How to Beat Hua Qianxiao, the Sword Fanatic in Phantom Blade Zero

Hua Qianxiao, the Sword Fanatic, is the first boss you face in the Crimson Forest. He is a drunken swordsman, and his entire fight revolves around a single mechanic: he drinks to empower himself, and you need to stop him. If you let him finish, the fight becomes much harder. If you learn to interrupt him, he is one of the more manageable bosses of the early game.

Preparation

Before entering, rest at the nearby bell and upgrade your weapons. Method.gg and Mobalytics both suggest bringing a loadout of Jagged Steel, Sanguine Twin, the Dread Axe and the Hunter's Chain Sickle. Those last two are Phantom Edges you should already own from Peng Meng and The Hunt. The blades give you quick, bleeding damage, and the Dread Axe is the tool for the drinking interrupt described below.

The drinking mechanic

At intervals Hua Qianxiao stops and starts drinking. While he drinks he is surrounded by a protective bubble. According to Method.gg and Mobalytics, a single tap of the Dread Axe breaks that bubble and drains his Sha-Chi, cancelling the empowerment. This is the most important thing to learn in the fight. Keep a Remnant Spark charge in reserve so that your Phantom Edge is ready whenever he reaches for his gourd.

If he does manage to empower himself, Mobalytics recommends switching to a defensive style. Parry his blue attacks, dodge the red ones and be especially careful of his drink grab, which you must avoid. Do not try to out-damage an empowered Hua Qianxiao. Wait until he returns to normal, or until you stagger him, before going back on the offence.

Reading his attacks

PCGamesN describes a few signature moves:

• Side-spin into swipes. When he spins sideways into a series of slashes, a red attack is coming. Prepare to perfect dodge it rather than block.
• Breakdance spin. When he spins on the ground in a breakdancing style, dodge away. He is about to release a large area-of-effect attack.
• Range. His drunken sword reaches further than it looks. PCGamesN suggests staying close to him rather than at mid-range, where his longest swings will catch you.

Method.gg adds two more details. After he pins you to the ground, there is a follow-up you need to dodge as soon as you can move. And during his flying-sword attacks, keep moving: standing still lets the blades converge on you.

A good rhythm

1. Stay close and bait a short combo.
2. Block or parry the blue strikes, then counter.
3. When he starts drinking, immediately use the Dread Axe on the bubble.
4. After the interrupt, his Sha-Chi is drained; this is your biggest damage window. Chain weapon swaps and combos, as Method.gg suggests.
5. When he side-spins, get ready for the red follow-up and perfect dodge.
6. When he breakdances, roll away.

Because weapon switching restores Sha-Chi, alternating between Jagged Steel and Sanguine Twin during the punish window lets you keep pressure up longer.

Reward

Beating him earns the Fanatic's Broken Blade, a weapon that ties into a later chain of upgrades. PCGamesN notes that Yan Qiansui, the Zither Maiden in Meigu Lake, drops the Fanatic's Obsession, which is used to Soul Temper the Fanatic's Broken Blade. Gu Wanyue, the Wailing Wraith, and Yan Qiansui also drop Fanatic's Fragments, so this weapon is one you will keep returning to.

The Crimson Forest holds several more fights after this one, including the outlaw Ying Ye and the chapter boss Bai Chilian. See our Crimson Forest guide for the full region rundown.

General boss tips that apply here

These rules come up again and again in PCGamesN's boss breakdowns and games.gg's duel tips. Parry blue flashes and perfect dodge red ones; red attacks cannot be blocked safely. Watch your Sha-Chi bar, because running it dry leaves you Guard-Broken. Switching between your two main weapons quickly refills Sha-Chi, which games.gg highlights as a key defensive trick. Save your heaviest combos and Phantom Edge skills for the moment the boss is Guard-Broken. If a fight is a wall, th.gl confirms you can lower the difficulty outside combat to widen parry and dodge windows, and the Reflex Device accessory (AllThings.How) adds another 15%. For more, see our beginner tips, all bosses in order and the build planner.