Lies of P tips for new players and Souls-like veterans

Whether it was the similarities to Bloodborne, the link to the story of Pinocchio, or the fact it’s on Game Pass is what brought you to Lies of P - this is a game that’s not always the most welcoming to new players.

You’ll quickly realise that while Lies of P shares more than a few similarities with other Souls-likes, it adds thick layers of its own systems on top - and hides a few others you may not expect, too.

In this piece, we’ll go over several crucial Lies of P tips for newcomers to the genre, and fans of masocore everywhere.

Lies of P Tips

Keys and items can unlock areas you missed in past levels

As you explore the world of Lies of P, you’ll be picking up a whole lot of key items - which include actual keys. Reading the item description is going to give you a very good hint about where to use it, but there’s another way to find out what to do with the key.

Upon resting at a Stargazer, check the fast travel menu. You’re going to see a blue icon next to areas you’ve previously visited, and you may just find an icon for the item in question near one of the Stargazers in that area. Now, all you need to do is head there and see if you can trigger the event, or open the door using the key.

Some of those can be quest items. For instance, you’re going to run into an NPC early on who talks about their missing daughter. Deeper into the level, you’ll come across a doll that matches that description. If you go back to that NPC, you’ll see an option to hand over the item and complete the quest.

In short, not every key item you find is going to be immediately useful, so take your time and explore.

Traps are frequent, and deadly

You could say that Lies of P’s one scary trick is constantly springing traps. There are pike-wielding puppets hiding behind corners, false floors that break as soon as you step over them, breakable doors that a large enemy is waiting to bust through - the whole lot.

Lies of P has so, so many of those. Some are even so close together that it’s common to find yourself stun-locked after trying to escape one trap, only to immediately run into another. The best way to approach this is to spam the lock-on button. The range of lock-on (which can also be adjusted in the settings menu) is quite generous, and will detect enemies you may not even see or expect.

Besides that, you should always have your guard up around corners. If you suspect an oblique angle is wide enough for an enemy to be, there’s probably one lying in wait. Be very cautious, but if you do get surprised, don’t run forward. Instead, run back to where you came from, because chances are, you’re going to make things worse and trigger even more enemies if you get deeper into uncharted territory.

There’s no armour in the game, only costumes

Lies of P doesn’t have any armour, which means, your defence and protection stats do not come from clothing. Instead, they come from amulets and rings. With that in mind, the game does have cosmetic costumes - and head accessories - that you get by defeating certain enemies, finishing quests, and just by making progress through the game.

The game does, however, have a weight system and defence stats that can be affected by the gear you have on you, so be very careful not to become overweight and limit your mobility. The menu helpfully shows when you’re ‘slightly overweight’ or over encumbered.

The main contributor to your weight would be your main weapon (carrying two adds to your overall weight, too), and all of the various accessories you might have on you - such as rings and amulets. When you get a new one of these, take a few moments to compare their weight with the one you already have equipped and decide whether the boosted stats are worth the extra weight.

For the love of God, use your block!

As previously discussed, holding block around corners/when entering a new area is essential in Lies of P, but you should also get in the habit of doing it in combat. Unlike most other Souls-likes, blocking in Lies of P consumes both your stamina, and HP.

The HP lost can be gained back if you retaliate with your own attacks, but don’t be surprised to see your block not actually protect you in the way you’d expect. Blocking is essential in dealing with certain attacks - especially from bosses - because their speed may just be faster than you can dodge.

If you land a perfect block, you won’t lose any HP. In fact, a perfect block is how you deal with red-colour attacks. It’s not quite a parry, as the enemy won’t be staggered immediately, but the more perfect blocks you land, the easier it’s going to be to stagger them - or break their weapon in some cases.

Your Legion Arm is effectively a free weapon

Lies of P takes a few hours to get going and reveal its multitude of systems. The Legion Arm is one such mechanic. The one you start with might initially seem useless, but over time, you’ll realise it’s like a second, free weapon.

The deeper into the game you get, the more Legion Arms you’re going to unlock. Some of those can be turned into shields, others into a ranged hand cannon. My favourite, however, is the grappling hook that interrupts enemy attacks and drags them towards you. It’s fantastic at thinning the herd without alerting everyone.

A short while after unlocking more Legion Arm options, you’ll be able to upgrade them at a certain machine, after rescuing a certain NPC and bringing them back to the hotel. Upgrading Legion Arms is very linear, so expect standard boosts to their existing performance.

It’s worth noting, however, that while you can flip between all the different Legion Arms you have, you should try to stick with one or two, as the upgrade materials are finite.

Try your Gestures on NPCs for some nice surprises

One of the neat things to do in Lies of P is interact with its characters, and - outside of chatting to them - you can also do that through Gestures. Unlike most other Souls-likes, you don’t actually start the game with dozens of them. Instead, you only start with a handful, and get to unlock more after finishing certain in-game events, completing quests, beating bosses and so on.

Whenever you unlock a new Gesture, it’s worth trying it out with any of the NPCs at the hotel. And yes, this also includes the cat (which changes location often). If you think a Gesture is befitting the demeanour of a certain NPC, or you suspect using one will get you a certain reaction, don’t be afraid to try it. This also goes for inanimate objects in the world, so try out the ones you think are relevant for some surprises.

Stagger Attacks are pointless, don’t go for them

When you land enough hits on an enemy in Lies of P, and perfectly block their attacks, they’re going to enter a pre-stagger state. In order to get them on their knees and open them up for a nice, long, heavy-damage animation, you need to first stagger them.

For that to happen, you need to charge a special attack (RT/R2) as soon as you see their health bar has a white outline. The problem is, the window is so narrow there that you’re very likely to miss it. Oftentimes, trying to land that charged attack will leave you vulnerable to enemy attacks.

While later on you can extend that window, we didn’t find it useful to try and go for a Stagger Attack, especially considering the resulting damage is not that much higher than just, well, staying on the offensive and landing normal attacks.