Yuding, No. 12 Crescent Blade Puppet is a story boss in the Mirage Estate, in the training grounds you reach through the Opera House. Golden rule: dodge every green line, because it paralyzes you and then comes a red leap that can kill you in one hit. Get away from the whirlwind and go for the perfect dodge on the final red finisher. She is weak to lightning and drops the Crescent Blade.
Boss profile
Health, Sha-Chi, recommended level and elemental weaknesses
Weaknesses
Phases: 2 (plus the final finisher) · Region: Mirage Estate
Bars relative to the boss with the most health (Mo Yuan, 186,000) and the most Sha-Chi (Huangxing, 55,860) in the game.
Where is she and how do you get there?
It is a mandatory fight in the chapter “The Way Forward”:
- Go in through the Opera HouseFrom the Estate Rear Gate bell, continue through the pagoda and the ziplines to the Opera House, which leads to the training grounds.
- Training Grounds bellRest to refill your medicines. From the bell, climb the stone steps to the courtyard.
- Clear the wavesAccording to allthings.how, Yuding only appears once you clear the five waves of puppets in the courtyard. If you die against her, the waves stay cleared.
When you cross into the Mirage Estate you lose any pending purple quests, Long Pillars 1-4 and Zhang’s requests. Check the area order and points of no return before going in.
How to beat Yuding
Vandal (Spanish guide) warns that she can kill you in one hit. All her combos end in a guard break or a red attack, so dodge any attack that is not a normal slash. You can block or parry the single slashes.
Her attacks
- Wide slashes: arcs of three or four hits with the crescent blade. Block or parry them, but if you take them head-on they drain a lot of Sha-Chi.
- Green lines: a straight green line, horizontal or diagonal, that paralyzes you. Always dodge it. If it is horizontal, it is followed by a red leap you cannot dodge while paralyzed and that can kill you regardless of your health.
- Wind push and shockwave: she pushes you back with a gust of wind, draws a line across the whole arena and, after a moment, a shockwave comes that leaves you stunned in the air. According to Fextralife, what stuns you is the shockwave, not the push, and the only safe spots are behind it or with a perfect dodge.
- Whirlwind: three spins close to the ground and a leap with two more spins; the second spin is red. The spin hits all around her: do not try to get behind her during it, back away.
- Full combo: three spins, a spin with a dark flash and a red leap that releases an energy wave. It is one of her most damaging combos.
Her phases
- Phase 1 (wind storm): after taking enough damage she is surrounded by a wind storm and you cannot damage her. Back away: she may throw a strong combo or the horizontal green line with its finisher.
- Phase 2: she walks slowly and your attacks bounce off. She uses the horizontal green line followed by the lethal red leap over and over: dodge both.
- Final finisher: at low health she often uses a lethal red grab (she hooks your neck with the blade). If you pull off a perfect dodge, Yuding dies by her own weapon.
Strategies to beat her
Pick the one that fits your playstyle. We only recommend gear you can have by the time you reach the Mirage Estate.
Fast weapon strategy (one-handed and dual)
She is a fast opponent from the first hit: do not chase the long combo. Land two or three hits and back off before she responds. The best options here are Sundering Dual Axes and Seamless Death. Punish her back after her spins and keep your other weapon in reserve: switching restores all your Sha-Chi.
Heavy weapon strategy (two-handed)
Against such a fast opponent, use heavy hits only after a parry or a perfect dodge. Try Juggernaut or Whiteshadow. The Outlaw Warblade restores health on hit, ideal if you struggle to survive.
Elemental strategy (exploit her weaknesses)
She is weak to lightning. Equip:
- Lightning: Thunder Spear (Chang Hong’s Phantom Edge, which also paralyzes); Baishan Stormswords (Yubi’s dual weapons).
Recommended combo: soak her first with You Loong’s Deluge and finish with the Thunder Spear. The Wet status increases lightning damage.
Defensive strategy (parries and dodges)
Her most dangerous attack is the horizontal green line followed by the red leap: always dodge the line and do not let yourself be paralyzed. Parry the single slashes to drain her Sha-Chi without spending yours, and execute as soon as she is stunned. If you are struggling, the Counterstrike Bracers accessory (first Long Pillar) rewards parries.
Phantom Edge strategy
Bring the Bashpole to break her guard and, if the summon icon glows in the arena, Inanis’ Radiant Fan to regenerate health and Sha-Chi or the Kuye Temple Prayer Beads so someone distracts her. Remember that sparks recharge when you rest at a bell: spend them freely on the boss.
If you get stuck
- Heal early: allthings.how points out that the fight can end in the first minute, so do not hold on to your medicines.
- Do not try to counter her unusual attacks: dodge everything green and red.
- Upgrade your two main weapons before coming back (the boss is level 23) and level up your medicines with the healer at the Green Serpent House.
- Drop to Wayfarer: it does not affect any trophy and you can raise the difficulty again later.
Recommended gear
- Thunder Spear or Baishan Stormswords (lightning), with You Loong’s Deluge to soak her.
- A fast weapon to punish after the spins.
- Inanis’ Radiant Fan if you struggle to survive.
Rewards
- Crescent Blade: two-handed weapon. Its tempering requires the Statue of the Loyal Hero.
- According to allthings.how, 90,000 Remnant Dust.
- After you beat her, a piece of a Memory Flower appears on the balcony next to the arena (listed in the Memory Flowers).
The other boss in the area is in the Mirage Estate bosses and the full region in the Mirage Estate guide. Looking for another boss? The list is in all Phantom Blade Zero bosses in order.
Frequently asked questions
Why does Yuding kill me in one hit?
Because she has paralyzed you with a green line and then the red leap hits you. Always dodge the green lines.
Why can’t I damage Yuding?
While the wind storm surrounds her you cannot damage her, and in the second phase your attacks bounce off. Back away and wait to dodge the green line and the red leap.
How do you finish off Yuding?
At low health she uses a lethal red grab. If you dodge it perfectly, she dies by her own weapon.
