Phantom Blade Zero Keys & Locked Doors: All 29 Keys and Cranks

Phantom Blade Zero does not put a key count on screen, and most locked doors are opened by quest items rather than a single keyring. The research ledger documents 29 keys, cranks, and levers; 26 have a confident source and three remain unmapped. This page lists every named item by region, the exact source the repo can verify, the door it opens, and the deadline that can strand it.

Weeping Creek Valley

Key / crank	Exact source	What it opens	Deadline / notes
Cell Key	Outpost courtyard, on a corpse	Outpost cell	No hard cutoff. Pick it up on your first outpost visit.
Rusted Loong Key	Crane Bell at Lóng Pillar Overlook, after starting Deep in the Valley	Eastern locked cave at the overlook — Long Pillar 1	Use before the Green Serpent House door for the true-ending route.
Sha-Chi Tower Base Camp Gate Key	Sha-Chi Tower roof, after The Hunt	Base camp gate near Creek Valley Plains Entrance	Needed for Festering Secret. Finish it before Bai Chilian.
Puppet’s Tongue	The Herald’s Illusion: complete all three portals — Lu Puppet Testing Grounds after Yuzan; Mandate Encampment final arena after Huangxing; Mountain of Imprisonment final arena	Crimson Manor puppet lock	The Tongue is the only manor key. Get it before hunting Hansui and Eye [Yang]; before Mirage for true-ending cleanup.

Crimson Forest

Key / crank	Exact source	What it opens	Deadline / notes
Forest Outpost Courtyard Key	Tall house desk in the Crimson bandit camp	Forest Outpost courtyard gate	No hard cutoff. Sweep the camp before Bai Chilian.
Thieves’ Camp Dungeon Key	Cliffside Lodge cellar route; handed over by thief #3 in A Healer’s Mercy	Thieves’ Camp dungeon	Tied to A Healer’s Mercy. Report before Bai Chilian.
Cellar Crank	Cliffside Lodge balcony	Cliffside Lodge cellar	Used by both A Healer’s Mercy and Secrets of the Baishan Sect. Before Bai Chilian.
Secret Chamber Crank	Cliffside Lodge cellar, across the plank	Hidden Baishan chamber	Accept Secrets of the Baishan Sect before Bai Chilian; inspect Bi Taotao before Yubi.

Village of Lu

Key / crank	Exact source	What it opens	Deadline / notes
Village of Lu Cellar Key	Smuggler’s Tunnel	Hidden cellar	No hard cutoff. Finish before the Pangzhen transition if you want The Journey Home closed cleanly.
Puppet No. 44’s Eye	Puppet Testing Grounds; listed as a Mu Xiaokui drop in the Village of Lu route	Puppet lock	Obtained around the Mu Xiaokui fight. The lock is optional.
Tianxiang Pavilion Key	The Star Performer Tale — Opera Actress at Myst’s Tavern	Tianxiang Pavilion	No deadline.
Huang Manor Key	Shopkeeper Niu	Huang Manor	No deadline.
Lan Manor Key	Young Master Lan Tale, Pangzhen encounter	Lan Manor	First talk with Lan Shaodi must happen before Pangzhen. The key itself is earned in Pangzhen.
Pavilion of Knowledge Rooftop Key	Clear the Pavilion of Knowledge top floor	Pavilion rooftop	No deadline.

Pangzhen

Key / crank	Exact source	What it opens	Deadline / notes
Mandate Encampment Outer Gate Key	Well of Wei Sanchuan — about 38 m from the bell, about 3 m down	Outer gate to Mandate Encampment	Get it before the Mandate detour, and before the Green Serpent House door.
Backstreet Courtyard Key	Ledger of Atonement reward from Chen Zhu, about 78 m from Shrine Outer Gate	Pangzhen backstreet courtyard — Bai Xue	No hard cutoff, but finish the Bai Xue chain before the final ascent.
Backstreet Cellar Crank	Pangzhen Slums	Backstreet cellar	No deadline.
Heavy Lion Hall Gate Key	Ancestral Shrine Square	Lion Dance Hall — Flame and the Dormant Flaming Mane	Main-path gate. Open it before the Flaming Mane repair.

Mandate Encampment

Key / crank	Exact source	What it opens	Deadline / notes
Training Grounds Key	Chief Disciple, Three Towers	Training Grounds	Needed for Pillars of Kunlun and the Baishan chain. Finish before the Green Serpent House door.
Mandate Valley Gate Key	Cliffside Walkway	Red gate in the Mandate valley	Before the Green Serpent House door.
Moji’s House Key	Tower Rear Exit	Moji’s house	Before the Green Serpent House door.

