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, and learn about the upcoming nerfs from Sandfall Interactive.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Updates

Stendhal Hurts, A Lot

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 continues to surprise players with daily discoveries, including a method to achieve up to 2 billion damage using Maelle's nuke build. After completing the main story, the game's endgame unfolds, offering additional story elements and formidable bosses. These bosses often have massive health bars and can deliver one-hit kills, prompting players to develop strategies like Maelle's nuke build. Note: This article contains minor spoilers.

Maelle's skill, Stendhal, is central to her high damage output, which can be amplified to 200% in her Virtuose stance. To maximize this nuke build, players need two specific Luminas, unlocked via Pictos (equipable items with unique effects): Cheater, which grants an extra turn, and Shortcut, which provides another turn when health drops below 30%.

Additionally, Maelle requires her weapon, the Medalum, to start battles in Virtuose stance, and the skill Last Stand, which activates Virtuose stance while reducing her health to one hit point.

Maelle can also equip any three of the following skills to boost her damage: Painted Power for exceeding 9,999 damage, Death’s Door for a 50% damage increase at low health, Confident Fighter for an additional 30% damage but no healing, and Inverted Affinity for another 50% damage increase with harmful healing. With these combinations, Maelle can deal over 2 billion damage, significantly more than the 45 million HP of the endgame boss, Simon.

Players are continuously experimenting with various strategies and characters to push damage limits further, making Expedition 33's challenging post-game both exciting and rewarding.

Stendhal Getting Nerfed

Sandfall Interactive has acknowledged that Stendhal's extreme damage was making 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 overwhelming power necessitated a revision. Initially underwhelming, Stendhal received a significant damage boost in the final pre-release balance pass, which was too much.

"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 part of the first full hotfix set, launching today on Steam and soon on other platforms.

2 Million Copies in 12 Days

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has reached another milestone, selling 2 million copies within 12 days of its launch, as announced in a May 6 Twitter (X) post. Earlier this month, French President Emmanuel Macron congratulated the team on Instagram for their success and for showcasing French creativity, stating, "Congratulations to Sandfall Interactive and all the creators of Expedition 33. You are a shining example of French audacity and creativity."

With its ongoing success and planned updates, Expedition 33 is a strong contender for this year’s Game of the Year award. The developers are committed to enhancing the game experience, 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 news by clicking on our article below!