Lies of P: Beginner's Guide & Best Tips

Introduction — Why This Game Rules (and Hurts)

Look, I’ve been gaming since I could hold a controller. I’ve beaten every Souls game, every Souls-like, and I’ve seen knockoffs that made me angry (looking at you, *Lords of the Fallen* 2014). When I first heard about Lies of P, I rolled my eyes. Another puppet-themed, gothic nightmare? Please. But then I actually played it, and man—this game isn’t just a Bloodborne clone. It’s a love letter to the genre that also does its own thing, and it absolutely wrecked me in the best way.

What makes it special? It’s the tension. The parrying feels like a high-stakes dance where one wrong button means you’re eating a combo that takes half your health bar. The story—Pinocchio as a murder puppet in a cursed city—is dark and sad in a way that sticks with you. I spent my first three runs trying to stack poison damage on every weapon, thinking I’d cheese the game. I got destroyed by the second boss—the Scrapped Watchman—like six times because I refused to learn his timing. But when I finally got that parry rhythm right? Unforgettable. This game made me feel like a broken puppet slowly remembering how to fight.

I love it because it’s hard but fair. I hate it because the stretch from the Factory to the Opera House is a fever dream of cheap placements. Still, if you’re here, you’re ready. Let’s get you through Krat alive.

Getting Started / First Steps — Stuff I Wish I Knew

You wake up in a train station. Great. But don’t run around mashing buttons. Here’s the real first steps, not the tutorial fluff:

• Pick the Path of the Cricket (the “balanced” starting class). I know the other two look flashy—the Path of the Bastard (dex) and Path of the Sweeper (strength) seem cool, but the Cricket’s balanced stats let you experiment with more weapons early. I started with the Sweeper and felt like I was swinging a tree trunk in molasses for the first five hours. Respeccing exists, but it’s locked behind a late-game item. Don’t screw yourself.
• Ignore the Puppet String for now. Yes, it’s a cool grappling hook. But the early game is about parrying, not pulling enemies. I wasted my first Quartz (the upgrade material) on Puppet String level 1, and it did almost nothing. Get the Flamethrower arm instead—it melts the first two bosses. The Flamethrower does 45 base DPS but ramps to 120 after 3 seconds of continuous fire. That’s your get-out-of-jail card.
• Learn to perfect guard. Not block. Blocking eats your HP (it turns your health bar gray). You have to land perfect guards (parries) to avoid damage and stagger enemies. I didn’t practice this until the third area, and I paid for it. Go to the Training Area (the stargazer in Hotel Krat will let you practice on a dummy) and spend 15 minutes just parrying. It’s boring, but it’ll cut your death count in half.
• Talk to everyone at the hotel. I know it’s a Souls habit to ignore NPCs because they’re cryptic, but the characters in this game—especially Eugénie and Alidoro—give you direct gear upgrades and side quests. I missed the Special Merchant for two entire playthroughs because I thought he was just atmosphere. He sells a weapon handle that changes your entire build.

Core Mechanics & Progression — How the Game Actually Works

Okay, you’ve got the basics. Now let’s talk about the mechanics that the tutorial glosses over:

Weapon Assembly. This is the coolest feature. You can combine almost any blade with any handle to change movesets. For example, the Baton Handle gives you a charged heavy attack that’s slow but hits like a truck. I stuck the Greatsword of Fate blade on it for my first playthrough, and it was a game-changer. The handle determines the scaling (how damage grows with your stats), the blade determines base damage and range. Experiment early—I wasted 12 hours using the default weapon because I didn’t know I could swap. To assemble, just go to a stargazer or the workbench at the hotel. No penalty for swapping.

P-Organ Upgrades. This is your skill tree, but it’s hidden behind “Quartz” you find in the world. Each Quartz lets you unlock a node on the P-Organ (a giant mechanical spine in your menu). Prioritize these first: Guard Regen (lets you recover more white HP after blocking), Charged Fable Slot (you’ll see why), and Quick Recovery (allows you to dodge after being knocked down). I skipped Quick Recovery and got combo-locked by the King of Puppets for an hour. Don’t be me.

