Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has all sorts of builds for players to try, with it being really easy to respec and switch things around as often as you'd like. While every character in the party has their uses and can excel in dealing damage, there are some characters who do it just a little bit better than their peers.
Maelle is already one of the strongest characters you can use, but she has a very specific single-purpose build, which can lead to her dealing hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of damage to an enemy. This build was nerfed shortly after its discovery, but even with the nerf, it is one of the strongest ways to build Maelle.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 - 7 Central Themes That Run Throughout The Game
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 features an incredibly rich story full of thematic depth and intrigue. Here's a look at the game's core themes.
Pictos & Luminas for Maelle Nuke Build in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
The focus on this build is having Maelle go first in battle, landing a massive attack right away. The exact combination of Pictos and Lumina of everything that follows is up to you, as long as she has the buffs.
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Picto/Lumina |
Effect |
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Go first in combat. |
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Energizing Start 1,2,3,4 |
The skill for this build requires eight action points, so she'll need all of these to use the attack on the first turn. |
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First hit dealt and taken deals 50% more damage. |
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35% increased damage on full health. |
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30% increased damage until a hit is received. |
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Damage can exceed 9,999. |
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10% increased damage while all allies are alive. |
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30% increased damage, but can't be healed. |
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50% increased damage on first hit. |
First Strike
First Offensive
Immaculate
Painted Power
Confident Fighter
Augmented First StrikeA lot of these bonuses can be a double-edged sword, but as long as you kill or almost kill your enemy on the first hit, you won't need to worry about the negative effects.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 - Best Maelle Weapons, Ranked
For those looking to make the most of Maelle in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, here are the best weapons available to her.
Weapon, Stats, & Skill for the Maelle Nuke Build in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
The Medalum weapon in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is very important for this build, as it has Maelle enter Virtouse stance right at the start of battle, giving her an additional 200% boost in damage. With this weapon, you'll want to invest all your attributes into the following stats, maxing them out in this order:
- Defense
- Agility
- Might
Medalum scales off Defense and Agility, making those attributes the more important ones.
Finally, the centerpiece for the build is the skill Stendhal, which deals extreme void damage in one hit, though it removes self-shields and applies Defenceless to Maelle. The goal of every battle is to hit the enemy with this skill on the first turn, taking advantage of all the bonuses from your Pictos, multiplying the base damage from your weapon, and base attributes. It may not one-shot bosses right after beating the game, but getting close to max level will see this build one-shotting just about anything in the game.
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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
