Lies of P Motivity Build Guide: Best Weapons and Stat Allocation

Motivity is the Lies of P word for Strength. You dump levels into it, you swing the heaviest gear in Krat, and a lot of regular enemies just stop existing after one charged hit. It's slow, it's heavy, and the damage gets kind of silly once the build comes online. The catch is that every swing eats more stamina and you walk like you're carrying a fridge up the stairs, so the whole thing is really about picking the right stats, the right handle, and not choking on your own weight load.

Here's where your levels should go, which blades and handles actually scale with Motivity, the Legion arm that does the most work, the handle skills worth leaning on, and the late-game weapons you save your boss Ergo for.

Ideal Stat Priorities for Motivity

Motivity powers heavy weapons, and it's the one damage stat you really care about here. It runs into a soft cap around 30 and a harder one near 40, so past 40 you're paying a lot of levels for not much damage. For most of a first run, somewhere in the high 30s to 40 is the sweet spot. You can keep going if you love a single big number, but the returns fall off hard.

The other five stats all pull their weight, and skipping them is how you end up a glass cannon who dies in two hits.

Vitality (HP)

This is your survive-stat. It soft-caps in the low 30s, and after about 35 you only get around 8 HP per level. That's rough value. Aim for 30 first, then decide if you want to push toward 35 on a tough boss. Heavy weapons are slow, so you'll get hit, and the extra HP gives you room to trade a blow and keep swinging.

Vigor (Stamina)

Heavy swings cost stamina, and Vigor is your stamina pool. It soft-caps near 30, and past that you only pull about 1.5 stamina a level. Land somewhere in the mid 20s and you'll usually have enough to do a full combo plus a dodge. If you keep running dry mid-fight, bump this before Motivity.

Capacity (Weight and Legion)

Capacity is the secret hero of the build. It raises your weight limit and your Legion gauge at the same time, and it's one of the few stats with no real soft cap. Every level is worth about +3 to weight and +3 to Legion, all the way up. Since Motivity weapons are heavy, Capacity is what keeps you out of the bad weight tiers. Get it to 20 early, then keep feeding it points as you find heavier blades.

The weight tiers, because they matter

Your load has three bands:

• Normal: under 60%. No penalties. This is the dream.
• Slightly Heavy: 60 to 79%. A small stamina tax, slower regen, Legion costs a bit more.
• Heavy: 80 to 100%. Now it hurts. Slow swings, big stamina costs, sluggish dodge.

A Motivity build can't always sit at Normal because the blades are chunky, and that's fine. Staying in Slightly Heavy is a fair trade most of the time. Heavy is where you actually feel it, and you should avoid it. If your load creeps into Heavy, that's your sign to pour levels into Capacity.

A target stat spread for the end of a first run

This is a comfortable place to land, give or take a few levels depending on your starting class:

| Stat | Target | |---|---| | Vitality | 30 | | Vigor | 25 | | Capacity | 25 | | Motivity | 40 | | Technique | 5 (base) | | Advance | 6 (base) |

Leveling order

Get Vitality and Motivity to 20 first. That gives you enough HP to survive a hit and enough damage for your weapon to feel real. Then push Capacity to 20, dropping the odd point into Vigor when your stamina feels short. After that, most of your levels go into Motivity and Vitality until they hit the targets above.

The quality-build quirk

There's a funny thing with how Lies of P scales weapons. Two damage stats at 30 each usually beats one damage stat at 60. So late, late game, once Motivity is capped and you've got spare levels, a few points in Technique can actually add more damage than dumping more into Motivity. For a pure Motivity build that's an endgame luxury, not something to chase early.

Best Motivity Blades and Handles

Lies of P splits every normal weapon into a Blade and a Handle, and you can mix and match them at any Stargazer. The blade decides your damage and the base scaling, and the handle decides the moveset, the scaling type, and the Fable Art. For Motivity you want blades with high base damage and a Motivity letter, on handles that lean Motivity too.

