🔗 Share this article

A curious piece of trivia: The name “Obscur” in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 alludes to the somewhat obscure nature of the interface systems and systems.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 casts you as a team of magical influencers, led by the bold British Daredevil, on a mission to combat a global affliction that stops people from growing old. It fuses traditional RPG battles with real-time parries drawn from Soulslike games, all cloaked in a idiosyncratic aesthetic language.

It has become one of the most successful titles of the year, having achieved massive sales and won top honors accolades. The game can feel somewhat dense initially, but once you lock in, you’ll find a layered and engrossing role-playing game that is quite unique from contemporary titles. Listed here are ten crucial early-game strategies for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.

Change Characters Frequently

In Expedition 33, party members who participate in a fight gain a hefty increase to XP compared to those not fighting. What's more, the story will periodically force you to field certain characters. The most straightforward approach to these challenges is to rotate your team and strive to keep your roster at a roughly equal level.

The upside is that leveling up is relatively quick. Encounters provide a generous amount of XP, often enough for a character progression after just several. You can respawn an local foes by stopping at an save point—these flags are placed throughout each level. If you need to power level, simply engage in combat near a flag, refresh, and do it again.

Rotate Items Regularly

There are two primary ways to bestow bonus effects to your party members: Pictos and Lumina skills.

• Pictos are accessories that grant attribute increases and also feature a constant effect. Each character can slot a maximum of three Pictos. After being worn, completing four encounters with a Picto will unlock its associated Lumina.
• Luminas function differently but can be thought of as equippable passives. Every ally has a amount of Lumina Points (which grows via level-ups). A Lumina has a specific point cost. As long as a character has the required amount, you are not restricted can equip the identical ability, allowing you to stack powerful passives across your full roster.

The optimal tactic is to always a party member equips any new accessory and completes four encounters to reveal its Lumina. This ensures you’ll have it for when needed.

If you don't have unleveled accessories to work on, simply use the Pictos with the highest bonuses for your playstyle.

Blocking Is Not Your Single Choice

Expedition 33’s defining element is its marriage of RPG systems with twitch-based defenses. However, the parry window is notoriously tight on any mode. Rather than breaking controllers trying to hit perfect blocks, prioritize evading.

While a successful parry refunds Action Points and deals significant bonus damage, failing to parry yields no benefit. Fortunately there are a number of gear and skills that restore Action Points on a perfect roll. If you can't get the block down, use those roll-centric options instead.

The Break Status Is Your Greatest Advantage

Break is a game-changing state that can secure victory. As you damage an enemy, a gold meter fills up below their HP bar. Once charged, you can apply the Break status, which reduces their damage resistance by 20% and skips their turn for one full turn. It is the top-tier condition in the game, but only certain abilities can apply it.

Level Up Deliberately

You have the option to reallocate your build using a rare item called a Recoat. Since they are uncommon, it's smart to plan your build instead of spending your stat investments. Get a feel for a party member's role and map out a progression route first.

Don't Forget to Use the Save Flag

Resting at an expedition flag refills the health of your all characters and refreshes your supply of healing items, including Chroma Elixirs and phoenix down equivalents. Make it a habit to stop and heal up!

These flags also act as the primary method to quick traversal in the game. There is no mini-map, compass, or quest indicators. Instead, each flag has a name and number. At a flag, you can access a log of all discovered flags in that zone under a fast travel menu. It's a simple but effective way to navigate the world.

Glowing Cages Are Invariably Worth the Effort

Glowing chests are basically sealed loot boxes that demand you to find and hit three hidden locks in the immediate vicinity prior to claiming the prize. The reward is without fail high-tier, such as Recoats or powerful weapons. The three locks aren't in plain sight, but they are typically near the cage. If you are stuck, try breaking objects or scanning the environment vertically.

Yes, Fight the Vendor

All vendors carries a secret, unique item that won't show up in their normal inventory. To unlock it, you must choose one character and beat them in combat in a single combat. This is always worth doing, as these items are truly unique. The first merchant you meet, for example, offers a Picto that inflicts the damage-increasing condition, which amplifies attacks against the foe by 25%.

Trust In the Autosave

There is no {manual saving