In Chapter 2 of Phantom Blade Zero, players guide Soul from Weeping Creek Valley to the Outpost and on towards Pangzhen. The journey’s filled with battles, quests, and opportunities to gather essential items that enhance gameplay.
You’ll engage enemies, unlock new areas, and get to know various NPCs along the way. Players tend to overlook some collectibles and story elements, so pay attention to your surroundings to fully experience what this chapter offers.
Before diving into the details, ensure you’ve got your combat skills sharpened and perhaps a few resources stocked up. Being prepared will save you headaches when the tougher battles arise!
Start your journey by heading to the nearest outpost to ask for directions, as this will set the stage for the challenges ahead.
- Reach The Outpost
- Enter The Outpost Held By The Mandate
- Progress The Four Fierce Axes Tale
- Start The Purge The Sect Tale
- Unlock The Blacksmith
- Start The Festering Secret Tale
- Obtain The Cell Key
- Defeat Peng Meng, The Axemaster
- Progress The Four Fierce Axes Tale
- The Crane Bell Flashback
- Progress The Festering Secret Tale
- Start The Apprentice Healer Tale
- End Of Chapter
Reach The Outpost
After taking down the Jagged Steel, interact with the Bell nearby and ascend the stairs. At the top, you’ll find a book on the table; be sure to grab it before you continue.
As you proceed, brace yourself for an enemy encounter. Make sure to defeat all enemies to collect a Sha-Chi Amber Shard.
Before heading further, open the chest ahead to secure additional loot.
Moving through tall grass gives you the option to crouch and sneak past; try to get behind your enemies for a stealthy assassination.
If another enemy is in proximity, you can execute a chain assassination.
There’s another Bell ahead. Interact with it and drop down from the rooftops.
Utilize Soul’s abilities for drop-down assassinations, allowing you to eliminate an enemy from above and then take on any remaining foes.
Check inside the abandoned house on your right for a green item that serves as another collectible book.
Advance towards the Outpost gate. The guards will assist you against the enemies after confirming that Soul is not a threat.
Enter The Outpost Held By The Mandate
Once the enemies are defeated, before approaching the guards by the door, check the left for a staircase leading to a locked door.
This door requires a Cell Key and is marked on your map so you can locate it easily.
Now, approach the guard and introduce yourself. They will let you enter the outpost, where several characters await your interaction.
Throughout the outpost, look for hanging pots you can shoot down with a ranged weapon. Don’t worry about these for now; you can return after you obtain an appropriate weapon.
While exploring, discover a shop with a horse hitched outside. Speak to the shopkeeper to trade and unlock the Store function at the Bell.
Progress The Four Fierce Axes Tale
Move up from here to the house on the right. Inside, you’ll find a villager hiding; speaking with him reveals that the Axemaster has turned into a Maskwalker, and Soul must deal with him.
His location is visible on your map, situated further west of the Outpost. We’ll tackle this later.
Start The Purge The Sect Tale
Outside the house, talk to the man sitting on the rooftop. He shares that his disciples have become Maskwalkers, and it brings him great shame.
He requests Soul to head to their camp outside the valley. This camp is marked on your map, located at the northernmost part of the region.
Unlock The Blacksmith
Continue past the old beggar until you find a female blacksmith. She’s here to assist Soul in growing stronger for his journey ahead.
With Forge’s help, you can upgrade your weapons using materials gathered during your adventures. This also unlocks the Upgrade Equipment option at the Bell.
Before you leave, don’t forget to pick up the two-handed weapon, Sanguine Reach, displayed behind her.
Start The Festering Secret Tale
Opposite Forge, notice two soldiers guarding a chained entrance. Soul suspects they’re hiding something.
You can’t get past the blocked entrance without a massive axe to cleave the steel.
After taking care of this area, ring the Bell to save your progress. There are two paths from the Bell — the left leads to guards, making it impassable for now.
Obtain The Cell Key
Proceed up the right path, and again, you’ll hit a fork. Take the right path and circle around the house to the stairs on your right.
These stairs lead you to the upper floor, where an orange loot item awaits. Grab it for the Cell Key. With this key, you can unlock the door found earlier at the Outpost entrance.
You’ll notice the key’s icon has turned green on your map, confirming it’s now in your inventory.
Fast travel to the Outpost Courtyard and head towards the locked door. Open it to obtain the Blackstone Shard.
