Finding the Lies of P Old Cryptic Vessel is honestly one of those "wait, what?" moments for most players. You're exploring the Estella Opera House, dodging those creepy spider-puppets, and suddenly you stumble upon a chest. Inside is a strange tube. It doesn't tell you where to go. It doesn't give you a waypoint. It just sits in your inventory, cryptic as hell, until you take it back to the only guy in Krat who knows how to handle high-end junk: Venigni.
Let’s be real. If you’re playing Lies of P, you’re already used to the game being cryptic. But this specific vessel kicks off a hunt that leads you back to earlier areas of the game, specifically the Malum District. It’s easy to miss. It’s even easier to mess up if you don’t know which specific bridge the game is talking about.
Getting the Old Cryptic Vessel into Venigni's Hands
First things first. You can't do anything with the Lies of P Old Cryptic Vessel until it's decoded. You’ll find it near the Estella Opera House Stage Stargazer. Look for a room with a safe and a ladder nearby; it's tucked away in a chest that most people walk right past because they’re too busy worrying about the swinging flaming chandelier or the heavy-hitting puppets in the hallway.
Once you have it, warp back to Hotel Krat. Talk to Venigni. He’s the eccentric genius hanging out by the crafting table. If he isn’t there, you might need to progress further in the Lorenzini Arcade or check if he's moved due to a specific story beat, but usually, he’s your go-to guy for "deciphering" these items. He’ll crack the seal, and you’ll get a Deciphered Storage Log.
This log shows a picture of a bridge. It looks familiar, right? That’s because it’s the bridge leading into the Malum District, a place you’ve likely already struggled through. The image shows a puppet hanging from the bridge. This is your clue.
The Malum District Bridge: Where Things Get Weird
Travel to the Path of the Pilgrim Stargazer. This is the area just before you hit the Malum District proper. Walk forward toward the bridge where you likely fought a bunch of carcasses and maybe a few of those annoying ranged enemies. Look up.
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You’ll see a puppet hanging by a rope.
Most players try to hit it with a sword. That won't work. You need to use a thrower—basically any ranged object like a Sawtoothed Wheel or a Thermal Buffer—to knock it down. Once it hits the ground, it drops a letter. This letter isn't just lore; it's the second half of the puzzle. It tells you to go to a specific house near the "shack."
The instructions are vague on purpose. Neowiz loves making you work for your loot. The "shack" refers to the area near the Malum District Stargazer. You're looking for a specific door that was previously locked or seemed unimportant. It’s located in the slum area where the tall, gangly carcasses wander around.
Finding the Secret Residence
Inside the Malum District, look for the building that has a small symbol on the door that matches the sketch in your inventory. When you enter, you’ll find a trapped floor or a hidden path—typical Souls-like behavior. This is the "Old Man's House."
Actually, calling it a house is generous. It’s a dilapidated shack filled with the remnants of a life destroyed by the Petrification Disease. In the back, you’ll find a chest.
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Open it.
Your reward is the Owl Doctor’s Hunting Apparel and a Legion Caliber. For many players, the Legion Caliber is the real prize here. Those things are rare. They’re the only way to upgrade your Legion Arms like the Aegis or the Puppet String to their final, over-powered forms. The outfit is cool if you're into the plague-doctor-meets-steampunk aesthetic, but the upgrade material is why you’re really doing this.
Why People Get Stuck on the Old Cryptic Vessel
The biggest hurdle with the Lies of P Old Cryptic Vessel is the "hanging puppet" mechanic.
Lies of P doesn't often use environmental triggers like that. Usually, you just kill a boss and get a key. Here, the game expects you to stop, look at a grainy photograph, and realize that a random piece of background geometry is actually an interactable object. It’s a callback to older adventure games, and it catches modern players off guard.
Another issue is the timing. If you find the vessel too late, the Malum District might look different, or you might have already cleared the area and have no desire to go back. Don't skip it. The scaling in this game is tight. If you miss a couple of Legion Calibers, you’re going to feel it when you hit the late-game bosses like Laxasia the Complete or the Nameless Puppet. You need every advantage you can get.
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The Lore Behind the Vessel
If you care about the story, these vessels offer a grim look at the citizens of Krat. The Old Cryptic Vessel specifically hints at a family torn apart by the chaos. The "Owl Doctor" isn't just a random name; he's a stalker you can actually meet later in the game (or might have already met in the Barren Swamp). Finding his gear here connects the dots between the different factions of Stalkers—those who stayed to help and those who went mad in the process.
The game is full of these small, tragic vignettes. The item descriptions in the decoded logs often contain flavor text about the "Great Covenant" and how it failed the common folk. It adds a layer of grime to the beautiful, golden-hued tragedy of the Opera House where you found the vessel in the first place.
Actionable Steps for Completion
To wrap this up and get your rewards, follow this specific sequence. Don't overthink it.
- Locate the Vessel: Estella Opera House, in a chest near the ladder by the flaming chandelier room.
- Talk to Venigni: He must decode it at Hotel Krat. If he won't talk to you about it, make sure you've exhausted his other dialogue options first.
- The Bridge Drop: Go to Path of the Pilgrim. Throw a rock or a gear at the hanging puppet. Pick up the note it drops.
- The Malum District House: Enter the Malum District. Look for the house near the central plaza (where the big carcass is smashing things). Inside, find the chest.
- Claim Loot: Put on your new Owl Doctor threads and immediately use that Legion Caliber at the craft machine in the Hotel.
Check your inventory for any other vessels you might have picked up. Often, players find the Old Cryptic Vessel and the Jeweled Cryptic Vessel around the same time. Solving them back-to-back is the most efficient way to beef up your character before the difficulty spike in the later chapters. Once you've opened the chest in the Malum District, this specific questline is flagged as complete in the game's internal tracker, and you’re free to head back to the main path.