Motivity Builds in Lies of P are pretty interesting. The game's combat system is designed so that Motivity builds (Motivity basically equals Strength in any other Soulslike) feel incredibly satisfying and powerful against basic enemies, but require precise control of the protagonist Pinocchio during boss fights.

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Bosses in Lies of P leave few windows for players to get some attacks in normally, and it's even more difficult with Motivity builds that use these slow but hard-hitting weapons. So, let's look at some of the best P-Organ upgrades (and abilities to slot into them) to choose from.

Updated December 31st, 2023 by Jacob Buchalter: Now that (at least at the time of writing this) the year is about to end, it's easy to look back on the games of 2023 fondly. Lies of P, for example, is one of the best Soulslike games of the year, hands down. And, a major way that this game innovates on the classic Soulslike formula is by introducing the P-Organ system. When improving the P-Organ in Lies of P, players will be unlocking all sorts of new Upgrades and Abilities, so let's see which ones, in particular, are worth getting first when it comes to a pure Strength (AKA Motivity) build while we wait for the next entry in this new franchise.

12 Upgrade: Fury Attack Guard

Can Block Fury Attacks With Guard

Let's do something different and start things off with an Upgrade most Lies of P players won't even see, the Fury Attack Guard upgrade. This is an upgrade that's found in Phase 7 of the P-Organ, which might seem confusing given that there are only 5 Phases in the game.

However, once players get to NG+ they'll unlock Phase 6, and Phase 7 is unlocked in NG++. So, while it's a bit unrealistic for most players to use, the Fury Attack Guard is one of the best upgrades overall to get for a Strength build, as it allows players to just focus purely on raw damage and parrying without having to worry about avoiding Fury Attacks anymore.

11 Ability: Increase Pulse Cells

Increases The Maximum Number Of Pulse Cell Uses

Next up is the first ability on here, and it's worth mentioning the difference between 'Upgrades' and 'Abilities'. Upgrades are basically the major 4 'Nodes' on each Phase of the P-Organ, while the abilities are the buffs that are used to fill all the slots of each upgrade to fully 'activate' it.

And as far as slot fillers go, the Increase Pulse Cells ability is a no-brainer. More Pulse Cells means a higher survival rate during boss battles, so the more the merrier. And, this is also one of the abilities that pops up the most in the ability tree, as most others only have 2 at most while the Increase Pulse Cells ability has 4.

10 Upgrade: Increase Staggerable Window

Increases Time Of Enemy's Staggerable Status

First up, anything that increases the Staggerable Window, be it a P-Organ upgrade or ability, is worth grabbing. Players may look at these upgrades at first and assume that they don't need them, as the first chunk of bosses are pretty generous with the time they give players to get Charge Attacks off.

However, as the game goes on, bosses are going to make it more and more difficult to get a Charged Attack off at all. This is why these upgrades that increase the Staggerable Window just make the game a bit less stressful as a whole so players can focus more on the atmosphere and mystery of Lies of P's world.

9 Ability: Enhance Fatal Attack's Attack Damage

Enhances The Attack Of Fatal Attacks

As far as abilities go to slot into P-Organ upgrades using Quartz, the Enhance Fatal Attack ability is a fantastic one to grab early. While it is technically possible to play this game while ignoring both the Perfect Guard and Fatal Attack systems, this is tough to do and an unconventional playstyle to say the least.

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By default, a standard Lies of P player will be getting Fatal Attacks pretty often, usually at least once or twice in every boss fight. Following this train of thought, if players are going to be using Fatal Attacks often, then buffing their damage output will have a big impact.

8 Upgrade: Add Amulet Slots

Increases The Number Of Amulet Equippable Slots

This next upgrade is a no-brainer for basically anyone who has ever played a Soulslike game. In these types of games, every single equipment slot is precious, especially when it comes to rings and amulets. In fact, a difference of choice in rings can make two similar builds have entirely different playstyles.

So, being able to add a whole extra slot for players to put an Amulet in will have a gigantic impact over the course of the game. Granted, there aren't a ton of Amulets players can get until they at least find Alidoro the Treasure Hunter and trade their Rare Ergo for more Amulets, but once they do find him this upgrade will become even more useful.

