The Scarlet Wraithblade is one of the most visually striking weapons in Phantom Blade Zero — and one of the most mechanically interesting. It’s a two-handed blade dropped by a hidden boss in Weeping Creek Valley, and it comes with a unique mechanic that no other weapon in the game has: heavy combos leave Red Spider Lilies on the ground beneath enemies. Those lilies slow enemy movement, drain their Sha-Chi, and explode after three seconds for area damage.
It’s not the easiest weapon to find and it requires an optional boss detour, but players who put in the work get one of the strongest and most distinctive two-handed weapons available in Chapter 1. This guide covers exactly where to find it, how to beat Hua, Deadly Betrothed, all upgrade perks, and tips to get the most from the Red Spider Lily mechanic.
Phantom Blade Zero Scarlet Wraithblade – TL;DR
- Dropped by Hua, Deadly Betrothed — an optional hidden boss in Weeping Creek Valley’s Sha-Chi Tower area
- The boss is easy to miss — look for a wooden bridge opening in the machinery area, slide down, and follow it to the fight
- There is no Bell checkpoint near Hua’s arena — a failed attempt means repeating the full approach
- Base stats: 240 DMG and 117 Guard Break — Type: Two-Handed
- Heavy combos leave Red Spider Lilies on the ground — they slow enemies, drain Sha-Chi, and explode after 3 seconds
- Power Surge: Rouge Bloomstorm — a slash that creates Red Spider Lilies across a wide area
- Level 10 perk: Hidden Thorns — increases explosion damage and Sha-Chi depletion from the Lilies
- Level 15 perk: Severed Vows — after using Rouge Bloomstorm, the weapon enters the Heartless state for 8 seconds
- Upgrades use Broadplate Metal and Solvent
- Defeating Hua also rewards 9,000 Remnant Dust
Where to Find the Scarlet Wraithblade – Hua, Deadly Betrothed Location
This weapon is entirely missable if you don’t explore. It’s not on the main path. Here’s exactly how to reach it:
- Make your way to the Sha-Chi Tower in the northern part of Weeping Creek Valley.
- Inside the machinery area, look for a hidden opening with a wooden bridge. It’s easy to walk straight past.
- Find the wooden bridge and slide down all the way to the end.
- The clearing at the bottom leads to a boss fight against Hua, Deadly Betrothed.
- Defeat Hua to receive the Scarlet Wraithblade — the game prompts you to equip it immediately.
Important warning: There is no Bell checkpoint near Hua’s arena. If you die during the fight, you’ll have to repeat the full approach from the nearest Bell. Make sure you’re well-stocked on medicine before going in.
If you’re exploring the Sha-Chi Tower area, our Crimson Forest Tunnel Crank guide and the Wily Hare’s Three Dens guide cover other easily-missed secrets nearby.
How to Beat Hua, Deadly Betrothed
Hua is a fast, aggressive boss who fights with her own version of the Scarlet Wraithblade. Expect a mobile two-phase fight with plenty of Killer Moves that have to be dodged rather than parried. Here’s what to know:
- She is fast — faster than Jagged Steel, the Frenzied Brute. Don’t expect the same pace as Chapter 1’s main boss. Hua closes distance quickly and chains attacks with short gaps.
- Watch for blue flashes and red flashes — blue means parry, red means Ghoststep. Misreading these costs you big Sha-Chi and health.
- Parry the predictable strings — her basic combos have a clear rhythm. Once you recognise the pattern, parrying drains her Sha-Chi and opens her up for punishment.
- Stay aggressive between her attacks — Hua has meaningful recovery frames after her longer strings. That’s when you deal your damage. Don’t hang back and wait for her to come to you.
- Bring enough medicine — since there’s no Bell nearby, you need enough medicine to survive the attempts it takes to learn her patterns. Don’t go in with less than two flasks.
- Jagged Steel is ineffective here — Hua is not a natural living enemy type that takes full Bleed damage. Stick to reliable direct-damage weapons like Sanguine or Sanguine Reach for this fight.
