Maelle's 2 Billion Damage Build Nerfed by Clair Obscur

Discover the staggering potential of Maelle's nuke build in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, capable of unleashing over 2 billion damage. Dive into the details of this game-changing strategy and learn how Sandfall Interactive is addressing this overpowering skill.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Updates

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 continues to captivate its player base with daily discoveries, including the revelation of Maelle's ability to inflict up to 2 billion damage. As players complete the main storyline, the game's endgame unfolds, offering more narrative depth and challenging bosses with formidable health bars and one-hit kill capabilities. This has led to the development of a powerful nuke build to counter these daunting encounters. Be aware that some spoilers might be ahead.

In Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Maelle's skill, Stendhal, is the key to this massive damage output. When in her Virtuose stance, Stendhal's damage can be boosted to 200%. To execute Maelle's nuke build effectively, players need two specific Luminas, which are unlocked through Pictos (equipable items with diverse effects). The required Luminas are Cheater, granting an additional turn, and Shortcut, providing another turn when Maelle's health drops below 30%.

To further amplify this build, Maelle must wield the Medalum, which enables her to begin battles in Virtuose stance. Another essential skill is Last Stand, which activates Virtuose stance and leaves Maelle with just one hit point.

Maelle can also equip any three of the following skills to enhance her damage output: Painted Power, allowing damage to surpass 9,999; Death’s Door, boosting damage by 50% at low health; Confident Fighter, increasing damage by 30% but disabling healing; and Inverted Affinity, adding 50% damage while turning healing into harm. With the right combination of Pictos and Luminas, Maelle can achieve over 2 billion damage. To put this into perspective, the endgame boss Simon has roughly 45 million HP, meaning Maelle's strategy could theoretically defeat him 48 times over.

Players continue to explore and push the boundaries of damage output with various characters and strategies, showcasing the depth and creativity that Expedition 33 encourages in its challenging post-game content.

Stendhal Getting Nerfed

Sandfall Interactive has acknowledged that Stendhal's extreme damage was simplifying the game too much. In a May 8th post on Twitter (X), the studio announced upcoming adjustments to Maelle's skill. Originally, no balance changes were planned so early in the game's life cycle, only bug fixes. However, Stendhal's overpowering nature prompted a rethink.

Sandfall Interactive admitted that Stendhal was initially underwhelming during development, but a last-minute boost in the final pre-release balance pass went too far. "We still want you to be able to break the game—and you absolutely still can—but Stendhal was making it a bit too easy," the studio stated. The changes to Stendhal will be part of the first full hotfix set, rolling out today on Steam and soon on other platforms.

2 Million Copies in 12 Days

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has achieved yet another milestone, selling over 2 million copies within just 12 days of its launch, as announced on Twitter (X) on May 6. The game's success has even caught the attention of French President Emmanuel Macron, who congratulated Sandfall Interactive on Instagram for their representation of French culture and creativity.

Given its rapid sales and ongoing updates, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a strong contender for Game of the Year. With potential future DLCs on the horizon, the game is poised to continue its impressive trajectory.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is available now on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. Stay updated with the latest game news by clicking on our article below!