Gaming Guide

Required Cycles in Phantom Blade Zero: How to Unlock Fortified Body, Focused Mind and Keen Edge

What Required Cycles: 1 means in Phantom Blade Zero: Keen Edge, Focused Mind and Fortified Body open only in a New Cycle, and what each still needs once you are there.

What Required Cycles: 1 means in Phantom Blade Zero: Keen Edge, Focused Mind and Fortified Body open only in a New Cycle, and what each still needs once you are there.

The Fortified Body card with its Required Cycles row, Phantom Blade Zero

Quick answer: “Required Cycles: 1” indicates this node becomes available after entering a New Cycle, Phantom Blade Zero’s New Game Plus. Once there, Fortified Body costs one Banyan’s Heart plus 535,500 Remnant Dust; Keen Edge and Focused Mind remain locked behind their preceding node.

You can’t open these three stat nodes in your first run, however much Remnant Dust you have saved. Finish the story first, then come back to the tree.


Which nodes need a cycle

At the far-right edge of the Train Abilities tree, three nodes require a cycle: Keen Edge, Focused Mind, and Fortified Body. All three cards specify “30 levels total”; each level grants 2 percent. Keen Edge increases Attack and Guard Break, Focused Mind boosts maximum Sha-Chi, and Fortified Body increases maximum HP.

The Train Abilities tree with the three cycle nodes at its right end, Phantom Blade Zero

On your first run through the story, all three cards list “Prerequisite skill required” and “Required Cycles: 1”. They also show “Total increase: 0%” and end on “TRAINING REQUIREMENTS NOT MET”.

The Keen Edge card showing Training Requirements Not Met before a new cycle, Phantom Blade Zero

Meet “Required Cycles: 1” by completing the ending, then speaking with Inanis in the Realm of Mirage and beginning a New Cycle. On the Load Game screen, confirm the new save bears “Cycle: 1”.

The Load Game screen showing the new cycle save with Cycle: 1, Phantom Blade Zero

What the nodes need in the new cycle

Ability Training progress persists into the next cycle, leaving all previously trained nodes on its tree. Rest at a bell and select Train Abilities, then click a node to view its card. Hovering alone won’t bring the card up.

The Train Abilities tree still trained at the start of a new cycle, Phantom Blade Zero

In New Cycle, Fortified Body’s card contains no requirement rows. The Banyan’s Heart appears there as Owned 0, Cost 1, and the “TRAIN FOR” amount is 535,500 Remnant Dust. The button remains grey until you possess a Banyan’s Heart.

The Fortified Body card asking for one Banyan's Heart in a new cycle, Phantom Blade Zero

The cards for Keen Edge and Focused Mind continue to display “TRAINING REQUIREMENTS NOT MET” in New Cycle. Although “Required Cycles: 1” has a tick beside it now, each card still lists “Prerequisite skill required”.

The Keen Edge card with Required Cycles: 1 ticked in a new cycle, Phantom Blade Zero

For Keen Edge, the node before it is Masterful Flow Lv. 2, “Weapon swap cooldown reduced by 2 seconds”. It costs 60,000 Remnant Dust, and you hold Space to train it.

The Masterful Flow Lv. 2 card before Keen Edge, Phantom Blade Zero