Wan Jun Boss Guide: Coppermaul & the Bashpole Chain

Who Is Wan Jun, the Coppermaul?

Wan Jun is the bouncer between you and one of Phantom Blade Zero’s best Phantom Edges. He is an optional boss in Mandate Encampment — a giant with a copper-headed hammer, fought in an arena beside the Main Encampment Gate bell — and beating him awards the Bashpole automatically. The full weapon breakdown lives in our Bashpole guide; this page covers the fight itself and, just as importantly, the multi-region unlock chain that gates him. Maxroll’s Mandate Encampment walkthrough lists him as the region’s second boss stop, right after Corpse-Eating Xue.

The Unlock Chain: Five Keys Between You and the Fight

Wan Jun cannot be reached early, and the game never explains why. Here is the full dependency stack, consolidated from keengamer’s Bashpole guide:

1. Finish the Village of Lu. The road fork Soul mentions on arrival is a fake-out — Mandate Encampment is not open yet. Complete the region per our Village of Lu walkthrough.
2. Beat Gu Wanyue, the Wailing Wraith, at the Pond of Fading Song Bell in Pangzhen.
3. Descend the Well of Wei Sanchuan behind her arena and take the Mandate Encampment Outer Gate Key from the corpse in the puppet room.
4. Return to the Village of Lu’s starting gate and open the previously locked Mandate Encampment entrance.
5. Push through the encampment to the large battlefield and activate the Beneath the Watchtower Bell.
6. Break the chain-sealed gate beside the bell with the Dread Axe. The Dread Axe itself comes from Peng Meng, the Axemaster, beyond the Outpost in Weeping Creek Valley — if you skipped him, detour via our Dread Axe guide first.
7. Fight Wan Jun. Win, and the Bashpole is yours.

One trap to avoid: keengamer flags a Valley Gate Key inside the encampment that opens a different gate further in. Do not confuse the two — you need the Outer Gate Key to enter the region at all.

Moveset: How a Slow Boss Still Kills You

Wan Jun’s entire kit is heavy hammer melee, and his stats are honest: he deals significant damage per hit but swings slowly, with long recovery animations that are the real opening. Keengamer’s advice is the skeleton of the fight plan:

• Watch the swings, not the wind-up. Dodge or deflect each hammer attack, then attack when his combination finishes. His recovery is your entire damage window.
• Keep stamina in reserve. When he begins a powerful slam or sweeping attack, you need enough left to dodge — do not greed-strike into a full gauge.
• Break the Sha-Chi gauge, then burst. Once his defenses break, unload your strongest attacks before he recovers.

TheGamer’s hands-on report adds the texture: Wan Jun is clumsy, most of his Bashpole attacks can be parried or dodged, and because he is so slow, dodging is easier than against most bosses — you can build as much distance as you need, since he cannot close the gap quickly. Get in a few quick strikes while he collects himself; he stays open for a while. And Gfinity’s speed tip stands out: the Scarlet Wraithblade blooms red lilies that rapidly deplete Wan Jun’s Sha-Chi, making it the fastest guard-break tool for this specific fight.

The Reward: What the Bashpole Unlocks

The Bashpole is a Destructive-type Phantom Edge whose item card, per AllThingsHow, reads: “A melon-shaped hammerhead, capable of shattering stone, cracking the earth, and crushing enemies with ground-shaking force” — a long-handled heavy hammer once wielded by Wan Jun himself. Keengamer’s ability table:

Whirling Advance takes 1 Pigeon Feed and 5,000 Remnant Dust at a Bell, via our Soul Tempering guide. Once owned, Groundbreaker retroactively opens the whole map: keengamer’s hit list includes the Battlefield Ruins floor (Phantom Remedy medicine), the Main Encampment Gate floor (route toward the Dovecote), the Sunset Path river building (Sha-Chi Amber Fragment), and Master Lan’s home in the Village of Lu (Border Banner, a temper material for Bastion). In combat it is the wide answer to shielded crowds — our best Phantom Edges ranking places it in S-tier for exactly that job.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Rushing the region early. Crimson Forest already shows breakable plank floors, but no tool exists for them until this mid-game fight. Do not backtrack-hunt floors before Wan Jun falls.
• Blocking everything. His heavies punish passive play; parry or dodge, then take the recovery window. Blocking drains resources you need for the slams.
• Forgetting the bell. Ring the Main Encampment Gate bell inside the arena before you leave — backtracking through the chained gate is annoying.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Wan Jun optional?

Yes. He is an optional Mandate Encampment boss, but skipping him means skipping the Bashpole — and Groundbreaker is the only way to open sealed wooden floors across Crimson Forest, the Village of Lu, and the encampment itself.

Can you get the Bashpole before Mandate Encampment?

No. The Phantom Edge only exists in this region, and the region only opens after Gu Wanyue, the well key, and the Village of Lu gate — roughly halfway through the Pangzhen chapter.

Do you need to keep the Bashpole equipped to break floors?

No. Groundbreaker is a field ability: stand near cracked wooden planks and the prompt appears whether or not the Bashpole sits in a Phantom Edge slot, per AllThingsHow’s item card notes and keengamer’s usage guide.

Who is stronger, Wan Jun or the Iron Gauntlets?

Different jobs. The Bashpole shatters whole shielded crowds with spinning swings; the Iron Gauntlets delete one armored target fast. Both sit in S-tier — bring the pole to brawls, the gauntlets to duels.

Sources: keengamer.com/articles/guides/phantom-blade-zero-how-to-get-bashpole/ (unlock chain, moveset tips, ability table, Pigeon Feed cost), maxroll.gg/phantom-blade-zero/walkthrough/mandate-encampment-walkthrough (boss order in region), allthings.how/phantom-blade-zero-bashpole (item card, lore, arts, field-ability rule), thegamer.com/phantom-blade-zero-bashpole-unlock-guide (slow/clumsy fight observations), gfinityesports.com (Scarlet Wraithblade Sha-Chi tip) — launch-week guides, October–November 2026.