Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

[dawn spindle]

I am slightly overwhelmed on where to go next 🤔

I was doing these things I've left over

[halcyon elbow]

Act 3 ||You should have gotten side quests when you got spit out onto the open world and then went back to camp||

[nova temple]

Did you ever finish Frozen Hearts?

[dawn spindle]

I have gotten them

but I'm very much the type to go do everythinb but where I'm pointed first

Nope, that's one more I have pending

but I have just found somethng very red that says danger

[halcyon elbow]

Frozen Hearts is good, but otherwise I think the normal instinct here will lead you more or less astray

[dawn spindle]

something tells me I should not be here something about the red and the name of this place

so onward we go

okay... okay the 2039482039842 turns of this thing has convinced me to get out

[halcyon elbow]

Most stuff will be like that right now

[dawn spindle]

Oh most stuff isn't red

this is ||Renoir's Drafts? I think it's called||

[nova temple]

I would say that's a very red area

[dawn spindle]

It was very red yes but curiosity!

[halcyon elbow]

There is a mod that gives recommended levels and I hope that Sandfall just... does that, instead of red/not red

It is a weird thing to hint at but then not be particularly clear about at the same time

[dawn spindle]

mhm

also ||I've gotten 3 level 23 Verso weapons... so he's the only one currently with a considerably higher amount of damage... ||

[halcyon elbow]

Well

Guess what awards a fairly significant heap of upgrade materials

Act 3 ||The sidequests||

[dawn spindle]

tsssk

||after frozen hearts||

||this this white dancer here my eyes refuse to acknowledge what's going on on screen, this is gonna be tough||

nope, nope, I'm not doing this today.

[halcyon elbow]

Counterpoint: very popular fashion piece is there

(Not sure if you'll love it or hate it, actually, but it is there)

[dawn spindle]

Oh i will do it, but its 2am and I want to read a little

I stopped right there so first thing tomorrow

[nova temple]

||Ah, so that's what the alternative looks like: https://www.reddit.com/r/expedition33/comments/1ld5tje/opera_house/ ||

[ionic kite]

Huh. I swear I did that

Was it from the fight there

[nova temple]

It might just lying on the ground

[ionic kite]

That may have been how I missed it. Or maybe I'm blind and I do have it.

[halcyon elbow]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBMLuQXr6n4

VERY SPOILERS

Through Act 2 at least so far

[nova temple]

I saw that, and then I saw its runtime

I'll... get to it

So much content

[halcyon elbow]

Today in Things That Can't Possibly Be Real About This Game:
Monoco the character is not named for Monoco the dog. Monoco the dog is named after Monoco the character. Monoco the character is named after a Swedish energy drink called Noco that some of the people at Sandfall were obsessed with as a meme that just sort of stuck

Many of the merchants are named after energy drinks as a result

They keep a tally in the office of who drinks the most Noco

Its.... competitive?

[merry lance]

That's lnoco

[nova temple]

Wild

[halcyon elbow]

Act 2 ||Killing Gustave was a narrative joke they'd made during the period of time the game was called We Lost, that ended up sticking around when they retooled the narrative||

[nova temple]

Maybe bump that to Act 2 juuust to be safer

[silver pawn]

Act 2 ||End of Forgotten Battlefield|| || Oof. The burial scene hit me harder than when Gustave actually died. The writing in this game is so so good.||

[dawn spindle]

||what hit me hard was, when I saw Verso's weapons were Gustave's for some reason||

[silver pawn]

||same!! Also, Verso speculation - he seems sus. Just shows up out of nowhere, is expedition zero. Seems to dislike Renoir, but in all this time, hasn’t tried to take him out? Are they working together? Is he going to turn on the team? I hope not, my fragile heart wouldn’t be able to take it 🥲 I don’t trust him though.||

[fallow geode]

||meanwhile me: oh that's why none of Gustave's swords had perks||

[silver pawn]

Also, gameplay, not sure if spoilers ||didn’t up the difficulty, but have been trying to parry more, and that seems to have added enough of a challenge for me so far||

[dawn spindle]

Nice

[nova temple]

||Or why 2/3 of Gustave's skill tree is locked 😛 ||

[dawn spindle]

This is what came to mind for me

[exotic ember]

Omg watching this now and Monoco, the dog in the Sandfall office has an official role of “Happiness Manager” 🥹 That’s so cute. I knew that the 33 core team members included a dog, but didn’t know the official role title

[exotic ember]

|| I honestly thought some big story beat would happen that would lead to an unlocking of the rest of the tree ||

[nova temple]

same

[exotic ember]

Was looking forward to that

[halcyon elbow]

||The red herring here is, Maelle also has locked skills||

[dawn spindle]

I did the thing!

