Each ofClair Obscur: Expedition 33’s playable characters has a lot to offer on the battlefield. Between elemental affinities, playstyles, and an arsenal of exceptional Skills, you can build a fantastic team from any combination of Expeditioners.
If you’re really building for pure combat prowess, though, we’ve ranked all six party members based on their overall usefulness in combat. It might help to keep one of the top performers on the bench just in case, though - remember, if the first team falls, the Reserve Party steps in to finish the fight, and they’ll be shorthanded.
6Gustave
Gustave is a great addition to the team, but his limited Skill list really holds him back. You can give him a bit of utility once he’s leveled up by slotting in some Lightning-elemental attacks, but at the end of the day, he’s a one-trick pony; build up his Charge Meter, then unleash a big hit withOvercharge.
By the end of Act One, you’ll probably start to see Gustave spending less and less time on the main team and Sciel, Lune, and Maelle eclipse him in overall power. He makes a decent backup, though, as by the time he steps in for a Last Stand the rest of the team will have likely weakened the foe enough that all he needs is one good Overcharge to finish the job.
5Sciel
Sciel’s Darkness-based attacks pack a massive punch, especially when empowered by Foretell. She also has a lot of support powers that you can make clever use of. However, she’svery situationalbecause of her limited elements, and she can be slow to build up since she needs to prepare Sun and Moon Charges.
Given enough time to set up and the right weapon, Sciel is a tempo-driven rock star on your team, but more than any other character she struggles to deal with enemies that are resistant to her chosen style.
4Monoco
Monoco offers fantastic versatility - arguably the best in the game - thanks to theunmatched size of his Skill listonce you’ve hunted down dozens of Nevrons with him in the party. He can be easily set up to fill nearly any role, although it’s often best to find a build that works for you if you don’t want to constantly spend time on his character screen making changes.
One of Monoco’s most underappreciated strengths are thereliable buffs and debuffs that he offers. His Caster Mask is especially good for keeping the party in top shape, to say nothing of his excellentSantuary Gradient, and he hasmore options for Breaking foesthan anybody else.
3Verso
Verso makes an exceptional “anchor,” a character whose job is to hold out when everyone else has fallen. Between his enormous combos, self-healing, and ways to augment damage, he’s a one-man army.
Equipping Verso withSecond Chancemakes it much safer to use risky Skills likeBerserk Slash, and he only becomes more survivable in Act 3 once he learnsAngel Eyesfor another resurrection option. You can afford to take chances with Verso, and the payoff is almost always worth it. Just beware of enemies that are resistant to Light, as a lot of his Skills rely on that element.
2Lune
Lune’s rotation of elemental spells lets her blast enemies in groups or one at a time. She’s slightly better at the former than her companions, making her a must-have for crowd control situations, but single-target spells likeLightning DanceandCrustal Crushcan make short work of lone targets as well.
It’s best to verify that Lune has access toall four of her elements(Fire, Ice, Earth, and Lightning), so that she’s never stuck against an insurmountable foe and that she can effectively generate whichever Stains she needs. Until late in the game when she has enough Skill Points to unlock most of her tree, it can be worthspending a Recoat now and thento change her setup to suit the current situation.
Lune also makes a fantastic healer, and her recovery spells are within easy reach on her Skill Tree.
1Maelle
The youngest member of Expedition 33 is a Nevron’s worst nightmare from the moment she joins your party until the very end of the game. Her Stances offer staggering damage multipliers that mean she’lloften be the first character to hit for 9,999in a single strike, especially with the benefit ofhigh-damage Skills that apply Mark and Defenceless.
If her raw damage output wasn’t enough, Maelle alsodishes out Burn even more efficiently than Lune, piling on more damage each time enemies take their turns. Outside of the occasional fight against Fire-elemental enemies that absorb the flames, Maelle’s Burn attacks will hasten your victory in nearly every battle.
To top it all off, Maelle gets access to the uniqueVoid elementin Act 3, via her unlocked Skills and theLithum rapierthat you earn from her personal quest. Nothing can resist Void attacks, so there’s truly no foe that’s safe from late-game Maelle.
