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Missable Quests
20 quests and items you can lock yourself out of, in the order the story reaches them. The heaviest cut-off is Bai Chilian at the end of Crimson Forest, which closes six early Tales at once. Save manually before every boss and area named below.
Last verified Nov 5, 2026 · From four launch-week guides; each row says which of them list it and where they disagree. We have not tested these cut-offs in the game ourselves. Light spoilers: quest and boss names only.
Cut-offs at a glance
- Before you leave Weeping Creek Valley · 1
- Before Jing Ye, the Outlaw (Crimson Forest) · 1
- Before Bai Chilian, Lady of the Twin Serpents (end of Crimson Forest) · 6
- Before you go down the Village of Lu well · 1
- Before Yubi, No. 21 Swordfighter Puppet (Mandate Encampment) · 1
- Before you enter Pangzhen · 2
- Choices that lock you out (no fixed deadline) · 5
- Before you enter Mirage Estate (the Green Serpent House door in Pangzhen) · 2
- Before Leng Tu on Mount Soulrend (the Last Chance bell) · 1
Before you leave Weeping Creek Valley
A Severed Mindseal (first step)
Do: Get the Primal Stone with the Sha-Chi Tower Furnace Inspection Crank and hand it to the Shadow Warden at the Valley Sha-Chi Tower Summit.
If you miss it: The rest of the questline and its trophy, Spectral Blade.
None of the guides knows the exact moment it fails; they all say to do it before leaving the valley.
Listed by PowerPyx, KeenGamer, DTG Reviews
Before Jing Ye, the Outlaw (Crimson Forest)
Apprentice Healer
Do: Bring Yu'er at the Outpost three herbs: Blood-Stopper Vine, Congealeaf and Blemish Goldweed.
If you miss it: The Medicine Case accessory (+20% Medicine healing, per DTG Reviews).
AllThings.how puts the cut-off at Yu'er moving on to the Crimson Forest camp rather than at the Jing Ye fight.
Listed by PowerPyx, KeenGamer, DTG Reviews, AllThings.how
Before Bai Chilian, Lady of the Twin Serpents (end of Crimson Forest)
Purge the Sect
Do: Take the Old Archer's request at the Outpost, clear the corrupted disciples at the Ruthless Archer Camp, and bring back the Broken-String Feather Bow.
If you miss it: The Feather Bow Phantom Edge.
Listed by AllThings.how, KeenGamer, DTG Reviews
Festering Secret
Do: Open the chain-sealed courtyard at the Outpost with the Dread Axe and finish the investigation (the captain's order, then the Sha-Chi Tower outskirts).
If you miss it: The Tale; no reward is named.
DTG Reviews: opening the courtyard alone does not finish the Tale.
Listed by AllThings.how, KeenGamer, DTG Reviews
Honor Among Thieves
Do: Get the Blood Letter from the Nimble Thief, give it to the Gentle Thief and answer his three questions.
If you miss it: The Silent Wrap accessory.
Listed by AllThings.how, KeenGamer, DTG Reviews
A Healer's Mercy
Do: Treat all four wounded thieves, then report to Yu'er at the Thieves' Camp bell.
If you miss it: The Calming Gourd accessory (KeenGamer, DTG Reviews).
Listed by AllThings.how, PowerPyx, KeenGamer, DTG Reviews
Flesh Lily
Do: Beat Hua, Deadly Betrothed, take the Flesh Lily from the fields and hand it to Yu'er.
If you miss it: The Flesh Lily and a changed scene at Yu'er's home (AllThings.how).
AllThings.how puts the cut-off earlier, at reaching the Village of Lu; the other three say before Bai Chilian.
Listed by AllThings.how, PowerPyx, KeenGamer, DTG Reviews
Secrets of the Baishan Sect (accept it)
Do: Talk to Lanlan on the large wooden bridge before the Thieves' Camp and take the quest. You only need to accept it here.
If you miss it: The whole quest and its trophy, The Last of Baishan.
DTG Reviews' own table says before entering Pangzhen; its text, PowerPyx and KeenGamer say before Bai Chilian.
Listed by PowerPyx, KeenGamer, DTG Reviews
Before you go down the Village of Lu well
Leave None Alive
Do: Finish the thief steps, using the bells to get around.
If you miss it: The Tale; no reward is named.
Only AllThings.how lists it.
Listed by AllThings.how
Before Yubi, No. 21 Swordfighter Puppet (Mandate Encampment)
Secrets of the Baishan Sect (Bi Taotao)
Do: After the Wu Lengshuang encounter, examine Bi Taotao's body among the flowers, so that the step "Defeat Bi Taotao's puppet form" is active before you fight Yubi.
If you miss it: The Last of Baishan trophy and the Broken Vessel; the Baishan Stormswords still drop (AllThings.how).
Listed by AllThings.how, PowerPyx, KeenGamer, DTG Reviews
Before you enter Pangzhen
The Journey Home
Do: Take Old Man Gen's request in the Village of Lu, open the tunnel and report back to him.
If you miss it: The War Wagon Phantom Edge, Gen's Memory Flower and the trophy Together Till the End.
AllThings.how puts the cut-off at reaching the Pangzhen backstreet on the quest's first step.
Listed by AllThings.how, PowerPyx, KeenGamer, DTG Reviews
Young Master Lan
Do: Accept his quest at his hideout and talk to him again once the locked route is open.
If you miss it: The trophy A Wanderer's Honor (and the Lan Manor Key step, per DTG Reviews).