First try today, clearly was the wrong mood last night

I love this outfit, Kon

It is not a good outfit though

I can now exist like this
Act 3

[halcyon elbow]

I figured it'd be all or nothing

[dawn spindle]

Yes

I don't think it's good but I love it.

jk I'm going like this, pure style baby.

I think I could rock this outfit 🤔

||Minus the whole being on fire probably||

hmmm, no I'm going back to her regular hair

Act 3, the team right now

[nova temple]

||I got Sciel's version first - missed Lune's until I was doing endgame cleanup laps - and she was rocking it for most of my game||

[dawn spindle]

||There's this fire guys, they put up a couple of orbs and then the orbs laser shoot you right? What is up with the sound? it's like 10x louder and more explosive than every other sound in the game 😭 ||

[dawn spindle]

Act 2 ||Frozen Hearts|| ||This guy thinks blighting me is relevant when it can't even land a hit, scoffs||

[scarlet trout]

This was my go to outfit the second I got it

[dawn spindle]

Act 3 ||I somehow have 10 revive tints and this feels a bit extreme...?||

I just parried an entire combo on sound alone cause my cat decided to cover the entire screen at the right moment

[dawn spindle]

oh my

||I just got the Sciel version too||

||And whatever this Verso one is||

||okay the Verso one is kinda funny, in an edgy/lame way, I like it ||

Act 3, team

||It looks like a hairy monkey doll got stuck with the theatre kids||

||look at my guy, he looks hot||

(and lame)

[halcyon elbow]

||It is referential to Clive's outfit in Final Fantasy 16, because Ben Starr||

[dawn spindle]

oooh

well my opinion stands

[shell minnow]

Some mild premise spoilers for ff16 ||https://64.media.tumblr.com/0939922d6174dd0fa3795f826ba8f651/46bd05d012bc9479-5c/s540x810/841411113a8d291709150869caf814e04869bead.gif ||

[dawn spindle]

Well FF is in general rather edgy (I don't say this negatively) so it matches

[analog tiger]

Act 3 ||man I'm sure a freudian psychologist would have a hell of an essay about the implications of Verso wearing Renoir's suit; me on the other hand am just sad there's not one of those for the women it's such a good suit 😭||

[dawn spindle]

yup

Also this boss i'm fighting seems kinda bugged

There is one attack I am parrying perfectly every time and sometimes it doesn't trigger my characters doing the counterattack which is certainly took longer to kill when my entire build is based on counter damage lol

Act 2 ||That's Frozen Hearts done||

Act 3 ||Sacred River|| ||The water in this place looks like the water in one of the biomes in Core Keeper and this has made me sad ||

I just got killed 3 times in a row by the cat

It might be eviction time

[nova temple]

hardest boss

[dawn spindle]

it does take up a lot of resources

[exotic ember]

The… what?

[halcyon elbow]

Her cat

On the laptop

[exotic ember]

Ohhhh

I was like did I miss an uber boss?

[dawn spindle]

Lmao

[dawn spindle]

I don't have a latop. 😌

[halcyon elbow]

E.G.

Oh I thought that was a laptop when I saw it on my phone lmao

[dawn spindle]

She kept pressing the prt screen button succesfully making me unable to see or hear the enemy

[dawn spindle]

Lol

I can see how from far away if you look quickly

[boreal galleon]

The developer from Warframe dressing up like this is the funniest thing ever

[dawn spindle]

I wouldn't expect anything else from DE Meg tbh

[silver pawn]

Act 2 ||Old Lumiere|| ||Well now I know why Verso hasn’t taken out Renoir in all these years. “It’s complicated”, to put it lightly. I’m taking it that creepy mask girl is Alicia? Also, is Maelle Alicia reincarnated in Lumiere? Just before Renoir struck, Verso shouted “Alicia, move!” People seem to recognise Maelle, and she has similar eyes to creepy mask girl. Or maybe a relative? Very strange, and I want to know MORRRREEE!!!||

[nova temple]

Are you just booking it through the main story?