7 Ability: Increase Staggered Duration

Increases An Enemy's Staggered Duration

Alongside the actual Staggerable Duration P-Organ upgrade, grabbing this Staggered Duration ability is also a smart move. Again, as the game progresses, players will need to be even more cautious with their usage of Charged Attacks during a boss fight.

So, having a big window of time between seeing that white bar appear around the enemy's health and using a Charge Attack to knock them down helps more than one might expect. When the window is short, players tend to panic and use their Charge Attacks when it's obviously a bad time to do so, but with this ability, they'll have more time to pick the most optimal moment.

6 Upgrade: Retain Guard Regain

Retains A Certain Amount Of Guard Regain When Receiving Damage

To be frank, the window to Perfect Guard in Lies of P is tight, even tighter than the Deflect window in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. In this game where every enemy has Fury Attacks that can only be countered by Perfect Guards, a lot of battles feel almost cruel in the amount of Perfect Guards they expect from players.

Thankfully, Perfect Guards aren't the only option, and players can do equally as well with regular Guards if needed. And, when using regular Guard, increasing the amount of Guard Regain players can get will play a big part in keeping them alive in a fight they otherwise would've died in.

5 Ability: Enhance Charge Stagger Attack

Enhances The Stagger Attack Of Charge Attacks

The amount of Stagger that Charge Attacks add to an enemy is pretty absurd, especially with some of the bigger (and slower) weapons in the game. In fact, if a player managed to Perfect Guard most attacks and get a Charge Attack in at every possible opportunity they had, most boss fights would only last a minute or two at most.

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So, grabbing an ability that only increases the amount of 'Stagger damage' a Charge Attack can mean the difference between interrupting a boss' Fury Attack to unleash a Fatal Attack on them or eating that Fury Attack while getting greedy trying to punish that Staggerable window.

4 Upgrade: Perfect Guards Cause Stiffness

Breaks The Enemy's Stance When A Perfect Guard Is Successful

This next P-Organ upgrade comes way too late into the game considering how much more approachable it would've made the game for more casual Soulslike fans if it was offered earlier. Basically, with this upgrade, Perfect Guards now have the ability to 'interrupt' an enemy's attack chain, which means players don't have to Perfect Guard 6+ attacks in a row against certain bosses (such as the Puppet King) in order to survive or get their Staggerable punish window.

However, this upgrade is in the 4th 'tier' of upgrades, which is only really accessible after players have fought a good number of bosses that rely on these long attack chains. Regardless, it's an Upgrade worth grabbing as soon as it becomes available, even if it's a bit late.

3 Ability: Enhance Perfect Guard Destruction

Increases Destruction Damage To Enemies When A Perfect Guard Is Successful

This next ability has a double bonus of both being very helpful in combat and giving players more chances to look extra cool. There's nothing better in Lies of P than when players get a Perfect Guard and it causes the enemy's weapon to break, it just feels so satisfying.

Not only that but an enemy with a broken weapon is severely hampered in both their damage output and range. So, with this ability, weapon breaks will happen more often, and it'll happen faster, giving players earlier windows to punish enemies that only become more dangerous the longer they're around.

2 Upgrade: Increase Pulse Cells

Increases The Maximum Number Of Pulse Cell Uses

Like the Amulet Slots upgrade, this upgrade is also a no-brainer. Getting even one more 'Estus Flask' charge in any of these Soulslike games can mean the difference between being stuck on a boss or just barely managing to overcome them.

Granted, Lies of P already has a system where players can regain Pulse Cells through combat, but that system also relies on getting a lot of Perfect Guards and Fatal Attacks. So, if players just increase their overall Pulse Cell count instead, they'll have a lot more leeway to go for more of those Perfect Guards more often and still have a safety net of healing ability in case they miss their window.

1 Ability: Lower Charge Attack Stamina Consumption

Lowers The Stamina Consumption Of Charge Attacks

And finally, it's already been made pretty clear by this point that Charge Attacks play a large part in Lies of P's gameplay overall, especially with Motivity combination Weapons. But, because Guarding costs Stamina, and so does dodging, a lot of players will find themselves lacking in Stamina right after a Charge Attack. So, putting points into Vigor as well as grabbing this Ability just gives players more resources to work with.

Lies of P

Platform(s)

PC , PS5 , PS4 , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S , Xbox One

Released

September 19, 2023

Developer(s)

Round8 Studio , Neowiz

Publisher(s)

Neowiz

Genre(s)

Soulslike