Summary
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 provides unique and impactful Pictos and Luminas, offering deep character-building potential.
- Support Pictos primarily focus on increasing characters' AP or granting various buffs to party members.
- Pictos like Cheater and Energy Master significantly enhance gameplay, ranking among the best and strongest Pictos in the entire game.
Despite having only two item types with stats (Pictos and weapons), Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 offers deep and flexible character-building potential through equipment. The game is generous with Pictos, each providing a unique and powerful effect that players can instantly benefit from. More often than not, these bonuses go far beyond the typical percentage increases to damage or health seen in many RPGs, instead delivering tangible and impactful abilities.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 - Best Pictos For Defense, Ranked
Dealing massive damage is good, but surviving anything a boss might throw at players in Expedition 33 is even better.
There are three types of Pictos and Luminas in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Offensive Pictos grant increased damage, Defensive Pictos focus on reducing enemy damage or enhancing character healing, while Support Pictos typically provide powerful buffs (Shell, Rush, Regen, or Powerful) or aim to grant additional Action Points (AP) to a character — or even the entire party. Below, we'll examine the best and strongest Support Pictos in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 that can make the game significantly easier in nearly every combat scenario.
Many Support Pictos provide benefits when fighting alone while costing very few Lumina points. These Pictos are invaluable when facing tough opponents, such as late-game merchants, solo bosses, or endgame challenges without the rest of the party, and should be equipped in every such scenario to greatly improve odds.
Depending on progress in the story, there may be spoilers in images and in text below. Players who have not reached at least Act 2 should proceed with caution.
8 Healing Mark
Once Per Turn, Recover 25% Health On Hitting a Marked Enemy
- Lumina Cost: 20
- Passive Stat Boost: Defense
- How to get: Sold by Gestral Merchant Eesda in Gestral Village; players must defeat them first
Healing Mark is a support Picto with a healing effect typically found in defensive Pictos. However, its strength makes it a must. It could be one of the best Pictos for healing in an attack-focused party. Players can equip this Picto's Lumina to every character, then easily sustain healing by marking enemies for consistent recovery each turn.
Given the many ways to mark enemies in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (through skills, weapons, or other Pictos), the Healing Mark Picto, despite its relatively high Lumina cost, should be a priority for players facing challenging combat encounters against the hardest enemies.
7 Energising Pain
No Longer Gain AP on Parry, +1 AP on Getting Hit
- Lumina Cost: 10
- Passive Stat Boost: Health, Defense
- Where to find: Obtained as a reward for defeating an optional group of enemies in the Stone Wave Cliffs area. Alternatively, a higher-level variant drops from an enemy in Flying Manor (endgame area)
Expedition 33 has already earned a reputation as a challenging game, particularly when playing through parries as intended, which can be both rewarding and punishing. Unless players are highly skilled with timings, Energising Pain is recommended to rely on, at least during the first half of the game, before mastering parries.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 - Best Pictos For Attack, Ranked
Players aiming to craft the most devastating combat builds in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 should focus on these offensive Pictos.
This Picto grants extra AP whenever characters fail to parry an incoming attack, allowing players to learn their movesets while also entering their turn with sufficient AP to perform a powerful skill for retaliation. While this may not suit every playstyle and isn't recommended for heavy reliance, especially later in the game, when taking damage becomes less viable, it remains a valuable tool early on.
6 Energising Death
On Death, Grant +4 AP to Allies
- Lumina Cost: 5
- Passive Stat Boost: Defense, Speed
- Where to find: Found during exploration in the Forgotten Battlefield area. Alternatively, a higher-level variant can be purchased from the Grandis Merchant in Monoco's Station after delivering the Eternal Ice from Frozen Hearts
Characters will die a lot in Expedition 33, so capitalizing on a party member's fall can be a highly effective tactic. With Energising Death, a character's death significantly boosts surviving members, instantly granting two remaining characters +4 AP each, enabling them to cast high-cost skills that could turn the tide of a fight immediately. Another advantage of this Picto is its low cost, allowing players to equip it to every party member without much hesitation — just in case.
Alternatively, Auto Death is another fan-favorite support Picto worth mentioning, as it's extremely cheap (only one Lumina) and can serve as a foundation for strong and fun character builds in Expedition 33. However, its effectiveness diminishes later in the game.
