How to Upgrade Weapons in Phantom Blade Zero (Forge, Costs and Revert)

Quick answer: Meet the Forge at the Outpost in Weeping Creek Valley. Then upgrade with Forged Metal (or your weapon type’s metal), Solvent and Remnant Dust, either with her or at any bell under Upgrade Equipment.

Weapon improvements in Phantom Blade Zero are handled by the Forge. Each level requires three materials: the metal for that weapon type, Solvent, and Remnant Dust. One-Handed weapons such as Jagged Steel use Forged Metal, while Dual-Wielded weapons need Twinned Metal. Quick Hand Zhang offers either metal at 1,040 Remnant Dust apiece. Upgrades can also be undone: return a weapon to Lv. 1 and recover everything spent.

Where to find the Forge in Weeping Creek Valley

The Forge works at the Outpost, but a guarded gate stands in the way. You open it by talking, not fighting.

Begin at the Outpost Courtyard Bell and descend toward the gate beneath the yard. Two Stern Guards wait on the other side of a fence beside a small door. Press E to speak with them.

The two Stern Guards behind the fence with the E prompt near the Outpost in Phantom Blade Zero — Press E to talk to the Stern Guards

Let the conversation run. The guards want to know who Soul is and why he’s here. He tells them he’s a wanderer heading to Pangzhen to see an old friend. When the talk ends, a gate west of the small door is open.

Pass through the gate, then climb the rocky track and stairs. The Forge is beside the route at an open-air brick forge; reaching her triggers a brief scene. The Outpost bell is only a few steps beyond her.

Speak with her. She opens with three subjects: How to obtain weapons, About Sanguine and About the Three Sisters. Choose the weapons topic, and she asks you to bring back any fine weapon you come across, together with the appropriate forging metal and Solvent for its type.

Armored woman stands before a stone forge facing the hooded player, with three dialogue options beside her. — A blacksmith standing at her forge offers the dialogue options How to obtain weapons, About Sanguine and About the Three Sisters.

Talk to her a second time. Her menu now shows two options, Upgrade weapons and Leave.

The Upgrade weapons option when talking to the Forge in Phantom Blade Zero — Upgrade weapons appears after the first talk

How to upgrade a weapon at the Forge

Your first visit runs as a short tutorial. It gives you one free upgrade and then has you undo it.

Select Upgrade weapons. The interface is divided into MAIN WEAPONS and PHANTOM EDGES; use Q and E to switch tabs. Your Remnant Dust balance appears in the upper-right corner.

Choose the weapon you plan to upgrade. The prompt on screen says “Select a weapon to upgrade.” Its details appear on the right: class, name, current and upcoming levels, Damage and Status Effects at both levels, and its skills. The material list gives the Owned and Cost amounts for each item. Jagged Steel has Blood Blade and Relentless Bleed Lv. 1 listed as skills.

The upgrade menu asking you to select a weapon in Phantom Blade Zero — Select a weapon to upgrade

Hold Space to take the free tutorial upgrade. The first time through, Jagged Steel’s Lv. 1 to Lv. 2 upgrade costs nothing. The button reads “HOLD Space TO UPGRADE”, with the tips “Upgrade Materials and Remnant Dust.” and “Hold Space to upgrade!”

Dark weapon menu with a large jagged sword in the center and upgrade stats and materials listed on the right. — The Main Weapons upgrade screen shows Jagged Steel going from level 1 to 2, with Damage rising from 240 to 264 and Status Effects from 124 to 136, at no material or Remnant Dust cost.

Check the next level’s price. The panel now shows Lv. 2 to Lv. 3, which needs 4 Forged Metal, 2 Solvent and 1,620 Remnant Dust. The tutorial then prompts “Press T to open Downgrade Menu” and makes you revert the free upgrade (see the revert section below).

Jagged Steel Lv. 2 to Lv. 3 costs and the Downgrade Menu prompt in Phantom Blade Zero — Lv. 2 to Lv. 3 needs 4 Forged Metal, 2 Solvent and 1,620 Remnant Dust

Pay the real price for future upgrades. Once the tutorial ends, Lv. 1 to Lv. 2 costs 2 Forged Metal, 1 Solvent and 1,080 Remnant Dust. Any material you don’t have enough of shows in red, and the UPGRADE button stays grey until you do. Holding 4 Forged Metal but 0 Solvent, for example, still blocks the upgrade.

Jagged Steel Lv. 1 to Lv. 2 costs with Solvent shown in red in Phantom Blade Zero — The real Lv. 1 to Lv. 2 price, with missing Solvent in red

Jagged Steel upgrade costs

Level	Damage	Status Effects	Forged Metal	Solvent	Remnant Dust
Lv. 1 to Lv. 2	240 to 264	124 to 136	2	1	1,080
Lv. 2 to Lv. 3	264 to 288	136 to 148	4	2	1,620

Jagged Steel is a One-Handed weapon, so it uses Forged Metal. A Dual-Wielded weapon would use Twinned Metal in that column instead.

How to revert a weapon to Lv. 1 for a full refund

From the upgrade panel, press T to open the Downgrade menu. Then hold Space to reset the weapon. The game describes it this way: “The level will be reset to its starting level, and all materials used will be returned.” The tip on screen reads “Hold Space to revert weapon to Lv. 1 and refund materials and Remnant Dust!”

Before you confirm, the panel lists Remnant Dust, Forged Metal and Solvent in two columns, Owned and Refund, so you can see exactly what comes back. A revert always returns the weapon to Lv. 1. You get everything back, including the metal, the Solvent and the Remnant Dust.

Weapon revert menu showing a jagged sword, refund table on the right, and a hold-to-revert button. — The revert screen for Jagged Steel resets the weapon from level 2 back to level 1 and lists the refund of Remnant Dust, Forged Metal and Solvent.

Upgrade Equipment at bells

You only have to walk to the Forge once. Before you meet her, a bell menu has four rows: Traverse, Train Abilities, Save and Leave. After you meet her, every bell adds a fifth row, Upgrade Equipment, which sits between Traverse and Train Abilities. From then on, you can upgrade at any bell.

Warrior in a straw hat stands at the candlelit Outpost bell in a bamboo forest with a menu of options beside him. — At the Outpost bell, the menu lists Traverse, Upgrade Equipment, Train Abilities, Save and Leave.

Who are the Three Sisters?

The three sisters serve Lady Inanis as craftspeople rather than combatants. The eldest, The Forge, is the smith you can find at the Outpost in Weeping Creek Valley. Myst, the middle sister, draws on Phantom Arts from the Discordance to unleash a weapon’s full power. Jewel, the youngest, is an expert jeweler. Choose “About the Three Sisters” from the Forge’s dialogue options, and she tells you her sisters are posted at separate locations.

The Forge discusses weapons as well. She says powerful arms can be obtained from Maskwalkers, Mandate members who have fallen, and the Order’s top fighters. Bring her any fine weapon you find, and she’ll make it stronger. She notes that the former Shadow Sovereign chose Soul’s Sanguine for him, and that many battles have left it worn. Then she offers him the Sanguine Reach, a weapon she crafted herself.