Combat Tips for "Lies Of P":

Bloodborne fans, rejoice, for Lies Of P awaits you as the closest thing to a new Bloodborne title that you will likely receive in the foreseeable future. And with a new Bloodborne-like title comes a series of challenging encounters with formidable adversaries. However, Lies Of P manages to sprinkle a touch of its own secret ingredient, despite its evident inspirations here and there.

This guide will provide you with everything you need to make a strong start when it comes to diving into violent confrontations between puppets. We will show you how to master the perfect defense system, defeat those pesky rival pursuers, and even unveil some game mechanics that the game itself doesn't really teach you – like father, like son, isn't it?

Backstabbing Isn't Just For Stealth

If there's one thing you should take away from this guide, it's the significance of ambushing in typical combat encounters. When facing an enemy of human size, there is an opportunity to stab them from behind. However, just like in the Souls games, this is not limited to stealthy combat situations alone.

The optimal way to utilize this attack is to maneuver around your opponent and then align yourself as they commit to an attack, allowing you to stab them from behind. And in case you're wondering, yes, this will work against every pursuer you encounter!

There are even certain bosses that are vulnerable to this attack. Learning how to employ it during the fight will save you a great deal of trouble!

Run Like Your Life Depends On It... Because It Does

Wait, why are we advising you to run in a combat guide? Well, we're not suggesting that you flee, but rather that you need to sprint. When facing bosses, your initial instinct might be to rely on dodging rolls and perfect defense to get through. However, oftentimes, the much better strategy is simply to run away from your opponent as they wildly thrash about. Then, when they recover from their lengthy animations, you can return and deliver one or two stabs.

By effectively utilizing dodging, you can maintain a safe distance while swiftly returning to the attack range. Of course, perfect defense is the solution when a boss employs slow, predictable attacks. However, in other cases, you'll want to be mobile. This is a lesson you should master before facing the boss known as the "King of Puppets"!

Understanding The Guard System

First and foremost, the regular defense mechanics are clearly heavily inspired by Lies Of P's beloved game, Bloodborne. Just like in Bloodborne, you can regain lost health by swiftly striking your enemy. However, unlike Bloodborne, it is the recoverable health that you lose when blocking. Furthermore, if you get hit while having recoverable health, you lose it completely.

A perfect block works somewhat similar to parrying in Sekiro, where you must block the attack at the last moment, causing your opponent to stagger. However, there are some notable differences, particularly in the functioning of "Furious Attacks." During these attacks, your opponent will glow red, rendering their attack unblockable and undodgable. You must either be out of the attack's range or successfully execute a perfect block.

The best way to master this system is to time the enemy's attacks but be slightly early. Instead of tapping the defense button, you'll hold it down. This way, even if you miss the perfect block timing, you'll still perform a regular block.

Dodging Is Still Important

While utilizing the perfect block in conjunction with smart stamina management is crucial for success in Lies of P, dodging also plays a significant role. Some attacks can propel you far away from your opponent even if you block them fully. This makes it extremely challenging to react and keeps you constantly at arm's length. Considering the size of some of the enemies you'll be fighting, those arms can be pretty damn long.

So, if you find that an attack is pushing you back significantly, it's advisable to start defending against it by dodging rolls instead of perfect blocking. This way, you can retaliate with your own damage. This is especially true if you have a significant amount of recoverable health.

If you want to fight effectively in Lies Of P, you should incorporate both of these defensive abilities. As a general rule, attacks that push you away or require difficult timing for a perfect block are the ones you should handle by dodging.

Some Status Effects Provide Benefits

That's a peculiar thing, but there are three side effects that have a negative impact on you while simultaneously providing you with a small advantage.

• Overheat will reduce the amount of health you recover from guarded attacks, but enemies will also recover health at a much slower pace.
• Electric Shock will drain your Fable gauge, but it will also increase the amount of Stagger damage you do to enemies.
• Decay will gradually damage your weapon, but it also increases the amount of Destruction Damage you do to an enemy.

Additionally, while you are affected by the status effects, you suffer damage, but you also deal damage to your enemies when you come into contact with them. However, corruption, disruption, shock, and break do not provide any advantage for the player.

Don't Bother With The Cube Until You Upgrade It

Fairly early in the game, you acquire the magic cube. It contains wishes that are one-time use items. Initially, you only have access to the "Restoration Wish Stone." Every time you use it, you have to return to Giangio in the Cathedral to refill it. And for all that effort, you receive a very mediocre healing item that takes far too long to use.

That being said, once you unlock the third phase of your P-Organ activation, you can unlock the ability called "Quick Use of the Wish Stone." This actually allows you to use the cube in combat. You will also unlock various wish stones, but most of them are only useful for people who want to summon spirits to help them in boss fights. Nevertheless, this ability will make the cube a much better option. You will also be able to increase the number of usable wish stones. So, don't worry about the cube until you acquire these abilities.

Let Them Fight!

So, this may come as a shock to you, but puppets are not the only type of enemies you will encounter in Lies Of P. In fact, you will come across quite a few humans who are infected with the petrification disease, which is essentially a disease that turns people into zombies. However, that doesn't mean that the people who become the living dead are now allies of the puppets. In fact, they will fight each other when they come into contact.

That's perfect for you because it means you can send one group against the other. Just sit back and let them fight each other. Once one of them has destroyed the other, take care of the survivor. This is especially useful with the juggling clown puppets. They are quite tough opponents, but they are conveniently located near the infected.