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Lies Of Pfeatures a world full of enemies. Asa soulslike game, its main focus is definitely on the combat aspect, though world-building is no less for it. Since the game puts so much emphasis on combat, it’s no surprise that you encounter the first boss within the first couple of hours of playing the game.
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The Parade Master is a very simple boss and doesn’t feature a wide variety of attack patterns. However, he can easily overwhelm anyone who isn’t used to soulslike combat.
Updated by CJ Kuzdal on August 23, 2025: This article has been updated to include an additional Lies of P video, bringing more beneficial content to readers.
General Tips
Though the first boss isn’t that tough compared to the other bosses in the game, it can still be quite hard to defeat him since you’ll likely only have an hour or two in the game by the time you encounter him.
Phase 1 - Regular Attacks
During the first phase of the boss, you should learn his attack patterns. Don’t try to win the fight right away. That’s very unlikely to happen. Instead, take your time and analyze the timing of each attack that he makes. Use that knowledge in future runs to your benefit, and you’ll be done with this menace in no time.
Hook Combos
The Parade Master’s main attack is with his left arm. He winds it back, brings it slightly upward, and then smashes it down on the player. The wind-up time for this attack is fairly short, so don’t try to get any cheeky hits in while he’s doing it. Dodging it is easy enough, but if you want to stagger this boss, you’ll want to learn to parry it.
However, be wary of follow-up attacks, as he usually does a hook combo. He’ll either do another downward hook with the right arm or a head smash after the first hook. You can tell which one he’ll do by the wind-up time of the first hook.
Dash Attack
If you put distance between you and the Parade Master during the fight, he will often dash toward you. However, he also combines the dash with a head smash or hook, so be careful and don’t overextend yourself during this attack.
The dash attack is fairly easy to perfectly guard, but dodging it is even easier. Since the boss doesn’t dash that often, you don’t need to learn how to parry it unless you really want a hitless run.
Running Jump
The Parade Master runs towards the player and jumps, crashing into you if you’re not careful. It takes a while from when the boss starts the attack to when it finishes so you have plenty of time to prepare for it. It doesn’t matter where you’re standing when the boss starts, he’ll always run the same distance.
You can easily dodge the attack and get a couple of hits in without worrying about parrying it. If you want to parry it, press the block button when the boss is at the height of his jump.
During this move, the Parade Master covers his head with his arms and smashes his head forward. It takes a while for the attack to hit, so you’ll have to remember the timing. You’ll want to block when the arms start to unravel a little bit, revealing the pole on the boss' head.
Phase 2 - Flaming Mace
After you whittle down the HP of the boss to around the 50% mark, he will enter phase 2. He removes the plunger/mage stuck to his head and puts the cage on his back. He only has one new attack that you need to get used to. The rest of his repertoire is the same.
Mace Swings
The Parade Master does a few different types of Mace Swings. If you’re a bit further away, he will run towards you and swing the mace with a delay. He’ll usually follow this up with another swing.
Every time the boss does a running jump in this phase, he will get up while swinging.
If you’re close to the boss, he will swing the mace in an arc two or three times and then put it on the ground. Keep in mind that the last one is also an attack and can hit you if you’re close enough. It will take you a few runs to get comfortable with these attacks, but they’re very simple once you get over the fear of the big bad enemy running toward you.
Boss Reward
The Parade Master rewards the player with two things: A piece of Quartz and a special Ergo. You can use Quartz to activate your P-Organ once you find Gepetto, save him, and defeat the third boss afterward in the second section of the game.
You can use the Special Ergo to get 5,000 Ergo, but it’s better to hold on to it for now. After the fourth section of the game, you’ll be able to trade it with the Treasure Hunter for special Weapons or powerful Amulets.
