Just like all other Souls-likes, one of the most memorable parts of Lies of P is all the great and terrifying bosses that you’ll encounter. Whether it’s the creepy warped face of the Scrapped Watchman or the grotesque and almost alien body of the Archibishop, Lies of P has a bunch of really creative encounters which draw a lot from the excellent world-building of Krat. One of the most unforgettable fights is the battle against the King of Puppets in the Opera House on Rosa Isabelle Street, serving as the halfway mark of the game with a brutal uptick in challenge that will have even confident players scratching their heads.
The King of Puppets is a boss you’ll encounter about halfway through your journey in Lies of P and, at that point, he is easily one of the toughest fights in the entire game. Between two tough-as-nails phases, you’ll fight through two completely separate encounters each with its own mechanics and timings to learn. The first phase is a brawl against a giant colossus of a puppet, whereas the second phase is a far more personal fight against a lithe humanoid puppet called Romeo. There’s a lot crammed into this fight and, in this guide, we’ll teach you everything you need to know from each phase’s movesets to handy tips and tricks that will help you dethrone the King.
Here’s how to beat both phases of the King of Puppets, the final boss of Rosa Isabelle Street, in Lies of P.
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King of Puppets Boss Fight (Phase 1)
King of Puppets Moveset
The first phase of the King of Puppets fight in Lies of P is against a massive monster of a puppet, a hulking giant who will use his brute strength and force to crush you. We’ll begin by discussing the King of Puppet’s list of moves and attacks:
- Twirling Punch: The King of Puppets extends his right arm and then spins around in a circle before punching the ground. Often, he will immediately follow this up with another spin and another punch. This is one of the King’s easiest attacks to either dodge or Perfect Guard and you should learn the timings of it so you can effectively punish him.
- Arm Sweep: The King rears back before sweeping his arm across a wide portion of the arena. This attack can be perfectly guarded but the much safer option is to run and dodge backwards once you see the King beginning to lean back.
- Delayed Missile Launch: The King’s lower arms will grab his upper arms and transform them into cannons which fire off small, blue missiles around the arena. These missiles persist for several seconds before exploding, dealing insanely high damage if you’re close enough. The King usually follows up this attack with some kind of moves which will push into the path of these missiles so be aware of their location at all times.
Delayed Missile Launch
Additionally, the King can also use:
- Whaling Rage: The King will scream before delivering a series of quick swings directly in front of him. While it may appear as a devastating move, this attack is pathetically easy to dodge and opens up the King’s back for some very easy damage while he swings at nothing.
- Chest Burst: There are two variants of the Chest Burst attack depending on where the King moves the fan on his back. If he keeps the fan on his back and begins spinning rapidly, you need to get as close as possible to him to avoid the room-wide shockwave he unleashes. If, instead, he moves the fan onto his chest, you need to get away from the King as quickly as possible because he’ll detonate a close-ranged version of the shockwave.
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- Chest Burst (Back Fan Variant)
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- Chest Burst (Front Fan Variant)
Probably the King’s worst move in the first phase is a relentless assault he’ll perform with his hands. He’ll begin by charging his hands, morphing them into propellers, before sending them snaking out towards you several times. The final parts of the combo involve the King throwing both of his arms aside in a Fury Attack that deals devastating damage. The main issue with this attack is that it’s long, it hits really hard and it ends on a Fury Attack. To best avoid it, stay right up next to him for the opening barrage and then peel away as quickly as possible when you get the opportunity to do so.
The final noteworthy move of the King’s first phase is the Falling Smash. This is the King’s main Fury Attack where he’ll purposely smash himself into the floor and then throw his long arms behind him to hit anybody standing there. The best way to avoid this attack is to get directly behind him, giving you a source of free damage while he’s on the ground, but that can be difficult to do without a Specter. In most cases, dodge away from him after he falls but do not move left or right to avoid the arms.
King’s Fury Attack
King of Puppets General Knowledge
Firstly, it’s useful to know that the King of Puppet’s hitbox is kind of weird. Because of how long his arms are, he will often hit you even if you’re standing behind him and out of the way of the main attack. This is especially the case for many of the King’s large, sweeping attacks which include the Arm Sweep and Relentless Assault moves. The only truly safe place is directly behind the King and between his legs: there are a few moves which can uproot you from this position but, most of the time, it’s safe enough that you can whale on the boss without fear of taking a backhand or two.
