| Equipment class | Material through level 10 | Material for the next tier, through level 20 |
|---|---|---|
| One-handed main weapons | Forged Metal | Polished Forged Metal |
| Dual-wielded main weapons | Twinned Metal | Polished Twinned Metal |
| Two-handed main weapons | Broadplate Metal | Polished Broadplate Metal |
| Martial Phantom Edges | Exotic Copper Ingot | Otherworldly Copper |
| Ranged Phantom Edges | Ancient Timber | Camphor Timber |
| Destructive Phantom Edges | Darkfire Charcoal | Blazing Darkfire Charcoal |
| Artifice Phantom Edges | Mechanical Gear | Precision Mechanical Gear |
| Summoning Phantom Edges | Incense Ash | Illusory Incense Ash |
Which materials belong to your weapon?
Main weapons also consume Remnant Dust and Solvent alongside their class metal. When you move beyond level 10, the metal changes to its polished version and Concentrated Solvent replaces the basic Solvent. Having a stack of early metal is therefore not enough to buy the next tier: both the metal and solvent requirements change.
The class is attached to the weapon, not to your current character progression. Forged, Twinned and Broadplate Metal are separate supplies rather than interchangeable names for the same resource. Phantom Edges use the distinct material families in the table instead of the main-weapon metal line, so a ranged weapon and a Martial weapon draw from different inventories.
The Peddler at the Mandate Outpost in Weeping Creek Valley sells early upgrade supplies. You can buy Forged Metal and Broadplate Metal there, along with Phantom Edge materials such as Ancient Timber, Exotic Copper Ingot, Darkfire Charcoal and Mechanical Gear. This gives you an early purchasing option without waiting for a later-region merchant.
Unlock upgrades at Forge, then use any Bell
Find Forge at the Outpost in Weeping Creek Valley and speak with her to unlock ordinary weapon upgrading. After that meeting, open a Bell and choose Upgrade Equipment. Her function becomes available at fast-travel points; you do not need to return to the Outpost for each new weapon or each additional level.
For Phantom Blade Zero weapon upgrades, choose Main Weapons or Phantom Edges according to the item you want to improve. Select the individual weapon, then compare its required materials with the amounts you own. A main weapon and a Phantom Edge do not share one universal upgrade recipe, even when both are at the same level.
The menu's Upgrade to Max option spends resources on all the levels you can currently afford. It is a bulk upgrade command, not a way to bypass missing materials. If you have only the first material tier, the command cannot replace the polished metal or other higher-tier item needed for the next step.
Weapon levels unlock more than damage
Each weapon is upgraded individually. Additional perks unlock at weapon levels 5, 10, 15 and 25, and upgrades can expand its techniques or forms as well as improve its stats. These milestones belong to the selected weapon: upgrading one blade does not purchase the same levels on another blade in your inventory.
For Phantom Blade Zero weapon upgrades, reaching a perk milestone and applying Soul Temper are different operations. A level-based perk comes from raising the weapon's level with its regular materials. Soul Temper instead uses an item matched to that particular weapon, and its effect can change how the weapon works rather than simply add another level.
Revert the weapon level to recover the investment
Open Upgrade Equipment at a Bell, select the weapon and use Revert to reset its ordinary upgrades. The weapon returns to its starting level, and the regular upgrade materials and Remnant Dust invested in those levels are returned. Its level-based damage and Guard Break improvements drop with that reset; the refund does not leave you with a fully levelled weapon and the same materials.
| Selected equipment | Reset condition |
|---|---|
| Main weapon through weapon level 10 | No Reforge Talisman needed. |
| Main weapon above weapon level 10 | Requires a Weapon Reforge Talisman. |
| Phantom Edge above weapon level 10 | Requires a Phantom Reforge Talisman. |
Before confirming Revert, the refund preview separates what you already own from what the transaction returns. Check the listed Reforge Talisman requirement on the selected weapon, including its quantity. This is a reset to the starting level rather than a command to remove just one level.
The refund threshold is the weapon's upgrade level, not a character level. A low-level weapon does not become expensive to revert merely because you have advanced farther in the story. Conversely, taking that weapon past the free-reset tier changes its reset requirements even if you are still using the same equipment category.
Returned materials remain the materials you originally spent. Reverting a dual-wielded weapon gives back its Twinned Metal investment, not the Forged Metal needed by a one-handed replacement. The refunded Dust can fund another upgrade, but switching classes can still leave you short of the new weapon's class-specific supply.
Soul Temper is a separate, permanent enhancement
Myst unlocks Soul Tempering when you speak with her at her tavern in Pangzhen. Her function adds a Soul Temper prompt to the upgrade menu, with options for both main weapons and Phantom Edges. Meeting Forge unlocks regular levels; it does not by itself unlock this second enhancement system.
Soul Tempering consumes a weapon-specific material and Remnant Dust. For example, the Dread Axe uses Blood Oath Dagger and 5,000 Remnant Dust to gain Rapid Charge, which increases its charge speed by 30%. Ordinary Darkfire Charcoal upgrades do not substitute for that dagger, and levelling the axe does not automatically purchase Rapid Charge.
Keep this distinction when moving resources between weapons: Phantom Blade Zero weapon upgrades can return their ordinary level-up investment through Revert, but Soul Tempering is permanent. It is not a free trial of an alternate effect, and the ordinary refund system does not provide a way to recover the Soul Temper material. Decide whether you want the named enhancement before confirming that separate transaction.