Pictos and Luminas are two sides of the same coin in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and players who want to maximize the efficacy of their party members need to have a solid understanding of how this system works. While the relationship between Pictos and Luminas may feel confusing upon first glance, players should be able to get a good grasp on it with just a bit of additional information. This guide is here to provide that information, and it will help players make the most out of their Pictos and Luminas in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
Players can freely switch their Pictos and Luminas whenever they are out of combat, making it easy to exepriment with different configurations.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Reveals How Long It Takes to Beat
One of Xbox's biggest Game Pass titles for April, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, divulges the average amount of time it will take players to complete.
What Are Pictos & Luminas in Clair Obscur Expedition 33
Pictos are items that players will obtain as they explore the various maps in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and every party member can have three equipped at a time. To equip a Pictos, players must take these actions:
- Open the Expedition Menu when out of combat. Players can open this menu by pressing Tab or the Options button.
- Select a party member.
- Click on one of the Pictos slots in the bottom-left corner of the screen to open the Pictos menu.
- Use this menu to assign Pictos to the slots.
Upon equipping a Pictos, the character will receive the stats that it provides. Those stats can be seen when highlighting a Pictos in the Pictos menu, and they range from increased Health, to additional Speed, and beyond.
The character will also gain a special effect from the equipped Pictos, which are known as Luminas. These effects, which can also be seen when highlighting a Pictos, can be very powerful, and they play an important role in creating builds for characters in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
Unlocking & Equipping Luminas in Clair Obscur Expedtion 33
While a character will immediately gain access to a Pictos's Lumina when they equip the Pictos, that is not the end of the story with these effect. Indeed, after completing four battles in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 with a Pictos equipped, its Lumina will become permanently unlocked and can then be assigned to any character without having to equip them with the associated Pictos.
To concretize this idea with an example, a player could imagine a scenario in which they have obtained the 
Dodger Pictos, which has this Lumina: Gain 1 AP on Perfect Dodge. Once Per Turn. If the player were to equip the Dodger Pictos to Gustave, that character would immediately receive the benefit of its Lumina. Then, once Gustave completes four battles, the Dodger Lumina would become unlocked. Players could then assign the unlocked Lumina to as many characters as they would like by taking these actions:
- Open the Expedition Menu when out of combat. Players can open this menu by pressing Tab or the Options button.
- Select a party member.
- Click on one of the Luminas slots in the bottom-right corner of the screen to open the Luminas menu.
- Use this menu to assign Luminas to the slots.
Lumina Points, Explained
As Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 players start browsing their unlocked Luminas, they will find that each one has an associated Lumina Point value. The aforementioned Dodger Lumina, as an example, costs one Lumina Point to activate. This system means that players cannot simply equip every Lumina that they unlock to their characters, as they are limited by the characters' maximum Lumina Points. For example, if a character has 20 total Lumina Points, they can only activate Luminas with a total point value of 20 or less.
After making a bit of progress, players can increase their characters' maximum Lumina Points by using the 
Colour of Lumina items.
That said, the Luminas that are active due to the Pictos that are equipped are essentially free, as their Lumina Point values are not deducted from a character's total Lumina Points. Players are thus advised to keep Pictos with high Lumina Point values equipped, as doing so will free up a lot of points for activating additional effects.
Clair Obscur Expedition 33 - Pictos & Luminas, Summarized
In summary, Pictos are items in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 that can be equipped to characters, and they provide stats and special effects, which are known as Luminas. As characters complete battles with Pictos equipped, their special effects (Luminas) become unlocked. This unlocking makes it possible to assign the special effect (Lumina) to any character without needing to equip them with the associated Pictos. However, characters have a maximum number of Lumina Points, which limits the number of effects that can be activated simultaneously.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 92 /100 Critics Rec: 97%
- Released
- April 24, 2025
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Sandfall Interactive
- Publisher(s)
- Kepler Interactive
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Turn-Based RPG, JRPG, Fantasy
