Right near the start of the Village of Lu map in Phantom Blade Zero, you’ll find a locked gate to a place called the Mandate Encampment. Throughout the game, a lot of the keys you need to find are pretty close to the door they unlock, but you need to venture pretty far to find the Mandate Encampment Gate key. Here’s where you need to go.
Phantom Blade Zero Mandate Encampment Outer Gate key location
Interestingly, the Mandate Encampment Outer Gate key isn’t actually found in the Village of Lu at all. You need to progress through the story in the region until you’ve unsealed the well and gone underground. You’ll have to fight a bunch of Phantom Blade Zero bosses along the way, so be careful.
Continue through the tunnel until you’ve reached the city of Pangzhen, the biggest map in the game, and follow the story there, too.
Eventually, you will reach a boss fight with Gu Wanyue, The Wailing Wraith. If you beat her, you’re able to jump into the well there and progress to the Pangzhen Backstreets, where the game’s story continues. Down in the well, you’ll find some jars in a cellar, some enemies to fight, and the Mandate Encampment Gate key.
In one of the cellar rooms, you’ll see a glowing orange orb on the ground. In Phantom Blade Zero, orange usually signifies a key item that you can use to open doors or get access to new areas. Once you’ve picked the key up, you can fast travel to the gate from any nearby bell. Using the key on the gate opens up a new but slightly smaller map for you to explore.
If you’re struggling to even get to Pangzhen, check out our guide on how to unseal the well in the Village of Lu, as that’ll help you progress.