Ten Starter Pointers to Understand Prior to Beginning Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

An interesting tidbit: The title term “Obscur” in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 hints at the initially cryptic nature of the game's menus and systems.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has you leading a group of social media mages, led by the bold British Daredevil, on a mission to combat a universal phenomenon that halts the natural aging process. It merges strategic role-playing combat with timed defensive moves drawn from action RPGs, all wrapped in a idiosyncratic visual style.

It has proven to be the biggest games of the year, having sold millions and earned Game of the Year accolades. The experience can feel somewhat dense in the beginning, but once you lock in, you’ll find a deep and fascinating role-playing game that is quite unique from other games. Below are ten crucial early-game strategies for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.

Change Characters Frequently

In Expedition 33, allies who take part in a fight earn a hefty increase to Experience Points relative to those in reserve. Furthermore, the campaign will periodically require you to include particular characters. The most straightforward method to these challenges is to switch members often and strive to keep your roster at a comparable power level.

The good news is that farming experience is fairly fast. Fights grant a substantial amount of XP, frequently sufficient for a level up after just a few. You can refresh an area's enemies by resting at an checkpoint banner—these markers are scattered throughout each level. If you need to gain levels quickly, simply fight enemies near a flag, rest, and continue the cycle.

Change Accessories Regularly

The game features two primary ways to bestow passive perks to your party members: Pictos and Luminas.

• Pictos are items which provide attribute increases and also feature a special ability. Every party member can equip a maximum of three Pictos. Once slotted, winning four battles with a Picto will unlock its linked Lumina.
• Luminas are not gear pieces but are similar to equippable passives. Each character has a pool of LP (which grows via level-ups). Every Lumina ability has a specific point cost. Provided that a character has enough points, you are not restricted can equip the identical ability, allowing you to stack useful effects across your entire team.

The most efficient approach is to ensure someone is wearing each fresh Picto you find and completes four encounters to gain its Lumina. This ensures you’ll have it for future use.

If you don't have unleveled accessories to work on, simply slot the Pictos with the best stats for your needs.

Perfect Guards Are Not Your Sole Defense

Expedition 33’s signature mechanic is its marriage of strategic battles with action-oriented blocks. But, the parry window is extremely brief on all difficulty levels. Rather than breaking controllers trying to master the timing, focus on evading.

Although a well-timed block refunds one AP and inflicts significant bonus damage, not blocking yields no benefit. Luckily there are multiple Pictos and Luminas that provide resources on a well-timed evade. If you can't get the block down, equip those dodge-focused options instead.

Break Is Your Key Tactic

Break is a battle-altering state that can swing a fight. As you whittle down health, a gold meter increases under their health bar. Once charged, you can stun the enemy, which slashes their armor by a significant amount and skips their turn for their next action. It is the most impactful status effect in the game, but only particular abilities can cause it.

Allocate Points Deliberately

You are able to re-spec attributes and skills using a limited consumable called a Respec token. Given its scarcity, it's wise to consider your path before spending your stat investments. Try out a hero's kit and map out a progression route in advance.

Make Sure to Use the Save Flag

Resting at an save point fully heals your whole team and replenishes all of your healing items, including Chroma Elixirs and phoenix down equivalents. Remember to rest at every flag!

These flags also function as the only means to navigation in the game. You won't find a traditional map, waypoint system, or quest indicators. But, each flag has a name and number. When you interact with one, you can view a list of all discovered flags in that zone under a navigation option. It's a simple but effective way to track your progress.

Locked Chests Are Consistently Rewarding

Glowing chests are essentially locked treasure chests that require you to locate and shoot three hidden locks in the nearby environment prior to getting the loot. The reward is without fail high-tier, often containing Recoats or strong equipment. The associated mechanisms aren't easy to spot, but they are usually within the same area. If you are stuck, try smashing crates or checking elevated spots.

Yes, Fight the Merchant

Every merchant stocks a hidden special good that doesn't appear in their normal inventory. To get them to sell it, you must select a party member and win a duel in a single combat. This is always worth doing, as these items are truly unique. The earliest vendor you meet, for example, sells a Picto that inflicts the damage-increasing condition, which increases damage dealt against the target by a quarter.

Rely On the Autosave

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