Best Soul Tempers in Phantom Blade Zero: Priority Ranking

Every weapon in Phantom Blade Zero hides a second life behind one material and a flat 5,000 Remnant Dust - but with 47 tempers costing 235,000 Dust per playthrough and enemies that never respawn, you cannot temper everything. For how the system works - Myst’s unlock, the Dust economy, why tempered abilities beat raw stats - the Soul Tempering mechanics guide owns the mechanics; for where each of the 47 materials sits in the world, the complete materials index owns the map. This page answers what they leave open: which tempers first, and in what order.

The Priority Ranking at a Glance

Weighted for return on investment: early impact, effect longevity, and what the material hunt costs.

Why Open Wounds Is Always First

The consensus is unusually firm - the materials index repeats it in its own FAQ: temper the Jagged Steel first. It drops from the Chapter 1 boss of the same name and already out-bleeds everything in the opening regions; the Iron Butcher Mask then removes the one defense enemies have left, because blocked hits still fill the Bleed Gauge. No other temper turns one material into a mechanic that stays relevant through the final boss. Bank Dust with the farming routes so the mask is never a budget crisis.

The Transformation Tempers: Two Free Upgrades and One Key

Three tempers do not add an effect - they rename the weapon entirely: Sanguine becomes Infernal Rouge, Sanguine Twin becomes Shadowless Edge, and Sanguine Reach becomes Blazing Edge. That makes two of them close to free value, because the base weapons are low-tier rack blades most players benched by Pangzhen:

• Infernal Rouge (priority 2). Mobalytics’ launch weapon tier list calls it the best general-purpose weapon in the game and tells players to grab it “as soon as you can” - possible once you reach Pangzhen in Chapter 4, since the Bastion of Mó Mask is the reward for the fifth Long Pillar trial. Its Bloodline Rebirth saves you from fatal damage, restores HP, and raises Attack. Temper the starting sword; retire the guilt.
• Blazing Edge (priority 3). The Flaming Grip assembles from Scorching Flames (Zhu Yuan, the Searing Blade) and the Quenched Flaming Grip from the Midlake Lóng Pillar challenge. It ranks above its stats for what it unlocks: Yucong’s Mirrorwood rematch requires Blazing Edge equipped, and the chain pays out the S-tier Freezing Chaos - details on our Blazing Edge weapon page and in the Triple Threat walkthrough.

Mid-Priority: Temper What Your Build Mains

Below the top three, the ranking stops being universal. Temper the weapon your build actually swings:

• Gleaming Hook (4) is the highest-value Phantom Edge temper: the Chain Sickle’s grapple - already your traversal tool in every region - starts building Bleed, and paired with Open Wounds it finishes the game’s signature bleed package.
• Ruthless Outlaw (5) rewards the high-risk Outlaw Warblade playstyle with damage that scales as your recoverable HP drops; the Six Paths Warrant route is one clean Meigu Lake errand.
• Unending Storm (6) turns the Baishan Stormswords’ two-gauge rhythm self-sustaining - Lightning Storm now pulls enemies in and builds both the Wind and Thunder Gauges per enemy caught - but the Baishan Headband sits at the end of the long Cui tale on Mount Soulrend, so it arrives late by design.
• Endless Fiend Form (7) makes Fiend-Aura Erosion attacks unblockable on an S-tier burst weapon, but the Fiend Saws are missable and the temper assumes you collected all five ribbons - plan it, don’t stumble into it.

What to Skip (For Now)

Tempering is irreversible, so the ranking is also a list of things not to rush. Do not temper a weapon you have swung for an hour, do not temper purely for stats - every effect is a mechanic that wants playtime - and do not bank materials for a weapon you have not earned yet. A tempered mid-tier weapon out-damages an untempered top-tier one, but only if the temper matches your hands. When in doubt, hold the material: nothing expires.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I temper all 47 weapons in one playthrough?

Yes, mathematically - 235,000 Dust exists in a full sweep - but Dust is finite because enemies never respawn, so a completionist run needs the farming routes from hour one, not hour forty.

Does tempering replace weapon level upgrades?

No - forging (levels 5/10/15/25/30) and Soul Tempering are independent tracks. A level 30 weapon still gains its full tempered effect on top, which is why priority tempers never become wasted spending.

I main a weapon not on the list - is its temper bad?

Not necessarily. The ranking weights broad usefulness; a dedicated Soft Snake Sword or Juggernaut player gets full value from Final Gambit or Unfading Sunset. Temper your main before my number four.

Sources: KeenGamer’s all-weapons and materials tables, allthings.how’s 47-material index, GameSpot’s Soul Temper locations guide, Mobalytics’ launch weapon tier list, and the community-verified data behind our Soul Tempering and materials pages - cross-checked November 4-6, 2026.