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

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 casts you as a group of glamorous spellcasters, spearheaded by the daring British Daredevil, on a mission to reverse a universal phenomenon that halts the natural aging process. It fuses strategic role-playing encounters with real-time parries reminiscent of Soulslike games, all cloaked in a distinctive artistic lexicon.

It has become one of the biggest titles of the season, having garnered a huge player base and won Game of the Year accolades. The adventure can feel a bit off-putting in the beginning, but when it clicks, you’ll find a rich and fascinating role-playing game that is quite unique from many others. Here are are a collection of early-game strategies for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.

Rotate Team Members Regularly

In Expedition 33, party members who participate in a fight earn a sizable bonus to Experience Points versus those in reserve. Additionally, the narrative will sometimes mandate you to use specific characters. The easiest method to these mechanics is to change your lineup frequently and try to keep everyone at a roughly equal strength.

The good news is that leveling up is relatively quick. Fights grant a substantial amount of XP, frequently sufficient for a stat increase after just a few. You can respawn an zone's monsters by stopping at an checkpoint banner—these flags are scattered across each level. If you need to accumulate XP fast, simply battle monsters near a flag, use the flag, and repeat.

Change Gear Often

The game features a couple of key ways to grant constant buffs to your allies: Picto gems and Lumina abilities.

• Pictos function as gear that give numerical bonuses and include a special ability. Every party member can slot up to three Pictos. When equipped, winning four encounters with a Picto unlocks its corresponding Lumina.
• Luminas are not gear pieces but essentially act as unlocked abilities. A party member has a pool of LP (which you can raise via consumables). Each Lumina has a specific point cost. As long as a character has the required amount, multiple characters can equip the same Lumina, allowing you to combine key bonuses across your whole party.

The optimal approach is to make sure one of your characters is wearing any new accessory and wins four battles to gain its Lumina. Doing this you’ll have it for future use.

When you aren't have unleveled accessories to level up, simply equip the Pictos with the best stats for your needs.

Blocking Is Not Your Only Option

Expedition 33’s signature mechanic is its marriage of turn-based combat with action-oriented blocks. But, the parry window is extremely brief on all difficulty levels. Rather than frustrating yourself trying to master the timing, concentrate on dodging.

While a successful parry restores one AP and inflicts massive extra damage, missing the timing gives you nothing. Fortunately there are a number of accessories and abilities that grant AP on a perfect roll. If you find parrying difficult, focus on those evasion-based perks instead.

Break Is Your Greatest Advantage

Inflicting Break is a decisive state that can secure victory. As you whittle down health, a gold meter increases beneath their health bar. Upon maxing out, you can stun the enemy, which lowers their damage resistance by a significant amount and stuns them for their next action. It is the top-tier debuff in the game, but only certain skills can trigger it.

Level Up Deliberately

You can reset attributes and skills using a rare item called a Respec token. Because it's rare, it's prudent to plan your build instead of using your attribute points. Experiment with a party member's role and chart a skill tree path beforehand.

Make Sure to Use the Save Flag

Resting at an expedition flag fully heals your all characters and refreshes every healing items, including healing potions and phoenix down equivalents. Make it a habit to rest at every flag!

Checkpoints also function as the closest thing to quick traversal in the game. The game lacks a traditional map, compass, or objective markers. But, each flag has a name and number. When you interact with one, you can access a log of all discovered flags in that zone under a teleport list. It's a simple but effective way to track your progress.

Glowing Cages Are Always Worth It

Glowing chests are essentially locked treasure chests that need you to find and hit three hidden locks in the surrounding area prior to getting the loot. The treasure inside is consistently worthwhile, including items like rare resources or unique gear. The associated mechanisms aren't easy to spot, but they are typically within the same area. If you can't find one, try smashing crates or checking elevated spots.

Go Ahead and, Fight the Merchant

All vendors carries a hidden special good that isn't listed in their regular wares. To unlock it, you must choose one character and beat them in combat in a single combat. This is always rewarding, as these items are game-changing. The earliest vendor you meet, for example, offers a Picto that causes the damage-increasing condition, which amplifies attacks against the foe by a quarter.

Rely On the Autosave

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