The star blade: Bone-Cutting Sawblade

This is the blade most Motivity builds end up on, and for good reason. It's a Greatsword-class blade with 167 physical attack at base, scaling B in Motivity and D in Technique, and it weighs 15.9. The reach is long, the charged heavy hits like a truck, and it stuns most things before they finish their swing.

You grab it from a chest in the Malum District. From the district Stargazer, head down the stairs into the alley, go through to the plaza with the bonfire and the Black Rabbit Brotherhood logo, take the right path, climb the ladder, and the chest is on the left. Pick it up once and it'll carry you a long way.

Its Fable Arts are Link Chop on the blade, a strong downward blow that can spend an extra Fable slot for a second hit, and Endure on the handle, which lets you tank through an incoming attack. Both are useful, but the real draw is the raw damage and reach.

Handles that pair well with it

Since the blade is the part you keep, you swap the handle to taste. These are the Motivity-leaning handles (most start at B in Motivity, D in Technique):

• Krat Police Baton Handle. Light at 2.0 weight, with a Fable Art called Strike Chance that boosts your next hit. Pairs great with a charged heavy for burst damage.
• Exploding Pickaxe Handle. 5.2 weight, and its art, Conserve Energy, lowers your stamina cost for a while. Huge on a heavy blade that drains stamina fast.
• Big Pipe Wrench Handle. 6.8 weight, beefy, with Payback Swing, a strong slash you fire off right after guarding. Good if you like the block-then-punish rhythm.
• Live Puppet's Axe Handle. 7.5 weight, one of the heaviest, with Endure. Tanky option if you want to trade through hits and not back off.
• Bone-Cutting Handle. The default for the saw, 4.8 weight, also Endure. A solid all-rounder if you don't want to think about it.

The crank that ties it together

Here's the part people miss. You can take any handle to Eugenie in Hotel Krat and add a Motivity Crank. Each crank bumps the handle's Motivity scaling up a tier (and drops Technique a tier). So a B Motivity handle becomes A, and on the right setup you can push toward S. On a blade like the Bone-Cutting Sawblade, going from B to A scaling is a real, visible damage jump. Buy the cranks from Pulcinella, the first one costs 800 Ergo and later ones 1,000 each after you expand his stock with the Venigni Collection. If you change your mind, a Balanced Crank resets the handle back to default.

Other Motivity weapons worth knowing

If the saw isn't your thing, there are other heavy hitters. The Big Pipe Wrench and the Live Puppet's Axe both have Motivity-leaning handles and big base damage on their own blades. The Booster Glaive's handle has a long forward-lunge moveset that feels great on a heavy blade, even though it leans Technique by default, a crank can fix that. And the Greatsword of Fate has a handle art called Absolute Defense that's a lifesaver on bosses.

So who actually wants what? If you want reach and stun, grab the saw. If you want burst off a guard, the wrench handle. If you just want to swing a giant club and not think too hard, the Live Puppet's Axe. All of them get better with a Motivity Crank.

Legion Arm Choices That Fit the Build

Your Legion Arm is your left-hand tool, and it runs off a separate Legion gauge that Capacity refills. A Motivity build swings slowly, so the best Legion arms are the ones that cover your recovery windows or set up a free heavy hit.

Aegis, the one most people pick

Aegis is a shield, and it's the safest pick for a slow, heavy build. You block an incoming hit, then a small explosion pops out and deals damage. It also works as a parry, slapping the same explosive damage back at the attacker. The big upgrade is Counter Charge, which lets you follow a successful guard with a charging attack that can hit multiple nearby enemies. Because your weapon is slow, having a button that says "no" to an incoming combo is a huge comfort pickup. Nine times out of ten, this is the arm for bosses.

Puppet String, the aggressive pick

Puppet String comes early and stays useful all game. It does two things. You can yank a smaller enemy toward you and punish, or you can launch yourself across the gap to a bigger target and smash. For a heavy build that struggles to close distance, the self-leap sets up a free charged hit. The final upgrade adds a follow-up attack after the leap, so you fly in and grab extra damage for one Legion bar. If you'd rather play aggressive than defensive, this is the pick over Aegis.

