Q: Can the difficulty be changed part-way through Phantom Blade Zero?
Can you change difficulty mid-game?
Yes, but not during combat. The path is Settings → Game → Difficulty.
Updated 2026-10-30·
#beginner#settings#difficulty
Answer
Yes. Difficulty cannot be changed while a fight is in progress, but it can be changed at any time outside combat.
Where to change it
Settings → Game → Difficulty → pick a tier.
The four tiers
- Friendly — a relaxed run, aimed at players who want exploration and story
- Pathbreaker — moderate challenge with room to breathe, aimed at players with some action-game experience
- Defiant — high difficulty; enemies are far more aggressive and gain new moves
- Sixty-Six Days — same difficulty as Defiant, but the run ends after 66 deaths
Tier names above are translations of the Chinese UI.
Notes
Sixty-Six Days unlocks only after clearing the game once on any other difficulty.
The full breakdown of each tier is on the Difficulty entry.