Phantom Blade Zero update 1.0302256 adds audio and control options, with PC performance fixes

New audio and control settings

The patch expands the audio settings with separate “Hit Sound Intensity” and “Hit Impact Sound Intensity” controls. It also improves weapon hit feedback and adjusts the volume of some sound effects and dialogue, giving players more direct control over how impacts are presented.

For PC players, “Interact / Talk” can now be remapped for both keyboard and controller. Weapon descriptions, some skill descriptions and controller button icons have also been updated.

Combat and performance changes

Combat behavior has been adjusted for certain bosses and enemies, and the functionality of some environmental mechanisms has changed. Hua, Deadly Betrothed now performs grab attacks less frequently on Wayfarer and Pathbreaker difficulties, while other difficulty settings remain unaffected. The patch also includes several combat-related fixes and addresses performance issues in certain areas.

On PC, the shader compilation process has been changed to significantly reduce startup times, and ray tracing shaders are no longer compiled by default at startup. Players who previously had Ray Tracing disabled will need to recompile shaders on their first launch after installing the patch; this is a one-time process that should take only a short time. Those who previously had Ray Tracing enabled can start playing without recompiling. If Ray Tracing is later enabled in the settings, its required shaders will be compiled separately on the next restart.

Other PC improvements include reduced stuttering when using a Bluetooth-connected controller. NVIDIA Reflex also now works when set to “Auto” with V-Sync enabled.

Fixes and troubleshooting

The bug fixes cover problems that could prevent progression under certain conditions and environmental issues that could leave the player character stuck. The patch also fixes cutscene and visual problems, several combat-related issues, and incorrect character-hair rendering on certain AMD graphics cards with specific driver versions.

Some third-party mods are not compatible with the update and may cause issues. Players encountering problems after updating are advised to remove any installed mods.

If crashes or stuttering occur after updating, the patch notes recommend clearing the game’s shader cache and relaunching so shaders can be quickly recompiled. On PC, right-click Phantom Blade Zero in the Steam Library, select Manage, choose Browse local files, open the PBZ\ProjectPBZ\Saved\Cache folder and delete the files inside.