Fiend Saws Guide - How to Get This Missable S-Tier Weapon

Overview

The Fiend Saws are the weapon Phantom Blade Zero players lose most often — a dual-wield pair ranked S tier on community tier lists, locked behind a side quest the game barely signposts and a boss phase you can permanently skip. This guide exists so that does not happen to you.

Why They Are Missable

Entering the Village of Lu automatically starts the “Young Mistress” side quest. Mu Xiaokui — daughter of Soul’s master, whom he has known since childhood — has left five ribbons around the village, each playing a short dialogue when collected. Finding all five adds an extra phase to the Village of Lu’s final boss fight, pitting you against her bodyguards Jade Dancer and Iron Fiend (the Young Mistress’s Guardians). Defeating the modified encounter is what awards the Fiend Saws, alongside the Wild Oriole Sword sitting on the dock after the fight.

The failure condition: finish the fight without all five ribbons and the extra phase never happens. Both weapons are gone until the next playthrough — and the Wild Oriole Sword is separately missable because the elevator out of the arena breaks once you leave. The safety rule: if you reach the Puppet Testing Grounds area without five ribbons, stop and go back.

All Five Ribbon Locations

You will hear the bells tied to each ribbon when you get close — turn your audio up and sweep slowly.

1. Bridge to the Well of the Three Puppets. After beating Zhuo Bi, the Gatekeeper, climb the stairs instead of entering the blue-flower area. Soul stops and interacts with this ribbon automatically — it starts the quest.
2. Covered bridge near the Well. The bridge is blocked by threads. From the Zhang’s Hideout bell, slide down the path right of the hole, head left to the altar building, break the gate, and kill the Puppet Spearman in the upright coffin. The threads vanish; jump the bridge for the ribbon.
3. The Lady Grounds bell. Unmissable with story progress: defeat Master Bi Yuan of the Tianxuan Sect past the Statue Grounds Entrance bell, and the ribbon is tied to the bell that appears.
4. Temple of Blue Fireflies. Take the bridge beside the locked door near the Well of the Three Puppets, push on to the temple bell, and check the tree to the left of the entrance.
5. Beneath the Well. Once the Well of the Three Puppets opens, drop in, follow the path to the Beneath the Well bell, and look right at the start of the wooden bridge — the ribbon is tied to a stick.

What the Fiend Saws Do

Every hit builds Fiend-Aura Erosion on the target, an effect lasting 20 seconds; when the gauge fills, the accumulated fiend-aura erupts and erodes the enemy’s HP. It is a pressure mechanic — the dual blades’ fast strings fill the gauge quickly, and the eruption punishes any enemy that tries to turtle behind a guard. Think of it as a second, darker bleed: keep your hit count high and the erosion does the finishing work for you.

The Fiend Form Power Surge spends 1 Sha-Chi Essence for 10 seconds of unblockable attacks with increased damage against guard-broken enemies. Pressing the input again during Fiend Form performs a stronger follow-up at no extra Essence cost, but ends the transformation immediately — so time it for the end of the window. The optimal loop is simple: break the enemy’s guard with your second weapon or Phantom Edges, then pop Fiend Form for the punish. Because the form’s bonus specifically targets guard-broken enemies, pairing the saws with a high Guard Break partner like the Outlaw Warblade turns every broken guard into a damage window the boss will not survive twice.

Verdict

Keengamer and other launch tier lists place the Fiend Saws in S tier for Fiend-Aura buildup and unblockable boss damage — and they pair beautifully with sustained-pressure weapons in two-weapon builds. Given the price of failure is an entire playthrough, treat the ribbons as the first thing you do in the Village of Lu. For what to run alongside them, see the best early-game weapons and the full weapons list; for upgrade costs, the Soul Tempering guide. The Village of Lu boss order is covered in all bosses.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I collect ribbons after starting the Mu Xiaokui fight? No — the additional phase is decided by your ribbon count when the encounter resolves. Collect all five before you commit to the chapter’s finale.

Is the Fiend-Aura Erosion eruption affected by enemy type? Community mapping on exact resistances is still in progress; the HP erosion is confirmed on standard enemies and bosses in launch footage.

Which is better, Fiend Saws or White Serpent & Crimson Viper? They solve different problems — Fiend Saws burst after a guard break, White Serpent & Crimson Viper sustain pressure. Most tier lists recommend carrying both and swapping mid-fight.

Sources

• Polygon — All ribbon locations in Phantom Blade Zero
• keengamer — Phantom Blade Zero Best Weapons Tier List
• Game8 — How to Get Fiend Saws
• games.gg — All Weapons & How to Unlock Them

Source: community-verified launch data (October 31, 2026). Exact Fiend-Aura numbers: community mapping in progress.