How to Polish Accessories in Phantom Blade Zero

TL;DR

Accessory polishing unlocks after you reach the Village of Lu and speak to an NPC called Jewel.
First polish costs a Tainted Crystal Shard + Remnant Dust. Second polish needs a Refined Indigo Crystal + Remnant Dust.
After meeting Jewel once, you can polish at any Bell in the game — no need to return to her each time.
Materials spent are not refundable, unlike weapon upgrades. Spend carefully.
Most accessories cap at +2 on a first playthrough. More levels unlock in NG+ (Cycles).

Accessories in Phantom Blade Zero are not just passive bonuses you forget about. They actively shape how Soul fights — whether that means hitting harder, surviving longer, or generating Sha-Chi more efficiently. And their base effects are just the beginning.

Polishing them is what takes a good accessory and makes it genuinely powerful. But the game doesn’t hand-hold you through the system. You need the right NPC, the right materials, and a bit of judgment about what to upgrade first. Here is everything you need to know.

Table of Contents

What Does Polishing Accessories Mean in Phantom Blade Zero?

Polishing is the accessory upgrade system in Phantom Blade Zero. It improves an accessory’s passive effect — not just a small number tweak, but a real leap in what the piece actually does.

A Preservation Jar that cuts poison damage by 50% becomes 80% after polishing. A Jewel’s Knot that raises HP by 15% becomes 25%. That kind of difference adds up fast in tougher encounters.

The catch is simple but important: polishing materials are spent permanently. Weapon upgrades in this game allow refunds. Accessory polishing does not. So think before you commit a crystal to something you might swap out later.

Accessories are split into three types — Offensive, Defensive, and Support. All three can be polished, and the improvement always fits the category. Offensive accessories deal more damage, defensive ones reduce damage taken, and support accessories strengthen Sha-Chi or Phantom Edge mechanics.

How to Polish Accessories in Phantom Blade Zero

How to Polish Accessories in Phantom Blade Zero — Unlock Jewel First

You cannot polish accessories from the start. The system unlocks when you meet an NPC named Jewel, and you reach her by playing through the main story.

Here is what to do:

Play through the main story until you complete the Crimson Forest (the second region).
Continue into the Village of Lu (the third region) and progress until the Snake’s Reflection main quest triggers a cutscene with Jewel.
After the scene, Jewel stays at her red work table near the Place of Awakening Bell.
Talk to her and select “Polish Accessories” from the dialogue options.
From the menu, switch to the Accessories tab and select whichever piece you want to upgrade.
Hold the confirm button to complete the polish.

How to Polish Accessories in Phantom Blade Zero 1

That first conversation with Jewel is all you need. After that, you never have to come back to her specifically. Any Bell in the game will have the polishing option available under the Upgrade Equipment menu — just switch over to the Accessories tab.

What Materials Do You Need to Polish Accessories?

Polishing costs two things: a special crystal and a Remnant Dust fee. The crystal type depends on which polish level you are going for.

How to Polish Accessories in Phantom Blade Zero 2

Tainted Crystal Shard — First Polish

Every accessory’s first polish costs one Tainted Crystal Shard. Its item description reads: “Required to polish an accessory for the first time.” The Remnant Dust cost on top of it varies by accessory — anywhere from around 3,000 to over 80,000 depending on the piece.

Refined Indigo Crystal — Second Polish

Fourteen accessories in the game can be polished a second time. That second step costs one Refined Indigo Crystal plus another Remnant Dust fee. You need to complete the first polish before the second unlock becomes available.

Where to Find Polishing Materials

How to Get Tainted Crystal Shards

There are two main ways to get Tainted Crystal Shards:

Free pickups in Mirrorwood Depths (Crimson Forest): Head to the Mirrorwood Depths Bell and enter the gate flanked by lantern trees. A purple glint just inside the gate gives you one shard. Continue past the “New Life” memory flower bed into the forest beyond for a second shard nearby.
Buy from any Bell store: After finding the Mirrorwood Long Pillar Bell, the Bell’s Shop sells one Tainted Crystal Shard for 7,440 Remnant Dust. You can also buy them from Quick Hand Zhang at his hideouts once you discover them across the map.

