As you might assume, Simon Manus is one of the final fights in Lies of P and the crazy alchemist will give you a strong run for your money. While I don’t think he is as difficult as Laxasia the Complete, he has a certain cheapness that can make him frustrating. Thankfully, we can also rise to the challenge and defeat him.
How to Defeat Simon Manus in Lies of P
Suggested Build
For this fight you’ll want Patience Amulet, LADA F350 Frame, LADA Large Capacity Insulation Converter, Arch Disruption Cartridge, and LADA Spaced Armor Liner. I think it helps to use Iron Wall Amulet, get your weight under any encumbrance, and focus on more practical options like Blue Guardianship Amulet.
Two Dragon Sword and Aegis remain fantastic options for this fight. It isn’t quite possible to use Aegis to overwhelm Simon Manus like other bosses, but it can save you a headache. I also found the combo Two Dragon Sword does is really strong against his somewhat slower attack speed.
Acid Grindstone seemed to do a lot more damage than the others and I strongly suggest using it against him. With some luck it’s entirely possible to phase him at the default Grindstone duration.
P-Organ Build
I haven’t focused too much on P-Organ choices since a lot of these are personal preference, two easily missed options are Auto Charge Legion and Auto Charge Pulse when Discharged. Legion will not save you per se, but it will make it easier to recover during the second phase. Likewise, Auto Charge Pulse is more of a Hail Mary play. It seemingly gives one charge quickly, followed by going quite slow after it’s consumed. I would consider it an elaborate way to get 11 charges, over way to cheese every boss.
Defeating Simon Manus
Simon Manus, Arm of God
Simon Manus’ first phase is a bunch of slow weapon swings that hit a wide area. I strongly suggest using the Acid Grindstone the second you enter the area, use Aegis when he about to attack and don’t let up. This is the type of fight where you can get a lot of momentum, especially if he doesn’t do the charge slam.
Those looking to gamble can use that attack as an easy way to damage him as well. A well timed Fable Art can be enough to stun him, making it even easier to deal damage. While I don’t suggest going for the Fatal Attack, Simon Manus does not retaliate if you knock him down. It’s safe to do, just not required to best him.
Simon Manus, Awakened God
After the amazing cutscene, Simon Manus will come back with a couple new moves. These include various projectiles that deal Disruption damage, plus some aerial attacks that can quickly spell doom.
While you can start the fight by attacking him, I instead suggest waiting to see what attack he does. Typically he starts by slamming the ground, or charging a golden ball. If it’s the slam a beam will attack your position every couple of seconds for a total of three attacks. I strongly suggest avoiding him and just waiting it out. As for the golden ball, do not under any circumstance block that attack. Even with Aegis or a block you’ll die to disruption long before it ends. I don’t know if perfectly timed blocks work better, but I can confirm simply running to a side will result in every attack missing you.
Outside of this the fight is about the same. There is also a shockwave attack, he gains a few extra swings, just nothing overly important until he hits roughly 50 percent. This will cause him to use another new attack that must be avoided at all cost.
When he does this massive shockwave it indicates he is using the gods assistance to attack an area. This happens every now and then, so I suggest getting a feel of the rotation before charging head first into death. The second you see it the distance of the attack will be revealed. It moves slow enough to avoid it, just make sure you don’t chance it.
Play it smart and if you’re not overly aggressive he should die a disgraceful death.
Post Fight Choice
Following this fight you’ll ride the elevator down to the final area. Here you’ll be presented with a final choice. For this reason I strongly suggest making a copy of your save since these choices will dictate which ending you get. Of the two I would comply since it immediately ends the game.