[silver pawn]

Pretty much! After I finish chatting everyone up at this Camp scene, I think I’m going to do some exploring before I keep going with the story.

Also, will probably need to consult with the brains trust here soon about how to better set up my character builds. They feel a bit useless at times

[dawn spindle]

It takes a bit to gather enough pictos to make a better rounded build I think. Not that you can't but it's a bit over the place for a while

[silver pawn]

That’s how I feel at the moment. Up til now, I’ve just been chucking mostly random pictos on until I learn them for the lumina. But it’s starting to feel like the build matters more at this point.

[exotic ember]

Booking it through the story is also valid! That’s what I effectively did my first time through

Also hmm wait. Does anyone know if (act 3) || the challenge modifiers work with the side content in act 1 and 2 if you wait to do them? I would think so, assuming the modifiers work the way I would expect? ||

[dawn spindle]

Can I click that? Probably not?

[fallow geode]

you can

[dawn spindle]

I think they do.

||They seem to be available on every flag, including inside Act 2 content so I can't imagine they wouldn't. It also seems more complex to code it to only affect certain areas than just let it affect the entire game||

[silver pawn]

Also Act 2 general ||Sciel is flirty with absolutely everyone and I. Am. Here. For. It!||

[exotic ember]

|| Yeah that’s my thinking. Assumed it was a blanket “affects everything”. That’s pretty sick. ||

[dawn spindle]

I have not talked enough about how sexy her line of ||Here's your card|| sounds in combat
And by enough I mean not at all lol.

[exotic ember]

@nova temple (Act 3 and Ng+ question) || I don’t suppose the difficulty modifiers are available in NG+ from the start now? Guessing they don’t come up until act 3 but it’d be really cool if they were an option in NG+ since I’ve heard it’s not very challenging if you did all of act 3 ||

[nova temple]

I haven't tried (I am not actually playing NG+), but I would assume no

[dawn spindle]

not again!

[exotic ember]

Yes, again! Encore!

[dawn spindle]

https://tenor.com/view/warframe-temple-stone-temple-pilots-glam-rock-glamour-gif-1636581226831556715

Sorry, it was required, some will get it, I guess.

[exotic ember]

Why must the game awards be in Los Angeles 😭 Is it really worth it to fly to LA and go to the game awards just to see probably one song from Clair Obscur played live? 🤔

[dawn spindle]

It wouldn't be for me even if I lived in US

[halcyon elbow]

Act 2 ||https://x.com/caminukai/status/1935079548196110717 ||

Cami ❤️‍🔥 (@Caminukai)

Verso 🖤

#expedition33 #ClairObscurExpedition33

X · Jun 17, 2025, 8:58 PM

[nova temple]

Oh, I think I was wrong about Roulette. I think it's still a net damage increase, but less so than I had assumed before. I though the pictos is 50% chance to do 50% damage & 50% chance to do 200% damage (which would average out to 125% damage). But it looks like it might be 50% chance to do either 50% or 200% (and, presumably, 50% chance to not do anything), so that'll average out to 112.5% damage. Still a 12.5% damage increase, but not the 25% I had previously assumed

[dawn spindle]

Is it normal that i think the hottest thing here is his sword?

[halcyon elbow]

For you?

No

[dawn spindle]

I saw that swap

[halcyon elbow]

I had it right the first time

[dawn spindle]

I think I might have collapsed your brain, you're probably rightly assuming I should be finding everything hot. And that'd be correct. But the sword 👀

[dawn spindle]

Do i play or read?

me: launches game
cat, aproximately 1 second later: WORRY NOT, I AM HERE

[halcyon elbow]

Truly Expedition 33's hardest boss

[dawn spindle]

I parried it, it's temporarily stunned.

[nova temple]

kitty wants to help

[halcyon elbow]

Don't die!

[dawn spindle]

I love Jennifer English, truly, but boy hearing that and a couple of other sentences just has me like 😠 by now

[nova temple]

gotta embrace it

[halcyon elbow]

It is a truly bizarre choice of voice line

I'm almost inclined to think that it was a booth goof they just ran with

I kind of think some of Ben Starr's combat lines are booth goofs too tbh

[dawn spindle]

They are, but they're less annoying

it's more that Maelle's short sharp and loud and it startless my brain a little

for those couple of lines specifically

[nova temple]

So you are awake and alert and ready to parry it!

