🔗 Share this article

An interesting tidbit: The “Obscur” in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 references the initially cryptic nature of the interface systems and gameplay loops.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 places you in the role of a group of magical influencers, spearheaded by the bold British Daredevil, on a journey to reverse a universal phenomenon that stops people from growing old. It blends strategic role-playing combat with real-time parries drawn from Soulslike games, all presented with a idiosyncratic artistic lexicon.

It has become one of the biggest games of the year, having achieved massive sales and earned the premier award recognition. The game can feel somewhat dense at first, but when it clicks, you’ll find a rich and captivating experience that is quite unique from contemporary titles. Here are are ten crucial starting pointers for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.

Rotate Characters Regularly

In Expedition 33, party members who participate in a encounter gain a sizable bonus to XP versus those on the bench. Additionally, the narrative will at times force you to use specific characters. The simplest method to both issues is to rotate your team and strive to keep your roster at a similar strength.

The good news is that leveling up is fairly fast. Fights provide a sizable amount of XP, often enough for a character progression after just two or three. You can respawn an zone's monsters by resting at an expedition flag—these points are located across each zone. If you need to gain levels quickly, simply engage in combat near a flag, refresh, and repeat.

Change Accessories Regularly

You have a couple of key ways to bestow bonus effects to your party members: Picto accessories and Luminas.

• Pictos function as gear that provide attribute increases and include a constant effect. A character can wear a maximum of three Pictos. After being worn, completing four encounters with a Picto grants access to its corresponding Lumina.
• Luminas are not gear pieces but essentially act as skill tree nodes. A party member has a amount of Lumina Points (which can be increased via items). Every Lumina ability has a required LP amount. As long as a character has enough points, multiple characters can use the identical ability, allowing you to combine powerful passives across your full roster.

The smartest tactic is to ensure a party member is wearing each fresh Picto you find and wins the required fights to unlock its Lumina. This ensures you gain access for when needed.

If you don't have fresh gear to level up, simply use the Pictos with the highest bonuses for your current build.

Blocking Is Not Your Only Option

Expedition 33’s signature mechanic is its marriage of turn-based combat with action-oriented blocks. That said, the opportunity to deflect is extremely brief on all difficulty levels. In place of struggling endlessly trying to land parries, concentrate on evading.

Although a perfect guard refunds one AP and deals significant bonus damage, failing to parry leaves you vulnerable. Luckily there are multiple accessories and abilities that restore Action Points on a well-timed evade. If you find parrying difficult, use those evasion-based abilities instead.

Break Is Your Key Tactic

The Break status effect is a decisive mechanic that can turn the tide. As you damage an enemy, a yellow gauge fills up beneath their health bar. When full, you can apply the Break status, which slashes their damage resistance by a significant amount and prevents them from acting for an entire round. It is the top-tier debuff in the game, but only particular abilities can cause it.

Level Up Intentionally

You are able to re-spec attributes and skills using a scarce resource called a Recoat. Given its scarcity, it's smart to plan your build instead of spending your skill points. Experiment with a character's playstyle and chart a skill tree path first.

Always Stop At the Save Flag

Resting at an save point refills the health of your entire party and refreshes your supply of healing items, including healing potions and revival items. Develop the routine to stop and heal up!

Checkpoints also function as the closest thing to fast travel in the game. There is no traditional map, compass, or quest indicators. Instead, each flag has a name and number. When you interact with one, you can see a menu of all discovered flags in that zone under a fast travel menu. It's a basic yet helpful way to track your progress.

Glowing Cages Are Consistently Worth the Effort

Paint Cages are effectively puzzle caches that require you to find and hit three concealed seals in the nearby environment before claiming the prize. The treasure inside is always worthwhile, including items like respec items or powerful weapons. The required seals aren't easy to spot, but they are typically located close by. If you are stuck, try breaking objects or looking up.

Absolutely, Challenge the Merchant

Each shopkeeper has a hidden special good that won't show up in their standard shop. To unlock it, you must select a party member and win a duel in a single combat. This is always a worthwhile endeavor, as these rewards are game-changing. The earliest vendor you meet, for instance, sells a Picto that applies the damage-increasing condition, which boosts damage against the affected enemy by a quarter.

Have Faith in the Autosave

There is no {manual saving