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Difficulty and Progression - Version 9 vs Version 10
Jun 5, 2026, 10:22 AM
Updated the launch reference to the revised October 29, 2026 date
Jun 8, 2026, 10:28 PM
Removed duplicate in-body wikilinks
11Difficulty Levels22Phantom Blade Zero has four named difficulty levels. This is a deliberate break from the typical soulslike formula, where games like Dark Souls and Sekiro offer a single fixed difficulty. S-GAME wants the combat to be accessible at multiple skill levels.55Wayfarer - The standard difficulty. Intended as the baseline experience for most players.Gamechanger - Hard difficulty. Enemies hit harder, attack more aggressively, and have more health.(Unnamed third tier) - Not yet officially named. Between Gamechanger and Hellwalker.Hellwalker - Available only in New Game+. The hardest setting in the game.77An important mechanical detail: the parry window is only 2 frames shorter on the hardest difficulty compared to the standard difficulty. That is a small difference. S-GAME has designed the difficulty scaling so that the core timing skills you learn on Wayfarer still apply at higher levels. The challenge comes from enemy behavior, damage, and aggression, not from radically changing the fundamental combat feel.99No Numeric Leveling1111There is no traditional experience-based leveling system. Soul does not gain levels that increase a number on a stat screen. Instead, progression comes through finding items that increase health and stamina, similar to the fragment system in the Darksiders games. You find an item, your health goes up. You find another, your stamina increases. The progression is concrete and tied to exploration and completion rather than grinding.1313This design choice keeps the focus on player skill and weapon mastery rather than stat inflation. A difficult boss is not meant to be solved by going away, grinding levels, and coming back with higher numbers. It is meant to be solved by learning its patterns, choosing the right loadout, and executing better.1515Build Customization1717The build system gives players the following loadout slots:1919SlotDetails2 primary weapons (Blades)Your main melee tools. See the weapons article for full details.2 secondary weapons (Phantom Edges)Activated with R2 for ranged attacks, status effects, or traversal.2 potionsConsumable slots for healing or buff items.2 accessoriesPassive stat modifiers and special effects.2121The combination of Blade choice, Phantom Edge choice, potions, and accessories creates a build system with meaningful variety. A player running Jagged Steel (Bleeding) with Flaming Mane (Burning) has a completely different approach than someone using Juggernaut (parry charges) with Night Owl (ranged bow). The build matters because it changes not just your damage output but your entire combat flow.2222Weapon Upgrade and Evolution2424Each weapon has its own upgrade and evolution system. Upgrades improve a weapon's base stats. Evolution changes the weapon more fundamentally, potentially altering its properties or unlocking new abilities. This means early-game weapons are not automatically obsolete later. If you invest in upgrading and evolving a weapon you like, it can stay viable throughout the entire game. See the weapons article for details on individual weapons.2626Stealth2828Stealth kills are available when approaching enemies from behind or above. There is also an eavesdropping mechanic that lets you listen in on enemy conversations for information or tactical advantage. Stealth is not the primary mode of play, but it gives players an option to thin out groups before committing to open combat. The eavesdropping mechanic suggests that some information or quest triggers are only accessible through stealth.3030Boss AI on Higher Difficulties3232On higher difficulties, boss AI becomes more sophisticated. The Huangxing boss, for example, uses fighting game-style analysis that tracks the player's patterns and adapts. If you keep dodging in the same direction, the boss will start predicting it. If you rely too heavily on one combo, the boss will learn to counter it. This forces players to vary their approach and use the full range of their available tools. It is one of the clearest examples of how higher difficulties change the game beyond just damage and health values. See the characters article for more on confirmed bosses.3434Boss Checkpoint System3636When you die to a boss, you do not always restart from the beginning of the fight. If you have reached the boss's second phase, you restart from phase 2. This cuts down on repetition. You already proved you can handle phase 1, and the game does not make you prove it again every attempt. This applies across all difficulty levels, including Hellwalker.3838Content Length4040ItemDescriptionMain story20 to 30 hoursSide contentapproximately 20 additional hoursTotalroughly 40 to 50 hours for a thorough first playthrough4242The main story follows the 66-day arc described in the story and lore article. Side content includes additional missions, character encounters, and optional bosses. All bosses shown in demos so far are side content. S-GAME has not revealed any main story bosses.4343Endgame Content4545After completing the main story, several endgame activities are available:4747ActivityDescriptionMultiplayer dungeonsCooperative dungeon content for multiple players.Boss rushesRematch campaign bosses and fight hidden bosses not available during the main story.Rogue-like "abysses"Procedurally structured challenge content with rogue-like elements.4949These endgame modes extend playtime well beyond the 40-50 hour first playthrough estimate. The boss rush mode includes bosses that do not appear in the campaign at all, giving endgame-focused players new encounters to learn.5050New Game Plus5252New Game Plus is confirmed. It allows players to replay the story with their existing weapons, upgrades, and progression intact. Hellwalker difficulty is only available in NG+, making it the ultimate challenge for players who have already completed the game at least once. Whether NG+ introduces additional enemy variations, new items, or altered encounters beyond the difficulty increase has not been confirmed.5454Design Philosophy5656The overall progression design reflects S-GAME's stated goal of making a game that is accessible at multiple skill levels without sacrificing depth. The four difficulty settings, the phase checkpoints, and the build variety all push in that direction. At the same time, the no-leveling system, fighting game-style boss AI, and Hellwalker difficulty ensure that skilled players have real challenges to pursue. The game is not trying to be easy or hard. It is trying to let players choose. See the overview for the broader picture of what kind of game Phantom Blade Zero is.5858Hellwalker AI Behaviour Detail6060Hellwalker is not just a numerical bump. The published director quotes are explicit that the parry window narrows by only roughly two frames, while enemy behaviour is the actual lever that makes the mode different. Bosses gain at least one new attack or phase variation, movesets are reshuffled, and AI loops react to the player's habits in real time. The Huangxing fight is the specific case the studio has documented: his Hellwalker form uses a state-driven decision loop that picks moves based on the result of his last attack, making the fight feel closer to a PvP duel than to a scripted enemy. See Hellwalker Mode for the full breakdown and Huangxing for the per-boss notes.6262Pre-Launch Notes6464Difficulty design has been stable in the studio's public messaging across the December 2025 release-date trailer, the CES 2026 hands-on, the Drunken Sword behind-the-scenes video, and the gamescom Latam 2026 three-boss public demo. The structure remains: standard difficulty unlocked from the start; the harder tiers, including Hellwalker, gated behind New Game Plus. The studio has confirmed development is in its final stages ahead of the October 29, 2026 worldwide launch, revised from an earlier September 9, 2026 target.
