Mount Soulrend Guide: The Final Gauntlet (Phantom Blade Zero)

Mount Soulrend is the final region of Phantom Blade Zero. The AllThings.How map lists nine bells, five boss markers and no chests at all, which tells you what kind of place it is: a straight run of fights toward the ending, not an area to explore. Before you climb, make sure your side content is done, because both the ending you receive and the help you get in the final fights depend on it.

Mount Soulrend at a glance

The AllThings.How interactive map tracks 9 bells, 5 boss markers and 0 chests in Mount Soulrend. Bells are checkpoints and upgrade stations, so unlocking every one makes backtracking much faster. Boss markers include optional fights as well as story bosses, and chests are where many accessories and upgrade materials are hidden. You can tick these off on our interactive map and the collectibles checklist.

Bosses and how to approach them

The Crusher and the Saw finally fight you after appearing in the Crimson Forest. PCGamesN calls it an easy fight because The Crusher is slow, though the huge model can obscure the screen; lock on to Saw in phase one. In the Earthshattering Form phase, a hammer swing precedes a jumping, spinning red attack. Reward: Bonesaw.

The gauntlet follows: Puppet Scavenger, then Heartpiercer and Cavalrybane, then Yuding and Yubi. Use the tactics from each individual fight. PCGamesN notes that allies whose quests you completed join and help you here.

Leng Tu, Herald of the Veil: clear his summons, avoid the shadows of his giant arms and ignore the orb that only pushes you away.

Meng Hua, the Merciful Lady of the Blossom Veil: jump or dodge her rotating lasers, perfect dodge the red attack after the white orb and darkness, and collect dark fragments. Full guide: Meng Hua final boss.

Zuo Shang returns only if you meet the true ending requirements. KeenGamer lists the Aureate weapon as the reward for defeating him beyond Meng Hua's golden portal.

Weapons found in Mount Soulrend

These primary weapons can be obtained here, based on KeenGamer's weapon list:

• Bonesaw: Defeat The Crusher and The Saw in The Giant's Lair.
• The Lady's Fan: Defeat Meng Hua during the final story sequence.
• Aureate: Meet True Ending requirements and defeat Zuo Shang beyond Meng Hua's golden portal.

Tips for this region

• Rest at The Last Chance bell, which games.gg identifies as the true-ending point of no return.
• Finish every ally quest for help in the gauntlet.
• Battleforged is recommended against the Puppet Scavenger.
• There are no chests, so do all your shopping and upgrading before you climb.
• After the ending, Inanis offers a New Cycle; see New Game Plus.

Which ending will you get?

AllThings.How and Kung Fu Punk describe how your progress decides the ending. If you reach Mount Soulrend without completing the Secrets at the Heart of the Lake quest, you get the Annihilation ending after defeating Meng Hua. If you completed Secrets at the Heart of the Lake, including the conversation with Inanis about the Violet Blossom, but left at least one Lóng Pillar trial unfinished, you get Lóng's Roar, which ends after defeating Zuo Shang. Completing Secrets at the Heart of the Lake and all five Lóng Pillar trials (the Bloodline Awakening quest), together with the purple quests and Quick Hand Zhang's requests, leads to the Final Battle ending, in which you face Leng Tu, Meng Hua and a transformed Zuo Shang. A fourth outcome, Undying Grudge, only happens on the 66 Days difficulty when you run out of days, according to the th.gl difficulty guide. Full details are in our endings guide.

Because Mount Soulrend has no chests and only a handful of bells, it is worth making one last sweep of earlier regions before the climb. Spend leftover Remnant Dust on weapon levels, temper your favourite Phantom Edge if you have its material, and set up an accessory loadout that covers multiple enemies at once, since several gauntlet stages pit you against pairs.

Related reading: True ending guide, Trophy guide, All bosses in order.