Fulminis and Flamberge, the matchup arms

These two are about elemental matchups rather than raw power, and they're worth keeping in your back pocket.

• Fulminis deals electric damage, and electric is the weakness of puppets. Most of the early-to-mid game is puppets, so Fulminis shreds them.
• Flamberge deals fire, and fire is what the carcasses (the fleshy infected enemies) hate. Later areas and a lot of bosses lean carcass, so Flamberge earns its keep there.

You don't have to main either one. Swap to them for the fight in front of you and the difference is night and day.

How electric helps a physical build

There's a nice interaction here. Electric shock builds up on a target, and once the gauge triggers, that enemy takes extra damage for a bit, including from your physical swings. Since your heavy hits deal physical damage, popping a boss with Fulminis first and then landing a charged heavy means that heavy connects even harder. It's not required, but it's a free damage boost when you remember to set it up.

Handle Grip Skills Worth Investing In

Every handle comes with a Fable Art, which is basically its weapon skill, and it costs Fable slots to use. You fill Fable slots back up by hitting things. Since the handle also controls your scaling, "investing in" a handle really means two things: picking one whose Fable Art you'll actually use, and spending cranks to push its Motivity scaling up. Here's what's worth leaning on.

Endure, the trade button

Endure shows up on the Bone-Cutting Handle, the Live Puppet's Axe Handle, the Fire Axe Handle, and a few others. For a short window it lets you withstand an enemy attack without getting knocked out of your swing. For a slow Motivity build, that's gold. You start a charged heavy, the boss winds up, you eat the hit, and your swing still lands. It costs one Fable slot and turns bad trades into good ones. If you die a lot to getting staggered mid-swing, find a handle with Endure.

Absolute Defense, the panic parry

Absolute Defense is on the Greatsword of Fate Handle and the Coil Mjolnir Handle. It gives you a brief perfect-block window. Time it right and you deflect the attack entirely, no chip damage, no stamina loss. It's harder to use than Endure because it asks you to time it, but the payoff is clean. The Coil Mjolnir handle in particular is a fun Motivity pick: heavy blunt moveset, B Motivity scaling, and that perfect-block art to bail you out of trouble.

Conserve Energy, the stamina saver

Conserve Energy (Exploding Pickaxe Handle, Carcass Crystal Axe Handle) drops your stamina cost for a while. On the Bone-Cutting Sawblade, where every charged heavy drinks stamina, this art lets you squeeze in an extra swing or keep enough stamina to dodge out after. It quietly adds a lot of damage over a long boss fight, mostly by letting you keep attacking instead of backing off to breathe.

Strike Chance and Concentrate, the burst arts

Strike Chance (Krat Police Baton) boosts the next single hit, and Concentrate (City Longspear, Puppet's Saber) raises your attack for a stretch. The trick with Strike Chance is to pop it, then land a fully charged heavy. One buffed charged hit off a Motivity blade can chunk a boss for a big slice of its bar. Concentrate is the lazier version, just less bursty and more of a steady drip.

Payback skills, for the guarders

Payback Swing, Payback Stab, and Guard Parry are all about punishing right after a guard. Payback Swing is on the Big Pipe Wrench Handle, and it's a strong forward slash that hits harder when used right after blocking. If your style is "block the combo, then one big hit," these are your arts. Guard Parry goes further and deflects into a counter, but the timing is tighter and one mistake costs you.

Spending cranks on the grip

The blade you mount decides whether a crank is pure upside. The Bone-Cutting Sawblade is B Motivity, D Technique, so cranking its handle toward Motivity loses you nothing you cared about. On a handle that already leans Technique, think before you crank, since you're trading away Technique scaling to climb the Motivity letter. When in doubt, start with one crank, check the damage, and add another only if the jump is worth it.

