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A fun fact: The name “Obscur” in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 alludes to the complex nature of the game's menus and gameplay loops.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has you leading a band of social media mages, fronted by the bold British Daredevil, on a quest to halt a worldwide curse that prevents aging. It blends turn-based RPG battles with timed defensive moves inspired by Soulslike games, all wrapped in a unique artistic lexicon.

It has proven to be the biggest releases of the year, having garnered a huge player base and earned top honors accolades. The game can feel a bit off-putting at first, but once you lock in, you’ll find a layered and fascinating RPG that differentiates itself from other games. Here are are ten crucial starting pointers for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.

Swap Team Members Regularly

In Expedition 33, party members who are active during a battle earn a significant 50% bonus to XP versus those in reserve. What's more, the campaign will at times mandate you to include particular characters. The most straightforward solution to these mechanics is to rotate your team and try to keep everyone at a comparable power level.

The positive aspect is that farming experience is fairly fast. Fights award a sizable amount of XP, sometimes sufficient for a level up after just several. You can respawn an area's enemies by taking a break at an save point—these markers are located across each zone. If you need to accumulate XP fast, simply battle monsters near a flag, refresh, and repeat.

Change Gear Regularly

The game features a couple of key ways to bestow bonus effects to your characters: Picto gems and Lumina skills.

• Pictos are accessories that give numerical bonuses and come with a constant effect. Every party member can wear a maximum of three Pictos. After being worn, finishing four battles with a Picto unlocks its corresponding Lumina.
• Luminas function differently but can be thought of as equippable passives. Every ally has a pool of LP (which can be increased via level-ups). Every Lumina ability has a required LP amount. Provided that a character has the required amount, there is no limit can equip the same skill, allowing you to layer key bonuses across your whole party.

The most efficient tactic is to ensure someone equips every new Picto and fights through the required fights to gain its Lumina. This ensures you’ll have it for future use.

If you don't have new Pictos to work on, simply equip the Pictos with the most beneficial attributes for your current build.

Perfect Guards Are Not Your Single Choice

Expedition 33’s defining element is its combination of RPG systems with twitch-based defenses. However, the timing for a perfect block is incredibly short on every setting. In place of frustrating yourself trying to master the timing, focus on dodging.

Although a successful parry restores a resource and inflicts massive extra damage, missing the timing yields no benefit. Luckily there are several Pictos and Luminas that provide resources on a perfect roll. If you can't get the block down, use those dodge-focused abilities instead.

Breaking Enemies Is Your Key Tactic

The Break status effect is a game-changing mechanic that can turn the tide. As you whittle down health, a special bar increases under their HP bar. Upon maxing out, you can stun the enemy, which slashes their damage resistance by a significant amount and skips their turn for their next action. It is the single most powerful condition in the game, but only specific skills can trigger it.

Build Characters Intentionally

You have the option to reallocate your build using a rare item called a Respec token. Given its scarcity, it's smart to plan your build instead of using your skill points. Try out a party member's role and map out a skill tree path in advance.

Make Sure to Use the Save Flag

Using your tent at an checkpoint completely restores your all characters and restocks all of your healing items, including HP restoratives and Revive Tints. Develop the routine to use each flag you see!

Checkpoints also serve as the closest thing to navigation in the game. There is no traditional map, compass, or floating icons. But, each flag has a name and number. At a flag, you can view a list of every flag you've found in that area under a fast travel menu. It's a simple but effective way to navigate the world.

Paint Cages Are Consistently Worth It

These special containers are essentially sealed loot boxes that require you to locate and shoot three hidden locks in the nearby environment prior to opening them. The treasure inside is without fail valuable, including items like Recoats or strong equipment. The three locks aren't always obvious, but they are almost always near the cage. If you are missing a lock, try smashing crates or scanning the environment vertically.

Absolutely, Fight the Vendor

All vendors stocks a secret, unique item that won't show up in their regular wares. To gain access to it, you must select a party member and beat them in combat in a single combat. This proves to be worth doing, as these items are game-changing. The first merchant you meet, for reference, offers a Picto that applies the vulnerability status, which increases damage dealt against the foe by 25%.

Rely On the Auto-Save System

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