[halcyon elbow]

Gustave's "for those who come after" is also mixed bizarrely loudly

[dawn spindle]

Did I need to read the last bit in Jen's voice?
No.
Did I?
Of course.

[nova temple]

'tis

[dawn spindle]

The one thing that has literally killed my ears, and I have a bit of auditory hypersensibility so I was cringing with it, is the stupid balls in Act 2 ||Frozen Hearts||

It was completely broken

maybe 3x louder than average combat SFX

to the point it was making a slight static noise on my headset

Act 3 ||Sacred River|| ||Man this merchant just has every Pictos I already have, how disappointing||

[halcyon elbow]

But are they upgraded?

[dawn spindle]

||I... don't wanna fight Golgra ||

[halcyon elbow]

They can have better stats

[dawn spindle]

Ah, probably not, I don't have any chroma though

I wasn't able to buy jack at the ||Monoco station Grandis either, so chroma farm time... well by whic hI mean Imma go forward and come back later||

Act 3 ||Sacred River|| ||She went super saiyan... 😔 ||

||I don't like that i can't skip into the fight because it's dialogue instead of cinematic...||

[exotic ember]

Yeah, but all time favorite game for me sooo… decisions decisions

[exotic ember]

|| I have bad news for you ||

[silver pawn]

Act 2 general || aha! I have figured out how to break the glowy rocks! Must’ve found enough lost gestrals! This will make exploring much better!||

[wheat reef]

They are available from the start

[exotic ember]

Oh hell yeah! That’s awesome, thanks!

[halcyon elbow]

You tell 'em, Paul

He also points out that the TotK and BotW re-releases only have nine reviews each while E33 has 84 reviews

Also a familiar artist round these parts:
https://x.com/shuravf90/status/1935696087924293822

Shuravf / Digital Artist🇵🇸 (@Shuravf90)

Lune sketch😊
I'm so insecure about color it...
#Expedition33

X · Jun 19, 2025, 1:48 PM

[nova temple]

An absolute win

[wheat reef]

Now that im done and exited media blackout on the game i can finally share my favourite screenshot. Spoilers for Act 2

[main olive]

I'm mid turn on fight and went to the bathroom with my headphones on
Now I'm sitting here with this majestic opera in the background

[dawn spindle]

Act 3 ||Sacred River|| ||A couple golgra attempts before bed? 🤔 ||

[exotic ember]

|| Honestly Golgra is a fun and satisfying one to learn to parry ||

[dawn spindle]

I honestly really don't

I got it

but I don't think that was fun

also whoever's idea was to not make the bit to the fight skippable needs some words

General mechanics Act 2 forward ||Is it me or once you hit regular parry in a gradient attack, even if you hit gradient parry with correct timing it just doesn't register anymore?||

Act 3 ||aaaayyy, got the Monoco song||

https://tenor.com/view/bunny-cute-kawaii-baka-bunnies-gif-21083553

[halcyon elbow]

https://tenor.com/view/kelsier-mistborn-fortnite-epic-sax-guy-azufe-gif-21897145

[dawn spindle]

I sent a cute gif

and you sent...

gestures

a thing

[halcyon elbow]

I was looking for the normal epic sax guy and somehow Kelsier doing the epic sax guy dance was like the fourth hit

[dawn spindle]

||The camp stuff it's trully horribly paced and kind of nonsensical||

y'all gonna find this really funny, I'm veeeery easily spooked

Act 3 ||Sirene's Dress|| ||When the enemy popped out quite legit just screamed and jumped out of my chair 😔 ||

it just popped out of nowhere!

I'm not quite entirely sure this enemy understands the concept of private space

[nova temple]

every day we suffer because you are not a streamer

[dawn spindle]

hahaha oh no, that'd be terrible

this camp animation got all bugged and this character's head did a 360 motion

Uhm, I think this was supposed to be emotional but it is now cursed

GUYS

Act 3 ||post Sirene's dress camp stuff|| ||I thought I needed to bang Lune, but instead she gave Verso a kiss on the cheek and I am satisfied ||

Also, level 66

||oh Lune's song is also ||

||HEH, it says skybreak ||

Done for today, a little progress.

