You’re standing in front of a tree that grows money. In the grim, rain-slicked world of Krat, that sounds like a hallucination or a trap. But the gold coin fruit Lies of P offers isn’t a trick; it’s basically the blood-pumping heart of the game’s economy and character progression once you hit the mid-game. Honestly, if you aren't farming this stuff, you’re making the game twice as hard as it needs to be.
It’s weird.
Most Soulslikes give you a currency for killing bosses and then just leave you to rot if you run out of consumables. Round8 Studio did something different. They gave us a timer. A literal, real-time clock that ticks down while you’re out getting your teeth kicked in by the King of Puppets.
Getting Your Hands on the Tree
You don't just find the Gold Coin Fruit tree by accident. You have to put in the work. After you clear out the Brotherhood in the Malum District and finally make your way into the back of Hotel Krat through the elevator, you meet Giangio. This guy is sketchy. He’s hooded, he’s sickly, and he’s obsessed with a cure. But he’s your gatekeeper.
The tree is located in the courtyard. It’s beautiful in a haunting way, glowing with this sickly golden light that feels out of place among the gears and blood.
The first time you pick a fruit, it feels like a win. Free money! But then you see the timer. It takes roughly 10 minutes for a single fruit to ripen. You can carry a maximum of 100, but the tree itself only holds a few at a time depending on your upgrades. It's a slow burn. You can’t just sit there and stare at it; you’ve got to go play the game. Or leave the game running while you go make a sandwich. I’ve definitely done the sandwich thing.
Why Everyone Wants Your Fruit
There are three main people—or things—that want your gold coin fruit Lies of P stash.
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First, there’s Giangio. He’s the most important. He takes your fruit and gives you Star Gazers. No, not the fast-travel points. I mean the cubes. These cubes are your lifeline during boss fights. If you’re struggling with a boss and you’ve summoned a Specter, the Star Gazer cube can heal that Specter, buff their elemental damage, or even give them a second life. It costs fruit. Every. Single. Time.
Then you’ve got the Red Fox and the Black Cat. These two are "stalkers" who pop up throughout the story. Sometimes they’re your pals; sometimes they’re a massive headache. At certain points in the Grand Exhibition or near the end of the game at Arche Abbey, they’re going to ask you for Gold Coin Fruit.
You have a choice.
Give them the fruit and they might leave you alone or give you a gift. Refuse? Well, get ready to fight. Honestly, giving them the fruit is usually the "better" path if you’re trying to keep things peaceful or unlock specific records, but it feels like a shakedown. Because it is.
Speeding Up the Harvest
Waiting ten minutes per fruit is a nightmare when you're stuck on a boss like Laxasia the Complete and your Specter keeps dying in the first phase. You need those cubes.
This is where the P-Porgress system comes in. You need to look at your P-Organ upgrades. Specifically, the "Gold Coin Fruit Harvest" nodes.
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- Decreasing the growth time: This is a literal game-changer. It drops the timer significantly.
- Increasing the capacity: Let the tree hold more so you don't have to teleport back to the Hotel every twenty minutes.
There are also boosters. You’ll find "Alchemical Boosters" (and the enhanced versions) scattered throughout the world or sold by Polendina once you expand his shop. You use these at the tree to slash the remaining growth time. Save these for the late game. Don't waste them early on when you’re just wandering around the Cathedral. You’ll regret it when you’re grinding the final chapters.
The Truth About the Cube
The Cube is the most misunderstood mechanic tied to the gold coin fruit Lies of P system. Most players buy one Wishstone from Giangio, use it once, and then forget it exists because it feels "too slow" to use in a fight.
That’s a mistake.
You can actually upgrade the speed at which P uses the cube through the P-Organ. If you get the "Quick Wishstone Use" upgrade, it becomes a viable mid-fight heal for your Specter. Without it, you're just standing there like a target for five seconds while a giant puppet prepares to flatten you.
Here is the kicker: different Wishstones cost different amounts of fruit.
The basic ones are cheap.
The ones that add fire or electric blitz to your Specter? Those are the ones that eat your stash.
The Economics of a Lie
Lies of P is a game about choices. The Gold Coin Fruit is a physical manifestation of that. Do you spend your fruit on yourself (Wishstones) or do you use it to navigate social situations with NPCs?
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If you're going for the "Real Boy" or "Rise of P" endings, you need to be careful with how you interact with the world. While giving fruit to the Black Cat doesn't directly shift your "Humanity" score as much as lying does, it affects the items you receive—like the masks or certain records that do impact your humanity.
It’s a currency of mercy.
I remember my first playthrough, I was so stingy with my fruit. I wanted to hoard it like a dragon. Then I got to the Black Cat in the late game. He was blind, he was dying, and he just wanted a piece of fruit. I felt like a monster for even hesitating. That’s the brilliance of this mechanic; it turns a literal "timer-based farm" into a moral weight.
Common Misconceptions and Errors
A lot of people think you can "cheese" the tree by changing your system clock.
Don't try it.
The game tracks the time on the server side or through a specific internal logic that doesn't usually play nice with system clock manipulation on most platforms.
Another big one: people think the tree stops growing if you aren't at the Hotel.
False.
The tree grows while you’re out exploring. In fact, that’s the whole point. You should be clearing a level, then returning to the Hotel to "bank" your fruit and check on your upgrades.
Actionable Steps for Your Playthrough
If you want to master the gold coin fruit Lies of P loop, follow this sequence:
- Prioritize the P-Organ: As soon as you unlock Phase 2 and 3 of the P-Organ, look for the "Increase Gold Coin Fruit Harvest" and "Reduce Growth Time" nodes. They are under the "Item" or "Support" categories depending on your specific build path.
- Talk to Giangio Often: His shop inventory expands as you find "Vini's Boxes" and other quest items. He eventually sells more potent Wishstones that can literally carry you through the Nameless Puppet fight (though you can't use Specters there, some Wishstones buff P directly).
- Hoard During the Mid-Game: From the Opera House to the Barren Swamp, you’ll feel like you have too much fruit. You don't. The cost of Wishstones goes up, and the NPCs get hungrier.
- Buy the Boosters: Whenever Polendina gets a new shipment of Alchemical Boosters, buy his entire stock. They are cheap compared to the value of the fruit they produce when you’re in a rush.
- Check the Tree After Every Boss: Make it a habit. Boss down, go home, pick the fruit. It's like checking your mail.
The fruit isn't just a gimmick. It’s the difference between a frustrated rage-quit and a calculated victory. Use it, farm it, and don't be afraid to give a piece to a dying cat if he asks for it.