Lies of P is a Soulslike set in a Belle Epoque city overrun by murderous puppets, reimagining Carlo Collodi's Pinocchio as a dark action RPG. The perfect guard system rewards aggressive parrying — successfully timing blocks chips away at enemy weapon durability, eventually breaking their weapon and leaving them open for a Fatal Attack. The weapon assembly system lets you mix and match blades and handles from any two weapons, creating hybrid combinations with mixed movesets and scaling. The lie/truth moral choice system across dozens of NPC encounters determines which of three endings you receive. Lies of P stands alongside Elden Ring and Bloodborne as one of the best non-FromSoftware Soulslikes.
Starting Lies of P can feel overwhelming. This guide tells you exactly what to focus on during your first hours so you don't waste time on things that don't matter yet.
What Kind of Game Is This?
Lies of P is a action game built around perfect guard and weapon assembly. The core loop involves mastering these systems to progress through increasingly challenging content.
What to expect: Time investment in learning mechanics, experimentation, and gradual mastery. The game rewards patience and knowledge.
Choosing Your First Role
| Role | Beginner Rating | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Dexterity Build | Good (but demanding) | Stay aggressive with fast weapon combos, dodge rather than Perfect Guard, and use electric damage to exploit puppet enemies' weakness. |
| Strength Build | Excellent for beginners | Commit to heavy charged attacks during openings, Perfect Guard multi-hit combos to create stagger, and use the Aegis arm for extra blocking in emergencies. |
| Motivity/Technique Hybrid | Good (but demanding) | Use the mixed weapon to adapt between fast pokes and heavy charged attacks based on enemy openings. The hybrid scaling keeps damage competitive with pure builds. |
| Legion Arm Focus | Situational | Use Legion Arms to open fights (Puppet String pull, Flamberge fire) then follow up with weapon combos. Swap arms based on enemy type. |
| Balanced Build | Excellent for beginners | Use the rapier's fast thrusts for safe poke damage, Perfect Guard everything, and rely on consistent damage rather than burst. |
Our recommendation: Start with Strength Build. Motivity scaling builds use heavy weapons that deal massive per-hit damage. The Two Dragons Sword (greatsword) has wide sweeps and a powerful charged R2. Heavy weapons stagger most enemies in 2-3 hits. The tradeoff is slower attack speed making Perfect Guard timing more important.
Avoid Balanced Build as your first pick. Balanced builds invest evenly across stats, using weapons with quality scaling (C/C in both Motivity and Technique).
First Session Step-by-Step
Step 1: Learn perfect guard
Pressing block at the exact moment an attack connects triggers a Perfect Guard — absorbing the hit with zero stamina loss and chipping the enemy's weapon durability. When enemy weapon durability depletes, their weapon breaks and they stagger for a Fatal Attack (massive damage riposte). Perfect Guard is more important than dodging in Lies of P, especially against bosses whose multi-hit combos are designed for parry timing.
This is the foundation. Spend your first 15-30 minutes getting comfortable with how perfect guard works before worrying about anything else.
Step 2: Head to Krat Central Station
The opening area of the game, a train station overrun by malfunctioning puppets. Teaches basic combat mechanics including Perfect Guard timing. The Parade Master boss guards the exit — a large puppet boss with wide swings that teach dodge timing.
Clear the main content here before moving on. Everything teaches fundamentals you'll need later.
Step 3: Get Your First Upgrade
Look for Electric Coil Stick — it's the most accessible early upgrade. A technique weapon that deals electric damage, exploiting the weakness of puppet-type enemies (the majority of enemies in the game). Fast attack speed builds stagger quickly. One of the best weapons for the first playthrough due to its effectiveness against most enemies.
Step 4: Understand weapon assembly
Every weapon separates into a Blade (determines damage type and base moves) and Handle (determines scaling stats and charged attack). You can combine any blade with any handle. A Greatsword blade on a rapier handle creates a heavy weapon with technique scaling. This system enables hundreds of weapon combinations, each with unique properties.
This is the system most new players overlook. Invest time here early — it pays off throughout the entire game.
Step 5: Push to Hotel Krat
The main hub area equivalent to Firelink Shrine. Contains the level-up NPC (Sophia), weapon assembly bench, P-Organ upgrade station, and NPC merchants. Return between areas to spend Ergo, upgrade equipment, and advance NPC sidequests through dialogue.
Essential Mechanics Explained
perfect guard
Pressing block at the exact moment an attack connects triggers a Perfect Guard — absorbing the hit with zero stamina loss and chipping the enemy's weapon durability. When enemy weapon durability depletes, their weapon breaks and they stagger for a Fatal Attack (massive damage riposte). Perfect Guard is more important than dodging in Lies of P, especially against bosses whose multi-hit combos are designed for parry timing.
weapon assembly
Every weapon separates into a Blade (determines damage type and base moves) and Handle (determines scaling stats and charged attack). You can combine any blade with any handle. A Greatsword blade on a rapier handle creates a heavy weapon with technique scaling. This system enables hundreds of weapon combinations, each with unique properties.
legion arm abilities
Your left arm is a prosthetic Legion Arm with interchangeable modules. Puppet String (grappling hook), Flamberge (fire blade), Aegis (shield), Deus Ex Machina (explosive projectile), and others each provide unique combat tools. Legion Arms have limited charges that regenerate from a resource, adding resource management to combat.
