Summary
InClair Obscur: Expedition 33, Pictos stand as a vital part of the gear, not only directly boosting characters' stats like Health, Defense, Speed, or Critical Rate, but also granting unique and powerful perks tied to each Picto. Once players win four battles with a Picto equipped, they unlock its perk to be used by any other characterthrough upgradable Lumina points. That said, perks are the most useful part of every Picto,crucial for powerful game-breaking buildsfor any of the game’s playable characters.
In many cases, players would like to boost their attack damage (Power) to kill enemies faster, yet,unlike upgrading weaponsand leveling up stats like Might, there are no Pictos that increase Power values directly. Instead, rare offensive Pictos offer 5% to 50% damage increases that players can combine to achieve hundreds of percent in total damage boost, reaching millions of damage in a single hit.
Note that toexceed the initial damage cap of 9,999, players need to get the Painted Power Picto and unlock and equip its perk to each character (costs 5 Lumina points) before even thinking of tacklingendgame content in Act 3. With all that in mind, let’s take a look at the best Pictos for attack and damage boosts inClair Obscur: Expedition 33.
8Shield Affinity
30% Increased Damage While Having Shields, Receiving Any Damage Removes All Shields
The Shield Affinity Picto is great for boosting all damage by a significant amount, but it’s only suitable for players who aren’t reliant on Shields to negate incoming damage, as any hit received with this Picto or Lumina equipped will instantly remove all active Shield points.
Additionally, to activate the damage bonus of the Shield Affinity Picto, players have to spend extra beyond the initial 15 Lumina points cost, as they also need to equip a Picto that grants Shields (potentially costing another 10 to 15 Lumina). While certain character builds can receive Shields from skills, it’s a relatively uncommon feature inExpedition 33.
On the bright side, when opting for a damage boost with Shield Affinity, players can increase the damage even further with the Powerful Shield Picto, which grants 10% increased damage per active Shield point, totaling around a 60% increase with three active Shields with these two Pictos.
7Powered Attack
20% Increased Damage For 1 Extra AP Consumed On Every Damage Dealt
Powered Attack is a strong and affordable Picto that is recommended for characters who have mastered their AP (action points) flow, making the condition of spending one extra AP for increased damage a worthwhile trade-off.
When choosing the Powered Attack Picto, players need to carefully select their active skills, favoring those with a single strike rather than multiple hits. Otherwise, some may be surprised to see their hard-earned 9 AP vanish instantly after activating just one multi-strike skill.
6Confident Fighter
30% Increased Damage, but Can’t Be Healed
Like its name suggests, the Confident Fighter Picto is only recommended for players who have mastered avoiding enemy damage through dodges or parries inExpedition 33. With a solid 30% increased damage bonus, it’s rather costly and comes with the severe downside of making the character impossible to heal through skills or healing items.
With that in mind, players should approach Confident Fighter carefully, as it can be very risky if they forget which character has the ability active andwaste an entire turn trying to healsomeone who is currently immune to healing. Luckily, characters who die while having this Picto equipped can still be resurrected through skills or Tints (potions).
5First Offensive
50% Increased Damage For A First Hit Dealt And Taken
A very cheap and very strong Picto for attack, First Offensive is one of the best for boosting damage, but requires careful play to ensure its wielder survives the first incoming hit. Shields can help significantly here, potentially negating a strike that would otherwise be lethal due to this ability’s drawback.
However, the 50% boost to any first strike dealt, coupled with a mere 5 Lumina cost, makes this Picto hard to ignore. Given how many other offensive Pictos inClair Obscur: Expedition 33can further enhance the first damage a character deals, it can easily become the foundation of a deadly one-shot build for endgame.
4Glass Canon
25% Increased Damage Dealt And Taken
The Glass Canon Picto works somewhat similarly to the aforementioned First Offensive Picto, but the character will always deal and take 25% increased damage. While it’s less risky than taking a hit with 50% extra damage from a tough boss, Glass Canon still requires careful play—unless players can either manage its drawback or build overpowered one-shot setups that fully benefit from its effect and don’t plan to get hit at all.
Glass Canon also boosts only a single stat, Speed, but by a significant amount, allowing its wielder to act before many enemies inExpedition 33and take turns more frequently.
3Full Strength
25% Increased Damage At Full HP
The Full Strength Picto is among the best for players looking to notably increase their attack and Power with no downsides. Sure, a 25% damage boost isn’t the highest value, yet its effect is very straightforward and relatively easy to maintain, not only by avoiding all damage. There are plenty of tools for passive healing inExpedition 33, so players can easily ensure that the character wielding this abilitygets constant healing to full HPto keep the perk active at all times, even if theyaren’t great with timings.
One small nitpick with the Full Strength Picto, aside from its rather high Lumina cost, is the passive boost to Health and Defense rather than offensive stats like Speed or Critical Rate. Still, the majority of players will likely use only Picto’s perk, so this is mostly irrelevant.
2Immaculate
30% Increased Damage Until A Hit Is Received
The Immaculate Picto is another strong option for directly boosting all damage inClair Obscur: Expedition 33. Players will get a solid 30% increase until their character takes a hit, so it’s another Picto whose perk benefits either from mastering dodge and parry timings or from using other tactics such as Shields.
With its perk alone, Immaculate is a strong contender among the top offensive Pictos in the game. It also comes with great passive bonuses, and its perk is relatively cheap in terms of Lumina, allowing players to equip it on almost any character without hesitation. Another great thing about Immaculate is that it’s impossible to miss, as players receive it as a reward fordefeating the mandatory boss, the Mask Keeper, during Act 2.
1Augmented First Strike
50% Increased Damage On The First Hit, Once Per Battle
Very cheap, very strong, with no drawbacks, great passive bonuses, and perfect for creating powerful one-shotting builds inClair Obscur: Expedition 33— the Augmented First Strike Picto should be on every player’s menu as soon as they can get it. A 50% increase in damage is the highest value from a single Picto that players may find, and when combined with many other Pictos designed to boost the first strike in battle, the total damage boost can easily exceed 100%.
Of course, nothing stopsExpedition 33players from equipping all of these offensive Pictos on one character and enjoying swift victories against nearly every enemy in their path. Given that players canexpand Lumina points to well over 200for each playable character by the end of the game, creating incredibly strong damage builds is both fun and exciting.
