Phantom Blade Zero Endings Explained: True Ending Requirements

Spoiler warning: this guide discusses Phantom Blade Zero endings in detail, including what triggers each one and what the True Ending requires. If you want to go in blind, bookmark this and come back after the credits roll.

Phantom Blade Zero launched on October 29, 2026 on PC and PlayStation 5, and guides still disagree on how many endings it has. IGN and KeenGamer list four Phantom Blade Zero endings: Final Battle, Lóng's Roar, Annihilation and Undying Grudge. PC Gamer counts three and PowerPyx two, and before launch the director spoke of eight. Only Final Battle is the true ending. Guides agree it needs every Tale marked with a purple icon finished before you enter Mirage Estate, Secrets at the Heart of the Lake above all, and Game8 and KeenGamer add Bloodline Awakening and Quick Hand Zhang's requests. Below: what each guide found, why the counts differ, the full requirements, and New Game Plus if you missed it.

How many endings does Phantom Blade Zero have?

IGN and KeenGamer both list four endings: Final Battle (the true ending), Lóng's Roar, Annihilation and Undying Grudge. IGN says each has its own cutscene and its own requirements. Other guides count fewer. PC Gamer counts three: one bad ending, one slightly less bad ending, and the True Ending, which lets you face the final boss and grants the Final Battle ending. PowerPyx documents two, Normal and True.

Before launch, director Soulframe Liang told Game Rant that the game would have eight endings depending on how many side quests a player completes. No published guide has documented eight separate finales, so there's a real gap between that pre-release statement and what reviewers and wikis have actually mapped out after release.

The counts differ because the guides count different things, not because one of them is wrong. Three of the four named endings play out at the end of the main story: KeenGamer notes that all three Mount Soulrend endings award the same Gold trophy, for defeating Meng Hua. The fourth, Undying Grudge, only comes from failing the 66 Days mode that unlocks once you finish the game (IGN). Count only the story endings and you get three, which fits PC Gamer's count; PowerPyx's two splits the outcomes into Normal and True. As for the director's eight, Game Rant, which ran that interview, now describes most of the game's endings as variations of the regular ending. No guide has published eight distinct finales, so this one doesn't guess at what they are.

What decides which ending you get

Across the four named endings, here's what each guide says triggers them:

• Annihilation — according to IGN, this is the regular ending you get if you haven't finished the purple-marked quests, particularly Secrets at the Heart of the Lake. KeenGamer calls it the default ending.
• Final Battle (the true ending) — requires the full chain of purple quests completed before the point of no return, detailed in the next section.
• Lóng's Roar — the partial ending. KeenGamer says it triggers when every true ending requirement is complete except Bloodline Awakening, that is, with at least one Long Pillar left unfinished; fan wikis such as wikily.gg likewise describe it as completing only part of the chain.
• Undying Grudge — IGN calls this the secret ending, reached by failing the 66 Days mode that unlocks after you finish the game; KeenGamer says it is exclusive to 66 Days. Its ending card describes failing to uncover the truth before the end of Soul's sixty-six-day lifespan.

Phantom Blade Zero true ending requirements

Where IGN, Polygon, GameSpot and Game8 agree, the Phantom Blade Zero true ending (the Final Battle ending) comes down to finishing every Tale marked with a purple icon in the quest log before entering Mirage Estate. Treat reaching Mirage Estate as the deadline: IGN warns that some purple quests fail if left too late, and KeenGamer says walking through the Mirage Estate door at the Green Serpent House in Pangzhen locks every unfinished Tale from before it. KeenGamer names a second cutoff, the Last Chance bell: past it you can't leave the final boss sequence until an ending plays, so the fifth Long Pillar and Zhang's relics have to be done before that bell.

For side quests outside the true-ending chain, see our Phantom Blade Zero side-quest walkthrough.

