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A curious piece of trivia: The title term “Obscur” in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 alludes to the somewhat obscure nature of the in-game systems and gameplay loops.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 casts you as a group of glamorous spellcasters, fronted by the audacious British Daredevil, on a journey to reverse a worldwide curse that halts the natural aging process. It merges traditional RPG battles with real-time parries inspired by challenging titles, all wrapped in a unique visual style.

It has proven to be the biggest titles of the period, having sold millions and won top honors recognition. The adventure can feel a bit off-putting initially, but when it clicks, you’ll uncover a rich and fascinating RPG that stands apart from other games. Below are 10 essential beginner's tips for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.

Rotate Characters Regularly

In Expedition 33, allies who take part in a fight earn a hefty increase to experience compared to those in reserve. Additionally, the story will sometimes force you to use specific characters. The most straightforward approach to these mechanics is to switch members often and strive to keep your roster at a comparable level.

The positive aspect is that grinding is fairly fast. Fights grant a sizable amount of XP, sometimes sufficient for a character progression after just a few. You can reset an local foes by taking a break at an expedition flag—these flags are located in each level. If you need to power level, simply battle monsters near a flag, use the flag, and do it again.

Swap Accessories Frequently

There are a couple of key ways to grant constant buffs to your party members: Picto gems and Luminas.

• Pictos are accessories that grant stat boosts and also feature a constant effect. Each character can slot three different Pictos. After being worn, winning four fights with a Picto unlocks its corresponding Lumina.
• Luminas function differently but can be thought of as equippable passives. Each character has a number of LP (which you can raise via consumables). A Lumina has a specific point cost. Provided that a character has the required amount, multiple characters can benefit from the same skill, allowing you to stack powerful passives across your full roster.

The most efficient tactic is to make sure one of your characters equips any new accessory and fights through four encounters to unlock its Lumina. Doing this the ability will be available for later builds.

Should you not have new Pictos to unlock, simply use the Pictos with the highest bonuses for your playstyle.

Perfect Guards Are Not Your Single Choice

Expedition 33’s key feature is its marriage of strategic battles with twitch-based defenses. However, the opportunity to deflect is notoriously tight on any mode. Rather than struggling endlessly trying to master the timing, concentrate on dodging.

Although a successful parry restores one AP and causes significant bonus damage, missing the timing yields no benefit. Luckily there are several Pictos and Luminas that grant AP on a successful dodge. If you find parrying difficult, equip those dodge-focused options instead.

Breaking Enemies Is Your Greatest Advantage

Break is a battle-altering condition that can secure victory. As you damage an enemy, a special bar charges beneath their health bar. Upon maxing out, you can stun the enemy, which reduces their defense by 20% and stuns them for their next action. It is the most impactful debuff in the game, but only specific skills can apply it.

Level Up With a Plan

You can reset your build using a limited consumable called a Respec token. Given its scarcity, it's wise to think ahead prior to spending your stat investments. Try out a hero's kit and plan a skill tree path first.

Don't Forget to Use the Expedition Flag

Resting at an checkpoint completely restores your entire party and refreshes all of your healing items, including healing potions and phoenix down equivalents. Develop the routine to use each flag you see!

Checkpoints also serve as the primary method to navigation in the game. You won't find a mini-map, GPS, or quest indicators. However, each flag has a name and number. When you interact with one, you can see a menu of all discovered flags in that level under a teleport list. It's a basic yet helpful way to see how far you've come.

Locked Chests Are Invariably Rewarding

Paint Cages are basically locked treasure chests that demand you to find and hit three scattered mechanisms in the surrounding area to opening them. The contents is consistently valuable, including items like rare resources or powerful weapons. The associated mechanisms aren't always obvious, but they are usually located close by. If you are stuck, try smashing crates or looking up.

Go Ahead and, Fight the Merchant

All vendors has a one-of-a-kind piece of gear that doesn't appear in their normal inventory. To unlock it, you must choose one character and beat them in combat in a one-on-one fight. This is always worth doing, as these rewards are exceptionally powerful. The initial shopkeeper you meet, for instance, provides a Picto that inflicts the Defenseless debuff, which amplifies attacks against the foe by a significant margin.

Rely On the Automatic Saving

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