Quick answer: Phantom Blade Zero has five ailments: Bleeding (Blood Loss), Poison, Burning, Chill (Frozen) and Paralysis. Green Serpent Brew removes all of them, and each has a defensive accessory that reduces it.
All ailments build through repeated hits: once the gauge fills, the status takes effect. The cards give two gauges specific names, Bleed Gauge and Frozen Gauge. At the top of Weapon and Phantom Edge cards, a “Status Effects” value appears beside “Damage”; this is the weapon’s status power. Jagged Steel has 124, Whiteshadow 144, Flaming Mane 178, and Thunder Spear 360. Statuses affect both sides: Soul can apply all five to enemies, and enemies can apply them to Soul. Each ailment has a ward-like accessory to reduce its buildup or effects, but no accessory grants Soul complete immunity.
| Ailment | Inflict it with | Protect Soul with | What the accessory does |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bleeding, then Blood Loss | Jagged Steel, Flying Guillotine, Bonesaw |  Congeal Talisman | Chance of Bleeding and Bleed Gauge buildup -50% (-80% refined) |
| Poison | Flying Dagger (Poisoned Blades), Venom Pouch |  Preservation Jar | Poison damage taken -50% (-80% refined); buildup not reduced |
| Burn (Burning) | Flaming Mane, Blazing Edge, Fire Meteor |  Flameward | Fire damage and Burn buildup -50% (-80% refined) |
| Chill, then Frozen | Whiteshadow |  Frostward | Chill effects and Freeze duration -50% (-80% refined) |
| Paralysis | Thunder Spear, Baishan Stormswords |  Thunderward | Lightning damage and Paralysis buildup -50% (-80% refined) |
Bleeding and Blood Loss
Bleeding is a two-stage ailment. Hits apply Bleeding and fill the Bleed Gauge, and a full gauge triggers Blood Loss. The Jagged Steel card spells it out: “Landing an attack inflicts Bleeding and builds the enemy’s Bleed Gauge. When the gauge is full, it triggers Blood Loss. Has no effect on Puppets, Golden Bodies, or Phantom Bodies.” Flying Guillotine and Bonesaw also inflict Bleeding.
That last line matters. Puppets, Golden Bodies and Phantom Bodies ignore Bleed entirely. The Livingwood Talisman partly works around this: “Bleed and Lifesteal are 50% effective against Puppets, Phantoms, and Golden Bodies.” Refining it raises that to 70%.
Snow and Blood rewards bleed-focused builds: “When a nearby enemy is Bleeding, damage dealt to enemies increases by 10%. Enemies also take 20% more Bleeding damage while attacking.” Refined, those figures become 20% and 30%.
On Soul, Bleeding drains HP for a few seconds. The Jagged Steel boss inflicts it with its hits. The Congeal Talisman is the counter: “Reduces Soul’s chance of Bleeding and Bleed Gauge buildup rate by 50%.” Refined, it reaches 80%.
Poison
The Flying Dagger upgrade and Venom Pouch can poison enemies. The Flying Dagger upgrade “Poisoned Blades” adds “Attacks inflict Poison buildup.” The Venom Pouch accessory reads “All Main Weapon attacks have a 15% chance to poison enemies.” It rises to 30% when refined.
Poison can reach Soul through environmental hazards. In the Crimson Forest, the upper floor beside the Cliffside Lodge bell has a large shrine hall filled with jars and red lanterns; entering it rapidly drains Soul’s HP. Poisonous green mist fills the gorge separating the Long Pillar from the Burial Grounds. The Poison Powderkeg enemy also uses poison, while Acolyte Guhe’s toxic mist drains HP.
The Preservation Jar handles defense: “Reduces poison damage taken by 50%.” Refined, it reaches 80%. It lowers the damage poison deals. It does not stop poison from building up.
Burn
Fire weapons set enemies alight. Flaming Mane is held “to unleash a stream of flame, dealing damage and igniting enemies.” Blazing Edge also ignites enemies. So does Fire Meteor, whose Phosphor Flames set enemies on fire and lower their Attack.
Chaos Flame is a stronger form of Burn: “Ignited enemies continuously lose HP and Sha-Chi”. The Chaos Ring accessory builds on it: “Chaos Flame inflicts Sha-Chi Burn on enemies and restores 50% of the Sha-Chi they lose”.
Several enemies use fire against Soul. They include Blaze, Acolyte Yanru, Zhu Yuan, the lamp-oil Madwomen and the fire-spear Brutes. Standing in fire keeps Soul burning, so step out of it. Flameward reduces both the damage and the buildup: “Reduces fire damage by 50% and Burn buildup rate by 50%.” Refined, both figures reach 80%.
Some items set you on fire deliberately. Sha-Chi Blood Catalyst trades Burn for damage: “Increases [Heavy Attack] Sha-Chi Combo damage by 20% for 15 seconds and restores 20% HP, but ignites you.”
Chill and Frozen
Chill works like Bleeding, with a second stage. The Whiteshadow card reads: “Hits inflict Chill and build the enemy’s Frozen Gauge. When the gauge is full, the enemy becomes Frozen.” The Acolyte Icicle accessory boosts it: “Increases the Chill Effect and its duration against enemies by 30%.” Refined, it reaches 50%. Once an enemy is Frozen, the Tiger Cannon “Can also shatter Frozen enemies (except elite enemies)”.
Soul can be chilled and frozen too. Ice comes from the Big-Head Doll’s ice mist, The Frozen Butcher and Acolyte Hansui. Frostward covers both stages: “Reduces Chill effects by 50% and reduces Freeze duration by 50%.” Refined, both reach 80%.
Paralysis
Paralysis comes from lightning weapons. Thunder Spear has the highest status number of the weapons listed, and its card reads “Attacks inflict Paralysis and unleash lightning.” Baishan Stormswords also build lightning and cause Paralysis.
To protect Soul, equip Thunderward: “Reduces Lightning damage taken by 50% and Paralysis buildup rate by 50%.” Refined, both reach 80%.
How to cure status effects
Green Serpent Brew is the cure-all Medicine. Xie Xiaorong gives it to you at the Green Serpent House. Its card reads: “Removes all status effects, increases status resistance by 75% for 15 seconds, and gradually restores 20% HP over the same duration.” It has 4 uses. Upgrades push it to 80% status resistance for 25 seconds and 40% HP.
Ritual Wine and other status boosts
Ritual Wine is the offensive counterpart. It speeds up the ailments you inflict on enemies: “Increases Burn, Paralysis, Freeze, and Bleed buildup rate by 50% for 15 seconds and restores 20% HP.” Upgrades raise it to 70% for 25 seconds and 40% HP.
Be careful with the Blessed Jade Pendant. After you take a Medicine, it can trigger a random effect, and some of those effects work against you. One option is “Inflicts Burning on yourself and nearby enemies”, and another poisons Soul. Keep Green Serpent Brew stocked if you run it.
