The Parade Master is the first boss players encounter in Neowiz’s soulslike action RPG Lies of P. While he’s far from the most challenging boss in the game, he still gives players, especially newcomers, a tough time with his several heavy and seemingly relentless attacks seen in both phases.
Fear not, however, as with our help, you can defeat the crazed circus puppet in a direct and simple way.
How to beat the Parade Master in Lies of P
Preparing for the fight
It’s best to get all your gear in order in preparation for the tough Lies of P fight ahead. As the boss is fought early in the game, not many weapons are available to the player at this stage. However, upon starting the game, players will be given three weapons to choose from. This includes the Wintry Rapier Sword, the Puppet Ripper Sword, and the Dancer’s Curved Sword.
While many of these weapons can be used to beat the boss with enough time and patience to learn how to use them, we advise new players to use the Dancer’s Curved Sword. This is because it allows players to deal heavy damage and makes it easier to stagger the boss. If you didn’t select the greatsword at the start of the game, you can buy one at a vendor right outside the boss’s door.
Phase one: Alternate between dodges and attacks
Now that you have your gear all prepped, it’s time to face the mechanical maniac. While the Parade Master may look foreboding, his moveset is quite the opposite, as it is pretty limited compared to other bosses. However, his attacks still do a ton of damage, so it’s best to time your attacks with your dodges in the first phase.
Whenever you get close enough, the boss will perform a downward slash at you. It’s easy to avoid this by simply dodging backward, but he’ll do this repeatedly and he’ll mix in some telegraphed downward left and right-hand attacks as well. As such, it’s imperative to know when to dodge these attacks, which isn’t too hard as they are pretty easy to avoid.
After performing each string of attacks, the boss will take time to recover before attacking again, and that short window is when you can get some easy hits in. Once you get enough consistent hits in, he’ll do a running leap attack and belly flop to the floor. Once you see him start this attack, dodge backward as he lands on the floor, then go back in for more easy hits. Once he recovers again, he’ll repeat the earlier string of attacks, which you need to dodge.
Occasionally, he’ll perform a slam attack to the floor without running, and this time, you’ll notice he turns red. At this point, you can either dodge away from him frantically or use the opportunity to perform a perfect parry.
To do this, hold down the block button right at the moment his attack lands. Doing this will prevent you from taking damage and gives you the chance to get some free hits in.
As the fight progresses, you should eventually see his health bar turn white, especially if you’re using the greatsword and some heavy attacks. This means he can now be staggered easily using a charged heavy attack by holding down the attack button. Do this successfully, and you’ll stagger him, allowing you to do a special attack once he’s down for even more damage.
Phase Two: Keep your distance
At this point, you’ll hopefully have gotten his health bar down to 50 percent where he’ll enter his second phase. You’ll know you’re now fighting him in his second phase when he rips his head off and uses it as a mallet. This phase is quite dangerous as not only does he now have a new moveset, but he’s also a bit faster and more aggressive than earlier.
Not to worry, though, as most of these attacks are still easy to see coming, but the only thing you should be wary of is his speed. The boss will occasionally switch between wide swings of his mallet, which you should dodge into to avoid, low swinging attacks you should dodge away from, and an attack where he slams his mallet to the ground.
However, be careful as this is a bait attack, and if you get close while he’s holding his mallet down, he’ll use it to attack you repeatedly, so avoid him when he does this and keep your distance.
Once you learn all his moves and figure out the timings, you should be able to stagger him again with enough consistent attacks, and doing so should help you get his health down enough to finally finish him off.
