In the world of Lies of P, the city of Krat created legions of automaton Puppets for all kinds of functions. The Scrapped Watchman, for example, was a Puppet designed to uphold the law and protect the citizens of Krat from criminals. However, thanks to the Puppet Frenzy phenomena, this police Puppet has now become a serial killer preying upon the people he was supposed to protect.
Bringing down the Scrapped Watchman will not be easy. This giant killing machine hits so hard he can potentially kill players in seconds, his attacks are fast and difficult to defend against, and he can stun his opponents with electric shocks. With such power at his disposal, we felt it prudent to prepare a guide that details his strengths and weaknesses, so you will at least have a chance of destroying the Scrapped Watchman.
Lies of P Scrapped Watchman boss guide – Preparation
At this point in the game, you will gain access to Hotel Krat, a safe hub area where you can upgrade your gear, level up your character and purchase items. The weapons workshop will allow you to strengthen weapons you have collected by using Moonstones found throughout Krat or customize them through the Weapons Assemble feature.
Speak with Sophia, one of the guests of Hotel Krat, to level up your character with Ergo. It is recommended that you increase your health and stamina stats for this boss fight if you haven’t done so already. You will need the extra health to survive the boss’ attacks and the added stamina, as this boss will force you to be more active in battle.
Hotel Krat’s shop has a variety of items which will help in the upcoming battle:
- Fable Catalyst: a consumable item that restores your Fable Arts meter.
- Legion Magazine: a consumable item that restores your Legion Arm meter.
- Sawtoothed Wheel: an attack item which can inflict minor damage when thrown at enemies.
Stock up on Fable Catalysts and Legion Magazines, so you can use your Fable Arts and Legion Arms more often, and purchase Sawtoothed Wheels to give you a ranged attack option. What’s great about the Sawtoothed Wheel is that it scales with your Motivity and Technique stats to deal extra damage, and you can carry up to thirty of them on your person. So, if the boss is far away or on its last legs, use the Sawtoothed Wheel to pelt it from a safe distance.
There is also a merchant selling items next to the Stargazer inside a house on Elysion Boulevard in Krat. While the majority of the merchant’s attack items won’t be helpful against the Scrapped Watchman as they deal Electric Blitz damage (which the boss is resistant to), he does sell a useful item called the Attribute Resistance Ampoule. This consumable item will give you a temporary resistance boost to elemental status effects like Electric Shock, which the boss will frequently inflict upon you.
Be sure to have some Attribute Purification Ampoules on hand as well to cure yourself of elemental status effects. They can be found as a random item drop from killing enemies or placed at hidden locations throughout Krat.
Finally, the entrance to the Scrapped Watchman’s arena has a water font, called the Crack’s Calling, next to it where if you offer a Star Fragment, it will allow you to summon an ally called the Specter. The Specter is a ghostly spirit who is deadly in combat and can distract the Scrapped Watchman, so you can attack him while he’s pre-occupied.
You can find Star Fragments as a random loot drop from enemies scattered throughout Krat. You can ignore the Specter if you want an extra challenge, but if you are struggling to beat the Scrapped Watchman, the Specter can be a valuable comrade-at-arms.
Once you are fully prepared, step forward into the Scrapped Watchman’s domain.
Lies of P Scrapped Watchman Boss guide – How to defeat the Scrapped Watchman
The Scrapped Watchman is a savage boss who fights like a wild animal rather than a machine. His attacks consist of swiping you with his claws, raising his hands to do a lunging attack aimed at piercing your heart and a three-hit combo where he’ll do two overhead strikes before finishing with a double hammer-fist strike.
The Scrapped Watchman also has an attack where he’ll raise his right hand back for two seconds before grabbing you. He’ll then proceed to crush you and smack you to the ground like a little kid playing with a toy. Unlike his other attacks which can be blocked by guarding or Perfect Guarding, this grab attack can’t be blocked at all, so dodge out of the way or sprint out of the boss’ melee range if you see him start to raise his right hand.
Also, be wary of when the Scrapped Watchman starts glowing, as this is when he’ll unleash a Fury Attack. This attack can’t be blocked normally unless you perform a Perfect Guard by blocking it at the last second.
The Scrapped Watchman doesn’t have many openings to attack, except after he performs his three-hit combo or Fury Attacks, so the best time to attack is during these moments. Perfect Guard or dodge through his regular attacks to hit him with a quick swipe, then back away before the boss retaliates. You can also attack at a distance with the Sawtoothed Wheels bought from the Hotel Krat shop and with the Puppet String Legion Arm you will have picked up naturally through the game’s story.
If you Perfect Guard him enough times, you will cause the Scrapped Watchman to enter a state where he can be staggered with a charged heavy attack (indicated when the boss’ health bar glows white). Once staggered, position yourself into a glowing spot next to the boss and strike him to activate a special move called the Fatal Attack, which will grievously injure the boss.
This strategy is much easier to pull off if you summon the Specter before the fight begins. The Specter can distract the boss, leaving you free to attack it from behind and stagger it more easily.
Phase 2: The Scrapped Watchman lets loose
After reducing the Scrapped Watchman’s health bar to 50%, this boss will scream to the high heavens and start conducting electricity throughout his body. At this point, all the Scrapped Watchman’s attacks will deal Electric Blitz damage and inflict the Electric Shock status effect on you.
Once afflicted with this effect, you will take extra physical and Electric Blitz damage and your Fable Arts meter will recharge at a significantly reduced rate. Use an Attribute Purification Ampoule to remove the Electric Shock status effect, and use the Attribute Resistance Ampoule to gain resistance against the Electric Shock status effect build up.
In addition to his now electrified regular attacks, the Scrapped Watchman has a few new tricks up his mechanical sleeves. His new attacks consist of jumping in the air to do an aerial spin attack, overloading his systems to unleash electric explosions around himself, summoning lightning bolts, and leaving small pools of electricity after he punches the ground. These electric pools will explode after a few seconds, so get clear before they do so.
The strategy for this phase remains the same as the first. Dodge/block the boss’ attacks, strike him when he is winded from doing Fury Attacks and his three-hit combo, stagger him to open him up for a Fatal Attack and make sure you don’t get afflicted by the Electric Shock status effect.
The Scrapped Watchman can be a grueling, early boss fight but with enough perseverance, grit and assistance from the Specter, you will discharge this watchman from service in no time.
This is the beginning of a long, arduous journey with many bosses lying in wait
After beating the Scrapped Watchman, you will be rewarded with a Quartz, a Core, a Broken Hero’s Ergo and an Overcharged Storage Battery. The Quartz and Core will grant you passive upgrades for your character and the Overcharged Storage Battery will unlock a new Legion Arm, called Fulminis, at Hotel Krat. Also, the Broken Hero’s Ergo will grant a new weapon/accessory if you trade it to Alidoro, a treasure hunter you will encounter later.
Don’t rest on your laurels, however, as there will be more fierce boss battles to come that will make the Scrapped Watchman look like a pushover. Continue to hone your skills and upgrade your gear, so you will be ready for whatever challenge awaits you in Lies of P, one of the best Xbox games and best PC games of 2023. You can also read my in-depth Lies of P review for more nightmarish Pinocchio entertainment.
Lies of P is now available for purchase on Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox Game Pass, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC via Microsoft Store & Steam after releasing on September 19, 2023.
