Strongest build that doesn't require grind in Clair Obscur, and will burn your enemies even without playing in synergies

Clair Obscur Expedition 33 gives players a lot of freedom in developing party . There are tons of skills, ive effects, and weapons with different Picto effects, so you can create hundreds of powerful builds. One of these builds is specifically designed for one of the characters, it's very easy to use, doesn't require much tinkering with the Lumina, and is unlocked automatically during the story. Below is the best endgame build for Maelle, made up of guaranteed or commonly available items, which will easily help you reach the end of the story and post-game content without the need for excessive grinding.

You can find more helpful information in our guide:

1. Expedition 33 - game guide

How to unlock Maelle's secret skills?

You probably noticed at the beginning of the game that two playable characters have some skills locked on their skill trees. Although Gustave's blocked abilities will be revealed quite quickly at the very beginning of the Second Act (although it will not be him, but Verso who will use them), unlocking Maelle's locked abilities will take a bit longer. They will unlock automatically at the start of the Third Act, right after defeating Paintress at the top of the Monolith.

At the beginning of the Third Act, Maelle awakens her hidden powers, thereby unlocking three new skills - Phantom Strike, Stendhal, and Burning Canvas. We recommend immediately using a recoat to get the skill points needed to purchase these abilities. They deal void damage that no enemy is resistant to, and they are definitely the most powerful attacks in Maelle's arsenal.

How do Maelle's secret skills work?

Once Maelle unlocks her Paintress skills, she'll become your dedicated offensive party member. While the other of the expedition have to rely on synergies and substantial amounts of Lumina to match the damage dealt by Maelle, she only needs her new void attacks, which are incredibly powerful even without any Lumina synergies.

1. Burning Canvas - 5 AP - deals five strikes to a single enemy, applying Burn per hit. The attack power increases, the more burns are inflicted on the enemy. Places Maelle in an offensive stance. Probably the weakest of the Painter's skills, but still definitely worth using - it works like a more powerful Rain of Fire. Its main use will probably be setting the enemy on fire, which will allow you to easily enter a virtuoso stance using a Quick Step.

1. Phantom Strike - 7 AP - deals four area hits to all enemies and drastically fills the gradient charge bar. Places Maelle in a defensive stance. Great area attack that will allow you to use gradient attacks much more often. Maelle's basic gradient attack automatically puts her in a virtuoso stance, making it much easier to effectively use Stendhal.

1. Stendhal - 8 AP - deals massive damage to an enemy. Maelle loses her shields and becomes vulnerable, reducing her defense. Place Maelle in a neutral stance. The damage inflicted by Stendhal is big. A single Stendhal in a virtuoso stance can deal hundreds of thousands of damage in one hit, which is about a third of the final boss's health in the game.

During all the remaining boss fights, the strategy for Maelle will prove to be very simple - enter the virtuoso stance and hit the boss with Stendhal, instantly wiping out a huge part of his health bar. The easiest way to do this is by hitting a burning enemy with the Quick Step ability (Maelle can burn them herself with the Burning Canvas) or using the Virtuoso Strike gradient attack (the gradient attack bar fills up much faster with Phantom Strike).

What Lumina should Maelle be equipped with?

There is only one key Lumina, without which the whole strategy falls apart. This is the Painted Power, which you will automatically get after defeating the Paintress. Painted Power removes the damage limit imposed on hits. Without Painted Power, Stendahl will only deal 9,999 damage. With the Painted Power, you'll be able to deal hundreds of thousands of damage points. Immediately after starting the Third Act, equip Maelle or another party member with the Painted Power, and after mastering it, assign the Lumina effect to the entire team. It costs only five Lumina points.

The most problematic part of the strategy is gaining action points. Stendhal is an expensive skill, but you can only keep up the virtuoso stance for one turn, so when you reach that stance, you need to have the required eight action points. We highly recommend using the Lumina Energising Turn (picto received for defeating Sirene), which gives an additional +1 AP at the beginning of the turn. This means that at the beginning of each turn, you will gain two AP instead of one. This will come in really handy, especially when combined with the gradient attack, because using the gradient attack will immediately give you an extra turn.

Although Stendhal is already powerful in itself, there are ways to further enhance it. The easiest thing to do is to aim for a critical hit. For example, the Lumina, Critical Burn increases the chance of landing a critical hit on burning enemies by 25%. You could have found it in the first location of the game, Spring Meadows. You can also use the Shield Affinity Lumina, which you can find in the painted cage in the Sirene location. It increases the damage dealt by you by 30% when you have a shield. It therefore synergizes with one of Maelle's weapons - the one that allows stealing enemy shields, called the Barrier Breaker, which you get as part of the main story in Act Two.

1. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Review: A beautiful tour de force

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Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

April 24, 2025

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