🔗 Share this article

An interesting tidbit: The “Obscur” in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 alludes to the somewhat obscure nature of the game's menus and mechanics.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 places you in the role of a team of glamorous spellcasters, led by the bold British Daredevil, on a quest to combat a global affliction that stops people from growing old. It merges strategic role-playing battles with timed defensive moves reminiscent of action RPGs, all cloaked in a idiosyncratic artistic lexicon.

It has become one of the major titles of the year, having garnered a huge player base and earned top honors accolades. The game can feel somewhat dense at first, but after you grasp its systems, you’ll find a deep and captivating role-playing game that is quite unique from other games. Below are a collection of starting pointers for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.

Swap Party Members Regularly

In Expedition 33, party members who participate in a fight receive a significant 50% bonus to experience compared to those in reserve. Additionally, the story will at times force you to include particular characters. The simplest solution to these challenges is to switch members often and try to keep everyone at a similar strength.

The positive aspect is that grinding is fairly fast. Fights provide a substantial amount of XP, sometimes enough for a character progression after just several. You can respawn an zone's monsters by resting at an checkpoint banner—these flags are located throughout each level. If you need to power level, simply battle monsters near a flag, use the flag, and continue the cycle.

Rotate Items Frequently

The game features two primary ways to provide bonus effects to your party members: Pictos and Lumina skills.

• Pictos are items which grant numerical bonuses and come with a special ability. Every party member can slot up to three Pictos. When equipped, winning four encounters with a Picto will unlock its corresponding Lumina.
• Luminas are not gear pieces but can be thought of as skill tree nodes. Every ally has a pool of LP (which can be increased via items). Every Lumina ability has a required LP amount. If a character has the required amount, you are not restricted can benefit from the same skill, allowing you to layer powerful passives across your entire team.

The smartest approach is to make sure a party member equips every new Picto and completes four battles to unlock its Lumina. This ensures the ability will be available for later builds.

When you aren't have new Pictos to unlock, simply use the Pictos with the best stats for your current build.

Perfect Guards Are Not Your Single Choice

Expedition 33’s signature mechanic is its fusion of RPG systems with twitch-based defenses. But, the opportunity to deflect is notoriously tight on all difficulty levels. Rather than frustrating yourself trying to land parries, prioritize rolling.

Even though a well-timed block grants a resource and inflicts massive extra damage, not blocking gives you nothing. Luckily there are multiple gear and skills that grant AP on a successful dodge. If you can't get the block down, use those roll-centric options instead.

Breaking Enemies Is Your Greatest Advantage

Inflicting Break is a game-changing state that can turn the tide. As you whittle down health, a yellow gauge charges beneath their HP bar. Upon maxing out, you can stun the enemy, which slashes their armor by 20% and skips their turn for their next action. It is the single most powerful status effect in the game, but only certain abilities can cause it.

Build Characters Deliberately

You have the option to reallocate attributes and skills using a limited consumable called a Recoat. Since they are uncommon, it's wise to think ahead instead of using your stat investments. Experiment with a hero's kit and plan a build strategy first.

Make Sure to Use the Checkpoint Flag

Stopping at an expedition flag refills the health of your entire party and refreshes all of your potions, including healing potions and revival items. Remember to use each flag you see!

Checkpoints also serve as the only means to navigation in the game. There is no traditional map, GPS, or quest indicators. Instead, each flag has a name and number. At a flag, you can see a menu of every flag you've found in that level under a navigation option. It's a minimalist way to navigate the world.

Glowing Cages Are Consistently Rewarding

Glowing chests are essentially locked treasure chests that require you to find and hit three concealed seals in the nearby environment before opening them. The contents is without fail high-tier, such as Recoats or unique gear. The associated mechanisms aren't easy to spot, but they are typically located close by. If you can't find one, try breaking objects or looking up.

Go Ahead and, Challenge the Vendor

Every merchant carries a one-of-a-kind piece of gear that won't show up in their normal inventory. To unlock it, you must pick a champion and beat them in combat in a solo battle. This is invariably worth doing, as these items are game-changing. The first merchant you meet, for reference, offers a Picto that applies the damage-increasing condition, which amplifies attacks against the foe by a significant margin.

Rely On the Auto-Save System

The game lacks {manual saving