5 First Strike
Grants the First Turn in a Battle
- Lumina Cost: 10
- Passive Stat Boost: Speed, Critical Rate
- Where to find: Found during exploration of the Stone Wave Cliffs area
While players can secure the first turn in combat by attacking enemies during exploration, this isn't always feasible. Even with heavy investment in Agility (Speed), players may encounter faster enemies who strike first, dealing significant damage. To prevent this and ensure the first turn at all times, it's recommended to equip the First Strike Picto to at least one active party member in Expedition 33.
Clair Obscur Expedition 33: 7 Ways To Become Overpowered
Looking to get seriously OP in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33? Here are a few boundary-breaking tips to help players reach the summit of power.
Taking a turn before enemies can be highly advantageous, allowing players to strengthen allies or weaken foes before the enemy acts, which can easily mean the difference between life and death — especially when tackling stronger optional bosses for their valuable drop rewards.
4 Charging Critical
Once Per Turn, +20% Of a Gradient Charge on Critical Hit
- Lumina Cost: 10
- Passive Stat Boost: Defense, Critical Rate
- How to get: Reward for completing Stage 5 of Endless Tower
Gradient Attacks are among the most powerful moves in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, capable of devastating tough enemies and bosses when used wisely. Every attack or skill builds charge for Gradient Attacks, but players can significantly accelerate this with the Charging Critical Picto.
Given how easy it is to achieve 100% critical chance with every character in the later stages of the game, Charging Critical becomes essential for rapidly filling Gradient Attack charges, especially for those aiming to use the strongest Level 3 versions. Alternatively, the Charging Mark Picto is another effective way to quickly build Gradient Charge by attacking marked enemies. Players can also combine these two Pictos for even faster access to high-power Gradient Attacks.
3 Energising Turn
Get +1 AP on Turn Start
- Lumina Cost: 20
- Passive Stat Boost: Speed
- How to get: Drops as a reward for defeating the mandatory Sirene boss in Act 2. Alternatively, sold by Gestral Merchants in the Sacred River and Renoir's Drafts areas (must defeat them first)
Granting extra AP to characters is a primary goal of support Pictos in Expedition 33, and Energising Turn is easily one of the best and most straightforward in this regard, capable of enhancing any build imaginable. Unlike many Energising Pictos that grant AP only at the battle's start, Energising Turn provides extra action points every turn throughout the entire fight, with no prerequisites for players to meet.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 - Most Overpowered Lumina Combinations That Can Break The Game
Make the most of your five-party system with these build types in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
Simply put, Energising Turn is recommended for every character in the party at all times, and even its relatively high Lumina cost shouldn't stop players from equipping it, as it makes the game much easier by enabling access to more powerful skills every turn.
2 Cheater
Always Play Twice in a Row
- Lumina Cost: 40
- Passive Stat Boost: Health, Speed
- How to get: Reward for defeating the optional Sprong boss on the World Map (requires Esquie's swim ability)
The name of the Cheater Picto speaks for itself, offering one of the strongest passive bonuses among all Pictos in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Playing twice in a row is nearly game-breaking, though acquiring this unique Picto requires significant effort, as players most likely won't be able to defeat Sprong until reaching at least level 70.
While Cheater's power in Expedition 33 is undeniable, its very high Lumina cost makes it advisable to use only as a Picto rather than a Lumina. Additionally, players should note that there are less straightforward but more cost-effective ways to gain a second turn in the game without relying on the Cheater Picto — and players cannot extend a character's consecutive turns to three (meaning its effect won't stack with other similar abilities).
1 Energy Master
Every AP Gain Is Increased By 1
- Lumina Cost: 40
- Passive Stat Boost: Health
- How to get: Reward for defeating the optional Serpenphare boss (giant flying snake) on the World Map (requires Esquie's fly ability)
What could possibly surpass the Cheater Picto? The answer is Energy Master. Despite sharing a similarly high Lumina cost, Energy Master is the cornerstone for crafting the most overpowered skill-reliant builds in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. With this Picto, characters will have an almost constant overflow of energy, enabling them to cast the strongest skills every turn with ease.
Clair Obscur Expedition 33: All Monoco Weapons, Ranked
Monoco stands as the most unique playable character, and his weapons are equally amazing, capable of greatly boosting the strength of his skills.
For best results with Energy Master, players should equip cheap Energising Luminas and avoid costly options that grant only a single AP, such as Energising Battle IV (20 Lumina). With double the energy from the Energy Master Picto, players need only ensure they gain at least 4 AP per turn, boosting the total to eight AP, which is sufficient for nearly any desired skill, unlocking a dynamic new layer of skill-based gameplay.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Released
- April 24, 2025
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Sandfall Interactive
- Genre(s)
- Turn-Based RPG, JRPG, Fantasy
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC
