Guard Stance uses Sha-Chi. Guard Stance is the safest way to spend it and the fastest way to run out. The game teaches the basics in the prologue sparring match with Zuo Shang, but the rules stay the same for the rest of the game.
Quick answer: Hold Block (Right Mouse on PC) to enter Guard Stance. It blocks normal attacks automatically, but it drains Sha-Chi while held and drains more with every hit. If the bar empties, your guard breaks.
How to enter Guard Stance and move while blocking
- Block (Guard Stance): Right Mouse
- Dodge: Left Shift
- Light Attack: Left Mouse
- Heavy Attack: F
- Switch Weapon: 1
- Lock On: mouse wheel click
The full key list is in our Phantom Blade Zero controls guide. Guard Stance lasts as long as you keep the key held. The first tutorial task, “Enter Guard Stance and move a short distance”, shows the prompt “Hold [Right Mouse] to enter Guard Stance.” You are not rooted in place. The prompt “[Right Mouse] + [WASD] Move while in Guard Stance.” confirms you can walk around with your guard up.
While you hold it, blocking is automatic. The prologue puts it as “Hold Stance to automatically block attacks by consuming Sha-Chi”. You don’t need to time anything against ordinary attacks. Just keep the key down through the whole combo. The next task, “Block two full enemy combos! (1/2)”, tells you to “Hold [Right Mouse] until the enemy’s combo ends”, and the counter goes up after each full combo you block.
What Guard Stance costs: the Sha-Chi bar
Your Sha-Chi bar sits at the bottom-left of the screen, next to the healing gourd. Guard Stance takes from it in two ways:
- Holding the stance drains it, even when nothing hits you: “Guard Stance continuously drains Sha-Chi.”
- Each blocked hit takes more on top: “Blocking attacks drains additional Sha-Chi”.
So the longer you turtle and the more hits you absorb, the closer you get to a guard break. Difficulty changes how hard enemy attacks hit your Sha-Chi bar and how long you stay staggered when your guard breaks (every other change is in our Phantom Blade Zero difficulty modes guide).
| Difficulty | Enemy damage to your Sha-Chi | Your guard-break stagger |
|---|---|---|
| WAYFARER | x0.33 | 2 seconds |
| PATHBREAKER | x0.66 | 3 seconds |
| HELLWALKER | Full | 3 seconds |
| 66 DAYS | Full | 3 seconds |
Blocking costs much less on WAYFARER and PATHBREAKER. On HELLWALKER and 66 DAYS, every blocked hit takes its full toll.
Blue-flash and Red-flash attacks: what Guard Stance cannot stop
Automatic blocking has an exception, and a loading tip spells it out: “Stay in concentration mode to automatically block all incoming attacks. Except for those with blue/red warning signs, that is.” A coloured flash on an enemy attack tells you to change tactics.
Blue-flash attacks
Blocking Blue-flash attacks drains massive Sha-Chi. Parry them instead. The game’s instruction is “Press Stance just before the enemy’s Blue-flash Attack lands.” If you tap at the exact moment of impact, you get a Perfect Block, which triggers a Ghoststep and slips you behind the enemy.
Red-flash attacks
Red-flash attacks cannot be blocked at all, so Guard Stance does nothing against them. Perfect Dodge them instead: “Press Dash just before the enemy’s Red-flash Attack lands”. On PC, that is Left Shift.
Guard break: what happens when Sha-Chi runs out
When a Sha-Chi bar is empty, its owner becomes “Guard-Broken”. The game’s rule is “Breached targets can’t block and take extra damage.” This applies to you just as it does to enemies. If your bar empties while you are blocking, you lose your guard and stay staggered for the time listed for your difficulty in the table above.
You can do the same to enemies, and the prologue makes you practise it right after the blocking task. Zuo Shang’s Sha-Chi bar sits under his health bar, so you can watch it drop. The task “Use Standard Combos to deplete enemies’ Sha-Chi and make them Guard-Broken!” uses Left Mouse four times. The follow-up, “Sha-Chi Combos will break enemies’ guard faster!”, uses F three times. When the enemy’s guard breaks, you see a burst on screen. All four combo inputs are in our Sha-Chi Combos guide.
Shielded enemies are tougher. “Attacks from the front cannot easily break shields!” and “Heavy weapons like the Dread Axe are effective at breaking shields!”
How to refill Sha-Chi: switch weapons
You can equip two weapons, and switching between them (key 1 on PC) refills the bar: “Switching weapons fully replenishes Sha-Chi”. There is a short cooldown, so you can’t use it over and over. You know it worked when the bottom-left bar jumps back to full.
Some bosses go after the bar directly. The game’s hint for one of them is “The Man in Black can deplete your Sha-Chi… switch weapons to fully restore Sha-Chi!”
Guard Stance vs Parry vs Dodge
| Defence | Input (PC) | Use against |
|---|---|---|
| Guard Stance | Hold Right Mouse | Normal attacks |
| Parry | Tap Right Mouse just before the hit | Normal and Blue-flash attacks |
| Perfect Block | Tap Right Mouse at the moment of impact | Blue-flash attacks |
| Perfect Dodge | Left Shift just before the hit | Red-flash attacks |
Guard Stance and Parry use the same key. The only difference is whether you hold it or time a tap: “Press Stance just before an enemy attack lands to perform a Parry!” The costs are opposites. Holding your guard is the safe option, and it spends your Sha-Chi. A parry spends none: “Parry does not consume Sha-Chi. Instead, it severely depletes the attacker’s Sha-Chi.” Hold your guard when you can’t read an attack’s timing, parry when you can, and save Left Shift for anything flashing red. For how bells, healing and death work around these fights, see is Phantom Blade Zero a souls-like.
Dodge comes in two forms. Press Dodge with no direction for a “Backstep Dodge”. Hold a direction and press Dodge for a “Directional Dodge”.