[wheat reef]

||i think its the exact same thing as if you were to hit parry too early: there is a period of time where you cant press parry/gradient parry/jump/dodge. On very long gradient attack animations i have been able to gradient parry in time despite pressing parry at the start||

[dawn spindle]

||I have not, err specifically I can gradient parry too early and then gradient parry properly, but once I hit parry it seems I can't do the gradient. I wonder if the cd for parry is a bit longer? After all the windows aren't the same for each||

[main olive]

Act 3 ||So I just noticed Verso has another Vergil ahh move||

||Phantom Stars||

[wheat reef]

||Ahh its possible im thinking of the former||

[main olive]

Act 3 ||I got Maelle with the thang||

||I GOT THE POWER OF ANIME AND PAINTING BY MY SIDE, AAAAAHHHH||

||Very tempted to make an all burn team, even if Stendhal is the bred and butter watching the enemy explode with a delay is extremely funny||

[nova temple]

^ ||I hear Burn build is the strongest one, but I'm a simple man, I see Stendhal, I do Stendhal||

[exotic ember]

Already just about caught up to where I was on the bandit

Dual wielding swords is pretty cool

And I’m now further

[fallow geode]

wrong channel FYI

[nova temple]

I was trying to figure it out...

[exotic ember]

Oh lmfao oops

My bad

[main olive]

Well we do have someone with two swords

[exotic ember]

|| I love the burn build. Definitely was outputting more than Stendhal. Super satisfying too ||

[exotic ember]

|| Make the burn build. Stacking 1k+ burn on an enemy is so fun ||

[main olive]

also, quick question, can someone tell me which dungeons have like extra story and stuff? I've already done (Act 3) ||Reacher, and the max rank friendship side missions||

[exotic ember]

|| Flying Manor and Renoir’s Drafts are the big ones ||

|| Kind of dark Gestral arena? But not really ||

[nova temple]

^ ||You should have gotten, and will get, quests to revisit Sirene's island for Lune, and visit the Sacred River for Monoco||

[exotic ember]

|| Sounds like Nick has already done those ||

[nova temple]

Oh, right, I misread what that was saying

https://tenor.com/view/gahyun-dreamcatcher-kpop-gahyeon-disturbed-gif-14200246781074241145

[main olive]

Act 3 ||I managed to beat Golgra with Maelle, Sciel and Verso, now the hardest is going to do finding out a way to do it with Mononoke and Lune||

[exotic ember]

[Insert Maelle voice here] Parry it!

[main olive]

It's so funny when you enter the fight with maelle, she says "Ready to parry!" and miss the first one and get one shot

[exotic ember]

I don’t know what you’re talking about. Never once was me. Nope. Not once.

[main olive]

My, what lovely feet...

[exotic ember]

Thanks

[main olive]

Act 3 ||I wonder if I missed Monoco weapons because he has by far the smallest selection||

[exotic ember]

|| The collection does grow a bit but he definitely did have the smallest I believe ||

[wheat reef]

||I have heard it used to be really really good but apparently they nerfed it because the damage capped somewhere around a few hundred burn stacks when i tried it 😭 ||

[dawn spindle]

Act 3 ||Am missing 5 monoco skills only finally, I think one I missed-missed 🤔 just based on the position||

ALSO, this is a first but I don't like this song

[silver pawn]

I need to catch up so I can read all these spoilers haha!

[dawn spindle]

I don't recall which part of Act 2 you're at?

[silver pawn]

I finished ||Old Lumiere|| yesterday, but I spent today exploring the continent. Now that act 2 ||esquie can swim and break corals||, I’ve been going a little exploration mad haha

[dawn spindle]

yeah

[dawn spindle]

you can click on this one if you're curious

nothing spoilery for you, i was being extra careful by being kinda lazy to specify

[silver pawn]

Hahaha fair fair!

[dawn spindle]

I did the same thing as you though. ||when i got the break-the blue things and then the coral Esquie skill i went back to a lot of places||

[silver pawn]

Act 2 ||I haven’t been using monoco near enough. Trying to figure out how best to use everyone in the party||

[dawn spindle]

||Monoco is a bit weird... first he has too many skills, second I don't feel his skills have synergy among them, like yeah obviously there's the wheel mechanics but with the others I do get like, the various combos I can do that synergize...||

||However monoco has a lot of skills that have multiple hits and/or break damage which is very useful||

||but it's missing some sort of synergy||

||Actually I find the amount of skills overwhelming for him||

[silver pawn]

||yeah break damage is something I feel like is lacking for my party at the moment. Hopefully I can find the right picto/skill combo and figure that out. And I haven’t really figured out verso either. ||

||Hopefully with all this exploring I’m doing, I’ll level up the skills enough for him to where I feel like he’s not redundant 😅||

||and find better pictos||

[dawn spindle]

mhm, it helped me finish the couple of pictos i hadn't learnt yet

||I think Verso is very dependant on what weapon you're using||

||As in... you will want very different skills depending on what your weapon gives you||

[silver pawn]

Ahhhh.

