Discover how Maelle from Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 can unleash over 2 billion damage with her nuke build. Dive in to learn about achieving this staggering damage and how Sandfall Interactive is responding to this game-altering skill.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Updates

Stendhal Hurts, A Lot

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 continues to surprise and delight players with daily discoveries, including a groundbreaking 2 billion damage nuke build for the character Maelle. As players complete the main storyline, they unlock the endgame, which is packed with additional narrative content and formidable bosses. These encounters can be intimidating due to bosses' massive health pools and potential for one-hit kills, prompting players to develop innovative strategies like the nuke build. Note that this article contains minor spoilers, so proceed with caution.

Maelle's skill, Stendhal, is key to this build, delivering substantial damage that can be boosted to 200% when she's in her Virtuose stance. To execute this nuke build, Maelle requires two specific Luminas, which are unlocked through Pictos (equipable items with various effects). The essential Luminas are Cheater, granting an extra turn, and Shortcut, providing another turn when health drops below 30%.

Additionally, players need Maelle's weapon, the Medalum, which starts her in Virtuose stance, and the skill Last Stand, which also puts her into Virtuose stance while reducing her to one hit point.

To maximize her damage, Maelle should also equip three of the following skills: Painted Power to exceed 9,999 damage, Death’s Door for a 50% damage boost at low health, Confident Fighter for an additional 30% damage but no healing, Inverted Affinity for another 50% damage but with harmful healing, and other skills that enhance damage output.

With the right combination of Pictos and Luminas, Maelle can surpass 2 billion damage. For context, the endgame boss Simon has around 45 million HP. Maelle's nuke strategy could theoretically defeat Simon 48 times over, illustrating the extreme power of this build.

Players continue to experiment with different combinations and characters to achieve even higher damage numbers. The challenging post-game content of Expedition 33 encourages players to develop creative strategies, enhancing both the fun and ease of their journey.

Stendhal Getting Nerfed

Sandfall Interactive has acknowledged that Stendhal's overwhelming power was making the game too easy. In a Twitter (X) post on May 8, the studio announced upcoming adjustments to Maelle’s skill. Initially, the developers planned only to address bugs early in the game's lifecycle, but the extreme damage from Stendhal prompted a balance change.

During development, Stendhal was underwhelming, but a last-minute pre-release balance adjustment gave it an unintended boost. Sandfall Interactive stated, "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." These changes will be included in their first full hotfix, which will first be available on Steam and soon after on other platforms.

2 Million Copies in 12 Days

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 continues its success, reaching 2 million copies sold just 12 days after its launch, as announced on Twitter (X) on May 6. Earlier this month, French President Emmanuel Macron celebrated the game's achievements and its representation of French culture on Instagram, saying, "Congratulations to Sandfall Interactive and all the creators of Expedition 33. You are a shining example of French audacity and creativity."

With such remarkable achievements, Expedition 33 is a strong contender for this year’s Game of the Year award and is poised to reach even more milestones. The developers are committed to enhancing the game through updates and possibly future DLC.

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