"Clair Obscur Nerfs Maelle: 2 Billion Damage Build Impacted"

Discover how Maelle from Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 can unleash a staggering 2 billion damage with her nuke build, and learn about the upcoming nerfs from Sandfall Interactive aimed at balancing this powerful skill.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Updates

Stendhal Hurts, A Lot

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 continues to evolve as players uncover new strategies daily, including Maelle's explosive 2 billion damage nuke build. After completing the main story, the game's endgame unfolds with additional narratives and formidable bosses, challenging players with their massive health pools and one-hit kill capabilities. This has led to the discovery of Maelle's nuke build, a potent strategy to tackle these tough encounters. Note: This article may contain minor spoilers.

Maelle's skill, Stendhal, is key to this build, delivering significant damage that can be enhanced to 200% in her Virtuose stance. To maximize her nuke build, Maelle requires two specific Luminas, unlocked through Pictos (equipable items with various effects): Cheater, which grants an additional turn, and Shortcut, which offers another turn when health drops below 30%.

Additionally, equipping Maelle with her Medalum weapon is crucial, as it allows her to start battles in Virtuose stance. The Last Stand skill is also necessary, placing Maelle in Virtuose stance while reducing her to one hit point.

To further amplify her damage, Maelle can equip any three of the following skills: Painted Power, allowing damage to exceed 9,999; Death’s Door, providing a 50% damage boost at low health; Confident Fighter, adding another 30% but disabling healing; and Inverted Affinity, offering 50% more damage but causing healing to harm. With the right combination of Pictos and Luminas, Maelle's damage can surpass 2 billion. For context, the endgame boss Simon has about 45 million HP, meaning Maelle's nuke could theoretically defeat him 48 times over.

Players continue to explore new damage heights using different characters and strategies, as the challenging post-game content encourages innovative gameplay.

Stendhal Getting Nerfed

Sandfall Interactive has acknowledged that Stendhal was making the game too easy. In a May 8 Twitter (X) post, the studio announced upcoming changes to Maelle’s skill. Initially, no balance adjustments were planned this early in the game's lifecycle, only bug fixes. However, the extreme damage output from Stendhal prompted a rethink. Sandfall Interactive admitted that Stendhal was underwhelming during development, and a last-minute damage boost before release went too far.

"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, rolling out first on Steam and then on other platforms.

2 Million Copies in 12 Days

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has reached another significant milestone, selling 2 million copies within just 12 days of launch, as announced in a May 6 Twitter (X) post. Earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron congratulated Sandfall Interactive on Instagram, praising the game for showcasing French creativity and audacity.

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