[dawn spindle]

||But i might be wrong! I have gotten him to a spot I like and not moved from there because uugh ||

[silver pawn]

||I don’t have a lot of choice for him atm||

[dawn spindle]

||But so his mechanics are based on gaining rank and then not getting hit, however there are weapons and skills that benefit from staying on lower rank and missing health, but that has to match with the weapon.||

[dawn spindle]

||It did take me a while to quite get him too, or at least get him enough for him to be useful for me||

[silver pawn]

||I’ve got Lanceram on him atm, so his rank doesn’t drop below C, but I think my skills are letting me down.||

Time to go Nev hunting me thinks!

Not sure how to spoil this, but general exploration ||Did you explore/take on any of the red “Danger” portals in Act 2? Or do I have no chance haha||

[dawn spindle]

Depends on which

I did do some, but some I left.

like some are more danger than others. As others were saying here before it'd be more useful if it had a recommended level rather than just "red"

cause some are a bit of a challenge and some are "hey you're going to spend 5h to kill a regular mob"

Act 2 Exploration and various zones ||I did red woods, and i did the abestos one that's early on before Act 2, so that one's doable, a bit hard but you should have enough damage if you want to give it a go. I skipped Dark Shores cause i had no damage at all for that one||

and probably something else 🤔

||I skipped Frozen Hearts too||

[silver pawn]

Fantastic! That’s super helpful info!

||yeah I went into Frozen hearts just after Monocos station, and noped out of there quick stat haha||

Thanks so much for your advice! 🙏

[dawn spindle]

I think there might be some more I skipped but I'm in one area now so i can't check

Act 3 general ||I am missing 4 journals! Of the numbered ones anyway||

[dawn spindle]

There's this bit of this area that I can't reach and it's driving me nuts

Act 3 ||hmm, this is pleasant||

Act 3 ||The Reacher|| ||Is this some sort of reference?||

[dawn spindle]

This was kind of a crappy move on their part

[exotic ember]

|| I feel I was definitely missing some journals. I’ll need to go back and find them at some point. ||

Before I jump to Ng+, whenever that ends up being, I may pop open a guide to cover whatever I’ve missed

[nova temple]

I think I was missing, like... 2-3

[dawn spindle]

I'm very unlikely to do NG+

But I will go over the missing ones after I finish

I'm in pretty good track to get most of everything on my own I think

[nova temple]

Act 3 ||there's one in Lumiere, so don't try to 100% those before going back then||

[dawn spindle]

can i click that?

[nova temple]

Yes, it's meant for you

[dawn spindle]

Ah, yeah, wasn't planning to.

I don't think I'm going to go revisit everything in case I missed something

so I'll basically do all the content I'm missing and from there, it is what it is.

I should check how many records I got

[exotic ember]

Ahh yeah records I don’t really care about admittedly

[dawn spindle]

I'm too much of a completionist

They fall on the same category as journals

[halcyon elbow]

Records sort of completed themselves for me

[nova temple]

I had missed a couple

Act 2 ||https://www.rxddit.com/r/expedition33/comments/1lg8giz/monoco_beheave/ ||

[dawn spindle]

||I mean, Golgra is Golgra... ||

[dawn spindle]

hmmm

Act 3 ||The Reacher|| ||Of all the things there has to be a chromatic idiot of that hammer guy that puts those orbs that deafen me 😭 ||

At least that was done try 1

[dawn spindle]

this battle just started and my legit reaction was

https://tenor.com/view/pikachu-surprise-shock-shocked-what-gif-183527077784725044

[nova temple]

Chromatic HOOONK

[dawn spindle]

wtf

no at you at... this... how am i supposed to parry

Act 3 ||The Reacher|| ||Maelle you freaking suck why is Alicia's virtuose attack so much better than yours ||

||wtf is this dubstep song, wtf is this speed, wtf is going on ||

[nova temple]

||Sounds like Maelle has a few tricks to learn still!||

[dawn spindle]