Fable Arts. Each weapon has a special move that uses Fable meter (the blue bar under your health). Some are amazing, some are trash. The Electric Coil Stick’s Fable Art is a quick spin that stuns—this saved me against the Puppet of the Future. The Big Pipe Wrench’s Fable Art is a slow overhead slam that misses 90% of the time. Learn which weapons have useful ones. You can check Fable Arts in the weapon stat screen—look for ones that say “Pulse” or “Strike.”

Progression Path: The game expects you to go: Elysion Boulevard → Krat Central Station → Workshop Union (that’s the first big wall) → Factory → Chapel → Opera House → then onward. Don’t veer off into the moonlit side areas until you’ve upgraded your weapon to at least +3 and put 10 points into Vitality (health) and Vigor (stamina). I tried the Malum District early because I was cocky, and a regular enemy with a spear two-shot me. It’s not a joke.

Expert Tips & Tricks — The Real Grind Knowledge

I’ve got 200+ hours in this game, done NG+7, and faith-build runs (yes, there is a “faith” stat called Advance, it’s fire/electric/acid damage). Here’s the stuff that took me forever to learn:

• Fire is king early. The first 60% of enemies are weak to fire. The Flamberge (Flamethrower arm) plus any weapon with fire grindstone will trivialize bosses like the Scrapped Watchman and the Brotherhood. The Scrapped Watchman takes 30% more fire damage—and I tested this with multiple runs. Use it.
• Learn the “dodge then parry” rhythm. Most bosses have a delayed swing—they wind up, you dodge, then they swing, and if you panic-parry early, you eat it. The trick? Dodge the first hit, then immediately perfect guard the follow-up. I beat the King of Puppets by counting his combo out loud: “One, wait, two, parry, three, parry.” It sounds dumb, but it works.
• Stockpile Pulse Cells. Pulse Cells are your healing items (like Estus). You can find consumables to upgrade their capacity later, but early on, you can buy extra ones from the merchant in the hotel. He sells 3 Pulse Cells for 1,200 Ergo each. Buy them. I always had 5 total by the time I hit the Factory, and it let me survive screw-ups.
• Throwables are broken. You think you’re above using throwables? Wrong. The Throwing Cell (electric) stuns human enemies for 3 seconds. The Shot Put does moderate damage but staggers most bosses if you hit them in the head. I killed the Door Guardian by spamming Shot Puts from across the room after he wrecked my first 12 attempts. No shame.
• Don’t hoard your Ergo. You lose Ergo on death just like Souls games, but you can also buy consumables like Attribute Respec crystals later. I’d hold onto 20,000 Ergo “just in case” and then die to a random Fallen Puppet in the street. Spend it on weapon upgrades at the hotel’s blacksmith. +5 is the sweet spot—enough to clear the first three areas.

Advanced Tech & Hidden Mechanics

For those of you who beat the game once and want to optimize—or for the masochists who love NG+:

• Puppet String Fully Upgraded. At level 3, it becomes a pull-grab that yanks small to medium enemies to you and stuns them. This is huge for crowd control in the Opera House. I used it to pull the singing puppets one by one and delete them. It also lets you animation-cancel some attacks—mid-swing, tap the string against a wall to reset.
• Advance Builds Are Overrated. I see everyone online hyping Advance (fire/elec/acid). Yes, the damage is good—+15% against elemental weaknesses—but the weapons that scale with it (like the Coil Stick) have short reach and slow movesets. I did a full Advance run and got shut down by the Laxasia boss because she resists all elements. My strength build with a plain sword was faster and did only 10% less damage with no setup. Don’t sleep on pure Physical.
• The Ergo Farming Spot. In the later areas, there’s a spot in the Collapsed Street where two large puppets spawn near a stargazer. Each drops 3,500 Ergo. With the +20% Ergo amulet (found in a hidden chest in the Barren Swamp), you can get 8,400 per minute. I farmed here for 20 minutes and never worried about upgrade costs again.
• Buff Stacking. You can have one arm buff (like the Flamethrower) and one grindstone buff (like fire on your weapon) at the same time. But if you use two grindstones in a row, the first one cancels. So fire arm + fire grindstone = double damage. I beat the final boss Phase 1 in under 2 minutes with this trick.

