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A fun fact: The “Obscur” in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 references the complex nature of the interface systems and systems.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has you leading a band of magical influencers, fronted by the daring British Daredevil, on a journey to reverse a global affliction that halts the natural aging process. It fuses turn-based RPG battles with action-game reflexes drawn from challenging titles, all presented with a distinctive aesthetic language.

It has proven to be the major releases of the season, having sold millions and won top honors praise. The game can feel slightly intimidating in the beginning, but when it clicks, you’ll uncover a layered and captivating RPG that is quite unique from contemporary titles. Here are are a collection of early-game strategies for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.

Swap Party Members Frequently

In Expedition 33, characters who are active during a fight earn a hefty increase to experience relative to those not fighting. Additionally, the story will sometimes require you to use specific characters. The easiest method to both issues is to change your lineup frequently and strive to keep everyone at a similar power level.

The upside is that farming experience is not too tedious. Fights grant a generous amount of XP, frequently sufficient for a level up after just several. You can respawn an local foes by resting at an checkpoint banner—these flags are scattered in each zone. If you need to gain levels quickly, simply battle monsters near a flag, rest, and repeat.

Change Items Regularly

You have a couple of key ways to bestow bonus effects to your characters: Pictos and Lumina abilities.

• Pictos are items which grant stat boosts and also feature a special ability. Each character can slot three different Pictos. After being worn, finishing four fights with a Picto grants access to its associated Lumina.
• Luminas aren’t physical items but are similar to equippable passives. Every ally has a number of skill points (which you can raise via items). Every Lumina ability has a specific point cost. As long as a character has enough points, there is no limit can benefit from the identical ability, allowing you to combine powerful passives across your entire team.

The most efficient tactic is to ensure one of your characters is wearing any new accessory and completes four battles to unlock its Lumina. This ensures you’ll have it for future use.

Should you not have unleveled accessories to unlock, simply equip the Pictos with the highest bonuses for your playstyle.

Parrying Isn't Your Only Option

Expedition 33’s signature mechanic is its combination of RPG systems with twitch-based defenses. However, the opportunity to deflect is extremely brief on all difficulty levels. Rather than breaking controllers trying to hit perfect blocks, focus on evading.

Even though a perfect guard refunds Action Points and causes massive extra damage, failing to parry leaves you vulnerable. Luckily there are several Pictos and Luminas that restore Action Points on a perfect roll. If you struggle with the timing, use those dodge-focused abilities instead.

Breaking Enemies Is Your Secret Weapon

Break is a decisive mechanic that can swing a fight. As you whittle down health, a gold meter charges under their HP bar. Once charged, you can inflict break, which reduces their defense by 20% and prevents them from acting for an entire round. It is the top-tier debuff in the game, but only particular attacks can trigger it.

Level Up Deliberately

You have the option to reallocate stat points and abilities using a limited consumable called a Respec token. Because it's rare, it's smart to consider your path prior to committing your skill points. Get a feel for a character's playstyle and chart a progression route in advance.

Don't Forget to Rest At the Save Flag

Stopping at an expedition flag fully heals your whole team and restocks every consumables, including Chroma Elixirs and revival items. Remember to rest at every flag!

These flags also act as the closest thing to fast travel in the game. The game lacks a overworld map, waypoint system, or objective markers. However, each flag has a name and number. When you interact with one, you can see a menu of your progress in that area under a fast travel menu. It's a minimalist way to navigate the world.

Locked Chests Are Invariably Rewarding

These special containers are essentially puzzle caches that need you to find and hit three concealed seals in the surrounding area prior to opening them. The contents is consistently valuable, often containing Recoats or strong equipment. The associated mechanisms aren't always obvious, but they are usually near the cage. If you can't find one, try smashing crates or looking up.

Yes, Challenge the Shopkeeper

Every merchant stocks a hidden special good that doesn't appear in their regular wares. To get them to sell it, you must select a party member and win a duel in a single combat. This is invariably a worthwhile endeavor, as these rewards are game-changing. The first merchant you meet, for instance, provides a Picto that applies the vulnerability status, which increases damage dealt against the affected enemy by a significant margin.

Trust In the Auto-Save System

There is no {manual saving