How to Beat the True Long in Phantom Blade Zero: Final Boss Guide

Boss Overview

The True Long is the final boss of Phantom Blade Zero, and on Hellwalker difficulty he is not easy at all. He is the last obstacle between you and the game's true ending, and he arrives with the tempo to match that billing. The creator of this build went through a long process of testing weapon combinations and playstyles before settling on the setup documented here, which means you get to skip all of that suffering and walk into the arena with a loadout that has already carried someone through the fight.

Here is the encouraging part: the moveset itself is fair. The attacks are not hard to remember, and there are only a few situations that genuinely demand study. What makes the True Long punishing is the speed. The pacing of the fight is very fast, and he will examine every fundamental you have built across the entire game — your parries, your dodges, and your reactions to blue and red attacks. Your skills will be tested. But if you have kept up with the combat system to this point, you already have the practice you need, and once you settle into the flow of the encounter, it is not that difficult at all.

Attack Patterns & How to Counter

The True Long does not win through gimmicks or an unreadable list of moves. He wins through speed and pressure, which means your job is to recognize a small set of situations and answer each one correctly. The summary table below covers everything you need to watch for, and the sections that follow break down each move in detail.

Combo Strings Ending in a Blue Attack

Many of the True Long's normal strings resolve in a blue attack. Because the blue strike arrives at the end of a readable combo, it is one of the easiest moments in the fight to answer: counter it. This is precisely what the Parting Hooks are doing in this build — their counter answers all blue attacks and rewards you for those parries — so every blue finisher is less of a threat and more of an invitation. Land the counter, then punish the boss during his recovery. These strings are your steadiest source of damage windows, so when a combo starts, do not panic and roll away. Hold your ground, track the string, and wait for the blue swing to cash it in.

The Air Vanish Into a Grab

Whenever the True Long disappears and goes up into the air, treat it as an alarm bell. Get ready to parry or perfectly dodge what comes next, because if you do neither, he will perform a grab move. The vanish itself is the tell — the instant he leaves the floor, your hands should already be preparing a parry or a perfect dodge. Both options work, so choose the one your fingers trust most under pressure. Answer the follow-up cleanly and you not only escape the grab, you also open another window to press your own offense. Eat it, and you hand the boss free damage in a fight where mistakes are expensive.

The Summoned Statue Slam

The single scariest move in the encounter is the one where the boss summons a big, long statue and then slams it down. Make sure you dodge this attack. It deals a lot of damage and can one-shot you, which means there is no version of this fight where tanking it or trading with it makes sense. The statue's appearance is your cue to stop attacking entirely: the moment it materializes, dedicate yourself fully to the dodge. Treat surviving this move as non-negotiable, because one mistimed response can erase an otherwise flawless attempt on Hellwalker.

Red Attacks and General Defense

Beyond the three highlights above, the fight stays honest. Keep your attention on the core vocabulary of the game's combat — parries, dodges, blue attacks, and red attacks — and execute them cleanly over and over. Nothing in this encounter asks for exotic technique. It asks for the same fundamentals you have been drilling all game, performed quickly and without hesitation.

Recommended Build

Both weapon slots in this setup run dual-wield picks, and both need to be taken to their ceiling before you attempt the fight. The full loadout is straightforward, with no obscure tech required.

Seamless Death — Primary Weapon

Seamless Death earns its slot through sheer speed and style, with a lot of quick attacks that let you stay attached to a boss who rarely stops moving. Before the fight, make sure it is fully max upgraded and Soul Tempered. Its Phantom Step and Afterimage Feint are amazing for this matchup, giving you the mobility and the evasive answers needed to survive strings that faster bosses use to bully slower weapons.

Parting Hooks — Secondary Weapon

The Parting Hooks are the counter engine of this build. They counter all of the boss's blue attacks and reward you for those parries, which pairs perfectly with the True Long's habit of ending strings in a blue strike. The hooks can also counter black flash attacks — just be aware of your own habits here. The creator admits that muscle memory kept making him dodge those attacks instead of countering them. Either answer can work, but pick the one you can perform consistently and commit to it, because hesitating between the two is how you get clipped.

Inanis Radiant Fan — Phantom Edge

The only Phantom Edge used in this fight is the Inanis Radiant Fan, chosen for its healing and Sachi recovery. It genuinely saved the run in a lot of situations, and it should be part of your regular rotation rather than an emergency button you hoard until it is too late. In a fight this fast, the free recovery it provides keeps you on the front foot instead of retreating to reset.

Accessories and Medicine

The accessory setup here is very straightforward — no specialized picks are needed for this matchup. Medicine, on the other hand, plays a huge role in the fight, so come stocked. The creator runs Longevity Tonic as his go-to, and given how much damage the boss's heavier attacks carry, you want your healing options filled before you step in.

Fight Strategy

With the build set, the gameplan is deliberately simple. Nothing fancy happens in this fight — no elemental damage, no status gimmicks — just disciplined fundamentals applied at high speed.

1. Apply constant pressure. Do not give the True Long room to breathe. Stay in his face, keep attacking, and force him to deal with you rather than dictating the tempo alone.
2. Keep switching your weapons. Rotate between Seamless Death and the Parting Hooks so you never run out of Sachi. Weapon swapping is your resource loop in this fight, and letting yourself drain dry in front of the final boss is an avoidable death.
3. Break his guard, then cash in. When his guard breaks, punish him with the power move. That guard-break window is your big damage moment, so have your resources ready for it.
4. Use the Inanis Radiant Fan regularly. Its healing and Sachi recovery keep your health and your offense funded at the same time. Do not save it for a crisis that may never come.
5. Skip the fancy stuff. No elemental builds, nothing exotic. Focus entirely on parries, dodges, blue attacks, and red attacks. The fight rewards execution, not creativity.
6. Ride the tempo. The pacing is very fast, and that is the real challenge. Once you find the flow — recognizing the blue finishers, reacting to the air vanish, dodging the statue on sight — the fight stops feeling overwhelming and starts feeling rhythmic.

Rewards

Beating the True Long earns you the game's true ending. For anyone pushing through Hellwalker difficulty, that ending is the payoff for mastering every system the game has thrown at you, delivered by the one opponent built to test all of it at once.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the True Long really that hard?

On Hellwalker difficulty, yes — the pacing is very fast and your skills will be tested. The saving grace is that his attacks are not hard to remember. Learn the blue-attack finishers, the air vanish grab, and the statue slam, and once you get the flow of the fight, it is not that difficult at all.

Do I need an elemental or status build for this fight?

No. This strategy deliberately keeps things simple: no elemental damage and nothing fancy. Win with parries, dodges, and counters against his blue and red attacks, and save your build creativity for elsewhere.

What weapons should I bring?

Seamless Death in the primary slot and the dual-wield Parting Hooks in the secondary slot, both max upgraded and Soul Tempered. Pair them with the Inanis Radiant Fan as your Phantom Edge for healing and Sachi recovery.

What do I get for defeating the True Long?

The true ending of Phantom Blade Zero. He is the final boss of the game, so clearing him on Hellwalker closes out the toughest version of the campaign.