Maelle's 2 Billion Damage Build Nerfed by Clair Obscur

Discover how Maelle from Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 can unleash over 2 billion damage with her nuke build. Dive into the details of this powerful strategy and learn 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 captivate players with daily discoveries, such as the staggering 2 billion damage build for the Expeditioner, Maelle. After completing the main storyline, the game's endgame unfolds, offering additional narratives and formidable bosses with colossal health pools and one-hit kill capabilities. This challenging environment has spurred players to innovate with nuke builds. Be cautious, as this article contains minor spoilers.

Maelle's skill, Stendhal, is the cornerstone of her devastating nuke build, capable of dealing immense damage, especially when amplified to 200% in her Virtuose stance. To maximize this build, players need two specific Luminas, unlocked through Pictos—equipable items that offer various effects. The required Luminas are Cheater, granting an extra turn, and Shortcut, providing another turn when health drops below 30%.

Additionally, Maelle must be equipped with the Medalum weapon, which initiates battles in Virtuose stance, and the Last Stand skill, which triggers Virtuose stance while reducing Maelle to one hit point.

To further enhance her damage output, Maelle should equip at least three of the following skills: Painted Power for damage beyond 9,999, Death’s Door for a 50% damage boost at low health, Confident Fighter for a 30% increase but no healing, Inverted Affinity for another 50% boost but with healing causing harm, and other percentage-based damage boosts.

With the right combination of Pictos and Luminas, Maelle can achieve over 2 billion damage, significantly outstripping the 45 million HP of the endgame boss, Simon, effectively killing him 48 times over. Players are continuously experimenting with various characters and strategies to push damage limits, making the challenging post-game more engaging and fun.

Stendhal Getting Nerfed

Sandfall Interactive has acknowledged that Stendhal's overpowering nature was making the game too easy. In a Twitter (X) post on May 8, the studio announced upcoming adjustments to Maelle’s skill. Originally, no balance changes were planned this early in the game's lifecycle, only bug fixes. However, the extreme damage output of Stendhal prompted a reevaluation.

"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. They plan to implement the Stendhal nerfs in their first full hotfix, set to go live on Steam today, with other platforms to follow soon.

2 Million Copies in 12 Days

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has achieved remarkable success, selling 2 million copies within just 12 days of its launch, as announced on Twitter (X) on May 6. The game's cultural impact was recognized by French President Emmanuel Macron, who congratulated Sandfall Interactive on Instagram for their representation of French creativity and audacity.

With its ongoing success and updates, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a strong contender for this year's Game of the Year award. The developers are committed to enhancing the game, with potential DLCs on the horizon.

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