Listed by PowerPyx, KeenGamer, DTG Reviews
Choices that lock you out (no fixed deadline)
Daughter of the Dark Sect
Do: Spare Red instead of killing her.
If you miss it: The rest of her story, her Memory Flower and a Sha-Chi accessory.
Listed by AllThings.how
Hero's Lament
Do: Keep Liu Yi alive on the Mountain of Imprisonment.
If you miss it: The Tale and the Ink Cut Phantom Edge.
Listed by AllThings.how
The Undying Heroic Spirit
Do: Kill each Mandate master while he kneels (about 10 seconds); you can let at most two of the six recover.
If you miss it: The quest and Hero's Courage, the Soul Tempering material for the Swordsman's Summon, which comes with the fourth flower.
Listed by AllThings.how
Crude Radiant Heart
Do: Give Lu Sanqian the Rootless Dew when you free him.
If you miss it: His Tale for that playthrough: he never reaches The Lady's Shrine.
Listed by AllThings.how
Thundermoon Lantern
Do: Hand the Mirage Estate treasures to Quick Hand Zhang at his Mirage Estate hideout, not at an earlier one.
If you miss it: The Thundermoon Lantern; you get Quick Hand's Manual instead.
Listed by AllThings.how
Before you enter Mirage Estate (the Green Serpent House door in Pangzhen)
The ten purple-icon Mysteries
Do: Deep in the Valley, Illusion of Inanis, Sha-Chi Powered Boat, Allure of Vanity, Illusory Pipa, Pillars of Kunlun, Whence the Weeping, The Herald's Illusion, Crimson Manor and Secrets at the Heart of the Lake.
If you miss it: The true ending, Final Battle. See the endings page.
PowerPyx's author calls Mirage Estate the point of no return for most missables, in a reply below the guide. PC Gamer disagrees: its writer finished some of these steps after entering Mirage Estate and still got the true ending. Safest is still to finish them first.
Listed by DTG Reviews, PowerPyx, PC Gamer
Whence the Weeping: the two Shrine steps
Do: Finish both Shrine steps on the Mountain of Imprisonment before crossing the bridge to Mirage Estate.
If you miss it: Two story steps; crossing also switches off five Crimson Forest bells (Parting Mists, Mirrorwood Depths, Threadbound Great Tree, Burial Grounds, Sha-Chi Tower).
Listed by AllThings.how
Before Leng Tu on Mount Soulrend (the Last Chance bell)
Secrets at the Heart of the Lake and Bloodline Awakening
Do: Finish the lake quest (including the talk with Inanis) and beat the Gold-Masked One at all five Lóng Pillars.
If you miss it: The true ending, plus the trophies Forbidden Arts Beneath the Lake and Phantom and Blade.
The Last Chance bell warns you even when everything is done (DTG Reviews, games.gg), so the warning alone does not mean you missed something.
Listed by AllThings.how, DTG Reviews
Missable trophies
These PS5 trophies need a quest that can fail. Full list and descriptions on Trophies & Platinum.
Spectral BladeA Severed Mindseal
The Last of BaishanSecrets of the Baishan Sect
Together Till the EndThe Journey Home
A Wanderer's HonorYoung Master Lan
Forbidden Arts Beneath the LakeSecrets at the Heart of the Lake
With Heart and Bloodthe true ending, Final Battle
PowerPyx and AllThings.how also name "The Healer's Legacy" (for Apprentice Healer, A Healer's Mercy and Flesh Lily). It is not one of the 36 PS5 trophies, so it may be a Steam achievement; we have not confirmed it.
For the true ending's full list and the Last Chance bell, see Endings & True Ending. Every boss named here has a page in the boss list.
FAQ
What is the point of no return in Phantom Blade Zero?
There are several. The big ones: defeating Bai Chilian at the end of Crimson Forest closes six early Tales, entering Pangzhen closes two Village of Lu quests, entering Mirage Estate closes the purple-icon Mysteries the true ending needs, and the Last Chance bell before Leng Tu commits you to an ending.
Which trophies are missable?
Six PS5 trophies hang on quests that can fail: Spectral Blade, The Last of Baishan, Together Till the End, A Wanderer's Honor, Forbidden Arts Beneath the Lake and With Heart and Blood (the true ending). PowerPyx also lists The Healer's Legacy, but there is no trophy of that name in the 36-trophy PS5 list; it may be a Steam achievement.
Can you go back and finish missed quests after the story?
You can return to every region in free roam after the final boss, or start New Game+ (PowerPyx; PC Gamer says you start it by speaking to Inanis); failed Tales do not come back when you return (DTG Reviews). For a failed quest, reload an earlier save or pick it up in the next cycle.
How do I know a quest has failed?
PowerPyx: open the quest page of the Journal at the start of each region; a failed Tale is marked in red.
How should I save to avoid missing things?
The game has 20 manual save slots and 3 rotating autosaves (PowerPyx). Keep a manual save at the start and end of every region and before the bosses named on this page.
Source log
Related guides
Guide 19Endings & True EndingAll four endings, named as they appear on screen, what triggers each, and every true-ending requirement with the points of no return. Story details are hidden behind spoiler toggles.Guide 15Trophies & PlatinumAll 36 trophies (1 Platinum, 3 Gold, 14 Silver, 18 Bronze), grouped by what each asks, plus the one-run platinum rules.Guide 02All Bosses GuideAll 62 boss fights in the retail game in story order, every name bar checked in retail footage, with region, drop and trophy, plus 57 full boss pages.Guide 14How Long to BeatMain story, side quests and platinum, with the pre-launch estimates kept for reference.