Beginner Guide: Combat, Upgrades and Map Icons

When progress stalls, identify the problem first: a defensive timing, an unfamiliar weapon, or a route that needs equipment you do not have yet. Each calls for a different response. Start with the combat basics, then use the map to decide what to explore now and what to revisit.

Learn your defensive options

Try a new weapon somewhere safe and read its advanced instructions. Changing the order and number of normal attacks and Sha-Chi attacks changes the sequence, so a familiar input pattern may behave differently with another weapon.

Blue-flash attacks call for a well-timed parry; red-flash attacks call for a precise dodge. Black-flash attacks are costly to defend against: even a precise block consumes substantial Sha-Chi. Prioritize dodging them while learning the fight.

Thrown fire bottles also require a dodge. If you are already burning, repeated dodges help clear the burn buildup. If a boss remains a roadblock, check the difficulty options available in your current save while you learn its attack patterns.

Know which upgrades can be refunded

Upgrade	Refund rule
Weapons and Phantom Edges	Upgrade materials can be refunded; higher upgrade levels require a refund item
Skills	Materials can be refunded without spending a refund item
Accessories and flasks	Upgrade materials cannot be refunded

After a weapon reaches level 10, a refund requires one item labeled Weapon Reforge Talisman; after level 20, it requires two. Phantom Edges use a separate refund item, the Phantom Reforge Talisman. Check the cost shown on the confirmation screen before committing.

This leaves room to try another weapon without treating every upgrade as a free reset. For a starting loadout, see the early weapon guide.

Read the map before searching for another entrance

1. Inspect interactive objects and speak to available NPCs when entering an area. Read their dialogue, books and Memory Flowers for quest clues.
2. Check the requirement attached to a red item or blocked route. If it needs a Phantom Edge you have not obtained, mark it and continue progressing.
3. Reopen the map after acquiring new equipment. A green icon means the relevant exploration requirement is now available, making it a useful return destination.
4. If a marked objective is hard to locate, select it on the map, return to play and hold the guidance input. The default is V on PC or the map button on a controller; check your settings if you have remapped controls.

Once a merchant has been unlocked, you can buy its available goods at Bells. Weapon and accessory upgrades are also accessible there, reducing repeated trips back to individual vendors.

Plan useful return trips

Ordinary enemies do not respawn simply because you rest, so resting is not a way to repeat a material-farming loop. Revisit side quests after advancing the main story: some lead to useful equipment or optional fights.

The chest across the opening cliff is a good example of a route to save for later. You need a chain-sickle from a later boss before returning to it.