🔗 Share this article

An interesting tidbit: The “Obscur” in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 alludes to the initially cryptic nature of the in-game systems and mechanics.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 places you in the role of a group of magical influencers, fronted by the daring British Daredevil, on a mission to halt a worldwide curse that prevents aging. It fuses traditional RPG combat with real-time parries inspired by Soulslike games, all wrapped in a idiosyncratic visual style.

It has emerged as the biggest releases of the year, having garnered a huge player base and won the premier award recognition. The game can feel slightly intimidating at first, but once you lock in, you’ll find a layered and fascinating RPG that differentiates itself from contemporary titles. Here are are ten crucial beginner's tips for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.

Swap Party Members Regularly

In Expedition 33, characters who participate in a fight receive a significant 50% bonus to Experience Points relative to those on the bench. Additionally, the campaign will sometimes mandate you to use specific characters. The easiest approach to both issues is to switch members often and aim to keep your roster at a roughly equal strength.

The good news is that grinding is not too tedious. Encounters grant a substantial amount of XP, often sufficient for a level up after just several. You can respawn an zone's monsters by taking a break at an checkpoint banner—these points are placed throughout each zone. If you need to accumulate XP fast, simply battle monsters near a flag, rest, and continue the cycle.

Rotate Gear Often

You have two main ways to bestow passive perks to your characters: Picto gems and Lumina abilities.

• Pictos function as gear that grant numerical bonuses and also feature a special ability. Every party member can wear up to three Pictos. When equipped, finishing four battles with a Picto will unlock its linked Lumina.
• Luminas aren’t physical items but can be thought of as unlocked abilities. Each character has a pool of skill points (which you can raise via consumables). Every Lumina ability has a specific point cost. Provided that a character has enough points, multiple characters can use the same skill, allowing you to layer powerful passives across your entire team.

The optimal approach is to make sure someone equips any new accessory and fights through the required fights to reveal its Lumina. Doing this you’ll have it for later builds.

When you aren't have new Pictos to level up, simply use the Pictos with the best stats for your playstyle.

Perfect Guards Are Not Your Sole Defense

Expedition 33’s key feature is its fusion of RPG systems with real-time parries. But, the opportunity to deflect is extremely brief on every setting. In place of frustrating yourself trying to hit perfect blocks, concentrate on rolling.

While a successful parry refunds one AP and inflicts a huge damage spike, failing to parry gives you nothing. Luckily there are multiple accessories and abilities that provide resources on a well-timed evade. If you find parrying difficult, use those evasion-based abilities instead.

Breaking Enemies Is Your Greatest Advantage

Break is a battle-altering condition that can swing a fight. As you damage an enemy, a yellow gauge increases below their HP bar. When full, you can stun the enemy, which slashes their defense by a fifth and stuns them for one full turn. It is the single most powerful condition in the game, but only certain skills can cause it.

Level Up With a Plan

You have the option to reallocate stat points and abilities using a limited consumable called a Recoat. Given its scarcity, it's prudent to plan your build instead of using your attribute points. Experiment with a character's playstyle and map out a build strategy beforehand.

Make Sure to Use the Checkpoint Flag

Using your tent at an checkpoint refills the health of your entire party and replenishes all of your potions, including HP restoratives and revival items. Remember to stop and heal up!

Expedition flags also function as the primary method to quick traversal in the game. The game lacks a traditional map, GPS, or objective markers. Instead, each flag has a designation. When you interact with one, you can see a menu of your progress in that area under a teleport list. It's a basic yet helpful way to navigate the world.

Glowing Cages Are Always Worth the Effort

These special containers are effectively locked treasure chests that require you to find and hit three hidden locks in the immediate vicinity to claiming the prize. The contents is without fail valuable, such as Recoats or powerful weapons. The associated mechanisms aren't easy to spot, but they are typically near the cage. If you can't find one, try exploring thoroughly or scanning the environment vertically.

Go Ahead and, Fight the Shopkeeper

All vendors has a hidden special good that doesn't appear in their normal inventory. To gain access to it, you must select a party member and win a duel in a solo battle. This is invariably worth doing, as these items are truly unique. The initial shopkeeper you meet, for instance, provides a special accessory that applies the damage-increasing condition, which amplifies attacks against the affected enemy by a quarter.

Trust In the Automatic Saving

You cannot perform {manual saving