Defeat Peng Meng, The Axemaster
Backtrack to the path split, now heading towards the left where you’ll find the Axemaster waiting. Prepare yourself; this is a boss fight.
Peng Meng wields a large axe and relies on slow but powerful attacks. Look for the telltale signs: his moves are easy to read, allowing you to prioritize parrying.
When Peng Meng lifts his foot and stomps, pay attention to his next move. If he reaches for you, dodge just before his grab connects to interrupt him.
He can also swing his axe across his body, so backstep or parry his stomp to evade this attack.
His axe combos may start with a quick upward strike, followed by an overhead lash. Parry the initial hit then block just before the overhead hit lands to counteract his follow-up strike.
Beware of his blue-flash moves that follow combos. If you’re unsure about your parry timing, simply back away. However, parrying this attack interrupts his follow-up, allowing you to retaliate.
If he charges forward with a horizontal swing, parry the incoming attack but be cautious of his potential Axe Drop that may come next.
When he bends down to raise his weapon, brace for the axe coming down and then launch your counterattack when he recovers.
Peng Meng will also dive forward with an elbow charge. Dodge to either side as he lunges, taking the opportunity to strike back afterward.
During his double stomps, simply back away to avoid the area damage.
Using the Jarred Steel weapon for its bleeding effect is advantageous; upgrade it for more damage. When you successfully break his guard, unleash your Power Surge and Sha-Chi combos to maximize damage.
Defeating the Axemaster rewards you with his Dread Axe. Though not a primary weapon, it’s a Phantom Edge used to break certain obstacles, like the earlier locked door.
In combat, this axe is powerful, cleaving through armor effectively. Charge your attacks for even greater potency.
Progress The Four Fierce Axes Tale
After taking down the boss, you’ll receive another case file, moving forward the Four Fierce Axes Tale.
The Crane Bell Flashback
With the Axemaster defeated, a distinctive Bell appears with a crane statue and blue flowers. Interacting with it triggers a scene where Soul experiences a headache, leaning against the Bell.
This leads to a flashback showcasing a young Soul and Zuo Shang twenty-three years ago.
They were attacked by an old man, and just as he lunges to stab Soul, he halts the blade with bare hands, causing his eyes to turn red.
Zuo Shang steps in, stabbing the old man from behind, saving Soul.
The next part shows Master Mu Tianmiao teaching the boys martial arts to hone their skills.
This memory illustrates that Soul and Zuo were lifelong friends. It leaves a lingering question on how they ended up on opposing sides.
These Crane Bells allow players to relive memories and uncover Zuo Shang’s past in the Discordance, but function like any other Bell for saves and other options.
Progress The Festering Secret Tale
Before continuing the main story, fast travel back to the Outpost Bell and use the Dread Axe to break the chains. Inside, you’ll find people that have transformed into Maskwalkers.
A guard will accompany you to help defeat enemies here. Defeat the enemy on the stairs ahead for a Sha-Chi Amber Shard.
Completing this updates your objectives, directing you to report back to the captain at the Outpost entrance.
During the captain’s conversation, you must send a command to the lieutenant stationed outside the towering structure.
This will update your quest and reveal the lieutenant’s camp on your map. We’ll catch up with that later.
Start The Apprentice Healer Tale
At this point, you’ll find Yu’er at the Outpost, standing near the blacksmith. Engage her and select the “Gather Herbs” dialogue option.
Yu’er aims to assist the injured at the Outpost by creating healing salves but needs Soul’s help to gather necessary herbs.
The three herbs needed are marked on your map, which you can collect as you explore the valley.
End Of Chapter
Fast travel back to the Crane Bell and use the Dread Axe to break the chains. Follow the path leading towards the main objective marker to reach a camp.
You’ll see a cutscene showing the Hunt again and how he slaughtered everyone at this camp. You won’t battle him just yet, as he escapes again, promising Soul confrontation ahead.
Once the cutscene concludes, interact with the Bell here and pick up the book on the table. This contributes to progress in the Four Fierce Axes Tale, though you’ll need more evidence to continue solving the mystery.
You can also collect Remnant Dust and other loot around this camp, especially look for another collectible book located behind the camp, under the sagging house.
And that wraps up the chapter! Lots awaits you on your path to finding the Great Waterfall Yu’er mentioned.
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