How to Get Refined Indigo Crystals

Free pickup in Mirrorwood Depths: Near the “New Life” flower bed in the same area as the Tainted Crystal Shards, look for a black bird sitting on a purple glint. Press the interact button to pick up the Refined Indigo Crystal there.
Buy from Quick Hand Zhang: His hideouts in the Village of Lu, Pangzhen, Meigu Lake, and Mirage Estate all carry this crystal for 9,920 Remnant Dust. More hideouts you discover means more stock available to buy.

It is worth grabbing both crystals on the same trip through Mirrorwood Depths — they sit very close together and you can pick them up before you even meet Jewel.

How to Polish Accessories at a Bell

Once you have unlocked polishing through Jewel, you do not need to return to her. Here is how to do it at any Bell:

Interact with any Bell in the game.
Open the Upgrade Equipment menu.
Switch the tab from weapons over to Accessories.
Select the accessory you want to polish — the preview shows you what the upgraded effect will be and the exact cost.
Hold the button to confirm the polish.

If the Accessories tab is missing from the Upgrade Equipment menu, it simply means you have not spoken to Jewel yet. Go back and complete the Snake’s Reflection quest first.

How Many Times Can You Polish an Accessory?

On your first playthrough, most accessories can be polished once (to +1). A smaller group of fourteen accessories can go up to +2 — these are the ones that need the Refined Indigo Crystal for the second step.

Once you enter NG+ (called Cycles), the system opens up further. Each accessory has up to six additional polish steps locked behind later Cycles. So the accessories you invest in now will keep scaling deeper into the endgame if you keep playing.

Which Accessories Should You Polish First?

Because materials are permanent, this decision matters. Here are some practical rules to follow:

Only polish what you are actively using. Do not spend a crystal on a piece you picked up two regions ago and never equipped. Polish the accessories that are part of your current build.
Offensive accessories first if you feel damage is low. Each polish adds roughly 3% extra damage — and on offense-focused builds that stacks up quickly across six slots.
Defensive accessories if you are dying often. The same 3% damage reduction per polish can take the sting out of punishing bosses.
Check the before and after preview. Some accessories change their effect in a meaningful way at +1, not just a stat increase. Read what you are getting before committing.
Do not polish accessories you plan to replace soon. If you are about to enter a new region, wait until you see what drops before spending resources.

For a full look at every accessory in the game and what each one does, check out our Phantom Blade Zero all weapons list and our complete Phantom Blade Zero all Phantom Edges list to plan your overall build before committing upgrade materials.

Polishing Accessories vs Upgrading Weapons — Key Difference

This is worth repeating because players get caught out by it. In Phantom Blade Zero, weapon upgrades are refundable. If you level up a weapon and later want to switch builds, you get those materials back.

Accessory polishing works differently. Once you polish an accessory, that material is gone. There is no refund option. This makes weapon upgrades a safer experiment, while accessory polishing should only happen once you are confident in a build direction.

Phantom Blade Zero Accessory Polishing in NG+ and Cycles

If you are pushing into NG+, the polish system keeps going. Each new Cycle adds 25 levels to enemies and unlocks additional polish steps for accessories. Every accessory in the game has up to six extra polish levels gated behind later Cycles.

Each of those later-Cycle steps adds:

+3% damage dealt for Offensive accessories
+3% damage reduction for Defensive accessories
Increased Maximum Sha-Chi for Support accessories

So the accessories you polish in your first run are not wasted. They carry forward and keep improving the deeper you go into Cycles.

More Phantom Blade Zero Guides

Now that your accessories are polished and your build is coming together, here are some guides to help you across other parts of the game:

Phantom Blade Zero is available on PlayStation Store, Steam, and Epic Games Store. The official site is at pbz.s-game.com.