Summary
- Players should prioritize buying new outfits and hairstyles for characters in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, as they're unique and affordable.
- Invest in the Colour of Lumina early for extra passive bonuses, and buy new Pictos and weapons for gear advantages.
- Players are recommended to avoid spending Chroma on low-level Chroma Catalysts and high-priced Recoat consumables.
In Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's world, money is known as Chroma, and players get some amount rather often, either finding some Chroma during exploration or getting it as rewards for every combat encounter. Shops are plentiful in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, with many Gestral merchants that can be found across the Continent offering unique items to the Expedition's members, so there's no question about what to spend one's hard-earned Chroma on.
Where to Find All Journals in Clair Obscur Expedition 33
This guide details the locations of the 49 journals in Clair Obscur: Expedition, and it will help players earn the Follow the Trail achievement.
However, as is typically the case with any sprawling RPG, some items in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 are way more useful or unique than others, so players should be aware of the best choices for getting items from the shop. Below, we'll highlight the most useful things, consumables, and other items that players should always buy from in-game traders, as well as briefly mention some things that aren't worth spending Chroma on.
1 New Outfits
Get An Alternate Outfit For A Specific Character
- Price: 1,000–5,000 Chroma (More Expensive Exceptions Possible)
New character outfits would most likely be among the top priorities for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 players, because who doesn't want to switch suits for their party? Given that outfits are rarely given to players during exploration, the only ways of getting them are either by buying or completing optional mini-games and small side quests.
With a pretty huge number of available outfits, including fan-favorite Baguette, Sakapatate, and Swimsuit outfits, most players would certainly aim to find and get as many of those as possible. Given that outfits are typically pretty affordable to purchase, they should be among every player's priorities when discovering a new shop. Be wary: some Gestral merchants only grant access to the best and rarest items, including outfits and hairstyles, to those who beat them in hand-to-hand combat.
2 New Hairstyles
Get An Alternate Hairstyle For A Specific Character
- Price: 1,000–5,000 Chroma (More Expensive Exceptions Possible)
When it comes to merchants, the new hairstyles are basically in the same category as the outfits in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. They are rare, they are unique, they aren't available when exploring, and each one is tied to one specific character, meaning that the same hairstyle, such as Ponytail or Short Hair, are different items for different characters.
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With prices comparable to outfits and typically easily affordable, most players would likely grab any new cosmetic items at the earliest opportunity when finding a new Gestral merchant, and there is absolutely no reason not to.
3 Colour Of Lumina
Grants An Additional Lumina Point To Any Character
- Price: 1,000 Chroma
Colour of Lumina is easily the most useful consumable in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Every single Colour of Lumina consumed permanently expands a character's Lumina points by one, which allows players to equip more passive bonuses from Pictos to a certain character. Players need to carefully spend their Colour of Lumina, as even though this item isn't the rarest, there's no such thing as too many free Lumina points.
Luckily, almost every Gestral in the game sells Colour of Lumina (usually x3), and the price is very appealing. To put it simply, players shouldn't pass up any opportunity to get more Colour of Lumina, and some might even start grinding for it in the late game, which is why buying this item is mandatory.
4 New Pictos
Important Gear, Usable By Any Character
- Price: A Few Thousand Chroma on Average (Some Are Very Expensive)
In Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Pictos (something akin to gems) serve as a vital part of equipment, containing bonus stats and passive bonuses for characters, while outfits are cosmetic-only items. Any Picto can be equipped by any character. Moreover, once players win four combat encounters with a Picto equipped, they unlock its passive ability for use through the Lumina system by any character, without the need to equip that specific Picto.
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This is why Pictos are easily the most valuable gear in the game. With so many different options, stats, abilities, and bonuses, players are encouraged to get as many various Pictos as possible to gain an advantage against tougher enemies. Buying unique Pictos from traders is really a must. The only drawback is that Pictos are often among the most expensive items in shops, with prices often exceeding 10,000 Chroma.
5 New Weapons
Get A Unique Weapon Usable Only By A Specific Character
- Price: A Few Thousand Chroma on Average (Some Are Very Expensive)
Like Pictos, every weapon in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is unique, with various damage types and values, special abilities, and attribute scaling. Players obtain new weapons in the game regularly by defeating enemies and exploring the world, and some powerful weapons can be bought directly from Gestral merchants (usually requiring defeating a merchant in combat to become available).
Even if purchasing new weapons can be quite costly, most players will likely agree that there's no such thing as too many weapons for every character to choose from. Undoubtedly, these death tools should always be one's priority to get from every shop, provided that players have gathered enough Chroma to buy them.
Note that some merchants in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 may sell upgrades for existing weapons rather than entirely new ones. It's recommended to carefully review each merchant's offerings, as purchasing upgrades is often less cost-effective than upgrading via Chroma Catalysts at the Camp.
6 Things To Avoid Buying In Clair Obscur Expedition 33
While generally every merchant's stock in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 offers more useful items that players would like to purchase, there are a few exceptions that are typically not worth spending hard-earned Chroma on, at least unless players can afford extra spending or desperately need such items (which is hard to imagine).
Chroma Catalysts & Polished Chroma Catalysts
- Upgrade Weapons Up To Level 3 (or Up To Level 9)
- Price: 500-1,000 Chroma
Chroma Catalysts are used to upgrade weapons to different levels and are commonly available for purchase from almost every Gestral shop that players can find. However, players really shouldn't spend their Chroma on the usual Chroma Catalysts and Polished Chroma Catalysts, even given these items' relatively low price.
How To Get All Tint Upgrades (Shards & Shapes) In Clair Obscur Expedition 33
This guide will help players find the Shards and Shapes that improve the Healing, Energy, and Revive Tints in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
The reason is that players will get a ton of these items from victories, quest rewards, and exploration, often exceeding the number of weapons that need to be upgraded with them. Not to mention that when playing Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, players sometimes receive weapon upgrades as rewards for defeating enemies, possibly skipping several non-upgraded tiers at once (it's not uncommon to get an upgraded sword from +6 to +10 in an instant), meaning that players would hardly ever need large amounts of Chroma Catalysts and Polished Chroma Catalysts.
Note that other high-tier Catalysts, especially the Grandiose Chroma Catalyst (Level 32), are much less common, so these might be worth getting from merchants if available and if players can afford them.
Recoat
- Reallocate Any Character's Attributes or Skill Points
- Price: 10,000 Chroma
On paper, Recoat seems like an important consumable item worth getting in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, but more often than not, it's not worth the high price of 10,000 Chroma, especially unless players have amassed plenty of Chroma in the game (which is hardly possible, at least during the entire Act 1).
Additionally, there are plenty of Recoat items scattered all across the Continent that players can get for free while exploring. Not to mention that, if playing the game mindfully, they may not even need to use Recoat too often. In our experience, we hadn't used any until the middle of Act 2, and by that point, we had plenty of Recoat simply by collecting the item and getting it as a reward for quests or defeating tougher enemies.
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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
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- Number of Players
- Single-player
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- Playable
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Turn-Based RPG, JRPG, Fantasy
