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Illusory Pipa Phantom Blade Zero: Location, Stats, and Effects

By the Blade Zero Wiki editors

Updated

Illusory Pipa Phantom Blade Zero is a rebuilt Phantom Edge, not a pickup: defeat Dusk, Yan Qiansui, and Yubi for its head, strings, and backplate, then let Myst repair it in Pangzhen. It starts at 276 damage and 234 Guard Break, and it clears the mist hiding Phantom Barriers.

Phantom Blade Zero screenshot: a low-crouched straw-hatted swordsman on wet wooden planks, broad teal energy arcs cutting across the rain around him
A Phantom Blade Zero screenshot of wide pale arcs sweeping the boards in a downpour — the spread the instrument's Sonic Blades describes, though the shot itself does not show the pipa. (Screenshot: Steam store page)

What Are the Illusory Pipa Stats and Effects?

The instrument is an Artifice Phantom Edge with 276 damage and 234 Guard Break at base level, as the Fextralife wiki lists. It fires two kinds of Sonic Blade: Blue blades chip Sha-Chi, Red blades hit harder and ignore Damage Reduction, and one full combo spends 1 Remnant Spark.

Illusory Pipa Phantom Blade Zero control comes from Sonic Mindseal, the Red blade rider: hit a Guard-Broken enemy with a Red Sonic Blade and it turns on its allies, though powerful enemies ignore the effect. Every Sonic Blade is unblockable, and Phantom Edge uses are restored at Bells.

Type How to get Base stats Special effect
Artifice Phantom EdgeCollect the head, strings, and backplate, then have Myst repair them in Pangzhen276 damage, 234 Guard Break at base levelBlue and Red Sonic Blades; Guard-Broken enemies can be turned on their allies; disperses mist over Phantom Barriers

How to Get Illusory Pipa Parts?

You get Illusory Pipa Phantom Blade Zero by collecting three parts and having them repaired. Dusk the Puppeteer in the Village of Lu drops the head, Yan Qiansui at the sunken opera house in southern Meigu Lake drops the strings, and Yubi at the Mandate Encampment Training Grounds drops the backplate. Myst fits all three together in Pangzhen.

The Game8 quest page calls the starting item the Broken Illusory Pipa and hands it over after Bai Chilian in Chapter 4: Snake's Reflection, so the broken instrument comes from Bai Chilian before the three-part hunt starts. Collect in this order:

  • Beat Dusk the Puppeteer in the Village of Lu for the head.
  • Beat Yan Qiansui at the sunken opera house in southern Meigu Lake for the strings.
  • Beat Yubi at the Mandate Encampment Training Grounds for the backplate.
  • Take all three to Myst at her tavern in Pangzhen for the repair.
  • Check the chapter order if a boss above has not unlocked yet.

Which Upgrades Does the Illusory Pipa Unlock?

The Fextralife wiki lists four unlocks past the base Soul Temper: Evasive Pluck at 5, Ringing Steel Lv. 1 at 10, Harmonic Shift at 15, and Formation-Breaking Song at 25. The table keeps each level next to the effect it grants, so the Remnant Spark cost of playing the instrument is easy to weigh against what each tier adds.

The Illusory Pipa Phantom Blade Zero upgrade path stays on the same instrument: no tier here swaps the weapon, each one only adds a way to send out Sonic Blades. The listed cost of a full combo is 1 Remnant Spark, so the higher levels buy new angles and pressure rather than a cheaper attack.

Level Upgrade Effect
BaseSoul Temper: Illusory PipaDispels the mist concealing Phantom Barriers and controls weaker enemies
5Evasive PluckFires Sonic Blades right after a sideways dodge
10Ringing Steel Lv. 1Raises Sha-Chi Depletion from Blue blades and damage from Red blades
15Harmonic ShiftSends out a Sonic Blade after a forward dash or a backstep
25Formation-Breaking SongSit and play for a continuous barrage of Blue and Red Sonic Blades while Remnant Spark drains

Where Does the Illusory Pipa Clear Phantom Barriers?

PC Gamer reports the instrument opening the Weeping Mistgate route and a barrier in the northeast of Meigu Lake. The Fextralife wiki adds that the dispel works even when the pipa is not equipped, so you can keep a main weapon in hand and still walk through a Phantom Barrier.

That is the part worth remembering after the repair: the dispel works as soon as you own the Phantom Edge. The locations page tracks the areas where mist blocks a path, and the full Phantom Edge list shows which other instruments carry a similar trick.

Illustration of a pear-shaped Chinese pipa standing on wet rock, pale rings of sound spreading from its soundboard into mist over a lake and karst peaks
Illustration: a pipa with pale sonic rings leaving the soundboard and drifting into mist — the fan-made sketch this page uses for the instrument's sound attacks, not a capture from the game.

Is the Illusory Pipa Worth Using?

Two numbers and one effect decide it: 276 damage and 234 Guard Break are the listed base figures, and the mist dispel works unequipped. That makes the Illusory Pipa an exploration tool you carry for Phantom Barriers rather than a full-time damage pick once a blade you prefer is in the first slot.

For combat, treat the Red blade as the payoff. It ignores all Damage Reduction, and against a Guard-Broken enemy it can flip the target to your side; the combat guide explains how Guard Break and Sha-Chi depletion feed each other, and the builds page shows where this Illusory Pipa Phantom Blade Zero fits a loadout.

How Does the Heartrend Pipa Unlock Work?

The pipa also arrives by soul-tempering the Heartrend Pipa, which the IGN wiki says comes from Yuzan, No. 3 Musician Puppet, at the end of the Village of Lu. The earlier instrument plays the same Blue and Red Sonic Blades, and IGN calls all of those hits unblockable.

If you take that route, the Yuzan fight is the gate and the tempering happens afterwards. The three-part repair above and the Heartrend Pipa route both end at the same Phantom Edge, so pick whichever one your current chapter has opened up.

Frequently asked questions

Where is the Illusory Pipa Phantom Blade Zero location?

The finished instrument is handed over by Myst in Pangzhen once she has all three parts. The parts themselves come from Dusk in the Village of Lu, Yan Qiansui at southern Meigu Lake, and Yubi at the Mandate Encampment Training Grounds.

How to get Illusory Pipa Phantom Blade Zero?

Beat Dusk, Yan Qiansui, and Yubi for the head, strings, and backplate, then take the set to Myst in Pangzhen. Game8 says the Broken Illusory Pipa itself arrives after Bai Chilian in Chapter 4: Snake's Reflection.

What are the illusory pipa stats at base level?

The Fextralife wiki lists 276 damage and 234 Guard Break at base level, on an Artifice Phantom Edge. A full combo of two Blue Sonic Blades and one Red Sonic Blade costs 1 Remnant Spark.

What does the Illusory Pipa do in Phantom Blade Zero?

It fires unblockable Sonic Blades, turns a Guard-Broken enemy against its allies with a Red blade, and disperses the mist concealing Phantom Barriers. The barrier dispel keeps working even while the instrument is not equipped.

Where do you use the Illusory Pipa for mist barriers?

PC Gamer names the Weeping Mistgate route and a barrier in the northeast of Meigu Lake. Both are cleared by the mist dispersion, which keeps working with the pipa left unequipped.

Does soul-tempering the Heartrend Pipa also give it?

Yes: IGN says soul-tempering the Heartrend Pipa produces the Illusory Pipa, and the Heartrend Pipa drops from Yuzan, No. 3 Musician Puppet, at the end of the Village of Lu. The three-part repair is the other documented route to the same Phantom Edge.

Sources