Phantom Blade Zero – Zuo Shang The True Lóng is considered one of the most difficult bosses due to the presence of two different stages and many attack patterns. You will have to be aware of the enemy’s movements, dodge and parry in the right way and choose the proper weapon. In this guide, we’ll show you the best weapons, equipment, and strategies to defeat Zuo Shang and make this fight much easier.
Best Weapons And Equipment Loadout
For the primary weapon, Scarlet Wraithblade is ideal as it allows you to close in on your opponent fast due to its long-range leap skill. In addition, it works well with Spider Lilies that passively take away Sha-Chi from the boss and help you break through his defences.
The secondary weapon that you should use is Baishan Storm Swords in order to do massive damage. Moreover, you can also use both Wind and Thunder skills to gain Baishan’s Blessing, which boosts damage in general.
In terms of accessories, you can use Crimson Resolve and Quickhand Pair for added damage. Hunter’s Insight would be a good option as it increases shot depletion and damage, as well as helps you gain L2 attack faster.
Moreover, you need to prepare some abilities that will make parrying and dodging easier for you. Another important ability reduces the damage your enemy deals when your health is high. You can combine this ability with another ability that increases your damage resistance along with recovering your health.
In terms of buffs, Lament Draught will work perfectly for you since it will boost your damage by 20 per cent for 40 seconds. Yulong’s Deluge is also very important as it helps you apply the Wet effect on the enemy.
Phase One Boss Strategy
The boss will make use of a lunging attack in the early stage of the battle. You should dodge to either direction to avoid this attack. The boss has an R1 attack, which you can dodge for a counterattack opportunity. It is at this point that Scarlet Wraithblade and Spider Lilies come into play. Throw Spider Lilies at the boss and make sure that he steps on them. The lilies will drain his Sha-Chi as you dodge and attack.
Be alert to the red attacks from the boss, as you will be able to cause him damage if you counter them. Use your Wraithblade to stun the boss and increase his guard depletion. Once you initiate the Baishan’s Blessing, you can cause him some damage.
However, before starting your L2 attack, please make sure that your buffs are working on you. If possible, please consume Lament Draft, gain the Wet effect from Yulong’s Deluge, and activate Baishan’s Blessing. All of them allow you to benefit from your heavy attack better. This battle requires a bit more time compared to other fights, as this is the real end boss. Therefore, please try not to rush into your actions. Try giving as many Spider Lilies as you can afford to and use the Wraithblade for distant movements.
The only thing to pay attention to is the possibility of the boss flying away after his guard drops. Also, the boss uses the quick-time event prompts, so please be ready for that. Try dodging his attacks, keeping the buffs and performing your L2 attack when possible. If everything goes correctly, then you won’t have any problems during the first phase.
Phase Two Boss Strategy
After finishing the first phase, you can get yourself a bell, which will restore your potions and other consumables. Remember to use the bell before proceeding to the second phase. The boss will be significantly harder to hit in this phase. He tends to block your attacks quite often; hence, your goal should be to target him with your R1 and L1 attacks. Both red and blue attacks present you with an opportunity to counterattack and damage his posture meter.
Keep in mind that there are times when he may counter your blue attack with a red one. Hence, you should react to both of them rather than think that the attack sequence is over after your first counter. When you manage to break his posture, go straight for your L2 attack. Unlike the first phase, the boss recovers his posture meter pretty fast in this phase. He may also disappear from your location before you can complete your attack sequence.
In addition, you will see him call upon some snake projectiles, which must be dodged since you do not have any other way of dealing with them. Here, the Scarlet Wraithblade comes in very handy as it allows you to close the gap between yourself and the boss as you drain his Sha-Chi through the Spider Lilies.
You will also be required to make use of several quick-time event commands in this battle. It would help you a great deal if you try to parry his attacks and thus open up more chances of hitting back at him. During his attack sequences where he uses several attacks in quick succession, pay attention to his powerful ground slam attack. After it, he launches several rapid strikes at you.
Once you get him below 50% health, he becomes very aggressive with the types of attacks that he launches against you. In this case, there are several unpredictable moves that he uses. Again, the Wraithblade helps you a lot due to its long-distance leap capabilities.
Use the Spider Lilies regularly in order to keep the passive Sha-Chi Drain effect working. Use the Yulong’s Deluge whenever you have the chance to use the Wet effect and increase your lightning damage. Do not hesitate to use the medicines in this battle; the second phase might take a long time, and there are numerous moments when you could benefit from using them.
As soon as his posture gets close to being broken, make sure that all buffs are active and switch weapons in order to create a stun moment and use your strongest abilities. Continue dodging dangerous abilities and wait for a new chance to end the battle. With patience and regular damage, you will be able to break his posture one more time and win.
