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An interesting tidbit: The “Obscur” in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 alludes to the complex nature of the game's menus and gameplay loops.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 places you in the role of a team of magical influencers, fronted by the daring British Daredevil, on a quest to reverse a worldwide curse that stops people from growing old. It blends traditional RPG battles with real-time parries drawn from challenging titles, all wrapped in a unique artistic lexicon.

It has proven to be the major releases of the season, having achieved massive sales and secured Game of the Year recognition. The experience can feel a bit off-putting initially, but once you lock in, you’ll discover a rich and engrossing experience that stands apart from contemporary titles. Here are are 10 essential beginner's tips for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.

Change Team Members Often

In Expedition 33, party members who participate in a fight earn a sizable bonus to XP versus those on the bench. Additionally, the campaign will sometimes require you to use specific characters. The easiest solution to both issues is to rotate your team and try to keep everyone at a roughly equal level.

The good news is that leveling up is relatively quick. Battles award a substantial amount of XP, often sufficient for a level up after just several. You can respawn an zone's monsters by stopping at an save point—these flags are scattered across each zone. If you need to gain levels quickly, simply fight enemies near a flag, use the flag, and repeat.

Rotate Items Frequently

You have two main ways to bestow passive perks to your allies: Picto accessories and Luminas.

• Pictos are items which give numerical bonuses and include a constant effect. A character can equip up to three Pictos. Once slotted, winning four encounters with a Picto grants access to its associated Lumina.
• Luminas function differently but essentially act as unlocked abilities. Each character has a number of LP (which you can raise via consumables). Every Lumina ability has a specific point cost. If a character has the required amount, multiple characters can benefit from the identical ability, allowing you to combine useful effects across your entire team.

The optimal strategy is to always someone equips each fresh Picto you find and completes four encounters to gain its Lumina. Doing this you’ll have it for later builds.

Should you not have new Pictos to work on, simply slot the Pictos with the highest bonuses for your needs.

Perfect Guards Are Not Your Only Option

Expedition 33’s key feature is its combination of RPG systems with action-oriented blocks. But, the parry window is extremely brief on every setting. In place of struggling endlessly trying to land parries, concentrate on rolling.

While a successful parry restores Action Points and deals significant bonus damage, not blocking leaves you vulnerable. Luckily there are several accessories and abilities that provide resources on a well-timed evade. If you find parrying difficult, equip those dodge-focused perks instead.

The Break Status Is Your Greatest Advantage

Inflicting Break is a battle-altering condition that can turn the tide. As you attack a foe, a gold meter charges beneath their life bar. Once charged, you can stun the enemy, which reduces their armor by 20% and stuns them for their next action. It is the single most powerful debuff in the game, but only certain skills can trigger it.

Level Up Intentionally

You are able to re-spec stat points and abilities using a limited consumable called a Recoat. Given its scarcity, it's wise to think ahead prior to spending your attribute points. Get a feel for a hero's kit and map out a progression route beforehand.

Always Stop At the Expedition Flag

Stopping at an save point refills the health of your whole team and restocks your supply of consumables, including healing potions and phoenix down equivalents. Make it a habit to stop and heal up!

Expedition flags also act as the closest thing to fast travel in the game. There is no traditional map, GPS, or quest indicators. Instead, each flag has a identifier. At a flag, you can access a log of your progress in that level under a navigation option. It's a minimalist way to see how far you've come.

Locked Chests Are Always Rewarding

Glowing chests are basically locked treasure chests that need you to find and hit three concealed seals in the immediate vicinity to opening them. The contents is consistently high-tier, often containing rare resources or strong equipment. The required seals aren't always obvious, but they are almost always within the same area. If you are stuck, try exploring thoroughly or looking up.

Go Ahead and, Fight the Shopkeeper

All vendors has a hidden special good that won't show up in their normal inventory. To unlock it, you must pick a champion and win a duel in a single combat. This is always worth doing, as these pieces of gear are exceptionally powerful. The initial shopkeeper you meet, for instance, offers a Picto that inflicts the Defenseless debuff, which boosts damage against the target by 25%.

Rely On the Automatic Saving

The game lacks {manual saving