Maelle's 2 Billion Damage Build Nerfed by Clair Obscur

Maelle from Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 can unleash over 2 billion damage with her nuke build. Dive into this article to uncover how players are achieving such staggering damage figures and how Sandfall Interactive is responding to this game-changing skill.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Updates

Stendhal Hurts, A Lot

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 continues to surprise and delight players with daily discoveries, including the revelation of a 2 billion damage 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. Facing these challenges can be intimidating, given the bosses' massive health pools and potential one-hit kill abilities. In response, players have developed a powerful nuke build for Maelle. Note: This article contains minor spoilers, so proceed with caution.

Maelle's skill, Stendhal, already deals significant damage, which can be boosted to 200% when she's in her Virtuose stance. To maximize Maelle's nuke build, players need two specific Luminas, unlocked via Pictos (items that enhance various effects). The essential Luminas are Cheater, which grants an extra turn, and Shortcut, which provides another turn when Maelle's health falls below 30%.

Additionally, equipping Maelle with the Medalum weapon allows her to begin battles in Virtuose stance. The skill Last Stand also plays a crucial role by triggering Virtuose stance and reducing Maelle's health to one hit point.

To further amplify her damage, Maelle should also equip three of the following skills: Painted Power to exceed 9,999 damage, Death’s Door for an additional 50% damage at low health, Confident Fighter for a 30% boost (though it disables healing), and Inverted Affinity for another 50% damage increase (which makes healing detrimental). With the right combination of Pictos and Luminas, Maelle can surpass 2 billion damage. For context, the endgame boss Simon has approximately 45 million HP, meaning Maelle's nuke can theoretically defeat him 48 times over.

Players are constantly experimenting with different strategies and characters to push damage limits, making Expedition 33's post-game a thrilling challenge.

Stendhal Getting Nerfed

Sandfall Interactive has recognized that Stendhal's immense damage was simplifying the game too much. In a recent Twitter (X) post dated May 8, the studio announced upcoming adjustments to Maelle’s skill. Initially, the developers planned only to address bugs early on, not balance issues. However, the overpowering nature of Stendhal prompted a change of plan. The skill, initially underwhelming during development, received a significant damage boost in the final pre-release balance pass, which was perhaps too generous.

"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," Sandfall Interactive stated. The changes to Stendhal will be part of the first full hotfix set, scheduled to roll out today on Steam and soon after on other platforms.

2 Million Copies in 12 Days

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

Given its rapid success and ongoing updates, Expedition 33 is a strong contender for Game of the Year. Sandfall Interactive is committed to enhancing the game further, with potential DLC on the horizon.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is now available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. For the latest updates and more information, check out our article below!