I feel all my senses got attacked at once

This seems fun but I feel slightly overwhelmed

blinks

[halcyon elbow]

https://tenor.com/view/pride-goose-bare-tree-media-bird-birds-flying-gif-8487207247815983673

[dawn spindle]

I'm going to go finish my book instead

[nova temple]

God, Maelle's ability animations are so good 😭

[main olive]

I got so many things that let me replay turns that I just did like 6 actions with the same character before the enemy could do anything

[silver pawn]

Act 2 ||After Visages/defeating the first axon and back at camp|| ||Oh my, the scene with Verso and Maelle playing piano together, and Esquie dancing is so wholesome! Also, new theory - I now think Maelle might be Verso’s sister reincarnated, and she’s actually the soul of Alicia, the creepy mask girl, or something like that. Verso seems to know and care a lot about Maelle’s name, and her parents, and her hopes and dreams. Hmmmmm.

I also think Sciel is my favourite character! She so forward and flirty and cool. Love her! ||

[silver pawn]

Act 2 ||After Sirene/back at camp|| || Hahaha I love that Esquie is a giant wine sack 🤣||

[halcyon elbow]

https://youtu.be/mXLOLgC2V2Q

[shell minnow]

Okay hold up, I was on Wikipedia for a different reason and this popped up as a recommended follow on article

I was like. hey wait a minute

[halcyon elbow]

Act 3 ||Mhmm, because, of course, Maelle wanted to be a writer||

[quaint gale]

🤔 What does it relate to in the game? (I watched through the story cos I couldn't play it, so I'm sure to have missed some things.) Act 3 ||Or just the effects of being in a painting too long?||

[halcyon elbow]

Act 3 ||Stendhal is one of Maelle's act 3 abilities||

[quaint gale]

ah gotcha, thanks

that's fun

[halcyon elbow]

This is fantastic, by the way, it combines summary of a lot of the reporting on how Sandfall happened with some original reporting and interviews. Wouldn't be surprised if it becomes the definitive "you'll never believe this" about this game in future years

Lorien Testard really is French Nobuo Uematsu, too. I knew he was a guitar teacher, but he hadn't played any music until he taught himself guitar when he was 16, he did go to music school but not for composition, and then taught himself composition by making the kind of fan compositions for game trailers like the one he did for Journey that got him noticed by Guillaume Broche. He did as many as 50 of these compositions before getting picked up at Sandfall

[halcyon elbow]

Act 2 ||Jennifer Svedberg-Yen says "Renoir is my inner Chinese mom" lmao||

[main olive]

I'm so close to mechanically break this game in half

I got tools

I'm gonna use them

[halcyon elbow]

https://tenor.com/view/esquie-mon-ami-huh-calculating-gif-15072777769569231196

[dawn spindle]

the game is made to mechanically break it, it is intentional

[dawn spindle]

I must go higher.

[halcyon elbow]

Apparently the guy who was their balance and combat design lead was specifically inspired by Path of Exile

Former MMO dev

[main olive]

I've been beating everything in one turn because I can keep acting, everyone's got double turns and extra actions and stuff

[dawn spindle]

uh, Gen Act 3 ||my friend that told me you're not supposed to explore before Act 3 also told me that the max damage they do is 250k with one skill||

||One SKILL, what? I do that with one hit||

[halcyon elbow]

Maelle was doing 5 billion damage before the nerf

[dawn spindle]

||250k is the max damage they do with Sciel's most potent skill!||

[dawn spindle]

that is kind of ridiculous

[halcyon elbow]

Hence the nerf

[main olive]

I have kept the game on release version with auto updates turned off

[halcyon elbow]

https://tenor.com/view/clair-obscur-expedition-33-sandfall-interactive-maelle-maelle-wins-gif-1558297066025346083

[main olive]

To think she was my least used character

[nova temple]

That little animation is just so extra 😄

It feels like they wanted to have little moments like that throughout the game - like how the first couple of bosses have a custom final blow kill sequence - and quickly realized that it's a time suck

[halcyon elbow]

All ||I think the reason they stop happening is because most of the later bosses either don't die or are like Renoir 2 where Maelle gommages him in a softer moment, or the Paintress where you have this heartbreaking phase 3 instead. Renoir 3 has one for sure, so it does make it all the way to the end in some form||

||Clea has the nevrons kill her, Alicia is also gommaged, etc||

They're just less.... fun, more dramatic

Less clair more obscur so to speak

[dawn spindle]

OoooOOooohh

My dad, who has the social awareness of an amoeba, and is generally quite a troll. (No, don't say it)
Used to work in France for a while when I was like a teen, and he'd sing the French National Anthem but would go mid way to a sort wewowooo (like that comical sound of something failing) whenever France would lose at anything (generally sports which is what he was working at). It'd make everyone so mad, which gave him a huge delight.

