You're standing in the rain outside the Krat City Hall. Your fingers are sweaty. The Parade Master is screaming, a mechanical, guttural sound that vibrates in your headset. This is where most people realize that Neowiz wasn't joking about the difficulty. Dealing with all bosses Lies of P throws at you isn't just about fast reflexes; it’s a psychological war.
Honestly? It's the rhythm. Most Soulslikes have a flow, but this game has a stutter. Bosses delay their swings. They bait you. You think you've got the parry window down, and then the Puppet King decides to hold his flaming scythe for an extra half-second just to ruin your day. It’s frustrating. It’s brilliant.
The First Wall: Why the Parade Master is a Reality Check
Most games give you a tutorial boss that’s a pushover. Not here. The Parade Master is a gatekeeper. He’s designed to teach you that dodging won't save you—you have to learn to Perfect Guard. If you try to play this like Bloodborne and just dash around, he’s going to flatten you with that belly flop.
The trick is watching the hand, not the body. When he reaches back, there’s a specific "click" in the animation. That's your cue. If you miss it, you're burning through your Pulse Cells before the fight even really starts.
Later on, when you fight the Corrupted version? Everything changes. The timing is weirder. He leaks Decay. It's a mess. But that first encounter sets the tone for every single one of all bosses Lies of P includes in its roster: adapt or die.
The Difficulty Spike Nobody Talks About
Everyone complains about Laxasia or Nameless Puppet. But can we talk about the Fallen Archbishop Andreus for a second? This guy is the first true "two-phase" nightmare that breaks players.
You spend ten minutes learning the front side—the tongue lash, the heavy slams. You finally kill it. You're cheering. Then the thing flips over, a centipede-angel-monster crawls out of its butt, and you realize you're only halfway done.
It's a test of endurance.
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- The Phase 1 Strategy: Stay close. It sounds counterintuitive because he's huge, but his long-range swipes are much harder to time than his close-range slams.
- The Phase 2 Reality: You basically have to fight the back side while the front side still tries to sit on you. Focus on the "new" head, but keep an eye on the old one's blue energy blast. If that hits, it's game over.
The Archbishop is where the game stops being a "cool steampunk adventure" and starts being a grueling test of your build. If you haven't upgraded your weapon to at least +4 by now, you're tickling him.
Romeo and the Art of the Fire Dance
The King of Puppets. Phase one is a giant, clunky robot. It’s almost relaxing. Then the shell breaks.
Romeo walks out. He’s small, he’s fast, and he has a fire sickle.
This fight is the peak of the game's design. It’s a dance. When he starts his 10-hit fire combo, your instinct is to run. Don't. If you run, he catches you. You have to dodge into him, specifically to the left. It feels wrong. It feels like you're jumping into a blender. But it works.
I’ve seen streamers spend six hours on this guy. The nuance is in the stagger. If you can land a heavy attack right as he's buffing his blade with fire, you can actually cancel his most dangerous move. Most people don't know that. They just try to survive the onslaught.
The Late Game Gauntlet: Laxasia and the Nameless Puppet
If you’ve made it to the Abbey, you know the fear. Laxasia the Complete is widely considered the hardest boss in the game. Even harder than the final boss for some.
Why? Because she cheats.
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In her second phase, she flies. She throws lightning. She moves so fast the camera sometimes struggles to keep up. But here’s the secret: you can parry the lightning. Seriously. If you time your guard right, you send the bolts back at her. It deals massive posture damage and chips away at her health while she's unreachable.
Then there's the Nameless Puppet.
This is an optional boss, technically, depending on your choices with Geppetto. But if you want the "true" experience, you have to fight him. He doesn't use magic. He doesn't have a giant monster form. He’s just a puppet with a sword that hates you.
Phase two of Nameless Puppet is pure mechanical skill. No specters allowed. It’s just you and him. He uses a dual-blade setup that reminds me of Sekiro. You can't rely on high-health builds or heavy shields here because he’ll just break your guard and crit you. You have to be perfect.
Why People Struggle with All Bosses Lies of P
It usually comes down to three things:
- Greed: Trying to get that third hit in. You will always be punished.
- Panic Dodging: The tracking in this game is insane. If you dodge too early, the boss will literally pivot mid-air to hit you.
- Ignoring the P-Organ: If you aren't spec-ing into "Increase Stagger Duration" or "Link Dodge," you're playing on hard mode.
The Specter Debate
Some "purists" say using a Specter is cheating. Honestly? Who cares. The game gives you Star Gazers for a reason.
If you're struggling with the Black Rabbit Brotherhood—which is basically a 4-on-1 gank fest—bring the Specter. Let him distract the big brother while you pick off the siblings. There is no shame in using the tools the developers put in the game. The Brotherhood is designed to be chaotic, and trying to manage four aggro meters at once is a recipe for a broken controller.
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How to Actually Beat the Hardest Encounters
Stop looking at the health bar.
When you're fighting all bosses Lies of P features, looking at the health bar creates anxiety. You see they have 5% left, you get aggressive, you die. Look at their feet. Look at their elbows. The animation tells you everything you need to know.
Also, use your Grindstones. The Perfection Grindstone is a literal life-saver for bosses like Laxasia or the Green Monster of the Swamp. It gives you automatic Perfect Guards for a few seconds. Save it for the phase transition. It turns a nightmare into a manageable window for a big stagger.
Practical Steps for Your Next Run
If you're stuck right now, stop throwing yourself at the wall. Go back to Hotel Krat.
Check your weight. If you're over 60%, your stamina regen is trash. If you're over 80%, you're basically a walking target. Get that weight down. Change your armor liners to match the boss's damage type. Fighting the Furnace? Wear fire gear. Fighting the Electric Woodsman? Wear electric gear. It sounds simple, but it changes "two-shot kills" into "three-shot kills," and that one extra hit is often the difference between winning and losing.
Re-spec at the Gold Coin Fruit tree if you have to. If your "Motivity" build isn't working because your weapon is too slow, try "Technique." Fast weapons like the Two Dragons Sword have a built-in parry on the heavy attack that is absolutely broken if you learn the timing.
The bosses in this game are a masterclass in rhythm and frustration. They aren't meant to be beaten on the first try. They’re meant to be learned. Take a breath. Watch the animations. Stop dodging backward. You’ve got this.