How the secondary slot actually works

Two Phantom Edges, hidden until used, fuelled by sha-chi. The last part is the one that changes how you build: they do not have their own ammo pool, so every Phantom Edge cast is sha-chi your main weapon does not spend on a Power Surge.

Three consequences follow, and they matter more than the item list:

  • The slot is a resource decision. A build with two cheap, fast Edges plays differently from one with a single expensive finisher, even with identical main weapons.
  • What you see is not what you hold. In footage, the weapons on Soul's back are main weapons; the Phantom Edge only appears when triggered.
  • Boss drops mean missable tools. Several confirmed Edges sit on optional bosses from our boss list, so the missables guide applies to your secondary slot too.

Every confirmed Phantom Edge

Sixteen are confirmed by name and source. The developer's figure is 25 secondary weapons, so treat this as a verified core rather than the complete set.

Phantom Edge Source What it does
Dread Axe Axemaster Peng Meng (Weeping Creek Valley) Heavy axe strike
Hunter's Chain Sickle The Hunt, Hunter of the Order (Crimson Forest) Chained sickle
Iron Gauntlets Stone Hand Iron Fever (Crimson Forest) Gauntlet strike
Bastion Zhou Bi, the Gatekeeper (Village of Lu) Defensive
Kuye Temple Prayer Beads Master Bi Hai of Kuye Temple (Village of Lu) Ritual object
Puppeteer's Bell Dusk, the Puppeteer (Pangzhen) Summon
Heartrend Pipa Yuzan, No. 3 Musician Puppet (Pangzhen) Sonic attack
Fire Meteor Blaze, Shadow Warden Captain (Pangzhen) Fire projectile
Wolfjaw Wu Xuan, the Fallen General (Pangzhen) Trap or jaw attack
Thunder Spear Chang Hong, the Thunder Spear (Mandate Encampment) Polearm throw
Bashpole Wan Jun, the Coppermaul (Mandate Encampment) Warhammer
Swordsman's Summon Chief Disciple of the Seven-Stars (optional, Mandate Encampment) Summon
Loong Trident You Loong (optional rematch, Meigu Lake) Trident
One-Eyed Bow One-Eyed Archer (optional, Meigu Lake) Bow
Flying Guillotine Huangxing, the Kunlun Renegade (optional, Mountain of Imprisonment) Thrown blade
Tiger Cannon Lei Dang, the Tiger Cannon (Mountain of Imprisonment) Hand cannon

Two of the sixteen — Swordsman's Summon and Flying Guillotine — sit behind optional bosses that many players never fight. That is the practical argument for checking the boss list before sealing a region.

The four families, and why English guides skip them

Chinese-language coverage splits Phantom Edges into four families with their own icons: force (heavy polearms, hammers), ranged (bows, cannons), martial (unusual weapons with set techniques) and arcane (ritual objects such as bells). The taxonomy is visible in the game's own inventory icons.

English guides mostly flatten this into "secondary weapons", which is why the slot reads as an afterthought. It is not: the family determines whether the Edge interrupts, zones, or covers a retreat.

Family Icon Role Examples here
Force Axe Heavy commitment, guard break Dread Axe, Bashpole, Iron Gauntlets
Ranged Bow Damage from outside punish range One-Eyed Bow, Tiger Cannon, Fire Meteor
Martial Twin sickle Set techniques, mid-range control Hunter's Chain Sickle, Thunder Spear, Loong Trident
Arcane Bell Summons and ritual effects Puppeteer's Bell, Kuye Temple Prayer Beads, Heartrend Pipa

Membership for individual weapons is not published per item; the table above groups by the weapon's shape and described effect, which is why a few entries could reasonably sit in two families.

Which two should you carry?

The decision is subtractive — start from what your main weapon cannot do:

Your main setup Phantom Edge to add Because
Two-handed heavy blades A ranged Edge (One-Eyed Bow, Tiger Cannon) Heavy recovery is exactly when you need to hit from outside
Parting Hooks or another defensive pair A force Edge (Dread Axe, Bashpole) Defence is covered; the gap is a committed burst
One-handed fast blades An arcane summon (Puppeteer's Bell, Swordsman's Summon) Adds a body or a control effect without changing your rhythm
Any bleed or lifesteal build Anything, deliberately Your main effect already fails on constructs; the Edge is your answer for them

That last row is the most useful one. A build's weakness is usually an enemy class, not a damage number — the same reason our best weapons guide refuses to publish a DPS ranking.

What is not confirmed

Question Status
The nine Edges between 16 confirmed and 25 claimed Unidentified — likely late-game and hidden drops
Refill or cooldown rules per Edge Not published — sha-chi cost is described, exact values are not
Which family each individual Edge belongs to Partly inferred from shape and effect
Whether any Edge can be upgraded or tempered No evidence either way
Whether a missed boss drop can be recovered No for the two optional-boss Edges — the missables guide covers the pattern

Sources