Phantom Blade Zero: How To Beat Jing Ye, The Outlaw

Phantom Blade Zero is more of an action-heavy hack-and-slash game than a true Soulslike, in truth, which means that not quite as many of the bosses featured in this game are going to give you a really hard time. However, that doesn't mean every single one's going to give you a free pass.

We would say that one of the first true tests in PBZ is Jing Ye, The Outlaw - a mounted boss with some shield protection too. It's a recipe for disaster if you don't plan your build accordingly. This is a testing battle, but one that you can make a lot easier if you simply use some helpful accessories and learn their attack patterns. We will help you with all of this in the guide below.

Where Is Jing Ye, The Outlaw?

Jing Ye is found in the early stages of the Crimson Forest, closest to the Outlaw Trap Bell. You'll find them directly in front of the bell if you pass through a spike trap by sticking to the right side of the pit and then using the wall to scale up the other side.

How To Prepare For The Fight

Before you head through the spike trap and into their boss arena, we would urge you to take stock of the gear you have available. Based on what will be available to you at this point in the game, here is the build that we would suggest for this fight:

Weapon: Jagged Steel
Secondary Weapon: Scarlet Wraithblade
Phantom Edge: Dread Axe
Accessories: Cavalrybane, Shieldbreaker Talisman, Reflex Device, Battle Wraps
Medicines: Healing Gourd, Vessel Restorative

The two biggest factors for making this fight significantly easier are Cavalrybane and the Shieldbreaker Talisman, as these effectively make the first and second phases of this fight much more manageable.

How to Beat Jing Ye, The Outlaw

It's rare that you get a three-phase boss in Phantom Blade Zero, but Jing Ye is one such occasion. You'll have to contend with his horseback phase, his shield phase, and his swordsman phase. All of which are tough to get your head around, so here are some helpful tips for each stage:

Note: Phantom Blade Zero is actually pretty forgiving with boss phases, and if you get through a phase once, the boss will remain in that advanced stage. So if you're struggling, plan to beat each stage one at a time.

Phase One - Horseback

When Jing Ye releases blood-like projectiles into the air, hold block if you're panicked, but dodging is ideal to avoid chip damage.
Watch carefully for red and blue prompts, as nailing these will allow you to break/stagger them much faster
Don't overcommit to attacks as his horseback iteration recovers pretty fast, and unless you nail a glowing prompt, it only offers a brief attack window.

Phase Two - Shield

As soon as they enter this phase, spam your Dread Axe charges to break their shield as fast as possible.
Don't spam attacks, as the spiked shield will drain your health. Instead, parry and dodge to create windows of opportunity to strike behind their shield.
When they kick up dust and disappear, be immediately ready to dodge their next attack.
During this phase, consider using the red grass of your Scarlet Wraithblade to slow their movement, making it easier to get behind their shield.

Phase Three - Swordsman

This is the phase where you need to be most aggressive and take risks. You'll want to rely on parries and prompts to get through this stage and stagger Jing Ye often.
Avoid their red glowing grab attacks above all others, as this not only deals big damage to you, but heals Jing Ye in the process.
Don't mess around when it comes to grey attacks. Get out of the way as fast as you can.

Boss Rewards

Winning this fight will allow you to progress further through the Crimson Forest. But more importantly, you'll be rewarded with a new weapon: the Outlaw Warblade. A brilliant sword, especially for breaking shields and draining HP from enemies.