Which handles are worth the crank

If you're spending rare cranks, spend them where you'll live for a long time. The Bone-Cutting Handle or the Krat Police Baton Handle on a Bone-Cutting Sawblade is the classic target, because you'll use that combo for most of the game. Don't dump cranks into a starter handle you'll replace in two areas. And remember the Balanced Crank resets a handle, so a wrong call isn't permanent.

Late Game Weapon Upgrades to Chase

This is where the build really pops. Two special weapons and a clear upgrade path turn a good Motivity build into something that melts bosses. Special weapons can't be disassembled and they cap at +5 instead of +10, so they're a different kind of investment than normal blades.

Noblesse Oblige, the endgame club

This is the capstone Motivity weapon for a lot of players. It's a Large Blunt weapon with 153 physical attack at +0, scaling A in Motivity and D in Technique, and it weighs a hefty 24.7. Apply a Motivity Crank and that A becomes S, the only special weapon in the base game that can hit S Motivity scaling. Fully upgraded, the damage gets absurd.

You get it from the Fallen One's Ergo, which drops when you beat Simon Manus, Awakened God, the final main boss in Chapter 11. Take that Ergo to Alidoro (or Explorer Hugo, depending on your story choices) and trade it for the weapon. Don't consume the Ergo for currency if you want the club.

Here's how its physical attack climbs as you upgrade it:

| Upgrade | Physical ATK | |---|---| | +0 | 153 | | +1 | 186 | | +2 | 220 | | +3 | 253 | | +4 | 287 | | +5 | 321 |

That's more than double the base attack at max. Its Fable Arts are Ergo Release, a downward blow that consumes some of your Ergo for a big hit, and Endure, the trusty trade button. On top of all that, kills with it grant bonus Ergo (around 10 percent or more), so it doubles as a farming tool in NG+.

The catch is the reach. It's short for a heavy weapon, and charged heavies can whiff if you're not basically standing on the target. Get closer than you think.

Seven-Coil Spring Sword, the early special that stays strong

You can grab this one almost immediately, and it carries its weight. It's a special greatsword, and it comes from trading the Parade Leader's Ergo with Alidoro. You get that Ergo from beating the Parade Master, the first real boss at Krat Central Station Plaza. Don't spend the Ergo, trade it.

What makes it good is the pair of Fable Arts. The blade art, Seven Explosions, is a strong downward blow that sets off multiple explosions in front of you for three Fable charges, great for bursting down a boss window. The handle art, Guard Parry, deflects an incoming attack and triggers a powerful counter, the same kind of perfect-block counter the Aegis Legion Arm does. So the weapon hands you a burst option and a defensive option in one package. Since it's a special weapon it caps at +5, but it stays relevant deep into the game.

The normal-blade upgrade path

For your regular blades, Eugenie handles upgrades with moonstones, and normal weapons can go all the way to +10. The materials come in tiers: Moonstone of Slender Shape for the early levels, Moonstone of Half-Moon Shape for the middle, and Moonstone of Full-Moon Shape for the upper levels, with the rarer Full Moonstone of the Covenant showing up late for the final tiers. You find these scattered through levels, often off Dimensional Butterflies, so shoot those whenever you see them.

Your Bone-Cutting Sawblade is the prime candidate to push toward +10, since you'll use it longest. A +10 saw with an A Motivity handle and a Motivity Crank is a perfectly fine endgame loadout on its own. You don't strictly need Noblesse Oblige.

What to actually chase, in order

If you want a roadmap: grab the Bone-Cutting Sawblade early in the Malum District, put a Motivity Crank on a Motivity handle, and keep that blade upgraded as you find moonstones. Trade the Parade Leader's Ergo for the Seven-Coil Spring Sword as a backup or for its Guard Parry art. Then save the Fallen One's Ergo at the end of the game for Noblesse Oblige, crank it to S, and pour upgrades into it for the finale and NG+. A Bone-Cutting Sawblade at +10 with A Motivity scaling will carry you through the whole game, and Noblesse Oblige is the reward you point toward once Simon Manus is down.