciple's hand.
- The chest at the end of the path holds the Thieves Camp Dungeon Key. It opens the dungeon door down the path behind the hub.
Quick Hand Zhang's three treasures
Quick Hand's Request in Crimson Forest reads "Collect all the treasures in the Crimson Forest". The game puts no marker on the three green chests. They hold a Bloodstained Seal, a Sect Leader's Snuff Bottle and an Ancient Crossbow. Bring them to Zhang in his cave at the Thieves' Camp and he gives you the Flying Dagger.
| Treasure | Where the green chest is |
|---|---|
| 1 | In the main-path tunnel past the trapdoor, in the Outlaw Trap area: kill the brute with dogs at the foot of the ladder, then take the small tunnel. The chest sits on a raised wooden platform. |
| 2 | A little north of the Thieves' Camp, guarded by a handler who calls in hounds. |
| 3 | Inside the Thieves' Camp dungeon, on the right, behind the door the Thieves Camp Dungeon Key opens. On the left lies the man from Yu'er's medicine quest. |
In the order one launch-day run collected them.
The brute in the first tunnel also drops Preservation Talisman Fragment II, half of the Preservation Jar, which halves poison damage. Zhang's line when you hand the treasures over: "Woah… the craftsmanship, the quality… These are clearly no ordinary pieces."
Zhang has a second set to collect in Village of Lu: the White Jade Twins, the Wedding Candles and the Unveiled Statue. Bring him all three for the Fine Thread, an accessory that makes summons and controlled objects deal 50% more damage.
Quest items and what they open
Story items sit in their own tab and are never sold. The ones below come from bosses or loot and feed a quest.
| Item | Where it comes from | What it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Three-Headed Doll | Aberrant Three-Faced Puppet, Weeping Creek Valley | The tale Triple Threat |
| Guardian Idol Fragment: Arm | Peng Meng, with the Dread Axe | Half of an accessory not shown yet |
| Forest Outpost Courtyard Key | Loot in Crimson Forest | A courtyard gate of the forest outpost |
| Crimson Flesh Lily | Blaze, Shadow Warden Captain, Pangzhen | The Flesh Lily quest chain |
| Illusory Pipa Head | Dusk the Puppeteer, Village of Lu | The quest Illusory Pipa |
| Puppet No. 44's Eye | Iron Fiend and the Jade Dancer, Village of Lu | A quest item |
| Fist Fragment: Core | Iron Fiend and the Jade Dancer, Village of Lu | An accessory fragment |
FAQ
Do side quests matter in Phantom Blade Zero?
Yes. They decide which ending you get: skip the purple ones and the true ending closes.
By Edwin Galibert · Last checked Oct 29, 2026 · How we source · Report an error