Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s locations may seem large, but they are fairly easy to navigate if you have the right mindset. Here are five obscure tips that will make location exploration easier (note that not all of these tips work for exploration in the overworld):
1. Turn controller vibration on to find grapple points
While most grapple points are easily visible thanks to their golden color and action prompt pop-up, the beauty and strangeness of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s level design can sometimes make them hard to find. If you’re using a controller and don’t know where to go next, turning on vibration will cause your controller to rumble anytime you come across an interactable grapple point. This way, you can focus less on platforming and more on your next fight.
2. Switch to Lune for smoother traversal
If you’re tired of hearing your party members’ footsteps and pants as they scurry about like mortals, switching over to Lune will solve those problems. Not only is she one of the best healers, but her ability to float removes all footstep sounds and needless panting.
On that note, while the tutorials say switching characters has no impact on gameplay, there are times when playing as different characters will yield new conversations. For starters, try talking to Golgra in the Gestral Village as Monoco or to the Grand Fashionist Grandis in Monoco’s Station as Lune, Maelle, or Sciel. Thankfully, the game gives explicit hints as to which characters unlock more conversation options.
3. Go off the beaten path
As Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is heavily influenced by traditional turn-based JRPGs, there are times when the main path diverges into more than a single direction. When this happens, try exploring the less obvious paths that take the form of crouch walkways, zip lines, or trails with less lighting or enemies. These paths often lead to areas that contain new Pictos, Pétank arenas, Paint Cages, or if you’re really unlucky, an optional boss. While you can always return to areas you’ve missed, it’s always a good idea to finish a location while the loot and enemies still scale to your level.
4. Use Rest Points only when you need to
Taking a page out of the Soulslike genre, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 includes the option to rest at any Expedition Flag Rest Point. Resting does not only refill your available Tints – it also causes most enemies to respawn, which is why you might want to hold off on it. Doing so leaves previously explored areas clear of enemies, making backtracking easier provided you keep a few Chroma Elixirs handy. You can still activate an Expedition Flag by interacting with it, as it gives you a checkpoint to fall back to in case your party accidentally gets wiped out.
5. Run away from enemies that are chasing you; you can always hit them with a First Strike as they go back
Speaking of accidentally getting wiped out, while First Strikes (hitting an enemy with a melee attack to engage a fight) can give you an advantage in battle, you don’t have to commit to them.
Should an enemy spot you and start chasing you down following a failed First Strike attempt, you will find that their movements are slow enough that you can outrun them. Once they return to their default positions, you can easily hit them from behind with a First Strike. It’s a pretty cheesy way of fighting, but considering how unfair some battles can be, you should take any advantage you can get.
Those were just five of many on-foot exploration tips in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Though turn-based combat is still the core gameplay loop, having good exploration habits will ensure you won’t miss anything this unique world has to offer.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is available for PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X|S.
