Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 gives players a lot of ways to upgrade their party members, with individualized builds for each character along with overall builds that work on anyone. Pictos and Lumina are key elements in any build, though throughout the game, some of the earlier Pictos may start to fall off in terms of stats.
While you can't directly upgrade Pictos like you do weapons, it is possible to get higher-level Pictos that can further boost the stats of your party. Here's exactly how upgrading your Pictos works and the benefits of doing so.
Best Teams In Clair Obscur Expedition 33
Here are the best teams that players can bring to battle in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, complete with information for their builds and strategies.
How Does Leveling Up Pictos Work In Clair Obscur Expedition 33
Leveling up Pictos is very different than leveling up a weapon in that it revolves around finding the same Picto just at a higher level. Only certain Pictos have higher-level variants out in the world, and picking up the higher-level version will upgrade your existing Picto to be the level and stats of the higher-level one you just got. The pop-up menu you'll see when picking up the higher-level Picto will look very similar to the usual menu, just with an arrow showing the previous level to the new level of the Picto.
Upgraded Pictos refers to the levels and stats associated with the Picto, and not Pictos with Roman Numerals in the name, as those are treated as entirely different Pictos.
Picking up a leveled-up Picto will do all the work for you, as your existing Picto will simply be replaced in favor of the new, higher-level one, meaning you can't have two of the same Pictos just at different levels. While upgrading your Pictos isn't something you'll need to do to make high-end builds, it's helpful to find every Picto you can and level up the ones you have in the process.
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.
What Are The Benefits From Leveled-Up Pictos In Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Leveling up a Picto only increases the stat bonuses given when that Picto is equipped. The level of the Picto won't affect the bonus effect given by the Picto or the associated Lumina. While it's easy to overlook the stat bonuses from Pictos, these should be the biggest determining factor when choosing which Pictos to put on a character over just using the Lumina. Using Colours Of Lumina, you get slowly equip more and more Lumina on each character, though you'll only ever get three Pictos slots, so it's best to prioritize higher-level Pictos for the better stats.
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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
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- Genre(s)
- Turn-Based RPG, JRPG, Fantasy
