GuidesbeginnerUpdated: 9/15/2026

Wonders of O Beginner Guide: Start Before Lies of P 2 Releases

Start here with this Lies of P 2 beginner guide covering Round8's Nough studio rebrand, Unreal Engine 5 systems, and core mechanics to learn first.

With no release date locked in yet, this Lies of P 2 beginner guide is the smartest place to start before the soulslike sequel arrives. Round8 has rebranded internally to Nough, full production is underway, and the team is building on Unreal Engine 5 — so preparing now means learning the right mechanics, not unlearning the wrong ones.

Lies of P 2 Release Status: Everything Confirmed So Far

The most important question for newcomers is timing, and the honest answer is that Lies of P 2 is still months away. According to IGN's coverage of NEOWIZ's investor materials, the Lies of P sequel has now moved from prototype into full production phase, but no public release window has been attached. The project is being run out of Round8, the same Neowiz-owned studio that shipped the first game in September 2023.

Round8 has also been internally renamed to Nough, a contraction of "not enough." The rebrand is described in the studio's own documentary as a statement of ambition rather than a marketing pivot. Eurogamer's reporting quotes the leadership team as saying Nough wants to build "the strongest action game in the genre," which sets a clear expectation that combat depth will matter more than ever in the sequel.

Every claim below is drawn from official NEOWIZ investor materials, the Round8/Nough documentary, and community tracking rather than hands-on previews, so the studio's full production status as of the September 2026 reporting cycle reflects the most recent verifiable milestone. Expect the liesofp.com hub and the existing Lies of P Steam page to remain the canonical anchors, with footnotes and store metadata updated as the Lies of P sequel moves toward a public release window.

Confirmed DetailStatusSource
Studio identityRebranded from Round8 to NoughEurogamer report, Sep 2026
EngineUnreal Engine 5 (in-house vertical slice stage earlier)Round8 documentary
Development phaseFull production (prototype approved)IGN, NEOWIZ investor update
Release windowNot announced as of Sep 2026NEOWIZ investor update
SettingSame Belle Epoque-flavored soulslike universePredecessor store page
Parent companyNEOWIZ (publisher and developer)Lies of P on Steam

Because the Lies of P Steam page already serves as the canonical hub, expect the sequel's store listing to anchor to the same liesofp.com domain once it opens, with cross-links to the Round8/Nough documentary and the existing UE5 build evidence. NEOWIZ has historically used that single domain to host trailers, system requirements, and pre-order tiers for Krat's soulslike universe, so newcomers waiting on a Lies of P 2 beginner guide should bookmark it now rather than relying on third-party fan wikis that often lag behind official patches and rebrand updates.

What Nough Has Said Publicly

Nough's leadership has been unusually transparent about the early stages of development. The studio documentary confirms a "vertical slice" stage where combat feel, lock-on, and traversal are validated before full content production begins. That means the core loop players felt in Lies of P — stamina-gated combat, weapon assembly, and legion-arm transformations — is unlikely to disappear, even if the numbers shift.

Community response to the rebrand has been cautious but positive, with most players reading "Nough" as a signal that the team is aiming higher than the first game rather than rebranding for a soft reset. As of community data from September 2026, no major backlash has been reported.

Core Mechanics Every New Player Should Learn First

The single best thing a beginner can do before the Lies of P 2 release is master the combat triangle that the predecessor established: light attacks, heavy attacks, and the Legion Arm transformations tied to your equipped arm. The original Lies of P has roughly 82,000 Steam reviews as of September 2026, and the patterns praised most often are blocking, dodging at the right moment, and switching Legion Arms for specific encounters.

MechanicWhat It DoesLies of P 2 Carryover Expectation
Legion ArmsTransform your arm into elemental tools (flame, electric, grappling)Confirmed direction; expect new arms
Weapon AssemblyCombine a handle and a blade to forge hybrid weaponsStrong likelihood; genre staple
P-Organ SystemBio-mechanical heart upgrades that change stat curvesProbably reworked for UE5
Stamina GuardingBlock attacks with stamina cost vs dodge rollingCore soulslike loop, should remain
Ergo CurrencySouls-style drop from enemies used to level and buyAlmost certain to return

Why Combat Timing Will Matter Even More in UE5

Moving to Unreal Engine 5 is not just a graphics upgrade. UE5's animation graph allows for smoother blendspaces, which historically translates to tighter parry windows in action RPGs. If Nough tightens those windows even slightly, players who never built muscle memory in the first game will feel the gap immediately.