Mountain of Imprisonment

Key / crank	Exact source	What it opens	Deadline / notes
Shrine Gate Key	Shrine Outer Gate, from the three masked fighters	Shrine gate	Before the final ascent.
Missing Lift Crank	Kui Yanyan, Shrine Outer Gate	Shrine lift	Required for Hero’s Lament.
Detached Cage Lever	Commander’s Platform, ladder east of the bell	Lowers Liu Yi’s cage	Required for Hero’s Lament. No hard cutoff, but finish before the final ascent.

If you are stuck at this door

Door	Key or item	Where to get it
Crimson Manor puppet lock	Puppet’s Tongue	The Herald’s Illusion, all three portals
Long Pillar cave, Weeping	Rusted Loong Key	Crane Bell at Lóng Pillar Overlook
Base camp gate, Plains Entrance	Sha-Chi Tower Base Camp Gate Key	Sha-Chi Tower roof, after The Hunt
Outpost cell	Cell Key	Outpost courtyard corpse
Forest Outpost courtyard	Forest Outpost Courtyard Key	Tall house desk, Crimson bandit camp
Cliffside Lodge cellar	Cellar Crank	Cliffside Lodge balcony
Baishan hidden chamber	Secret Chamber Crank	Cliffside Lodge cellar, across the plank
Thieves’ Camp dungeon	Thieves’ Camp Dungeon Key	Thief #3 in A Healer’s Mercy
Lu hidden cellar	Village of Lu Cellar Key	Smuggler’s Tunnel
Lu puppet lock	Puppet No. 44’s Eye	Puppet Testing Grounds / Mu Xiaokui
Tianxiang Pavilion	Tianxiang Pavilion Key	The Star Performer
Huang Manor	Huang Manor Key	Shopkeeper Niu
Lan Manor	Lan Manor Key	Young Master Lan
Pavilion rooftop	Pavilion of Knowledge Rooftop Key	Clear the top floor
Mandate outer gate	Mandate Encampment Outer Gate Key	Well of Wei Sanchuan
Pangzhen backstreet courtyard	Backstreet Courtyard Key	Ledger of Atonement
Pangzhen slums cellar	Backstreet Cellar Crank	Pangzhen Slums
Lion Dance Hall	Heavy Lion Hall Gate Key	Ancestral Shrine Square
Mandate red gate	Mandate Valley Gate Key	Cliffside Walkway
Training Grounds	Training Grounds Key	Chief Disciple
Moji’s house	Moji’s House Key	Tower Rear Exit
Shrine gate	Shrine Gate Key	Three masked fighters at Shrine Outer Gate
Shrine lift	Missing Lift Crank	Kui Yanyan
Liu Yi’s cage	Detached Cage Lever	Commander’s Platform

The 29-key ledger and its three gaps

The research ledger counts 29 documented keys/cranks and rates 26 as confident. Here is the honest accounting:

• 24 distinct items are named in the verified table above.
• 2 confident entries are aliases, not separate pickups: Dungeon Key is the Thieves’ Camp Dungeon Key, and Base Camp Gate Key is the Sha-Chi Tower Base Camp Gate Key.
• 3 entries are unmapped. The research preserves the count but not a verified name, source, and door for each.

The three unmapped entries are therefore listed as a data gap rather than guessed:

Unmapped entry	Status
Unverified key #1	No verified name, source, or door in the repo notes
Unverified key #2	No verified name, source, or door in the repo notes
Unverified key #3	No verified name, source, or door in the repo notes

If you meet a locked door that is not in the index above, treat it as one of these three and sweep the region before its hard gate — Bai Chilian in Crimson Forest, or the Green Serpent House door in Pangzhen. Do not assume a missing key is bugged.

Related routes

Keys are only half the sweep. Pair this page with the collectibles checklist for the serpent relics and Crystal Eyes, the all-chests and hidden areas guide for the 16 Lost Treasures, and the missables checklist for the exact boss gates.

Sources & confidence

Key names, grouped locations, and door assignments come from AllThingsHow’s key list, cross-checked against PowerPyx’s collectibles guide, KeenGamer’s Tale walkthrough, and the PBZ Wiki’s Crystal Eyes route. The 29 documented / 26 confident split is the research figure; the repo table itself supplies 24 distinct named items plus two aliases. Three keys are genuinely unmapped, and this guide does not invent them.