From the moment the game’s trailer first dropped, Lies of P has garnered a lot of interest. The latest in an ever-growing list of Soulslikes, the game blends the well-known mechanics of the Dark Souls series with the infamous tale of Pinnochio, a combination that provides some exciting and unique results. Determined to be more than just a Bloodborne clone, Lies of P endeavors to put its own spin on the formula by introducing new systems and mechanics, while being more story-focused than fans of the genre would expect. We’ve put together some tips to help you on your journey throughout the fictional Belle-Epoque city of Krat.
One thing the game undeniably shares with all of FromSoftware’s games is the difficulty aspect. Lies of P is challenging- sometimes overwhelmingly so- with many unforgiving bosses and enemies throughout that can leave players on the brink of quitting. These Lies of P tips should help you navigate the game’s treacherous path.
1. Don’t Overthink Your Starting Class
Many Soulslike fans spend far more time than they should deliberating over their starting class. Lies of P offers three for players to choose from: Path of the Sweeper, which is primarily a strength class giving easier access to heavy weapons, Path of the Bastard, a dexterity class for players who like to move in and out quickly, and Path of the Cricket, a balanced class for those who don’t want to commit to a specific build too early.
Here’s the good news: Lies of P doesn’t really lock players into specific builds. While your starting choice will have a slight impact on your initial spread of stats, it won’t be too long before you gain access to the other weapons, and slightly later on you can even mix and match the weapons with their respective handles, changing the way you wield them and how they scale with your stats. Essentially, your starting class won’t really matter after the initial couple of hours, so don’t worry about making the wrong choice.
2. Blocking and Dodging are Both Viable Defensive Options
In many Soulslikes, the game will offer a couple of ways for players to defend themselves. Usually, the main ones will be either blocking, dodging, or parrying. Depending on the game, one option always seems infinitely more viable than the others. For example, players who tend to rely on dodging won’t get very far in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, a game that demands players parry and block their way to victory. Blocking is not even an option in Bloodborne, where players must rely on precise dodging and iframes in order to succeed.
Refreshingly, Lies of P actually allows players to dodge or block, without asking them to choose one or the other. Both are perfectly viable strategies. Blocking deals chip damage to the player’s health, which can be regained through swift counterattacks, but PERFECT blocking (which is signaled by a small flash of red light) deals stagger damage to the opponent. This fills up the invisible stagger meter, which, when full, grants players the opportunity for a critical attack.
Players can ignore this mechanic, should they wish, and focus purely on dodging. Doing this means enemies are much more difficult to stagger though, which usually results in battles being much longer, drawn-out affairs. Players can freely experiment with both mechanics at will, which is a breath of fresh air for the genre.
3. Don’t Summon Help for Boss Fights Straight Away
Like Many other Soulslikes, Lies of P offers support for players struggling with the game’s punishing bosses. This comes in the form of a summoning pool just outside the boss arena. Players can summon an NPC known as a ‘Specter’ who will assist them during battle. These can be incredibly helpful when it comes to drawing the boss’ aggro for the player, but unfortunately, they come at a price. The player must drop a Star Fragment, a currency not easy to come by, into the summoning pool each time they want a Specter’s help. These fragments can be found throughout Krat, and also purchased using a special currency that becomes available later in the game.
For these reasons, you should not look to summon help until you’ve established the boss’ move set, weaknesses, and found a viable strategy for victory. This will ensure that by the time you do decide you need a Specter, you’ll be going into the fight already knowing what to expect, which should maximize your chances of victory, and minimize the number of wasted Star Fragments.
4. Fight on Your Terms, Not Theirs
Upon dying, which, in Lies of P, will happen often, you will lose all of your Ergo, which is the game’s equivalent of souls, and respawn at the nearest Stargazer you’ve visited. Stargazers are this game’s answer to Dark Souls‘ bonfires and replenish all of your health as well as respawn all enemies. If you’re struggling to overcome some of the game’s colorful creatures, try luring them as close to a Stargazer as possible. This will allow you to fight without worrying about losing your Ergo, safe in the knowledge that you’ll respawn right next to them if you die.
This will even work with some of the game’s tough mini-bosses, who tend to not want to stray too far from whatever it is they are guarding, so experiment with how far you can lure them away- you may be surprised.
5. Lies of P Tips – Visit Hotel Krat Regularly
Another one of the more solid Lies of P tips involves the game’s hub world. The hub world is a sprawling hotel full of NPCs who will help you on your journey. It is here that you will be leveling up, purchasing and upgrading weapons, and enhancing some of your other offensive weaponry, as well as accessing your skill tree. Visiting Hotel Krat regularly will also open up new conversations with NPCs and help to progress the story and your relationships with the characters. Even better, when choosing to teleport to the hotel, Lies of P will indicate new conversations available by showing a symbol of the respective character’s head next to the words Hotel Krat, making it easy to establish who you need to speak to and when. You’ll also find hidden easter eggs throughout the hotel as the story progresses.
Lies of P is a tough game that will push you to your limits. Hopefully, these Lies of P tips can help make things a little easier and help you balance the odds.
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