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8 Best Skills To Get Early In Clair Obscur Expedition 33
- Image of Clair Obscur Expedition 33 trailer, courtesy of GameStop.

With Clair Obscur Expedition 33 taking over the world by storm, selecting the right skills early on can go a long way in making your way smoother through its noir‐punk world. Here are the 8 top early‐game skills you should unlock first, having a balance of damage, support, and utility to prepare your party for every challenge.

We’ll go over why each skill matters, how best to use it, and who it’s best for, so you can tailor your build from the start!

Shatter – Lightning Bolt to All Enemies

Image of Clair Obscur Expedition 33 trailer, courtesy of GameStop.
Character: Gustave

Shatter is one of Gustave’s earliest AoE skills, dealing lightning damage to all on-screen mobs. It doesn’t utilize Overcharge, enabling you to clean trash mobs without wasting your meter. Great for grinding and saving resources for boss fights!

Rebirth – Revive a Fallen Ally

Character: Lune

Lune’s Rebirth ability will bring back a defeated ally in combat. Clair Obscur Expedition 33 does not have many healing items, having the option to revive in combat will be a savior for survival in surprise wipes on tough encounters.

Powerful – Boost the Party’s Attack Power

Character: Gustave

Powerful provides every member of the party with an increase in damage output for several turns. Combined with Maelle’s Guard Down (below), it can turn tough boss phases into easy damage sponges so you can burn through health bars faster.

Mayhem – Convert Elemental Stains into Damage

Character: Lune

Once elemental spells have been cast, Lune accumulates Stains. Mayhem converts Stains into one high-damage attack, so none of the Stain is wasted, and you gain maximum DPS when burst damage is required.

Healing Light – Heal an Ally’s HP

Character: Lune

One of the few dependable early healing skills, Healing Light restores HP and clears status. In Clair Obscur Expedition 33, healing consumables can be very few and far between. Spending on this skill early will save trips to camp and maintain your momentum rolling along.

Guard Down – Reduce Enemy Defense

Character: Maelle

Guard Down lowers the defense of all enemies, increasing the damage of the rest of your party. It’s particularly great before using big combos or elemental attacks, allowing even weaker attacks to hit harder.

Fleuret Fury – Triple-Hit Sword Attack

Character: Maelle

Fleuret Fury hits one target three times, piercing multiple Shield layers in a single turn. This quickly dispatches Shield-heavy enemies without taking additional turns, whittling down enemy defenses.

Earth Rising – Earth-Based AoE Attack

Character: Lune

Earth Rising hurts all enemies in range and is therefore perfect for mob-clearing. While not the highest-damage AoE later on, it is still a useful tool when you have not yet unlocked higher-level elemental spells, and its Stain-consumption mechanic can be used to deal additional damage.

Why These Skills Are Important Early on in Clair Obscur Expedition 33

Having superior skills early provides you with an advantage in battle against tougher Nevrons and mini-bosses. AoE spells eliminate weaker enemies faster, debuffs lower enemy defenses so they get bigger hits, healing magic reduces pressure on limited items, and revives save a run if a boss fight does not go well. Keep these eight abilities in the forefront, and you’ll have an offense and support party in front.

Final Thoughts

By prioritizing these skills early on, you’ll set up a balanced toolkit that covers crowd control, healing, buffs, debuffs, and raw damage. This skill foundation makes early battles smoother and complements later, more advanced abilities, which ensures your party is versatile from the first expedition onward.

There are quite a lot of skills, almost too many to keep track of, even with a full list. But keep your skill points flowing into these essentials, and you’ll blaze a clearer path through the Clair Obscur Expedition 33’s many challenges.

This article first appeared on Total Apex Gaming and was syndicated with permission.

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