P-Organ upgrades
The P-Organ system (available at Hotel Krat) uses Quartz (found throughout the game) to unlock permanent passive abilities. Abilities are arranged in a tree with branches for combat, survival, and utility. Key upgrades include extra dodge rolls, increased stamina recovery, and Perfect Guard windows. Quartz is limited, so planning your upgrade path matters.
lie/truth system
Throughout the game, NPCs ask questions where you can choose to Lie or Tell the Truth. Lies make you more human (Pinocchio's dream), while truths keep you puppet-like. The cumulative lie/truth balance determines your ending: Lie-heavy gives the 'real boy' ending, Truth-heavy gives the puppet ending, and balanced gives a third option. Records (music boxes) also influence humanity.
Common Beginner Mistakes
1. Dodging backward against bosses — most boss attacks track backward movement with lunging follow-ups
Dodge forward through the attack to end up behind them for safe counterattacks.
2. Ignoring Perfect Guard and relying only on dodging — Perfect Guard is the primary combat mechanic in Lies of P
Boss weapon durability only depletes from Perfect Guards, not regular blocks or dodges.
3. Not experimenting with weapon assembly — sticking with default weapons means missing the game's most creative system
Try combining blades and handles from different weapon types.
4. Spending all Ergo on levels instead of checking boss weapons — some boss weapons are best-in-class and the Ergo spent on them is more valuable than a few levels
5. Missing Quartz by not exploring optional areas — P-Organ upgrades are permanent power boosts
Each missed Quartz is a permanent capability lost.
First 5 Hours Checklist
- Understand perfect guard and weapon assembly
- Choose Strength Build as starting role
- Clear Krat Central Station main content
- Acquire Electric Coil Stick or equivalent upgrade
- Reach Hotel Krat
- Perfect Guard is more important than dodging. Most boss combos have 3-5 hit chains designed for parry timing. Each successful Perfect Guard chips weapon durability, eventually breaking it for a massive Fatal Attack opening.
- Weapon assembly lets you separate any weapon into blade + handle at the assembly bench. Experiment freely — you can always reassemble weapons. A heavy blade + light handle creates surprisingly effective hybrids.
Tips for New Players
- Perfect Guard is more important than dodging. Most boss combos have 3-5 hit chains designed for parry timing. Each successful Perfect Guard chips weapon durability, eventually breaking it for a massive Fatal Attack opening.
- Weapon assembly lets you separate any weapon into blade + handle at the assembly bench. Experiment freely — you can always reassemble weapons. A heavy blade + light handle creates surprisingly effective hybrids.
- Grindstones (consumable items) add temporary elemental damage to your weapon. Use Fire Grindstone against organic enemies and Electric Grindstone against puppets for significant bonus damage.
- The lies you tell affect your Humanity stat, which determines your ending. For the 'true' ending, lie to most NPCs — Pinocchio becomes more human through lies, which is the game's central thematic twist.
- Dodge forward THROUGH attacks rather than backward away from them. Most boss attacks track backward movement, but forward dodges pass through the hitbox and position you for counter-attacks.
- Legion Arms have different effectiveness against different enemy types. Flamberge destroys organic enemies, Puppet String is great for pulling ranged attackers, and Aegis shields against multi-hit combos.
- P-Organ upgrades persist into NG+. Prioritize extra dodge rolls, Perfect Guard damage, and HP recovery upgrades. These fundamentally improve combat effectiveness more than raw damage increases.
- Boss weapons (created from Boss Ergo at the weapon merchant) have unique movesets and abilities. Always check boss weapon options before spending Ergo on levels.
- Explore thoroughly — Quartz (P-Organ upgrade material) is hidden in optional areas, behind illusory walls, and rewarded from mini-boss encounters. Missing Quartz means missing permanent upgrades.
- Records (music boxes) found throughout the game add music to Hotel Krat's jukebox. Each record played increases your Humanity stat slightly, contributing toward the lie-heavy ending.
Frequently Asked Questions
How hard is Lies of P compared to Dark Souls?
Lies of P is comparable to Dark Souls III in difficulty. Some bosses (King of Puppets, final boss) rival the hardest Souls bosses. The Perfect Guard system provides a reliable defense tool, but the game expects you to master it. Players comfortable with Souls games will feel at home with a slightly steeper initial learning curve.
How long is Lies of P?
First playthrough takes 25-35 hours. NG+ with retained upgrades takes 15-20 hours. The game has three endings requiring different lie/truth choices across multiple playthroughs. Completionists exploring everything and getting all endings spend 60-80 hours.
Is Lies of P a Soulslike?
Yes, explicitly. It uses the Souls template: bonfire-equivalent checkpoints (Stargazers), Estus-equivalent healing (Pulse Cells), interconnected level design with shortcuts, boss-gated progression, and Ergo (souls currency) lost on death. The Perfect Guard and weapon assembly systems are its unique contributions to the formula.
Does Lies of P have DLC?
A major story DLC was announced and is in development. The base game's ending sets up continuation of the Pinocchio story with hints toward other fairy tale adaptations in the same universe. The developers confirmed expanded weapon assembly and new Legion Arms for the DLC.
What to Read Next
- Lies of P Builds — Optimize your role once you've learned the basics
- Lies of P Walkthrough — Full progression path
- Lies of P Tips — Advanced strategies for when you're ready
