Weapons and upgrades are an integral part of virtually every ARPG on the planet, and it is hard to find a game where chasing higher damage and stats isn’t a core component of the progression. However, one of the biggest issues that many games run into is the lack of upgrade refunds available to you, which, given how there are often dozens of different weapons and gear types, can be particularly annoying further into the playthrough. You might spend a few hours grinding out an extra tier, only to find a cooler weapon later, but unless you want to nerf your damage, it is often better to stick to the original weapon. Phantom Blade Zero is looking to do away with this frankly archaic design philosophy by offering you far more control over the kind of build you want to play with at any given time.
From the most recent State of Play and previous snippets of information, we know that Phantom Blade Zero will have more than 30 main weapons, with an additional 25 Phantom Edges, a sizable number that will each require individual upgrades to reach those higher damage numbers. But, instead of having to reacquire all those early materials again, a problem that we have seen time and time again, you can actually reforge the weapon and reinvest the crafting items into another one, cutting out that extra time that normally feels mandatory. It is a welcome change and one that plays directly into the game’s ideology surrounding playstyles. There are so many distinct approaches and combat methods in the game, and the devs want you to be able to try them all at some point, so by removing the friction, you can happily go from a dual-wielding monster to a heavy-sworded dualist in the blink of an eye.
Phantom Blade Zero Fixes a Classic ARPG Upgrade Frustration
Anyone who has played an ARPG like Elden Ring will know the joys and tedium that come from upgrading different weapons. The instinct is to focus on beefing up that first sword and then potentially swap to another one further across the land, but there are two issues you quickly run into when you try to make that move. The first comes from the need to manually reacquire all the previous smithing stones, which can mean grabbing close to 100 tiny items across the giant map. And then in FromSoftware ARPGs specifically, because there is an expectation of forward progress, if you don’t have enough of the lower-level materials, then you might have to go all the way back to start and grind out a spawn or go hunting in a random cave, just so you can bring that new weapon up to par.
Phantom Blade Zero, on the other hand, is doing a complete 180 on that path and removing the constraint that would otherwise stop you from giving a cool new armament a try. As you progress through the story, you will gather plenty of materials that can be used to upgrade specific weapons to ensure you are always able to compete with the ever-growing threats before you. However, there may come a time when that sword just doesn’t feel the same as it used to, and while the initial reaction may be to feel disheartened by having to spam upgrades on a new piece of metal, thankfully, the game has your back and will let you effectively re-spec the materials on a completely different weapon.
This sounds great on paper, and as someone who really enjoys trying new things throughout a 30+ hour playthrough, I am really excited to be able to play with so many cool weapons all at once. Yet there is still a caveat to keep in mind, outlined well before launch, that prevents this inclusion from being a truly limitless feature. Because you are basically taking the materials off of Sword A to use on Sword B, Sword A will obviously go back to its base state, removing any buffs and stat increases it previously had. So, rather than the upgrade system giving bonuses to all your weapons at once, you will still have to gather enough materials again if you want to have both weapons upgraded at the same time.
Phantom Blade Zero’s Reforging System Doesn’t Remove the Grind Completely
From what has been explained and shown, the process of reforging weapons is fairly quick and straightforward, yet, because of how your equipment slots function, having two mid-tier weapons ready to go will serve you far better than one maxed out and one default. This is due to the combo system that encourages you to make the most of the extensive weapon list by chaining attacks together and swapping between the armaments, similar to something like Devil May Cry. So, there is an actual incentive to use multiple weapons in the same loadout, and, as a result, you are going to want each one to be a certain level going into the later stages of the game.
And so, as great as it is to be able to switch up your play style on the fly, in order to really maximize your damage output, you are still going to eventually need to grab all the materials to fully upgrade at least two weapons in the same loadout. How much additional grinding that will take is unclear, as there may very well be a world where you can run through the campaign at a brisk pace and still carry a beefed-up gear set without much additional exploring. With that said, the fact you can reforge is going to make finding that perfect weapon so much easier, and from the gameplay trailers shown thus far, there looks to be a huge variety of awesome blades that will no doubt become at least someone’s favorite by the end of the story.
The most important takeaway from all this is the fact that the Phantom Blade Zero devs are acutely aware of the kinds of good and bad things to include in an ARPG. They know about the common frustrations that players have in these kinds of games and are fully prepared to include features that streamline the less enjoyable aspects of the experience, even if some players would argue it removes some of the satisfaction that comes from finally reaching that maximum upgrade tier for a weapon. In any case, fewer annoying moments means more time to enjoy the incredible action and cinematic set pieces that Phantom Blade Zero will offer when it launches on October 28, 2026.
- Released
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October 29, 2026
- Developer(s)
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S-Game
- Publisher(s)
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S-Game
- Engine
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Unreal Engine 5