Common Mistakes to Avoid — What Got Me Killed

I’ve died over 300 times in this game. Here’s what every damn one taught me:

• Don’t treat it like Bloodborne. In Bloodborne, you’re mobile, you dodge, you gun-parry. Lies of P’s dodge has fewer i-frames (about 12 frames vs. Bloodborne’s 15–18). You have to learn to block and parry. My first 20 hours, I was dodging into attacks because I wanted to be fast. I got hit every time. Block first, dodge as a second tool.
• Don’t ignore the enemy’s “Legion Arm.” Some enemies have glowing yellow parts—break those to stagger them. The giant puppet in the Factory has a glowing leg that you can destroy to make him fall. I kept hitting his chest for five minutes like a moron. Watch for the orange glow.
• Don’t sell everything. You’ll find boss Ergo (special items from bosses) that can be either consumed for a ton of Ergo or traded to Alidoro for special weapons. The Bone-Cutting Sawblade (from the Mad Donkey) is one of the best blades in the game for strength builds. I sold his Ergo for 5,000 Ergo and regretted it for 40 hours because the sawblade has 30% more reach than any other weapon. Don’t sell boss items.
• Don’t rush through the swamp. The Barren Swamp area is infamous for poison pools that tick for 15 HP per second. If you sprint through, you’ll aggro everything. Use the Acid Resistance amulet (found near the entrance) or just walk. I sprinted my first time and died to a combo of poison + a puppet with a scythe that I didn’t see. Take it slow.
• Don’t fight the Brotherhood without fire. The Survivor Brother boss fight in the Cathedral has a puppet that explodes into 40% fire damage on death. Bring a fire-arm and kite him. I tried to face-tank him because I thought I was good, and I exploded four times in a row. Not fun.

FAQ — Quick Answers for New Puppets

• Q: What’s the best starting weapon? A: The Greatsword of Fate (balanced) or the Baton Handle + any medium blade. Don’t use the rapier—it’s too short for the early enemies that flail.
• Q: How do I respec my stats? A: You need Crystals of Self-Mastery. You can buy them from the merchant in the hotel after you’ve beaten the King of Puppets boss. They’re 12,000 Ergo each. You only get a limited number per playthrough, so don’t waste them.
• Q: Is there an easy mode? A: No. But you can adjust your build to make it easier: put 20 points into Vitality, use the Flamethrower, and carry 15 Throwing Cells. That’s your “easy mode.”
• Q: Why do I keep getting one-shot? A: You probably have less than 15 Vitality. By the time you reach the Opera House, you need at least 20 Vitality. Also check your armor—light armor gives more stagger but less damage reduction. Wear the Lada’s Brigade set for a good balance.
• Q: Can I skip areas? A: Mostly no. The game is linear until the mid-game where you get a choice of two paths (Malum District or Moonlight Swamp). Both are necessary, but do Malum first—the swamps have tougher enemies and poison.
• Q: What’s the best legion arm? A: Flamberge for early game, Puppet String (fully upgraded) for late-game. The Aegis (shield arm) is good for blocking but consumes too much legion meter. I’d skip the Fulminis (lightning arm)—it deals 70 damage per hit, which is pathetic compared to Flamethrower’s 120 ramp.
• Q: Is NG+ worth it? A: Yes. You keep your P-Organ upgrades, and boss weapons get new moves. But the difficulty spike is real—enemies deal 1.5x damage. If you weren’t parrying before, NG+ will force you to learn.

That’s all I’ve got, puppet. Go kill some puppets, don’t cry too much, and remember: if you’re stuck, it’s probably because you haven’t upgraded your weapon. No, really. Go check the blacksmith. I’ll see you in the hotel bar.