How to Break Iron Chains in Phantom Blade Zero

Quick answer: Get the Dread Axe by defeating Peng Meng, the Axemaster. Then walk up to a chain barrier and press L Ctrl when the prompt appears.

Piles of iron chains block some paths in Phantom Blade Zero.

What you need: The Dread Axe and Iron Chain Breaker

The Phantom Edge you need is the Dread Axe. It drops when you defeat the boss Peng Meng, the Axemaster. Its field ability, Iron Chain Breaker, gives it the power to cut chains. The description reads:

“Once obtained, Dread Axe can break iron chains blocking the path, even when not equipped.”

That means you don’t have to put the axe in one of your two Phantom Edge slots. As long as you own it, the chain prompt shows up and works, so you can keep whatever loadout you like.

How to break the iron chains at the Outpost in Weeping Creek Valley

Rest at the Outpost bell in Weeping Creek Valley. Just southeast of it there’s a wooden barricade covered in huge iron chains. Two spear guards, the Ironchain Gate Guards, stand in front of it. They won’t attack you.

Walk toward the barricade. Soul notices that the chains seem to be hiding something, and that starts a new quest, FESTERING SECRET, with the objective “Investigate the chain-sealed courtyard at the outpost”. An L Ctrl prompt also appears on the chains.

The chain barricade at the Outpost with the Festering Secret quest and L Ctrl prompt in Phantom Blade Zero — Festering Secret starts at the chain barricade by the Outpost

Press L Ctrl. In a brief scene, Soul swings the Dread Axe to cut through the chain pile. The guards protest, and one bolts to alert his captain.

Soul cleaving the chain pile with the Dread Axe in Phantom Blade Zero — Soul cuts the chains with the Dread Axe

Before heading up, prepare for a fight. Past the opened barricade, stone steps ascend to a bamboo courtyard dominated by a large house. A swordsman is posted at the stair top, while a spearman waits on the stairs to the west.

The opened barricade and the stairs up to the bamboo courtyard in Phantom Blade Zero — The stairs up to the chain-sealed courtyard

The chain barrier on the river by The Axemaster’s Fall bell

The Axemaster’s Fall is the Crane Bell near the place where you fight Peng Meng. On the opposite riverbank, chains span the gap between wooden barricades. Approach them to bring up the familiar L Ctrl prompt. Press the key to cut the chains and clear the route along the river. Follow that path to The Axemaster’s Holding Cell bell.

The chain wall across the river with the L Ctrl prompt in Phantom Blade Zero — The chain wall on the river across from The Axemaster’s Fall

The river chains cut open in Phantom Blade Zero — The river path after the chains are cut

What you need: The Dread Axe and Iron Chain Breaker

How to break the iron chains at the Outpost in Weeping Creek Valley

The chain barrier on the river by The Axemaster’s Fall bell

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