Armybreaker.

Armybreaker belongs to the Elite Shadow Warden Cavalrybane: a long, heavy blade built for a single purpose, which is to rip open a guarded line.

The weapon is a wide-bladed polearm with a thick body and its balance toward the tip, so each swing relies on the full strength of both arms. Nothing about it is subtle. It simply moves forward, and with such high shield-breaking power, a direct strike against a guard frequently creates an opening in a single blow.

No other main weapon matches its forward rush. Either bringing the blade out or a flawless parry on a Blue-flash attack from a foe sets it off, so parrying also becomes a way to cover ground rather than merely a form of defence.

Because Phantom Blade Zero has no published 0–100 bars for stats, this page gives the weapon's numbers as they stand at level 1.

These numbers are taken from values the game itself lists for level 1; they were not confirmed through play.

Before you start:

• Reach Pangzhen
• Beat Cavalrybane, Elite Shadow Warden

1. Make for the marketplace, which is inside Pangzhen.
2. In the arena found there, beat Cavalrybane, the Elite Shadow Warden. Winning the fight gives you the blade.
3. Leaving the arena, climb the stairs to the right to pick up a Memory Flower, then step into the little courtyard to the left to find a Blackstone Fragment.

Armybreaker is a weapon about pushing forward. Besides its Standard Combo and Sha-Chi Combo, it has Thrust and the Formation Breaking Art, and every upgrade perk builds on the rush.

Parry-triggered rush via Thrust

Thrust activates the moment the blade is equipped, or a Blue-flash attack is parried flawlessly. Soul then surges ahead briefly, so a well-timed parry may carry you right up against the foe.

Hitting during the rush, while its momentum still carries you, is the most difficult part of the weapon to halt, because the blade keeps moving ahead as the blow connects.

Formation Breaking Art

For 1 Sha-Chi the art unleashes a disciplined chain of slashes that heavily drains the target's Sha-Chi, and blocking it is impossible. This is how the weapon deals with elites holding a lot of Sha-Chi: rather than just their health, it takes away their resource.

Four rush forms

As the weapon levels up, it learns Mighty Rush at level 5, Irresistible Force at level 15 and Conquering Slash at level 25. Unstoppable Advance comes at level 10 and gets improved at levels 20 and 30. All of these forms extend the rush further, and the weapon grows more aggressive as it levels.

Perks from levelling

Gained while the weapon rises from level 1 to 60.

Soul Tempering

Levelling steps

Going from level 1 to level 60 takes 59 upgrades, and the stats are multiplied by as much as 6.9. By level 60 it shows Damage 1,987 and Guard Break 787.

Strengths

• Powerful guard breaking splits open any defended foe or line of troops without whittling them down first.
• With Thrust, a perfect parry against a Blue-flash attack becomes a way to close in.
• Formation Breaking Art cannot be blocked and saps Sha-Chi, putting pressure on enemies that depend on it.
• Rush upgrades gained with weapon levels leave the strike that follows less likely to be interrupted.

Weaknesses

• This weapon is all about advancing; Parting Hooks has a defensive posture, but this one has nothing comparable.
• Both Thrust and the upgrade perks drive forward, so no guarding move exists, as there is for Parting Hooks.

Best used for

• Soldiers carrying shields, and bosses who guard a lot.
• Starting a skirmish, or hitting back once a foe's Blue-flash attack has been flawlessly turned aside.
• Elites with a big Sha-Chi pool you wish to run down.