🔗 Share this article

An interesting tidbit: The title term “Obscur” in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 alludes to the somewhat obscure nature of the interface systems and mechanics.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 casts you as a team of glamorous spellcasters, led by the daring British Daredevil, on a mission to reverse a universal phenomenon that prevents aging. It merges turn-based RPG battles with real-time parries inspired by Soulslike games, all wrapped in a unique artistic lexicon.

It has proven to be the biggest games of the year, having achieved massive sales and secured top honors praise. The game can feel somewhat dense initially, but once you lock in, you’ll find a layered and fascinating RPG that differentiates itself from contemporary titles. Listed here are a collection of starting pointers for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.

Swap Team Members Often

In Expedition 33, characters who are active during a battle gain a sizable bonus to experience relative to those on the bench. What's more, the narrative will at times require you to include particular characters. The easiest approach to these mechanics is to switch members often and strive to keep your roster at a similar level.

The upside is that grinding is relatively quick. Encounters award a sizable amount of XP, sometimes sufficient for a stat increase after just two or three. You can respawn an zone's monsters by resting at an expedition flag—these markers are placed across each zone. If you need to accumulate XP fast, simply engage in combat near a flag, rest, and repeat.

Change Gear Regularly

You have a couple of key ways to grant passive perks to your characters: Picto accessories and Lumina skills.

• Pictos are items which provide stat boosts and also feature a unique passive skill. A character can equip a maximum of three Pictos. Once slotted, finishing four fights with a Picto unlocks its associated Lumina.
• Luminas aren’t physical items but are similar to unlocked abilities. Each character has a pool of skill points (which can be increased via consumables). A Lumina has a specific point cost. As long as a character has enough points, there is no limit can use the same skill, allowing you to combine useful effects across your full roster.

The most efficient tactic is to make sure a party member is wearing every new Picto and fights through the required fights to gain its Lumina. This ensures you gain access for later builds.

Should you not have new Pictos to work on, simply equip the Pictos with the highest bonuses for your needs.

Perfect Guards Are Not Your Single Choice

Expedition 33’s signature mechanic is its fusion of RPG systems with action-oriented blocks. But, the parry window is notoriously tight on all difficulty levels. Rather than breaking controllers trying to hit perfect blocks, concentrate on rolling.

While a successful parry refunds one AP 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 find parrying difficult, equip those evasion-based abilities instead.

Breaking Enemies Is Your Secret Weapon

Inflicting Break is a decisive mechanic that can secure victory. As you attack a foe, a yellow gauge charges under their health bar. When full, you can inflict break, which slashes their armor by a fifth and prevents them from acting for their next action. It is the single most powerful condition in the game, but only particular attacks can cause it.

Build Characters With a Plan

You have the option to reallocate stat points and abilities using a rare item called a Recoat. Since they are uncommon, it's prudent to think ahead instead of using your attribute points. Experiment with a character's playstyle and plan a progression route first.

Always Use the Expedition Flag

Stopping at an checkpoint completely restores your all characters and refreshes every consumables, including HP restoratives and Revive Tints. Remember to rest at every flag!

These flags also act as the only means to quick traversal in the game. You won't find a mini-map, waypoint system, or objective markers. However, each flag has a designation. At a flag, you can view a list of every flag you've found in that level under a fast travel menu. It's a simple but effective way to see how far you've come.

Paint Cages Are Always Worth It

Glowing chests are essentially locked treasure chests that demand you to find and hit three scattered mechanisms in the immediate vicinity before opening them. The treasure inside is always worthwhile, including items like rare resources or strong equipment. The required seals aren't in plain sight, but they are almost always near the cage. If you are stuck, try exploring thoroughly or looking up.

Absolutely, Fight the Merchant

Every merchant carries a secret, unique item that isn't listed in their standard shop. To get them to sell it, you must pick a champion and beat them in combat in a single combat. This is always rewarding, as these items are game-changing. The initial shopkeeper you meet, for example, sells a special accessory that inflicts the damage-increasing condition, which boosts damage against the affected enemy by a significant margin.

Have Faith in the Autosave

You cannot perform {manual saving