Summary
When it comes to defensive options,Lies of Pallows players toblock enemy attacksin various ways in the form of Defense Fable Arts. Specific weapon components bolster the player’s Guard and Perfect Guarding skills to assist in hitting the frame-specific windows of enemy attacks. This is essential since there are many malfunctioning automatons lurking in the shadowy alleyways and street corners of the city of Krat.
There are five kinds of Defense Fable Arts at the player’s disposal, but which are the better options to use during a playthrough? Each of them has their uses in the heat of battle, but a few ones stand out more than the rest.
5Absolute Defense
Absolute Defense is the first Defense Fable Arts that can be available for players. When activated, it grants players a free Perfect Block against an enemy attack, so long as they keep the Guard stance active before an enemy hits them. Since it might be challenging for players to get the hang of Perfect Guarding attacks, using Absolute Defense is a great Fable Art to use.
It is also worth noting that Weapons and Handles that have Absolute Defense are typically Motivity-type implements, the game’s version of Strength weapons. Luckily, the game allowsregular weapons to be disassembledand mixed with other components for more gameplay variety.
This Fable Art is available on the Greatsword of Fate Handle and other normal and special weapons as players progress through the game. Absolute Defense is a niceearly-game Defense Fable Artsince it will help players acclimate to enemy attacks, specifically when to Guard at the right moment for a Perfect Guard. Eventually, other Defense Fable Arts become more useful down the line.
4Guard Parry
For players who prefer speed and dexterity over strength, Guard Parry is a decent Defense Fable Art. As its name suggests, once this Fable Art is activated and timed correctly to Guard an enemy attack, the player instead deflects the enemy attack and ripostes with a fierce attack of their own for good damage. The majority of the game’s Technique weapons’ Handles have Guard Parry as their Defense Fable Art. This includes the Wintry Rapier’s Handle, Dancer’s Curved Sword Handle, andsome boss weapons.
This Defense Fable Art is a great option for players who have gotten the hang of enemy attacks and want to continue the pressure after successfully deflecting opponents’ strikes. Given thatLies of Prewards aggressive combat, Technique players can utilize their weapons’ speed to slice and dice at enemies and bosses after a successful Guard Parry.
3Endure
As playersprogress through the main story, they will encounter exceptionally challenging and hard-hitting bosses who can take them out in a couple of strikes. But such battles of attrition will deplete the player’s Stamina: this is where Endure comes in. Endure is an excellent Defense Fable Art against bosses that have powerful attacks that players cannot Guard or Perfect Guard properly.
Using Endure has players bracing for an incoming attack: once the enemy hits a player while Endure is active, it mitigates significant damage from the incoming attack. As Stamina management becomes essential in the latter boss battles, using Endure to tank a hit and retaliate. It comes in handy as a tactical move to help conserve Pulse Cells against harder boss fights.
As a Defense Fable Art, Endure is spread out in a number of weapon handles, including the Bone-Cutting Handle, Fire Axe Handle, Live Puppet Axe Handle, Circular Electric Chainsaw Handle, and the Noblesse Oblige.
2Absolute Counterattack
One of the key features that Defense Fable Arts has is that they cost one Fable Charge to activate. For some boss weapons that have Defense Fable Arts, however, some of them require two Fable Charges for their Defense Fable Art to activate. Absolute Counterattack is one such Fable Art.
This Fable Art is a more powerful version of Guard Parry. Once activated, a player can Perfect Guard an enemy attack: after successfully deflecting an enemy strike, the player counterattacks: spending another Fable Charge allows for an extra attack for massive damage. While this Fable Art is a great option for players to have in their combat arsenal, unfortunately, only the Etiquette weapon has this.
That said, Etiquette is one of the strongest Technique boss weapons in the game. For players running a Technique build, wielding Etiquette cantrivialize some boss fightsbecause of Absolute Counterattack.
1Link Emergency Dodge
While Guard and Perfect Guarding are essential combat mechanics that players should master inLies of P, dodging attacks is also crucial to defeating bosses. This is especially true since while Perfect Guarding helps stagger opponents, it does so at the expense of using Stamina. Most bosses during the latter stages have long combo strings that will punish players for missing a crucial strike or render their Stamina low after successfully deflecting their salvo.
This is where Link Emergency Dodge becomes a great Defense Fable Art to have. Instead of Guarding, once it is activated, the player can guide the direction they will dodge. If the player wants to follow up with a vicious attack, they can spend up to two Fable Charges to strike at their locked-on enemy for a sizable chunk of damage.
Given its strong utility, this Defense Fable Art can only be used when the player iswielding the Two Dragons Sword. This weapon is a Technique-type implement which is especially deadly when players manage to evade enemy attacks to hit quick slashes and stabs of their own.
