How to Get the Perfect Ending in Phantom Blade Zero

TL;DR

Phantom Blade Zero has two main endings — the Normal Ending and the Perfect (True) Ending.
The Perfect Ending requires completing all purple-icon quests in your story journal before entering Mirage Estate.
You must defeat all four Acolyte bosses and collect their masks, then use them at the Frozen Mirror on Meigu Lake.
You also need to insert both Crystal Puppet Eyes into the statue inside the Phantom Illusionist Ruins.
Complete all five Long Pillar challenges and all of Quick Hand Zhang’s Relic quests.
Several quests are missable — some lock you out if you defeat certain bosses first.
Beat the true final boss after Meng Hua to unlock the Perfect Ending, called The Final Battle.

Table of Contents

Normal Ending vs. Perfect Ending in Phantom Blade Zero

Phantom Blade Zero has multiple endings in total. But the two that matter most for most players are the Normal Ending and the Perfect Ending — which the game also calls the True Ending.

The Normal Ending is what you get by default. You follow the main story, defeat the standard final boss, and the game ends. It’s not a bad ending, but it leaves a lot of the story unresolved.

The Perfect Ending is the complete version. It adds a true final boss fight after the standard finale. Beating that boss triggers the real conclusion — titled The Final Battle — and also unlocks the With Heart and Blood trophy and achievement. This is the ending the game is designed around, and it’s the one worth working toward.

The way you get it is simple in theory: complete a specific list of optional purple-icon quests before reaching the point of no return. Miss any of them, and you get the Normal Ending instead.

When to Worry About the Perfect Ending

You do not have to rush all of this early. The game gives you time. The main deadline is before you enter Mirage Estate in Pangzhen, which is the final major region before the endgame. Once you get the objective to enter Mirage Estate through the Green Serpent House, that is your signal to pause and finish everything on this list before moving forward.

That said, some quests have earlier deadlines tied to specific boss fights. A few can become permanently locked if you defeat the wrong boss before completing them. Those earlier deadlines are listed below, so read ahead if you want to stay safe from the start.

Complete All Purple-Icon Quests

Open your story journal and look for quests marked with a purple icon. These are the ones that count toward the Perfect Ending. Here is every quest you need to finish, organized by when and where they occur.

Phantom Blade Zero Whence the Weeping Quest Walkthrough 1

Weeping Creek Valley

A Severed Mindseal — Start and complete the first objective of this quest before leaving Weeping Creek Valley for good. If you exit the region without touching it, you can miss the early trigger. Our guide on the Primal Stone and A Severed Mindseal covers this quest in detail.

Crimson Forest

Crimson Forest has three time-sensitive quests. All three are tied to specific boss fights in the region, so pay attention to the order you tackle things.

Apprentice Healer — Complete this quest before defeating Jing Ye, The Outlaw. If you beat that boss first, this quest locks out. Our guide on herbs and the Apprentice Healer quest has everything you need.

A Healer’s Mercy — Complete this quest before defeating Bai Chilian, Lady of the Twin Serpents. Beating that boss closes the window for this one.

Flesh Lily — Collect the Flesh Lily from the arena after defeating boss Hua, Deadly Betrothed, and give it to Yu’er. Do this before you fight Bai Chilian, Lady of the Twin Serpents. The Flesh Lily location guide covers where to find it. This quest links into Whence the Weeping, which continues through the full game.

Secrets of the Baishan Sect — Accept this quest from NPC Lanlan in the Crimson Forest before fighting Bai Chilian, Lady of the Twin Serpents. If you miss the conversation with Lanlan before that boss fight, this quest becomes unavailable.

Village of Lu

The Journey Home — Accept this quest in the Village of Lu and complete its first objective before leaving the region and entering Pangzhen. The story picks back up later, but you need to trigger it here first.

Young Master Lan — Same situation as The Journey Home. Accept it and hit the first milestone while still in the Village of Lu before continuing to Pangzhen.

Phantom Blade Zero Where to Find a Bow 1

Meigu Lake

Secrets at the Heart of the Lake — This is the big one. It requires all four Acolyte Masks and both Crystal Puppet Eyes. See the full breakdown in the section below, and our dedicated guide on how to get past the Frozen Mirror on Meigu Lake.

Bloodline Awakening

Bloodline Awakening — This quest unlocks inside Mirage Estate and wraps up once you clear all five Long Pillar challenges. See the Long Pillars section below.

Defeat All Four Acolyte Bosses and Collect Their Masks

Across the world, you will find four strange scarecrows. Each one, when interacted with, triggers a boss fight against an Acolyte. Defeating each one gives you an elemental mask. You need all four.

Yanryu’s Blazing Mask — Found in the Village of Lu. Defeat Acolyte Yanru.
Leiting’s Thunder Mask — Found in Pangzhen. Requires the Flaming Mane Phantom Edge to reach the scarecrow. Defeat Acolyte Leiting.
Guhe’s Venom Mask — Found in Meigu Village near the Meigu Village East Dock. Defeat Acolyte Guhe.
Hansui’s Frost Mask — Found in the Crimson Manor. Defeat Acolyte Hansui. This is also where you find both Crystal Puppet Eyes, so leave this one for last.

