Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a fantastic RPG that needs to be experienced at least once. But once you’ve witnessed the harrowing story of the doomed world-saving expedition and its intense turn-based gameplay for yourself, you can do it all again in New Game Plus.
However, playing the game from the very beginning again is no walk in the park. There are some subtle differences between the regular mode and the NG+ version that could easily frustrate you if you’re not prepared.
Let’s take a look at some helpful tips and tricks that will help you both survive and thrive in a second playthrough of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, including ways to level up, uncover new secrets, and defeat bosses.
Warning: Spoilers for major plot twists in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 are within this list, which is intended for those who have completed the main story and are just getting started with New Game Plus.
10 Finish All Of Those Side Quests First
Starting a New Game Plus playthrough is as easy as going to a save point and selecting the “New Game+” option. When doing this, the game warns you that all your progression from the various side quests you’ve started, as well as any quest-specific items, will be reset.
So, if you’re still looking for those lost Gestrals or trying to max out your relationships with the rest of your party, try to make sure you’ve finished all of those so that their rewards will carry over into your next playthrough.
9 Fill Out Your Party Right Away
Unlike the original game, where your party fills out as the story progresses, New Game Plus gives you access to all of your party members (minus Verso) right at the start. All the skills you previously unlocked will also carry over.
Since enemies are much more difficult in this mode, don’t try to play the beginning portion of the game in a similar way as before, where you start off with just playing as Gustave and make your way up to the standard three members per battle. You probably won’t survive those early battles in the same way.
8 Set Gustave Aside
The Act 1 twist where Gustave dies and is replaced by Verso is a gut punch, especially considering it wasn’t even supposed to be in the game to begin with. But since you already know it’s going to happen, just swap him out of the party so that the other characters you encounter later can level up faster.
Since non-party members still level up at a slightly slower rate, and since Verso takes Gustave’s stats at the start of Act 2, subbing out the sadly doomed protagonist is an obvious decision. Don’t worry, though: There are still plenty of opportunities to level Verso up later on.
7 Make Sure Monoco Is Always Around
Going hand in hand with the previous tips, Monoco’s availability from the very beginning is hugely important in a New Game Plus run. His versatile skill set makes him well suited for any type of enemy or boss encounter.
Even so, the main reason to always have him around is to fill out his skill tree, which you can only do if you defeat enemies when he’s a party member. If you couldn’t fill his skill tree out the first time around because of how late he entered the story, the process is much easier now.
6 Upgrade Your Weapons As Quickly As Possible
Not only do your weapons carry over into New Game Plus, but also all the Chroma Catalyst you use to upgrade your weapons as well. If you’ve been saving up the first time or want to double those savings the second time, then, at a certain point you’ll be overflowing with easy upgrades for your entire inventory.
This means that if there is a low-level weapon you got the first time you played, New Game Plus is the perfect opportunity to fully experience the perks that weapon has to offer with all the extra Catalyst items at your disposal.
5 Equip The Most Busted Pictos And Luminas
In addition to keeping the same weapons, the Pictos and Lumina that you acquired the first time around will also be in your inventory. The game will also give you upgraded versions of previously acquired Pictos, so that you can equip them at a higher level for more powerful character builds.
While the enemy encounters won’t be a total walk in the park, having end-game Pictos right away is a massive help. I would recommend getting the Painted Power (damage exceeds 9,999), Cheater (always play twice), and Second Chance (revive at full health) Pictos on your first playthrough so they carry over. When combined with other Pictos that increase AP gains, you’ll be at your strongest every time.
4 Don’t Forget Your Baguette
New Game Plus is also the only place to get the Baguette, a weapon you can only obtain at the bakery in the game’s prologue. All you need to do is make sure you have at least one festival token from your previous playthrough that you didn’t spend, and you’re good. And if you have more, you can get a Baguette weapon for more than one character.
The passive effects the Baguette has are: it kills you at Level 4, revives you at Level 10, and lets you play first at Level 20. All of these can be obtained through Pictos, so the weapon can seem like a bit of a joke at first. But it can be very useful in creating an “Auto Death” build for reviving and powering up characters. Plus, they go great with the Baguette outfits.
3 Prepare For The Grind
The highest level any character in your party can be is 99, which is not required for the final boss encounter. I finished my first run with every party member in the mid-40s, while mostly only doing main story content. But since enemy encounters are harder in New Game Plus, grinding your level as high as possible is recommended on the second run.
Replaying the game normally will help you level up fast, but there are spots to speed up this process. I’d recommend The Endless Tower in Act 3. With 33 challenges involving previously encountered bosses, you’ll be overpowered in no time.
2 Make Sure Your Parry Skills Are On Point
When battling enemies, you can either parry or dodge their attacks. When first starting out, dodging attacks is much easier when it comes to survival. But in New Game Plus, since you’ve already encountered these enemies before, parrying their attacks should come much easier for you.
However, if you’re still having trouble parrying attacks, the Danseuse side quest in the Frozen Hearts area and the optional Grosse Tete boss fight are good places to start. If you haven’t already encountered them, you can take your time and practise.
1 Master Maelle’s Stendhal
Now that you’ve made yourself overpowered with tons of weapons and Pictos and leveled up enough to unlock all the party’s skills, now is the perfect time to wipe through bosses with Maelle. Stendhal, a powerful single-hit attack, is the key to this.
Center Maelle’s kit around this attack and easy ways to enter Virtuoso Stance (which increases her damage), and recruit party members with skills that can further buff her kill potential, like Sciel (Fortune’s Fury) and/or Verso (Powerful). Even if you don’t get a one-shot, with the right Pictos and party members, you can deal close to 1,000,000 damage and potentially end boss fights before they even start.
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- Released
- April 24, 2025
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Sandfall Interactive
- Publisher(s)
- Kepler Interactive
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a ground-breaking turn-based RPG with unique real-time mechanics, making battles more immersive and addictive than ever. Explore a fantasy world inspired by Belle Époque France in which you battle devastating enemies.
In this evolution of JRPGs, real-time actions enhance the heart of turn-based combat. Craft unique builds for your Expeditioners that fit your playstyle via gear, stats, skills, and character synergies. Open an active dimension in combat – dodge, parry, and counter in real time, chain combos by mastering attack rhythms, and target enemy weak points using a free aim system.
With only one year left to live, join Gustave, Maelle, and their fellow Expeditioners as they embark upon a desperate quest to break the Paintress’ cycle of death. Follow the trail of previous expeditions and discover their fate. Get to know the members of Expedition 33 as they learn to work together against impossible odds.
Explore an enchanting realm populated by surreal adversaries. Wander through breathtaking landscapes, from the Island of Visages to the Forgotten Battlefield, discovering secrets and hidden quests along the way. Find allies of fortune in creatures of legend and recruit special companions, access new travel methods and discover secret areas in the World Map.
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- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- Cross-Platform Play
- No
- Cross Save
- No
- Number of Players
- Single-player
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- Playable
- PC Release Date
- April 24, 2025
- Xbox Series X|S Release Date
- April 24, 2025
- PS5 Release Date
- April 24, 2025
- How Long To Beat
- 29 hours
- X|S Optimized
- Yes
- File Size Xbox Series
- 42.33 GB
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
- Security Camera Installation – indoor/outdoor IP CCTV systems & video analytics
- Access Control Installation – key card, fob, biometric & cloud‑based door entry
- Business Security Systems – integrated alarms, surveillance & access control
- Structured Cabling Services – voice, data & fiber infrastructure for new or existing builds
- Video Monitoring Services – 24/7 remote surveillance and analytics monitoring
Author: 360 Technology Group