Once her health drops low enough, Hua may enter a second phase with adjusted attack timings. Keep parrying the blue-flash attacks and dodging the red-flash ones. When she’s defeated, collect the Scarlet Wraithblade from the prompt and equip it if you want to try it immediately.
Scarlet Wraithblade – Stats and Weapon Overview
- Type: Two-Handed (Primary Blade)
- Base Damage: 240
- Guard Break: 117
- Lore: A massive dismembering blade once wielded by the bride, Hua
- Power Surge: Rouge Bloomstorm — a slash that creates Red Spider Lilies across a wide area
- Upgrade Materials: Broadplate Metal and Solvent
The Scarlet Wraithblade shares a base damage of 240 with Jagged Steel, but plays completely differently. Where Jagged Steel is about stacking Bleed over time, the Wraithblade is about battlefield control. The Red Spider Lilies it creates on the ground do real work: enemies standing on them are slowed, steadily lose Sha-Chi, and then take area damage when the flowers explode after three seconds. In a fight where you can keep an enemy inside a Lily zone, the passive damage and Sha-Chi drain adds up significantly.
Scarlet Wraithblade – All Upgrade Perks
Perks unlock at levels 5, 10, 15, and 25, with a weapon cap of level 30. The Scarlet Wraithblade’s upgrade path transforms it from a solid damage weapon into a full zone-control tool.
Power Surge (Default) – Rouge Bloomstorm
Spend 1 Sha-Chi Essence to unleash Rouge Bloomstorm — a sweeping slash that creates Red Spider Lilies across a wide area. This is both a damage move and a setup tool. Against groups of enemies, a well-placed Rouge Bloomstorm covers a large zone in Lilies, slowing everything caught in it and setting up explosions three seconds later. Against a single boss, it forces them to either stand in the zone and take the Sha-Chi drain and explosion damage, or reposition away from their intended attack position.
Level 5 – Scarlet Field
The level 5 perk unlocks the foundational active skill of the Scarlet Wraithblade. This is your entry point into the Red Spider Lily system beyond the basic Power Surge. It opens up how and when Lilies are produced during regular combat, setting the groundwork for the weapon’s mid- and high-tier perks to build on.
Level 10 – Hidden Thorns
This is a weapon-defining upgrade. Hidden Thorns increases the explosion damage and Sha-Chi depletion caused by Red Spider Lilies. Before this perk, the Lilies are a nice bonus. After it, the weapon shifts from a straight damage option to a posture and control tool. Enemies caught in Lily zones now lose meaningful chunks of Sha-Chi per tick, and the explosions hit significantly harder. This is the point where investing further in the Scarlet Wraithblade becomes clearly worth it.
Level 15 – Severed Vows
After using the Power Surge Rouge Bloomstorm, the Scarlet Wraithblade enters the Heartless state for 8 seconds. This is the weapon’s high-end burst window. What Heartless does exactly during those 8 seconds is the key reason to unlock this perk — it amplifies the follow-up attacks after your Rouge Bloomstorm, turning the Power Surge from a zone-setup tool into a full offensive sequence. Time your Bloomstorm when the enemy is in the Lily zone and then attack aggressively through the Heartless window.
Level 25 – Netherlit Bloom
The final major perk tier on the Scarlet Wraithblade’s upgrade path. By this point you’ve built a weapon with reliable Lily generation, enhanced explosion damage, Sha-Chi drain, and the Heartless burst state — the level 25 perk pushes the ceiling further for players fully committed to this weapon.
Scarlet Wraithblade Combat Tips and Playstyle
Think of the Lilies as a Second Attack Layer
The Red Spider Lilies aren’t decoration. They’re a delayed explosion and Sha-Chi drain zone that sits on the battlefield for three seconds. Once you start thinking of them as a second layer of pressure — one that punishes enemies for staying in a position — the weapon clicks. Use heavy combo strings to plant Lilies under the enemy, then dodge back. Either they chase you out of the zone (and take damage when the Lilies explode behind them), or they stay in it (and keep losing Sha-Chi until the explosion).
