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A curious piece of trivia: The “Obscur” in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 hints at the complex nature of the interface systems and systems.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 places you in the role of a group of social media mages, led by the daring British Daredevil, on a journey to combat a global affliction that stops people from growing old. It fuses traditional RPG combat with action-game reflexes reminiscent of Soulslike games, all cloaked in a idiosyncratic visual style.

It has emerged as the major games of the period, having achieved massive sales and secured Game of the Year praise. The experience can feel a bit off-putting at first, but when it clicks, you’ll discover a deep and captivating role-playing game that differentiates itself from contemporary titles. Below are a collection of early-game strategies for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.

Change Team Members Often

In Expedition 33, allies who take part in a fight receive a significant 50% bonus to XP relative to those not fighting. Furthermore, the story will sometimes mandate you to include particular characters. The easiest solution to these mechanics is to switch members often and try to keep all characters at a roughly equal strength.

The positive aspect is that leveling up is relatively quick. Battles grant a sizable amount of XP, often enough for a stat increase after just two or three. You can respawn an local foes by resting at an checkpoint banner—these markers are scattered across each zone. If you need to accumulate XP fast, simply battle monsters near a flag, use the flag, and continue the cycle.

Swap Accessories Frequently

You have two primary ways to grant passive perks to your characters: Picto accessories and Lumina abilities.

• Pictos are accessories that provide stat boosts and include a special ability. Each character can slot up to three Pictos. When equipped, completing four encounters with a Picto unlocks its associated Lumina.
• Luminas are not gear pieces but can be thought of as skill tree nodes. A party member has a number of Lumina Points (which can be increased via consumables). Every Lumina ability has a set cost. Provided that a character has sufficient LP, multiple characters can benefit from the identical ability, allowing you to stack key bonuses across your entire team.

The smartest strategy is to make sure one of your characters is wearing every new Picto and fights through the required fights to reveal its Lumina. That way you’ll have it for when needed.

Should you not have fresh gear to unlock, simply use the Pictos with the highest bonuses for your current build.

Parrying Isn't Your Sole Defense

Expedition 33’s key feature is its marriage of strategic battles with action-oriented blocks. That said, the opportunity to deflect is incredibly short on all difficulty levels. Instead of struggling endlessly trying to land parries, prioritize evading.

Although a perfect guard grants Action Points and inflicts a huge damage spike, missing the timing yields no benefit. Fortunately there are several gear and skills that provide resources on a well-timed evade. If you find parrying difficult, equip those dodge-focused perks instead.

Breaking Enemies Is Your Greatest Advantage

The Break status effect is a battle-altering condition that can secure victory. As you damage an enemy, a special bar increases beneath their HP bar. Upon maxing out, you can stun the enemy, which slashes their armor by a significant amount and prevents them from acting for their next action. It is the top-tier condition in the game, but only specific abilities can apply it.

Build Characters With a Plan

You are able to re-spec your build using a scarce resource called a Respec token. Because it's rare, it's wise to think ahead before committing your skill points. Experiment with a party member's role and chart a progression route first.

Make Sure to Rest At the Checkpoint Flag

Using your tent at an checkpoint fully heals your whole team and restocks all of your consumables, including Chroma Elixirs and Revive Tints. Remember to rest at every flag!

Checkpoints also function as the primary method to navigation in the game. There is no overworld map, waypoint system, or floating icons. But, each flag has a identifier. At a flag, you can see a menu of your progress in that zone under a teleport list. It's a simple but effective way to track your progress.

Paint Cages Are Always Worth It

These special containers are essentially sealed loot boxes that require you to discover and activate three hidden locks in the immediate vicinity before claiming the prize. The contents is consistently high-tier, often containing rare resources or powerful weapons. The three locks aren't always obvious, but they are usually near the cage. If you are stuck, try breaking objects or checking elevated spots.

Yes, Battle the Shopkeeper

All vendors has a secret, unique item that doesn't appear in their standard shop. To unlock it, you must pick a champion and beat them in combat in a one-on-one fight. This is always worth doing, as these rewards are game-changing. The initial shopkeeper you meet, for example, offers a special accessory that applies the damage-increasing condition, which boosts damage against the affected enemy by 25%.

Trust In the Autosave

There is no {manual saving