Maelle's 2 Billion Damage Build Nerfed by Clair Obscur

Discover how Maelle in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 can unleash over 2 billion damage with her nuke build, and learn about the upcoming nerfs from Sandfall Interactive aimed at balancing this overpowered skill.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Updates

Stendhal Hurts, A Lot

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 continues to captivate players with new discoveries each day, including a groundbreaking method to achieve 2 billion damage with Maelle, the Expeditioner. After completing the main storyline, the game's endgame unfolds, offering additional narrative elements and formidable bosses. Facing these challenges can be intimidating, given the bosses' immense health pools and potential for one-hit kills. In response, players have crafted a potent nuke build. Note: This article contains minor spoilers, so proceed with caution.

In the game, Maelle's skill, Stendhal, delivers significant damage, which can be boosted to 200% in her Virtuose stance. To execute Maelle's nuke build effectively, players need two specific Luminas, unlocked via Pictos, equipable items that enhance gameplay. The required Luminas are Cheater, granting an additional turn, and Shortcut, which provides another turn when Maelle's health drops below 30%.

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

To further amplify her damage, Maelle should equip three of the following skills: Painted Power, allowing damage to exceed 9,999; Death’s Door, increasing damage by 50% at low health; Confident Fighter, boosting damage by 30% but disabling healing; Inverted Affinity, providing another 50% damage boost but making healing harmful; and other skills that enhance damage percentages.

With various Picto and Lumina combinations, Maelle can surpass 2 billion damage. To put this into perspective, the endgame boss, Simon, boasts around 45 million HP. With Maelle's nuke strategy, she could theoretically defeat Simon 48 times over—an extreme case of overkill.

Players continue to experiment with different strategies and characters to push damage limits, showcasing the engaging post-game challenges of Expedition 33.

Stendhal Getting Nerfed

Sandfall Interactive has acknowledged that Stendhal's overpowering effect was simplifying gameplay too much. In a recent X post on May 8, the studio announced upcoming modifications to Maelle’s skill. Initially, the team had planned only to address bugs and not to make balance changes so soon after launch. However, Stendhal's excessive damage prompted a reevaluation.

Sandfall Interactive admitted that Stendhal was initially underwhelming during development, but a final pre-release balance adjustment resulted in an unintended damage spike. "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," they explained. These changes to Stendhal will be part of their first comprehensive hotfix, set to go live today on Steam and soon on other platforms.

2 Million Copies in 12 Days

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has reached yet another milestone, selling 2 million copies within just 12 days of its release, as announced in a recent X post on May 6. Earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron praised the game on Instagram, congratulating Sandfall Interactive for their success and for showcasing French creativity and audacity.

With its continued success and planned updates, Expedition 33 stands as a strong contender for this year’s Game of the Year award. The developers are committed to enhancing the game, with potential DLC on the horizon.

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