Outlaw Warblade Guide - Lifesteal Sword & Ruthless Outlaw

Overview

The Outlaw Warblade is one of the first weapons most players unlock in Phantom Blade Zero, and it has a rare quality for an early sword: you will still respect it in the endgame. Its identity is health-stealing — it shreds enemies and heals you while doing it — and its tempered ability turns it into one of the highest-skill-ceiling weapons in the game.

Why It Earns a Slot

Sustain is the scarcest resource in Phantom Blade Zero’s combat economy. Healing items are limited, Bells respawn enemies, and the Sha-Chi gauge punishes turtling. A weapon that returns health on hits directly attacks that scarcity: every clean string becomes both damage dealt and damage undone.

The trade-off is that health-stealing rewards the already-winning. If you are getting hit constantly, the steal will not outpace the damage. The Warblade is a momentum weapon — it makes good play self-sustaining.

How to Temper It: The Six Paths Warrant

The Warblade’s tempering material cannot be grabbed early, and the hunt is one of the more involved in the game:

1. Find all three Illusory Pipa parts — held by a hidden boss in the Village of Lu, the chapter boss of Mandate’s Encampment, and a hidden boss in the Ruined Theater at Meigu Lake.
2. Repair the Pipa with Myst at the Pangzhen tavern.
3. Return to Meigu Lake’s Songhouse Dock Bell — the arena where the Zither Maiden fight happened — and clear the mist doorway at the back of the arena with the Pipa.
4. Skirt the wall to your left to find the glowing Six Paths Warrant.

Full step-by-step with landmarks: Six Paths Warrant walkthrough. Once you have the warrant and 5,000 Remnant Dust, temper at any Bell.

What Ruthless Outlaw Changes

The tempered ability reads: damage dealt to enemies increases with the amount of recoverable HP. In practice this turns the Warblade into a snowball weapon — win the exchange, heal past the danger line, and your next string hits even harder. It synergizes brutally with the health-steal identity: the more aggressive you are, the more both abilities compound.

For players who found the Bleed package too passive, Ruthless Outlaw is the alternative endgame centerpiece: same Soul Tempering investment philosophy, opposite playstyle.

Verdict

Keep the Outlaw Warblade in your loadout planning from the moment it drops. Even before tempering, its sustain is unique; after tempering, it scales with exactly the thing aggressive players generate for free.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Outlaw Warblade missable? No — it is unlocked naturally during the early campaign.

When can I actually temper it? Late enough that you should not rush: the warrant requires the Illusory Pipa repair chain, which spans several regions. See the All Endings guide — the same chain feeds the Perfect Ending.

Source: community-verified launch day data (October 29, 2026). Exact stats community mapping in progress.