Use Rouge Bloomstorm to Control Boss Positioning
Against bosses, the Power Surge is more than a damage tool — it’s a displacement move. A well-timed Rouge Bloomstorm covers the boss’s standing position in Lilies. They either eat the Sha-Chi drain and explosion while staying in their attack stance, or they reposition — which interrupts whatever combo they were about to start. Use it during transition moments in boss fights rather than just dumping it when Sha-Chi Essence is full.
Activate Heartless and Go Immediately
The 8-second Heartless window after Rouge Bloomstorm is your burst phase. Don’t pause after the Power Surge animation ends — attack immediately. You have 8 seconds of enhanced output and that clock starts the moment the Bloomstorm lands. Chain your heaviest combo strings during this window, with the enemy ideally still inside the Lily zone so the explosion damage overlaps with your Heartless attacks.
Pair It With a Faster Swap Weapon
Like the Sanguine Reach, the Scarlet Wraithblade is a two-handed weapon with slower startup on combos. When an enemy is too fast for you to open with the Wraithblade’s heavier attacks, swap to a faster one-handed blade — the base Sanguine works well — clear the opening, then switch back to the Wraithblade when you have space to plant Lilies. The weapon switch fully restores Sha-Chi, so rotating costs you nothing.
Prioritise Level 10 Before Anything Else
The Hidden Thorns perk at level 10 is the upgrade that changes how this weapon feels. Before it, the Lilies are nice. After it, they’re a genuine threat that smart enemies — and players — will respect. If you’re going to invest upgrade materials in the Scarlet Wraithblade, get to level 10 first and feel the difference before committing further.
No Bell Nearby Means Preparation Matters
If you die to Hua and need to try again, you’re walking back through the approach. Once you have the weapon and want to practice with it, this is behind you — but it also means the boss fight itself rewards preparation more than most early encounters. Don’t go in under-upgraded or with empty medicine slots.
Best Phantom Edge Pairing for Scarlet Wraithblade
The Scarlet Wraithblade’s Lily zones benefit from Phantom Edges that either extend the control window or deal area damage during the explosion:
- Area Phantom Edges: Any Phantom Edge with knockback or crowd stun keeps enemies inside the Lily zone longer, maximising the Sha-Chi drain and guaranteeing the explosion lands. Crowd-control Phantom Edges turn the Wraithblade into a genuine area-denial weapon.
- Ranged Phantom Edges: The Feather Bow (Night Owl) lets you deal damage from range during the three-second gap between planting Lilies and their explosion. Fire a charged shot while the enemy is standing in the zone — you deal bow damage on top of the incoming explosion.
- Aggressive Phantom Edges: If you’re building around the Heartless burst window, choose a Phantom Edge that can be woven into the 8-second window without breaking your melee momentum.
For the full list of Phantom Edges, see our Phantom Blade Zero All Phantom Edges guide.
Is the Scarlet Wraithblade Worth the Detour?
Yes — especially if you enjoy two-handed weapons but found the Sanguine Reach too straightforward. The Scarlet Wraithblade has more going on mechanically. The Red Spider Lily system gives you battlefield tools that other weapons simply don’t have, and the Heartless burst state at level 15 adds a high-end payoff that rewards commitment.
The main consideration: it’s an optional boss drop with no checkpoint nearby, and the boss herself is one of the faster early enemies in the game. But the extra Remnant Dust from the kill and a genuinely unique weapon make it worth the trip. If you’re clearing Weeping Creek Valley thoroughly before moving on, Hua’s arena is one of the best stops you can make.
More Phantom Blade Zero Guides
- Jagged Steel Weapon Guide
- Sanguine Reach Weapon Guide
- Sanguine Twin Weapon Guide
- Sanguine Weapon Guide (All Variants)
- Wooden Sanguine Weapon Guide
- All Weapons in Phantom Blade Zero
- All Phantom Edges List
- Feather Bow Phantom Edge Guide
- Gold Masked One Boss Guide
- Quick Hands Request Guide
- Wily Hare’s Three Dens Guide
- Secrets of the Baishan Sect Guide
- Perfect Ending / True Ending Guide
- All Chapters List
Grab Phantom Blade Zero on the official website, Steam, PS5, or Epic Games Store.