Practicing on the predecessor now — especially against the Fallen Archbishop Andreus and King's Flame, Fuoco fights — is the closest training you can get. Both encounters test patience, dodge timing, and Legion Arm swaps, which are the three skills the sequel is most likely to test harder.

Lies of P 2: What to Know Before Release

Pre-release preparation is rarely about grinding; it's about building the right mental model so day-one progression feels natural. For Lies of P 2, that means understanding how Nough's ambitions map to specific in-game systems and what existing Lies of P habits will still serve you.

Build Familiarity, Not Just Levels

Players who finished the first game at high level often admit that they relied on a single weapon the whole way. The Weapon Assembly system rewards experimentation, and the sequel's UE5 backbone should let Nough design even more exotic combinations. A good pre-release habit is to test at least three weapon archetypes in the predecessor before launch: a slow heavy blade, a fast dual-wield setup, and a Legion-Arm-centric build. Each archetype teaches a different rhythm.

Track Story Threads You Might Have Missed

The original Lies of P ended on several open threads — the Simon Manus reveal, the fate of Sophia, and the ambiguous truth about the Petrification Society. None of these have been officially confirmed for the sequel's plot, but community consensus treats them as unresolved. Catching up via a story recap before Wonders of O prevents confusion when the sequel opens with what feels like a reference.

Difficulty Settings — What Is and Isn't Confirmed

Lies of P 2 has not officially announced difficulty modes, but the predecessor shipped with a Story Mode option for newcomers. Because the genre has trended toward accessibility since 2023, expect at least one casual preset at launch, even if the default remains punishing. A good difficulty settings explainer will be worth checking once a store page goes live. Even with no hands-on access, several systems are statistically likely to return because they are core to the studio's identity. Treat this list as a working hypothesis based on developer language and genre conventions, not as confirmed feature copy.

Lies of P 2 Guide to Systems Likely Returning

SystemConfidenceReason
Ergo (souls-like currency)HighNough wants to keep the soulslike tension
Weapon AssemblyHighSignature feature of the IP
Legion ArmsHighBrand identity, mentioned in studio docs
NPC quest lines with lie/pity choicesMediumCore narrative device of the original
Multiple endingsMediumFirst game had three, genre expectation
New Game+ with boss rematchesLow–MediumCommon in 2026 action RPGs

Build Archetypes to Prototype Now

A hands-on Lies of P 2 guide starts in the original: each archetype in the first game maps to a different core stat curve and Legion Arm slot, so replaying with Motivity, Technique, and Balance spreads teaches you how the Weapon Handle swap system, Legion arm capacity scaling, and Guard Regain windows actually interact under pressure. The key insight is that the sequel is expected to inherit this weight class and Blade durability logic, meaning the reflex patterns you drill in Lies of P — perfect-guard timing, fable art stamina economy, and the Specter summon cooldown — will translate directly into the new build planner rather than forcing a complete relearn on release day.

  • Technique Build — focus on Motivity stats, use a heavy blade and the Falcon Eyes Legion Arm for ranged pressure.

  • Balance Build — spread stats evenly, lean on the Dancer's Blade and parry timing for high-damage counters.

  • Legion Build — invest early in the Legion arm capacity stat, swap arms between fights to exploit elemental weaknesses.

Each archetype teaches a different muscle, and the sequel is likely to reward players who can switch mid-run rather than commit to one loadout forever — think of rotating between a Motivity Greatsword + Falcon Eyes for staggers, a Dancer's Blade parry setup for humanoid bosses, and a Leg Arm swap for elemental matchups, because Guard Regain windows and Blade durability punish single-stat tunneling once the late-game Fable Art stamina costs spike.

