Discover how Maelle from Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 can unleash over 2 billion damage with her nuke build. Learn about the mechanics behind this staggering power and how Sandfall Interactive is addressing this game-changing skill.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Updates
Stendhal Hurts, A Lot
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 continues to captivate players with daily discoveries, including a method to deal up to 2 billion damage using Maelle, the Expeditioner. After completing the main story, players unlock the endgame, which introduces new story elements and challenging bosses with massive health pools and one-hit kill capabilities. This has led players to develop a nuke build for Maelle. Note: This article contains minor spoilers.
Maelle's skill, Stendhal, is key to this high-damage build. When in her Virtuose stance, Stendhal's damage can be amplified to 200%. To execute this nuke build, players need two specific Luminas, unlocked through Pictos (items with unique effects): Cheater, which grants an extra turn, and Shortcut, which provides another turn when Maelle's health drops below 30%.
Additionally, players need Maelle’s weapon, the Medalum, which initiates the battle in Virtuose stance, and the skill Last Stand, which triggers the Virtuose stance and reduces Maelle's health to one point.
To further enhance Maelle's damage output, players can equip three of the following skills: Painted Power, which allows damage to exceed 9,999; Death’s Door, which increases damage by 50% at low health; Confident Fighter, which boosts damage by 30% but disables healing; Inverted Affinity, which adds 50% damage but makes healing harmful; and other skills that amplify damage percentages.
With these combinations, Maelle can achieve over 2 billion damage, significantly surpassing the 45 million HP of the endgame boss, Simon. This means Maelle's nuke strategy could theoretically defeat Simon 48 times over, illustrating the build's overwhelming power.
Players continue to push the boundaries, experimenting with different characters and strategies to achieve even higher damage outputs. Expedition 33 encourages creative gameplay to navigate its challenging post-game content.
Stendhal Getting Nerfed
Sandfall Interactive has acknowledged that Stendhal's damage made the game too easy. In a May 8 Twitter (X) post, the studio announced upcoming adjustments to Maelle’s skill. Originally, no balance changes were planned this early, only bug fixes. However, Stendhal's extreme damage prompted a rethink.
Sandfall admitted that during development, Stendhal was initially underwhelming. In the final pre-release balance pass, they significantly boosted its damage, inadvertently making it too powerful.
"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 included in their first full hotfix, which is set to go live today on Steam, followed by other platforms.
2 Million Copies in 12 Days
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 continues its impressive run, selling 2 million copies just 12 days after launch, as announced on Twitter (X) on May 6. Earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron congratulated Sandfall Interactive on Instagram, praising their representation of French culture and creativity.
With its ongoing success and planned updates, Expedition 33 is a strong contender for this year's Game of the Year. Future updates and potential DLC could further enhance the game's appeal.
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!
