You're standing in the middle of Elysion Boulevard. Rain is slicking the cobblestones, a puppet with a chimney sweep’s hat is trying to disembowel you, and you have absolutely no idea where the next Stargazer is. Naturally, you hit the "Options" button, looking for the Lies of P map.
Except, it isn’t there. It doesn’t exist.
Neowiz and Round8 Studio made a very specific, almost sadistic design choice here. Unlike the sprawling, open-ended fields of Elden Ring, where a fragment of map reveals a world of possibilities, Lies of P pulls from the classic Bloodborne playbook. You are meant to be lost. You’re supposed to feel that claustrophobia of a city falling apart. But honestly, for a lot of players, the lack of a traditional UI map is a massive pain in the neck.
Why Neowiz Ditched the Traditional Map
Most modern games treat maps like a GPS. You follow the little dotted line, you look at the "You Are Here" icon, and you turn off your brain. Lies of P forces your brain to stay on. It's a linear game, sure, but it's a linear game built like a tangled ball of yarn.
Basically, the developers wanted you to learn the "feel" of Krat. When you're in Venigni Works, they want you to recognize the hiss of steam pipes and the specific layout of the red-hot floor panels. If you had a mini-map in the corner of your screen, you’d be staring at that instead of the gorgeous, decaying Belle Époque architecture. It’s about immersion, even if that immersion results in you running in circles for twenty minutes trying to find the path back to the Boss fog door.
The level design acts as the map. Think about the shortcuts. You see a locked gate early in a level. You spend an hour fighting through puppets, climbing ladders, and dropping through holes in the floor, only to pull a lever and realize—clack—you’re back at the first Stargazer. That "aha!" moment is the reward for not having a map. It’s a psychological map you build in your head.
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Navigating the Hotel Krat Hub
Hotel Krat is the only place that gives you anything close to a navigational aid. When you look at the Stargazer menu to fast travel, you’ll see small icons next to the area names. These are your breadcrumbs.
- A small "bubble" icon means an NPC has something new to say to you.
- A picture of a specific item, like a record or a quest tool, means you need to use something there.
- This is the closest the game gets to a Lies of P map system. It tells you where to go, but never how to get there once you arrive.
Major Zones and Their Layout Traps
Let's talk about the areas that actually mess people up. Most of Krat is a "straight" line that loops back on itself, but some zones are notoriously confusing without a guide.
The Cathedral of St. Frangelico is the first real test. It’s vertical. You aren't just going forward; you're going up, across rafters, and down elevators. People get stuck here because the game uses height to hide the path. If you're lost, look up. There's almost always a ladder or a wooden beam you missed.
Then there’s Rosa Isabelle Street. This place is a maze of burning houses and narrow alleys. It’s the section of the game where the "No Map" rule feels the most punishing. You have to navigate through sewers and then emerge into a theater. The key here is following the lights. Neowiz used lighting—street lamps, fires, glowing butterflies—to subconsciously guide your eyes toward the objective.
Arche Abbey is the final gauntlet. It’s massive. It’s a literal tower that goes on forever. By the time you reach this point, the game expects you to have mastered "Soles-like" navigation. If you see a path that looks like a dead end, hit the wall. Seriously. Illusionary walls aren't as common as they are in Dark Souls, but they exist, and they usually hide the best gear.
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The Role of the Golden Tree
You can’t talk about the layout of this world without mentioning the Gold Coin Fruit tree. It’s the central pillar of the mid-game. It sits in a courtyard that connects back to Hotel Krat. If you ever feel like you've wandered into a completely different game, try to find your way back to the tree. It’s the "North Star" of the Lies of P map experience.
Community-Made Solutions
Since the game doesn't provide a map, the community did what gamers always do: they drew their own. If you go to the Lies of P subreddit or various wiki sites, you’ll find 2D top-down renders of the levels.
Are they helpful? Sort of.
The problem is that Lies of P is a 3D puzzle. A 2D map doesn't show you that the bridge you’re looking at is actually three stories above your head. Honestly, you're better off watching a "shortcut guide" on YouTube than trying to follow a flat image. Seeing the character move through the space helps your brain map the transitions between zones much better than a static drawing ever could.
Misconceptions About Fast Travel
A lot of people think they’ve "missed" a map item or a compass. You haven't. I've seen forum posts where players are convinced that if they talk to Venigni enough times, he'll give them a tracker. He won't. He’ll give you a lot of lore and some upgrades for your Legion Arm, but he's not going to fix your lack of direction.
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Also, the "Moonphase Pocket Watch" isn't a map tool. It’s a homing bone. Use it to warp back to the last Stargazer or the Hotel. It’s your "get out of jail free" card when you’re carrying 20,000 Ergo and have no clue where the next save point is.
How to Never Get Lost Again
If you want to master the Lies of P map without actually having one, you need to change how you play. It's a mental shift.
First, always look behind you. The developers love to hide the "next" path behind a crate or a staircase you just walked down. When you clear a room of puppets, do a 360-degree spin.
Second, use your items. You have "Sawtoothed Wheels" and other throwables. If you aren't sure if you've been to a hallway before, drop an item or leave a trail of dead enemies. Since enemies only respawn when you die or rest, a trail of puppet corpses is a perfectly valid way to mark a path you’ve already cleared.
Third, listen. The sound design in this game is top-tier. Stargazers make a very specific humming, crystalline sound. If you’re low on health and desperate, turn down the music and just listen for that hum. It has saved me more times than I can count.
Actionable Navigation Tips for Your Next Run
- Check the Stargazer Icons: Before you leave Hotel Krat, look at the teleport menu. If there’s a symbol next to a location, that’s your priority. It’s the only objective marker you get.
- Follow the Shortcuts: If you find a door that "Does not open from this side," you are on the right track. Your goal is now to circle around and find the other side of that door. That is how the levels are structured.
- Use the Camera: Use the lock-on button (R3) even when you don't see enemies. Sometimes it will snap to an enemy hiding around a corner, revealing a path you didn't see.
- Identify the Biomes: Every area has a distinct color palette. Factory areas are red/orange. The Cathedral is blue/grey. If the colors start changing, you're entering a new "node" of the map.
- Note the Lanterns: Look for the white or red lanterns hanging outside doors. Red usually means danger or a locked quest, while white often indicates a safe zone or a shortcut.
The lack of a Lies of P map isn't a bug or an oversight; it's a core part of the challenge. It forces you to actually live in Krat rather than just passing through it. You’ll get lost. You’ll die. You’ll lose Ergo. But when you finally memorize the path from the Barren Swamp to the Ravine, you’ll realize you didn't need a map in the first place. You just needed to pay attention.