With all four masks, return to the Frozen Mirror in the northwestern corner of Meigu Lake. Interact with the mirror and the masks shatter the barrier, transporting you to Meigu Lake’s Discordance — the Phantom Illusionist Ruins.

Enter the Phantom Illusionist Ruins and Use the Crystal Puppet Eyes

Inside the Phantom Illusionist Ruins, you will face a chapter-ending boss — the Blizzard Blademaster. This boss is technically optional to explore the region, but it is required for the Perfect Ending. You cannot skip it.

After defeating the Blizzard Blademaster, locate the statue inside the ruins. Insert both Crystal Puppet Eyes into it. This is what completes the Secrets at the Heart of the Lake quest in full. Without doing this, the Perfect Ending will not trigger no matter what else you have done. For a full breakdown of this step, see our guide on the Frozen Mirror and Phantom Illusionist Ruins.

Complete All Five Long Pillar Challenges

Long Pillars are optional encounters spread across the game world. There are five in total. Completing all five finishes the Bloodline Awakening quest, which is itself a required purple quest. Here is where to find each one:

Pillar 1 — Weeping Creek Valley
Pillar 2 — Crimson Forest
Pillar 3 — Meigu Lake (on the eastern island, accessible by boat)
Pillar 4 — Phantom Illusionist Ruins (the hidden realm behind the Frozen Mirror — requires all four Acolyte Masks)
Pillar 5 — Found in Pangzhen, in the final area of the game before the true ending

The fourth pillar is the one most players miss. It sits inside the special realm behind the Meigu Lake mirror. Make sure you explore fully inside the Phantom Illusionist Ruins before finishing the Blizzard Blademaster fight area. Our Gold Masked One boss guide is also worth checking, as the Gold Masked One is connected to the Long Pillar encounters.

Complete All of Quick Hand Zhang’s Relic Requests

You will run into Quick Hand Zhang five times throughout the main quest — once in each major region. Each time, he asks you to track down hidden treasures for him. You must find all of them and complete every leg of his quest before heading into the finale.

You will know everything is done when his quest is marked as complete in your journal. The Deep in the Valley quest guide also touches on exploration in Meigu Lake where some of Zhang’s treasures are found.

Missing Zhang’s relics is one of the more common reasons players end up locked out of the Perfect Ending, so do not leave his quests for the very end.

Phantom Blade Zero Festering Secret Quest Walkthrough

Missable Quests – A Quick Warning

Most quests in Phantom Blade Zero stay accessible even after you finish a region, since the game lets you return everywhere freely. But a handful of quests have hard cutoffs tied to boss fights. Here is a simple summary of what to watch out for:

Complete Apprentice Healer before fighting Jing Ye, The Outlaw (Crimson Forest).
Complete A Healer’s Mercy and Flesh Lily and accept Secrets of the Baishan Sect before fighting Bai Chilian, Lady of the Twin Serpents (Crimson Forest).
Accept and start The Journey Home and Young Master Lan before leaving the Village of Lu for Pangzhen.
Complete the first objective of A Severed Mindseal before leaving Weeping Creek Valley entirely.

Outside of these, you have flexibility. Just keep an eye on your purple-icon quest list and make sure everything is checked off before entering Mirage Estate.

Triggering the Perfect Ending – The Final Steps

Once every requirement is met, continue into the endgame. Make your way to Mount Soulrend and defeat Meng Hua, the standard final boss. If you have done everything correctly, the game will not end there. Instead, a true final boss will appear. Defeat it to unlock the Perfect Ending — The Final Battle — and the With Heart and Blood trophy and achievement.

If you fight Meng Hua and the game ends without a second boss fight, it means at least one requirement was missed. In that case, you can load a save from before you entered Mirage Estate and check your purple quest list for anything incomplete.

Perfect Ending Checklist

Complete A Severed Mindseal (first objective) — Weeping Creek Valley
Complete Apprentice Healer — before Jing Ye (Crimson Forest)
Complete A Healer’s Mercy — before Bai Chilian (Crimson Forest)
Complete Flesh Lily quest — give Flesh Lily to Yu’er before Bai Chilian (Crimson Forest)
Accept and complete Secrets of the Baishan Sect — before Bai Chilian (Crimson Forest)
Accept and start The Journey Home and Young Master Lan — before leaving Village of Lu
Defeat all four Acolyte bosses and collect their masks
Enter the Phantom Illusionist Ruins via the Frozen Mirror — defeat the Blizzard Blademaster
Insert both Crystal Puppet Eyes into the statue inside the ruins
Complete all five Long Pillar challenges (Bloodline Awakening)
Complete all of Quick Hand Zhang’s Relic requests
Defeat Meng Hua → defeat the true final boss

More Phantom Blade Zero Guides

Many of the quests and areas connected to the Perfect Ending have their own dedicated walkthroughs here:

Phantom Blade Zero is available on Steam, PlayStation Store, and Epic Games Store. For more from the developer, visit the official Phantom Blade Zero website.

How to Get the Perfect Ending in Phantom Blade Zero (True Ending Guide)

Normal Ending vs. Perfect Ending in Phantom Blade Zero

When to Worry About the Perfect Ending