Clair Obscur: Expedition 33is anything but predictable. For the first two acts, you’re on a relatively linear path, given a few distractions, but otherwise you’re always told where to go next. In contrast, after the introduction of Act 3 is complete and Esquie is given his freedom to fly around the continent, you’re essentially told to distract yourself or just finish the game in Lumiere.
Since the finale of the game is well-scaled difficulty-wise to where you’ll be at the start of Act 3, it’s completely understandable if you just want to finish the story first, but if you’re looking for more of a challenge, you may use Esquie’s new skill to explore every corner of the continent and hunt down all the other bosses.
10Chromatic Glissando
Lune Relationship Quest
Throughout the entirety of Lune’s relationship storyline, you’ll gradually learn more and more about her complex relationship with her parents, who perished on Expedition 46. By the time you reach Act 3 you’ll have access to the end of Lune’s questline and have the option to hunt down Expedition 46’s log, but to do that you’ll need to get through Chromatic Glissando.
Lune’s quest will direct youto Sirene’s Dress, where you’ll find this terrifying snake-like behemoth guarding the previous Expedition’s Log. While the Glissando will put up a worthy challenge, it’s much easier than the other relationship storyline bosses, since you have the option to go in with your entire party, Lune or no Lune.
9Grosse Tete
Coastal Cave
While some of the optional bosses in Act 3 have plenty of build-up and narrative relevance, others are just a tough challenge that you happen to come across in the world, and Grosse Tete is a perfect example of this.
If you haven’t been fully utilizing the parry mechanic through Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, then Grosse Tete will force you to learn. Unlike the other bosses, you don’t necessarily have to drain Tete’s health bar to beat it; you just need to keep parrying its increasingly aggressive attacks. Sounds simple in theory, but once you realize just how much Tete attacks in one turn, you’ll understand how much skill this requires.
8Sprong
Continent Ocean
While most of the bosses intended to be fought in Act 3 are only accessible in Act 3, Sprong is one that you can technically fight as early as mid-way through Act 2; it’s just heavily discouraged.
The slightly awkward-looking giant is found wading around the oceans, and its massive attacks hit hard if you’re not ready to parry. You’ll need to grind for a while in Act 3 to finally be at the point where Sprong is a viable challenge, and once you can take a few hits, he’s not too difficult compared to other Act 3 bosses, since his attacks aren’t too tricky to parry.
7Alicia
Maelle Relationship Quest
It’s clear quite early on that Maellehas a special relationshipwith Renoir’s daughter Alicia, but you’ll only get the full story by the time you’ve reached Act 3. Even then, it’s actually possible to beat the game without fully understanding Maelle and Alicia’s dynamic, since its conclusion is optional as part of Maelle’s relationship quest line.
The final challenge of her relationship, only accessible after the start of Act 3, will take you to The Reacher, the hiding place of the third Axon who you might notice for his cameo in the final boss fight against Renoir. Instead of fighting the Reacher, you’ll instead have to face Alicia, one-on-one, as Maelle. The difficulty of this encounter depends heavily on how well-built Maelle is, but luckily Alicia only has a couple of long combos, so once you’ve learned them, she isn’t too tough.
6Renoir
Lumiere
Unlike all the other Act 3 bosses, Renoir is the only one that isn’t optional (discounting the final conflict between Verso and Maelle), and you’ll need to take him down in the heart of Lumiere to reach credits.
It’s clear that Renoir was designed to be the grand finale of Clair Obscur, with him hitting hard, and regularly using spectacle-filled massive attacks. While he’s a tough multi-phase beast to beat, he won’t require much grinding, so it’s best to face him before trying too many of the optional bosses, since this might trivialize some of his challenge if your party is over-leveled.
5Golgra
Monoco Relationship Quest
Monoco is one of the party members who takes you on a side quest to reach the end of his relationship storyline, and his includes one of the toughest challenges in the third act. Before getting the chance to revive Noco at the Sacred River, you’ll be interrupted by the Gestral chief Golgra.
Golgra wouldn’t be as much of an intense challenge if it weren’t for the fact that you’re stuck with just Monoco and Verso in the party. Since Monoco is one of the tougher characters to build, there’s a good chance he could be under-leveled, so you’ll need to grind to make him worthy of taking down Golgra. It doesn’t help that Golgra deals massive damage if she manages to hit, and is also one of the speedier enemies, letting her move plenty of times before you even get a turn.
4Serpenphare
Flying Over The Continent
While most of the optional bosses arehidden away in their own little dungeon, Serpenphare stands out for being visible the very first time you’re in the overworld. The giant flying beast is a clear threat, but you won’t get the chance to take it on directly until Esquie can fly up to its level.
While Serpenphare’s attacks aren’t too tricky to parry, the real challenge of this boss is managing your AP. With plenty of attacks to steal this resource, you’ll be stuck dealing weaker attacks, and likely make yourself more vulnerable in the process. It’s worth re-configuring your Pictos and Luminas before the boss to counteract this debuff.
3Painted Love
Endless Tower
One of the more formidable areas in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is the giant Endless Tower, and as the name implies, you’ll have to wade through waves upon waves of challenges before finally reaching the final challenge of Painted Love.
Not a wholly original boss, Painted Love is instead a combination of Renoir and the Paintress, and you’ll be stuck fending off attacks from both. The upside is that they share a health bar, so you don’t need to worry about taking one down before the other, but they’re still a dangerous combo.
2Clea
Flying Manor
Clea is abruptly introduced during the beginning of the third act, and if you just focus on the main story, she’ll end up being a relatively enigmatic presence without much explanation. However, if you explore the Continent on Esquie and find the Flying Manor, you’ll get some answers.
Clea is hiding behind a series of mini-bosses, but she’s still one of the toughest enemies in the game by the time you actually get to face her directly. With no room for error, Clea can easily shrug off your attempts at damaging her with massive waves of healing each turn. You’ll need to perfect parrying her combos to even stand a chance at beating her without letting her heal.
1Simon
Renoir’s Drafts
Even though you can beat Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 on standard difficulty at around Level 50, the cap for your party is Level 99, and the main reason for that is the existence of Simon. You’ll need to max out Esquie’s relationship to give him the ability to dive and access Renoir’s Drafts, and here you’ll find the terrifying secret boss.
Verso explains that Simon is a lost member of his original Expedition 0, and he’s trapped down in the abyss deeper than any other. Clearly, he’s been training though, since his aggressive attacks will have you needing to parry quicker and more precisely than any other enemy in the game. Make sure your team is fully leveled, with the most optimized stats, weapons, skills, Pictos, and Luminas, and you can start thinking about beating Simon.