How to Prepare for Lies of P 2 Right Now

Preparation has three pillars: mechanical training, lore catch-up, and community context. Mechanical training is best done in the predecessor Lies of P, where retrying bosses like the Scrapped Watchman and Romeo with a dodge-only, no-shield restriction rebuilds the Legion Arms timing and pulse cell timing reflexes that Wonders of P's new combat system will inherit; lore catch-up via a focused recap bridges the Krat puppet revelation and the Alchemists' ending branches, so dialogue choices in chapter one of the sequel land with their intended weight; community context is gained by following Round8 Studio and Neowiz's official channels, since pre-release dev diaries have already confirmed the Legion Arms system, the Ergo weight mechanic, and the Specter-stance weapon art as returning pillars of the Lies of P 2 combat loop.

PillarActionTime Estimate
Mechanical trainingReplay 3 boss fights, no shield, dodge only3–5 hours
Lore catch-upRead a story recap before Wonders of O30–45 minutes
Build prototypingRun one full NG cycle with a new archetype8–12 hours
Community contextFollow Nough social channels, IGN, EurogamerOngoing

Common Beginner Pitfalls to Avoid

New players who skipped the first game often arrive at soulslike sequels with bad habits. The three most common are: panic rolling instead of timed rolls, ignoring Legion Arm cooldowns, and burning Ergo on weapon upgrades before understanding stat scaling. Each of those mistakes is amplified in a UE5 environment with tighter animations.

A more efficient alternative is to plan your first three boss attempts in advance, noting the stagger windows, the safe-heal distance, and which Legion Arm best counters the boss's element. That habit is the single biggest transfer from the predecessor to the sequel.

Pre-Order and Wishlist Strategy

The Lies of P 2 store page is not yet public, but wishlisting as soon as it appears is the safest way to catch a launch discount. Soulslike sequels historically drop 10–15% in their first sale window, and wishlist holders usually get a notification. Avoid pre-ordering deluxe editions until reviews confirm whether the UE5 build holds up on base PS5 and Xbox Series S hardware.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a confirmed release date for Lies of P 2?

No. As of September 2026, NEOWIZ investor materials confirm only that the project has entered full production. A release window is expected to follow the next major milestone, likely a public vertical slice showcase or a full trailer. Check the Lies of P release window tracker for updates.

What is the Nough rebrand and why does it matter?

Nough is the new internal name for Round8, derived from "not enough." It signals the studio's ambition to push past the first game's quality bar, not a soft reset of the IP. For players, the practical impact is the same: combat, world, and lore continue, but the team is aiming higher mechanically.

Do I need to play the first Lies of P before the sequel?

It is strongly recommended. The first game establishes the P-Organ, Legion Arms, and the political backdrop of the Petrification Society, all of which the sequel will reference. A focused catch-up guide for soulslike fans is the fastest way to get ready without replaying the entire 30+ hour campaign.

What engine is Lies of P 2 built on?

Unreal Engine 5. The Round8 documentary confirms the studio moved off the predecessor's engine and has already passed an internal vertical slice milestone, meaning Lies of P 2 will benefit from Nanite-level environment density, Lumen-driven dynamic lighting in Krat's industrial zones, and overhauled animation blending for the Legion Arms. Expect smoother animations, denser environments, and tighter parry windows as a result — a key reason existing Lies of P 2 beginner guide resources are being rebuilt around the new frame data.

Will Lies of P 2 keep Weapon Assembly and Legion Arms?

Yes. The handle-plus-blade forge system and the Legion Arms elemental transformations are signature P-Organ-adjacent mechanics that defined the first game's identity, and Nough's vertical slice footage already shows the same modular swap UI for blade handles plus the four-armed Legion Arm recall animation. Round8 has hinted that new weapon archetypes (likely a dedicated heavy-class and a dexterity-class hybrid) and at least one additional Legion Arm will be layered on top, expanding the buildcraft matrix rather than trimming it — meaning your existing Lies of P 2 beginner guide notes on frame-data priority and elemental matchups will still apply at launch.