Another thing that the King will often do is reposition himself around the battlefield. He’ll do this by digging his arms into the ground and lifting himself over to another part of the arena. The King is capable of using this method of repositioning in both an offensive and defensive manner. If you’re standing too close to the King’s arms as he begins moving, you’ll take a substantial amount of damage and be knocked back, leaving you open for another attack. On the other hand, the King can cancel out of basically any attack and straight into a dodge reposition, allowing him to sneak out of your reach or even dodge some attacks with long wind-ups. Paired with the variance of the Chest Burst move, you need to be constantly ready to move when fighting the King.
Lastly, unless you are 100% against help, we recommend summoning the Specter for this portion of the King of Puppets fight. In all likeliness, the Specter won’t actually survive long enough to make it to the second phase (even if it does, it will get torn apart in seconds) so it will mostly be serving as a distraction for the King. This will give you easier access to the King’s back and keep you safe from some of his more devastating attacks.
The Friendly King
Romeo Boss Fight (Phase 2)
Romeo Moveset
Once you beat the King of Puppet’s first phase, the large, mechanical body you’ve been fighting will shut down and reveal a smaller, more agile puppet within. This is Romeo, the true King of the Puppets, and he’s a much different fighter than the hulking giant you just spent the last few minutes beating down. Romeo is fast, relentless and vicious, capable of tearing you apart with his scythe in no time flat.
Like before, we’ll begin by going over Romeo’s moveset in Lies of P to prepare you for the fight better:
- Jumping Spinning Slash: Romeo leaps into the air and then comes barreling towards you in a spinning motion, resulting in his scythe getting stuck in the floor. This will always be Romeo’s first attack once you hit phase 2 and can be countered relatively easily by a well-timed Perfect Guard, giving you ample time to punish Romeo while the scythe is trapped.
- Two Slash Combo: Romeo will do a big swing from his right side before quickly following up with a similar slash from the left. This attack is another one which, once you learn the timing, can be easily countered by blocking or Perfect Guarding. It is also worth mentioning that Romeo will add more slashes to this attack as the fight goes on, resulting in it becoming a Four Slash Combo.
Jumping Spinning Slash
Other attacks Romeo has include:
- Scythe Hook: Romeo will shout before his left eye glows a bright red. He will then point his scythe outwards like a hook and, if you do not dodge out of the way before his eye stops flashing, he will drag you forward and hit you with an unblockable second attack. To my knowledge, this attack cannot be countered, so you should be ready to dodge backwards whenever you see Romeo’s eye begin glowing.
- Throwing Rush: Romeo throws his scythe towards you at high speeds before quickly propelling himself forward to deliver a second blow.
- Overhead Smash: Romeo will feint another attack before raising his scythe over his head. He’ll then smash it into the ground and drive it back towards him, dealing multiple instances of damage if you do not get out of the way. Like with the Scythe Hook, dodging this attack is safer than trying to guard against it.
Scythe Hook
Romeo’s most devastating move will start appearing once you reach 50% of his HP. This attack is quite similar to the signature move of Elden Ring’s Malenia, so we’re going to jokingly call it the Firefowl Dance.
Romeo will start by lighting his arm and scythe on fire, then he will leap at you and unleash a relentless stream of slashes for close to ten seconds. The first six or so slashes have a similar cadence but they will grow faster and more demanding as Romeo enters the final part of the attack. Every single slash can be Perfect Guarded, dealing massive damage to Romeo’s weapon, but there is also the huge possibility of being taken out by this move.
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- Start of the Firefowl Dance
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- Firefowl Dance in Action
It should also be noted that Romeo has two separate Fury Attacks. In the first, Romeo smashes his scythe into the ground and then lifts himself up on it, ending with a devastating kick to the ground. Meanwhile, for the second Fury Attack, Romeo jumps high into the air and engulfs himself in flames before rocketing back down to the ground. Despite being Fury Attacks, you can pretty easily just dodge both of these moves by running away as he performs them, which is preferable to the chance of missing a Perfect Guard to counter them.
Romeo Fury Attack
Romeo General Knowledge
The first big thing to note about the Romeo portion of the King of Puppets fight in Lies of P is that you can break his weapon. Like all fights against humanoid entities, Romeo’s weapon is susceptible to damage dealt when you Perfectly Guard his attacks: do enough perfect parries and his scythe will break, drastically reducing his range and damage output. It will take a lot of Perfect Guards to break Romeo’s weapons and confident players will likely kill him before that point, but it is a good thing to mention in case you want to drag the fight out.
