How to beat the Parade Master in Lies of P

The Parade Master in Lies of P represents the first big boss fight in the game, which sees you facing off against a hefty robot that uses their huge weight and swinging strikes to bowl you off your feet. That's just the start of it, too, as when you progress to stage two they'll rip off their own head and try to beat you to death with it. Brutal.

As the occurs early in the game, when you're still finding your feet with the combat in general, this really does present quite the challenge. Our guide on how to beat the Parade Master in Lies of P will help you not only defeat this carnival creep, but also learn some fundamentals for dealing with all of the boss fights as a whole.

How to beat the Parade Master in Lies of P

The Lies of P Parade Master boss fight requires that you be wary and selective. It's tempting to rush in and try and hit them as much as you can, as quickly as possible, but the Parade Master specialises in big, heavy strikes that swing around him. It means it's hard to clear distance in a pinch and getting caught within range of his attacks can decimate your health. 

Here are some strategies to defeat the Parade Master in Lies of P:

• Be patient. The Parade Master's attacks cover a wide area, swinging his arms, stomach and even head about him. Keep your distance, then lunge in and hit him when he stops. If you're not confident in your parrying then the moment he starts swinging, back away. Alternatively…
• Learn the perfect parry. This is the ideal time to start practising this essential skill - tapping L1 the moment the Parade Master's (or any enemy's) attacks land negates all damage and helps build up his stagger. The highly-telegraphed attacks of the Parade Master make him one of the easier enemies practice this against, and it's fine to die a few times just learning this system.
• His back is vulnerable. The Parade Master's attacks tend to leave his back uncovered, so if you can get behind him, he'll struggle to hit you. If you can get around him right as he finishes an attack, that's a great moment to use your Legion Arm to punch him for high damage.
• Save your throwables for the final push. Thermite and Cells are limited items you can throw for damage - they're very good, but a limited resource so you'll want to use them carefully. We recommend not using them at all until he's on a third of his health or less, so you can have the best possible chance at wearing away that final third.
• His phase 2 is both a peril and an opportunity. When whittled down to about half health, the Parade Master pulls off his head and makes a club out of it. This'll give his attacks extra reach, but you can use this transitionary period where he's ripping the head off to get a few free stabs in him.
• If all else fails, grind. The area leading up to the boss is a good place to just earn some Ergo to level up and buy more supplies from the Wandering Merchant - if you're finding it all too difficult, why not hold back and gain some levels first?

If you can defeat the Parade Master, you'll get a piece of Quartz and one of the Lies of P rare boss Ergos, though you won't be able to make much use of either for a while until you progress and unlock some other characters. You can consume the Ergo now, but we really don't recommend that until you at least check out the unique gear you can unlock later on.

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