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A fun fact: The title term “Obscur” in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 hints at the somewhat obscure nature of the game's menus and mechanics.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 casts you as a team of social media mages, fronted by the bold British Daredevil, on a quest to combat a universal phenomenon that stops people from growing old. It merges strategic role-playing encounters with real-time parries inspired by challenging titles, all wrapped in a distinctive visual style.

It has proven to be the biggest titles of the period, having achieved massive sales and won top honors recognition. The game can feel somewhat dense initially, but when it clicks, you’ll find a deep and fascinating experience that stands apart from many others. Below are 10 essential early-game strategies for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.

Change Characters Frequently

In Expedition 33, allies who are active during a battle receive a sizable bonus to experience relative to those on the bench. Furthermore, the story will periodically mandate you to use specific characters. The simplest method to these challenges is to switch members often and strive to keep your roster at a roughly equal power level.

The positive aspect is that farming experience is relatively quick. Fights provide a sizable amount of XP, often sufficient for a level up after just a few. You can respawn an zone's monsters by stopping at an checkpoint banner—these points are placed in each level. If you need to accumulate XP fast, simply battle monsters near a flag, refresh, and repeat.

Swap Gear Regularly

There are a couple of key ways to grant bonus effects to your party members: Picto gems and Lumina skills.

• Pictos are items which give numerical bonuses and also feature a special ability. Every party member can slot three different Pictos. Once slotted, winning four encounters with a Picto will unlock its linked Lumina.
• Luminas function differently but are similar to unlocked abilities. Each character has a pool of LP (which can be increased via items). Every Lumina ability has a set cost. As long as a character has the required amount, you are not restricted can benefit from the identical ability, allowing you to stack useful effects across your whole party.

The optimal approach is to make sure a party member has equipped each fresh Picto you find and wins the required fights to reveal its Lumina. That way you gain access for future use.

When you aren't have fresh gear to work on, simply use the Pictos with the best stats for your needs.

Parrying Isn't Your Only Option

Expedition 33’s defining element is its combination of RPG systems with twitch-based defenses. But, the parry window is notoriously tight on every setting. Instead of frustrating yourself trying to master the timing, concentrate on rolling.

Although a perfect guard restores a resource and deals massive extra damage, missing the timing leaves you vulnerable. Fortunately there are multiple accessories and abilities that restore Action Points on a perfect roll. If you find parrying difficult, equip those dodge-focused abilities instead.

The Break Status Is Your Greatest Advantage

Break is a battle-altering condition that can secure victory. As you attack a foe, a gold meter charges below their health bar. Once charged, you can stun the enemy, which slashes their damage resistance by a significant amount and stuns them for their next action. It is the top-tier status effect in the game, but only certain attacks can apply it.

Build Characters Intentionally

You can reset your build using a scarce resource called a Recoat. Since they are uncommon, it's smart to consider your path before spending your stat investments. Try out a character's playstyle and map out a skill tree path beforehand.

Always Stop At the Save Flag

Resting at an expedition flag refills the health of your entire party and replenishes every potions, including healing potions and phoenix down equivalents. Make it a habit to rest at every flag!

These flags also serve as the only means to quick traversal in the game. The game lacks a overworld map, compass, or objective markers. Instead, each flag has a identifier. At a flag, you can access a log of every flag you've found in that area under a teleport list. It's a minimalist way to track your progress.

Glowing Cages Are Always Worth the Effort

These special containers are essentially puzzle caches that need you to locate and shoot three scattered mechanisms in the surrounding area before getting the loot. The contents is without fail high-tier, often containing respec items or powerful weapons. The required seals aren't always obvious, but they are usually within the same area. If you are stuck, try exploring thoroughly or looking up.

Yes, Battle the Vendor

Each shopkeeper has a hidden special good that isn't listed in their standard shop. To unlock it, you must pick a champion and defeat the merchant in a solo battle. This is invariably rewarding, as these pieces of gear are exceptionally powerful. The initial shopkeeper you meet, for instance, offers a Picto that causes the Defenseless debuff, which boosts damage against the target by 25%.

Have Faith in the Auto-Save System

The game lacks {manual saving