Phantom Blade Zero endings: how to get the true ending

How many endings does Phantom Blade Zero have?

Gamersky’s ending overview lists three story endings plus one for failing the 66-day mode. English guides such as PowerPyx and Game Informer talk about a normal and a true (perfect) ending, which matches the best and the middle outcome below. Any of the three story endings counts as finishing the game.

Lake tale finished?	All five Long Pillars won?	Outcome
Yes, including the dialogue with the Void	Yes	True ending, with an extra final fight
Yes	No	Middle ending: the extra fight happens without its final transformation, then the ending plays
No	—	Bad ending: the story ends straight after the normal final boss

Spoiler: ending names and final bosses

Gamersky names the three story endings 决战 (Decisive Battle), 龙之咆哮 (Roar of the Dragon) and 湮灭 (Annihilation). The order is Leng Tu, then Meng Hua; the true and middle routes add Zuo Shang, who transforms only on the true route. Beating Meng Hua unlocks “All Dreams Must End” on every route. The true ending awards “With Heart and Blood”.

Which tales decide the ending?

Two story tales do the work. PowerPyx calls Secrets at the Heart of the Lake “required to complete the True Ending”, and the trophy for Bloodline Awakening requires all five Long Pillar duels. PowerPyx also advises finishing every tale with a purple journal icon; treat that as the safe rule, because the lake tale and Bloodline Awakening sit among them.

Gamersky stresses one detail that is easy to miss: do not skip the conversation with the Void at the end of the lake tale. It is part of the requirement, not optional dialogue.

True ending requirements

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1. Finish Secrets at the Heart of the Lake

   Including the conversation with the Void; do not skip it.

2. Long Pillar 1: Weeping Creek Valley

   Optional area deep in the valley.

3. Long Pillar 2: Crimson Forest

   Reached with the Hunter's Chain Sickle grapple.

4. Long Pillar 3: Meigu Lake

   On an island in the lake.

5. Long Pillar 4: the Meigu Lake mirror realm

   Reported to need the four Acolyte masks.

6. Long Pillar 5: Mirage Estate

   In the late-game region; finish it before the last bell on Mount Soulrend.

7. Review every purple-icon tale in your journal

   PowerPyx's safe rule for the true ending.

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Where are the five Long Pillars?

Each Long Pillar is a duel with the Gold-Masked One, and the five can be done in any order. Locations agree across games.gg, Beebom and Game Informer: Weeping Creek Valley, Crimson Forest, Meigu Lake, the Meigu Lake mirror realm and finally Mirage Estate. The first two are in regions covered by our valley checklist and Crimson Forest route.

Game Informer adds a longer list for its “perfect ending” route: both Crystal Puppet Eyes, the four Acolyte masks, the mirror-realm boss, three Serpent items and Quick Hand Zhang’s relics. Several of these are needed simply to reach the fourth pillar, so they overlap with the table above rather than adding a separate condition. The Acolytes appear on the boss list.

Where is the point of no return?

Guides describe two cutoffs:

Cutoff	What it locks	Source
Entering Mirage Estate through the Green Serpent House in Pangzhen	Most missables; finish pillars 1–4 and the lake tale first	PowerPyx, games.gg
The last bell on Mount Soulrend	The fifth pillar; after it you play to the end	games.gg

Gamersky adds that the Void stops you on the approach and warns that something important is unfinished if the lake tale is still open. You can choose to turn back. Take that warning seriously: continuing also closes several Crimson Forest bells.

Do you need a second playthrough?

No. PowerPyx lists one playthrough as the minimum, and after the final boss you can return to every area in free roam to collect what you missed, although missed tales do not come back. Finishing once on either of the two lower difficulties opens the highest difficulty in New Game+, according to the game’s start-menu text quoted by Gamersky.

If you are still in the first regions, the missables checklist covers the early tales that close before Bai Chilian.

Checked November 3, 2026 against the linked guides. GameNavi has not completed every ending; where sources disagree, the stricter advice is shown. PowerPyx’s note that the optional bosses Zhu Yuan and Bi Feng are also required is disputed by players who reached the true ending without them.