Another big thing about Romeo is that he shares the ability to instantly reposition as his King of Puppets form. Instead of using his long arms to quickly navigate the arena, Romeo can dash around the battlefield using propulsion devices in his legs, leaving a streak of sparks in his wake. Just like the King, Romeo will also use these extra bursts of speed to either cancel out attacks or push in for an offensive blow.
Finally, you should play the Romeo portion of this fight much differently than the King portion. What we mean by this is that, when fighting Romeo, you need to be a lot more patient and defensive: most of your deaths will come from repeatedly rushing in and not waiting for an opening to attack. As such, the key to beating this second phase is to block and Perfect Guard as many of Romeo’s attacks as possible, letting you get close enough to punish in the downtime between his attacks. Constant blocking will also increase Romeo’s chance of Staggering, which is where you can deal some really nice chunky damage without fear of repercussions.
Romeo, Transformed King
Advice for the King of Puppets Boss Fight
The best advice we can offer for both phases of the King of Puppets fight is to bring stuff which deals Electric Blitz damage. As the King of Puppets, both the larger form and Romeo himself are Puppet-type enemies, meaning that they will take additional damage from all sources of Electric Blitz. This includes the Electric enhancement you get from your Grinder, Throwing Cells and even some Fable Arts. Having Electric Blitz on hand is a great way of dealing additional DoT to both forms of the King of Puppets, making the fight significantly easier (especially if you have an abundance of Cells to attack Romeo at range).
The second piece of advice we have is to save your Fable Arts for opportune moments. In particular, a powerful Fable Art (such as the one found on the Glaive Handle) is capable of breaking Romeo out of his Firefowl Dance attack, allowing you to avoid a massive chunk of potential damage and get off a possible Stagger. The same can be said about the King form, too, where you can use Fable Arts to snap him out of his relentless assault. Of course, if you have a surplus of Fable Catalysts you can repeatedly use the Arts over and over again for big damage but don’t get too cocky and rely too much on them.
Lastly, your biggest priority in phase 1 of the fight is saving as many Pulse Charges as you can. Compared to Romeo, the King’s attacks are relatively easy to either dodge or parry, especially if you have the aid of the Specter. Attacks from the true King, on the other hand, are painful, quick and sometimes ridiculously hard to Perfect Guard against. You want as big of a safety net as possible when going into that second phase, so prioritise the safety and conservation of your healing charges when performing that first phase.
Power of Electric Blitz
Best Amulets and Defense Parts for the King of Puppets
While weapon choice is largely subjective in Lies of P, Amulet and Defense Part choice is a lot more straightforward. Fortunately, there are a good few options in terms of both Amulets and Defence Parts at this point in the game, giving you some choice when it comes to combatting the King of Puppets.
Beginning with the Amulets, we recommend using the Patience Amulet, the Puppet Destroyer’s Amulet and the Life Amulet. Perfect Guarding, or blocking in general, is the best way to deal with both phases of the King of Puppets but this will consume a lot of Stamina, making the faster regen offered by the Patience Amulet way more attractive. Meanwhile, the Puppet Destroyer’s Amulet simply increases your damage against both phases and the Life Amulet increases your health to let you survive for longer. While not the flashiest choice of Amulets, they are the most useful at this point in the game.
Recommended Amulets
For your Defense Parts, the main decision you need to make is for your Liner. The first phase of the fight is predominately Strike damage from the King’s fists, whereas the second phase is mostly Slash damage from Romeo’s scythe. While there are some Liners which raise both, you’ll likely need to decide which one is more needed depending on your play style and how difficult you’re finding each phase: if you find yourself taking a lot of unnecessary hits in the King phase, prioritise the Spaced Armor Liners which boost Strike damage defence, whereas those finding Romeo more challenging should take the Slash damage dampening Fiber-Reinforced Liners.
Aside from the Liner, focus on taking Defence Parts which boost your Physical Damage Reduction Rate as high as possible. While some of Romeo’s attacks do deal Overheat damage, they aren’t significant enough to prioritise Fire Resistance over having high Physical Defence. Both the King and Romeo are mostly Physical fighters and this will allow you to survive for much longer.
Slash VS Strike Resistance
Keep everything we’ve said in this article in mind and, after some trial and error, the great King of Puppet’s shall fall and his reign will end, allowing you to continue on through the rainy streets of Krat.
That was how you can beat both phases of the King of Puppets boss fight in Lies of P.
