Clair Obscur: Expedition 33puts a lot more emphasis on artistic expression than convenience, and that’s definitely a good thing. One of the main reasons why theClair Obscurhas been almost universally praisedis because it manages to encapsulate raw human emotions in a way very few accomplish. Too many explanations and player hand-holding would only get in the way of that.
As a consequence, however, quite a few things remain unexplained as Expedition 33 sets out from Lumiere. Players are expected to understand the underlying game mechanics and features from contextual clues, one-off explanations, and general game sense. By their nature, these things are easy to miss for those who aren’t paying attention to them. To address this, this list covers a host of crucial features thatClair Obscur: Expedition 33doesn’t come out and say.
7Early Game Weapons Can be Just as Good as Endgame Ones
No Weapon Is Truly Obsolete
Early-gameweapons inClair Obscur: Expedition 33can be upgradedto match endgame weapons quite easily. All weapons in the game have a level, and the only difference between weapons obtained early versus the ones obtained late is the base level at which they are obtained.
It’s extremely easy to level up a weapon obtained early to match a late-game weapon using upgrade materials. The main things to pay attention to are a weapon’s special effects and scaling. If a weapon scales with Luck and Agility, and the character doesn’t have any attribute points invested in those stats, it won’t work out. Of course, players can alwaysuse a Recoat to respec their attributesat any time.
6Weapon Upgrade Materials Are Farmable
Chroma Crystals Drop From Enemies
Weapon Upgrade Materials appear quite scarce in the first half ofClair Obscur: Expedition 33, prompting many players to think that these are limited resources that need to be hoarded for thebest weapons worth upgrading. This is not the case.
Every time a player rests at an Expedition Flag, the enemies around them reset, just like a Soulslike. When defeated, these enemies drop the Chroma Crystals appropriate to their level. If players are in a low-level area, they will only drop simple Chroma Catalysts, but once they move on to the next area, the enemies will start dropping Polished Chroma Catalysts, and so on.
5Parry Timings Have Audio Cues
Pay Attention to the Sounds
Much ofClair Obscur: Expedition 33’sdifficulty lies in pulling off parries successfully. Even though a dodge is easier to execute than a parry, most players prefer to try and fail with parrying rather than rely on the less optimal option of dodging. However, because the window of opportunity to execute a parry is so unforgiving, this often ends in frustration.
One thing the game doesn’t mention is that most enemy attacks in the game have a distinct audio cue that soundsjustbefore they land an attack. If the parry button is pressed when this audio cue is heard, it always results in a perfect parry. It can be very hard to catch it, but lowering the music volume does help.
4Maelle’s Best Weapon is Missable
The Gestral Arena Holds a Game-Changer
During Act 1, the story missions will take Gustave and party to the Gestral Village in order to find a way to cross the sea and reach the Paintress. To leave the Gestral Village and progress further, players will have to compete and win in the Gestral Arena, a back-to-back fight against four powerful Gestrals.
Players can only use one character to fight in the Gestral Arena, as it is a 1v1 fight. What the game fails to mention is that the character who wins the fourth and final fight in the Arena will receive an exclusive weapon unique to them.One of Maelle’s best weapons, Medalum, can be obtained if she is the one who claims the final victory. The only other way to obtain Medalum is to fight Golgra, the Gestral Village Chief. However, this is easier said than done since she is an end-game level boss that early game characters have almost no hope of beating.
3The Damage Cap Can Be Removed
9999 Is Only a Temporary Limit
Starting from Act 2 ofClair Obscur: Expedition 33, players will start experiencing some limitations on their damage output in the form of a hard damage cap of 9,999 Damage. If a character hits an enemy and the single hit’s damage exceeds this number, the damage will be reduced to 9,999 instead.
For characters like Maelle who have ways of dealing extremely high single-target damage, this is a huge problem. Luckily, the game gives players a Picto called Painted Power thatbreaks the damage cap. It’s easy to miss this item as it’s obtained at a critical point in the main story, which makes some players overlook it. It’s obtained at the end of Act 2.
Violence Isn’t Always the Answer
Within the very first hour ofClair Obscur: Expedition 33, players will encounter anon-aggressive, white Nevron with a quest. This is not the only white Nevron in the game; quite a few are spread out across the map with different requests.
Players can fight these Nevrons by selecting the ‘Attack’ dialogue option while talking to them. This is a mistake. These non-hostile Nevrons are a part of a larger quest that appears in the latter half of the game, offering a huge reward. To avoid spoilers, it’s best not to expand further, but suffice it to say, the reward is more than worth it.
1Lanterns Light The Way
Light Guides in the Darkness
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’sdesign philosophy necessitates that the game use as few UI elements as possible. There are no map markers and quest indicators to show players where to go next, and that’s a conscious choice.Expedition 33’sexperience would be cheapened if there was a Ubisoft-style compass hanging overhead, covering up the gorgeous vistas.
That said, it’s easy to get turned around in the multi-tiered levels, which can be quite frustrating. To solve this problem, the developers use strategically placed light sources along the main path. These light sources can be floating lanterns, light poles, and even candles,functioning as “yellow paint,“showing players exactly where to go to reach the next objective.
