Lies of Pis a true-to-form soulslike masterpiece that has a unique take on the armor system by replacing giant pauldrons with hidden puppet parts that enhance Pinocchio’s protection in a myriad of ways including specific damage types, status effects, and especially weight.
Although with the jumble of stats, and 37 separate pieces to discover or purchase, it might seem like you need to pull open a spreadsheet to find the best score overall and avoid getting crushed. However, after discovering each enemy and location, some defense parts stick out as clear winners.
8LADA Disruption Cartridge
The LADA Disruption Cartridge is one of the strongest parts meant for reducing the effectiveness of status effects, and especially focuses on Disruption, which is the most dangerous, as it is the only effect that automatically kills you when it reaches max.
To make up for its weight, it also provides a damage reduction buff and has more than decent protection for Break and Shock effects, too. The main problem with this part is it comes exceedingly late into the game, but by then you will have enough Capacity to equip it without trouble.
7Arch Shock Cartridge
The Arch Shock Cartridge is the next best cartridge item, which sacrifices a significant amount of Disruption protection while improving on its Shock protection, all while maintaining a decently high damage reduction and Break resistance.
For those with lower capacity, it is also significantly lighter but arguably offers the most useful status protection with Shock, as it is the most common type of damage inflicted by enemies, especially in earlier chapters. Just remember to switch it out when you encounter Disruption crystals and enemies.
6Belford Superior Insulation Converter
In a chest past theBarren Swamp EntranceStargazerConverters, like cartridges, focus on protecting against status ailments, but they focus on reducing a specific damage type. This makes it less important to choose a converter with a higher weight, especially if you want to make sure you stay under slightly heavy.
The Belford Superior Insulation Converter is one of the top converters for protecting against Shock damage and status buildup while maintaining a manageable weight, which is especially important as Shock quickly drains your stamina and can leave you unable to block or dodge.
5Belford Superior Corrosion Resistance Converter
The Belford Superior Corrosion Resistance Converter, while definitely a mouthful, has the best ratio of weight and Decay protection, which is especially important in corrosive swamps and certain boss fights, because the speed is necessary to maintain weapon durability after Decay melts it away.
The other benefit of this converter is that it has only a slight Fire and Electric damage reduction compared to it’s heavier LADA variant, which removes some of the risk and allows you to place points outside of Capacity, reducing the grind for Ergo.
4LADA F350 Frame
The frame pieces for Pinocchio really only have the purpose of providing a blanket, physical damage protection, like the cartridges are compared to the converters. The LADA F350 Frame has the highest damage reduction stat among all frames, but is also only available in the final chapters.
The other problem with the F350 is that it’s incredibly heavy, and will require a high Capacity stat to keep under a heavy weight, but is an essential defense part for heavy builds, especially those that go into NG+ and beyond. But with such a high damage reduction, it’s worth the extra effort in balance.
3Arch Heavyweight Frame
The Arch Heavyweight Frame is the next best frame that maintains a balance between weight and damage protection with a medium Capacity stat and avoiding usingthe heaviest weaponsavailable. Although it is only available during the last third of the game.
If the Arch Heavyweight is still too heavy, or you want something specific to tide you over until Chapter Six, the Workshop Union Strengthening Frame is the next step below, and is found in Chapter Four. With any Frame piece, it’s important not to build it last, as it could leave you with insufficient protection.
2LADA Spaced Armor Liner
Like converters, liners focus on specific, physical damage types that frames only broadly cover. Although with strike, pierce, and slashing, the least common one you’ll encounter is pierce and the most common being strike, which makes up most corpse enemies.
The LADA Spaced Armor Liner is the strongest liner for protecting against strike, despite having the heaviest weight, but will be essentialduring specific boss fights, usually involving hammers or fists twice the size of your body, which are difficult to dodge.
1Arch Spaced Armor Liner
Despite there not being a liner that has slash and strike has its highest protection, the next best liner that doesn’t sacrifice weight is the Arch Spaced Armor Liner, which also prioritizes strike protection while not abandoning slash.
If this liner is still too heavy for your build, the next best variant is the Belford Spaced Liner, and if you are in an area with slashing enemies, use any Fiber-Reinforced liner. The main reason to avoid Multi-Layer liners is that piercing enemies are few and far between and are always the easiest to dodge or deflect.
