Lies of P Tips: Surviving Belle Époque Pinocchio Souls

Lies of P is Neowiz's soulslike set in a Belle Époque reimagining of Pinocchio. Beautiful, punishing, and built around a parry system that's more demanding than Sekiro's but equally rewarding once mastered. Round8 Studio made a game that surprised everyone by being genuinely excellent rather than just another Dark Souls clone.

Here's what the game punishes you for not knowing.

How does the parry system work in Lies of P?

Perfect Guard is the core combat mechanic in Lies of P. Timing your block exactly as an attack lands deals zero damage, builds stagger on the enemy's weapon, and can break it entirely. Red Fury attacks cannot be blocked and must be dodged. Master this system on regular enemies before facing bosses.

Perfect Guard is everything. Blocking reduces damage but still costs you HP (shown as recoverable white health). Perfect Guard (timing the block exactly as the attack hits) takes zero damage, builds stagger on the enemy's weapon, and can break their weapon entirely once stagger is full. If you're not Perfect Guarding, you're playing the game on hard mode unnecessarily.

Practice on regular enemies first. Don't try to learn parry timing on bosses. Find a regular puppet enemy and practice until Perfect Guard is muscle memory. The timing window is generous once you feel it.

Red attacks cannot be blocked. Fury attacks (red flash) must be dodged. Don't try to Perfect Guard them, you'll take full damage.

Charged heavy attacks can interrupt red attacks if timed correctly. This is an advanced technique but devastating when it works.

How does the weapon assembly system work in Lies of P?

Lies of P lets you mix any blade with any handle to create custom weapons. The handle controls your moveset and attack speed, while the blade determines damage type and stat scaling (Motivity, Technique, or Advance). Upgrade one primary weapon consistently rather than spreading materials across several to avoid being underpowered.

Lies of P lets you combine any weapon blade with any weapon handle. This creates enormous build variety.

Handle determines moveset. A heavy blade on a light handle moves quickly. A light blade on a heavy handle hits harder per swing. Experiment.

Blade determines damage type and scaling. Motivity (STR equivalent), Technique (DEX), or Advance (elemental).

The Puppet Saber blade + Workshop Union Standard handle is an early combination that carries through much of the game. Fast swings, decent damage, good range.

Upgrade your preferred weapon consistently. Spreading upgrade materials across multiple weapons leaves you underpowered. Pick one primary weapon and keep it at max level for your progression.

What are the best Legion Arms in Lies of P?

Aegis is the most universally useful Legion Arm, acting as a shield when your Perfect Guard timing is off. Flamberge excels against fire-weak puppets, while Falcon Eyes provides ranged damage for pulling or finishing enemies. Pick two arms to invest upgrade materials in rather than spreading resources across all of them.

Your prosthetic arm has interchangeable abilities. Each Legion Arm costs Legion energy to use and has specific combat applications.

Upgrade your most-used arm. Like weapons, spreading materials across all arms is inefficient. Pick two and alternate.

What are the best P-Organ upgrades in Lies of P?

The P-Organ passive upgrade tree is unlocked with Quartz collectibles found throughout the game. Prioritize Rising Dodge and Perfect Guard Cause Staggering in Phase 1, then Link Dodge and Enhance Fatal Attack ATK in Phase 2. Do not neglect defensive abilities, as survivability lets you play more aggressively.

The P-Organ is your passive upgrade tree, unlocked by Quartz found throughout the game. Mandatory upgrades:

Don't neglect defensive P-Organ abilities. The temptation is to stack damage, but survivability upgrades let you be more aggressive because you can afford mistakes.

How does the lie system affect your ending in Lies of P?

Lies of P features a lying mechanic where your responses to NPCs determine your "humanity" level. Lying more makes Pinocchio more human and influences which of the three endings you unlock. Humanity is also raised by using gestures, listening to records on the Hotel Krat gramophone, and making specific story choices.

Lies of P has a lying mechanic tied to Pinocchio's story. When NPCs ask you questions, you can tell the truth or lie.

Lying more makes you more "human" and affects which ending you get. There are three endings based on your humanity level (determined by lies, gestures used, listening to records, and specific story choices).

Records at the hotel increase your humanity when listened to. Always play every record you find on the gramophone in Hotel Krat.

How do you beat bosses in Lies of P?

Every Lies of P boss follows learnable patterns. Spend your first few attempts observing attack combos and identifying punish windows instead of going for the kill. Use Star Fragments to summon Specter allies for split aggro, apply elemental grindstones matching the boss's weakness, and only heal during recovery windows after a boss finishes a combo.

Every boss has a pattern. Runs 1-3 are for learning, not winning. Watch what they do without trying to kill them. Identify the punish windows.

Summons (Specters) are available. You can summon an NPC ally before most boss doors using Star Fragments. This splits aggro and gives you breathing room. No shame in using them.

Elemental grindstones matter. Apply fire, electric, or acid grindstones to your weapon based on boss weakness. The damage increase is significant.

Don't heal greedily. Healing has a long animation. Only heal when the boss is in a recovery window after a combo. Healing mid-combo gets you killed.

What we make at Choost

Granny's Rampage is bullet heaven, different combat philosophy from Lies of P's precise parrying. But both games share "learn the pattern, master the timing" as their core skill expression.

For more soulslike content, the best soulslike games, games like Elden Ring, and games like Bloodborne posts have more.

The shortest version

Learn Perfect Guard on regular enemies before bosses. Red attacks must be dodged, never blocked. Combine weapon blades and handles for custom movesets. Upgrade one weapon consistently. Use Aegis Legion Arm when your parry timing fails. Rush Rising Dodge and Perfect Guard Staggering in the P-Organ. Lie to NPCs for the best ending. Listen to every record. Apply elemental grindstones for boss fights. Summon Specters without shame.

Lies of P rewards the same patience as every soulslike, the bosses that feel impossible on attempt 1 feel manageable by attempt 10 because you learned them, not because you out-leveled them.