The key chains the guides name are:

1. Secrets at the Heart of the Lake — a multi-stage quest tracking down four Acolyte Masks in the Village of Lu, Pangzhen, Meigu Lake and Crimson Manor, according to games.gg. Polygon notes its last step is defeating the Blizzard Blademaster, the final boss of the Phantom Illusionist Ruins, and placing the two Puppet Crystal Eyes into the statue that appears after the fight.
2. Bloodline Awakening — a set of five Long Pillar challenges fought against the Gold-Masked One, spread across Weeping Creek Valley, the Crimson Forest, Meigu Lake, the Phantom Illusionist's realm, and Mirage Estate itself, according to games.gg. IGN's walkthrough likewise puts the first pillar in Weeping Creek Valley and the fourth in the Phantom Illusionist Ruins at Meigu Lake.
3. Quick Hand Zhang's requests — Polygon describes it as five objectives, one for each area, in which you locate 16 jade boxes containing unique treasures; PC Gamer says you deliver the treasures to the thief. PC Gamer adds that completing this chain also grants the Flying Dagger and Goldblaze Phantom Edges, two weapons otherwise unavailable. PC Gamer said it was only "pretty certain" this quest line was required, but Polygon and Game8 both list it as mandatory for the true ending.

With every requirement done, defeat Zuo Shang, the True Lóng. IGN says this is the regular final boss fight, but with every step completed it unlocks The Final Battle. PC Gamer specifies that the true ending path is what lets you fight Zuo Shang's second form and unlocks the "With Heart and Blood" achievement — the other endings don't let you fight his second form.

For trophies and achievements, IGN says the True Ending is the only ending you need, and you can get it in a single playthrough.

Missed the true ending? Using New Game Plus

If Mirage Estate came and went without finishing the purple quests, the next opportunity is New Game Plus. After the credits, talking to Inanis lets you start a New Cycle, the game's name for New Game Plus. Later on, you can reach her again by fast travelling from any bell to the Puppet Cell in the Mountain of Imprisonment, according to PCGamesN. PC Gamer adds that starting a new cycle lets you choose the difficulty for that playthrough.

According to Game8, a New Cycle carries over your equipment (weapons, Phantom Edges and accessories), your Skills and your Archive collection; PCGamesN adds progression items and Ability Training. Quests, map progress, key items and remaining days reset (Game8, PCGamesN), so the purple Tales for the true ending have to be done again in the new cycle. PCGamesN calls it "an even more perilous journey through the Wulin", though you start with everything you finished the last run with.

Tips for locking in the true ending

• Check your quest log regularly for purple-icon Tales and prioritize finishing them before story progress pushes you toward Mirage Estate.
• Start Secrets at the Heart of the Lake early. PC Gamer calls its Crimson Manor stage "definitely the longest": you need to fix the Illusory Pipa, complete Whence the Weeping and get through the Mandate Encampment area.
• Don't skip Quick Hand Zhang's requests even though PC Gamer was only "pretty certain" about the requirement — the reward weapons make it worth doing regardless, and two other outlets treat it as mandatory.

Frequently asked questions

How many endings does Phantom Blade Zero have?

IGN and KeenGamer list four: Final Battle (the true ending), Lóng's Roar, Annihilation and Undying Grudge. PC Gamer counts three and PowerPyx two. Three of the four play out at the end of the main story, while Undying Grudge only comes from failing the 66 Days mode. Before launch the director told Game Rant there would be eight, but no guide has documented eight distinct finales.

What is the Phantom Blade Zero true ending?

It's called Final Battle, and it's reached by completing every purple-marked Tale before entering Mirage Estate, along with Bloodline Awakening and Quick Hand Zhang's requests, then defeating Zuo Shang. That path adds his second-form fight and the "With Heart and Blood" achievement, according to IGN and PC Gamer.

What is the Phantom Blade Zero perfect ending?

IGN notes that the True Ending is also called the "Perfect Ending"; it's the same Final Battle outcome reached by finishing all required side quests before the point of no return.

Do I need New Game Plus to get the true ending?

No. IGN notes the True Ending is achievable in a single playthrough as long as the required quests are finished before Mirage Estate.

What carries over into New Game Plus?

According to Game8 and PCGamesN, your equipment (weapons, Phantom Edges, accessories), Skills, Ability Training and Archive collection carry over into a New Cycle. Quests, map progress, key items and remaining days reset.

Sources

• How to get the True Ending in Phantom Blade Zero — PC Gamer