(Random memory that just popped up)

[halcyon elbow]

Esquiepilled 20 years running

[dawn spindle]

Esquie is nice though

[main olive]

Literally me

I'm esquiemaxxing

Monocopilled

[dawn spindle]

We don't kinkshame don't worry

[dawn spindle]

Act 2, bugless.

[halcyon elbow]

Oh be careful there

[dawn spindle]

am not

[halcyon elbow]

I went to camp on that invisible bridge and when I reloaded I was trapped in the trees beneath

[dawn spindle]

lmao

[halcyon elbow]

Lost about half an hour of game

[dawn spindle]

I am seeing this on a stream

[halcyon elbow]

Ah

[dawn spindle]

i already did this area

Act 3 ||I've done abut everything that is on floor level, minus the Renoir place||

I am personally Act 3 ||the Reacher|| ||Needing to fight Alicia, which I'm about to do, under the effects, this will be either perfect or disastrous||

what the actual flying [redacted]

I can't see some of this movements, like my fps doesn't register them (Im at 60 fps) but later it said "blocked" i don't even know how, it's too fast.

god dammit

i keep dying at 20%...

guys idk if i have the actual skill to learn to parry this one last attack...

[halcyon elbow]

https://tenor.com/view/doubt-press-x-press-la-noire-gif-18717264

[dawn spindle]

Act 3 ||The Reacher|| ||The Fleuret Fury attack is... 😭 ||

uhm... I think my game got bugged

||I did a 40k damage attack and it took 60% of her health, on the previous attempt 180k attack took 40% of her health... ? I feel like suddenly her health switched to a lower difficulty perhaps? was really weird||

it's okay cause then i died immediately anyway

[main olive]

I'm doing Act 3 ||Renoir's Draft|| ||But I got lost and don't know how to continue, I beat a big chromatic monster shaped like a big bull and then another monster but don't know how to keep going||

[dawn spindle]

||Well, I killed her but I did absolutely fail to parry that stupid last attack...||

[exotic ember]

|| Horse orb? ||

[wheat reef]

||In the area just after where you talk to the fading man you went left to fight the chromatic enemy i think? If you go right instead you can continue||

[dawn spindle]

Act 3 ||The Reacher end|| ||Kinda crappy for Verso ngl, Maelle didn't even let him talk or say good bye like he isn't entitled? And Alicia just also ignored him like he's not real this was not nice||

||No, Verso you're being too nice||

[main olive]

I love that sometimes the characters here don't pick the perfect option because there is no perfect option and we're all flawed, it makes the story have more grit

[nova temple]

Act 3 ||Reacher|| ||I agree, his sister - both of them - did him dirty there. Alicia should have the right to go if she wants to, but a goodbye sure would've been nice||

[halcyon elbow]

Act 3 ||Reacher|| ||I think where I agree with Maelle is, Painted Alicia did not owe Verso an opportunity to change her mind, and that was obviously his intention||

||He's mad he didn't get to say goodbye after the fact, but he wasn't trying to say goodbye at all||

[dawn spindle]

||Oh I agree that he didn't owe him that but ignoring his existence as the last thing you do to someone that loves you is being an asshole either way||

[halcyon elbow]

Act 3 ||Reacher|| ||Also something you may have missed is Painted Alicia is weak to fire||

[dawn spindle]

||I didn't miss that no, which... well... yeah||

[halcyon elbow]

||I agree, and do not think Maelle and Painted Alicia were wholly right here. Maelle also agreed, in retrospect. But I think Verso's intent is worth keeping in mind||

[dawn spindle]

||I agree, and it is relevant, but he is the one left behind and thus suffering. So no matter his intention it doesn't excuse it any way. Like when I empathize with the whole situation... yeah, no. Maelle did tell him "you won't convince me" once as a conversation starter, and Alicia could have said the same I guess, or similar. "You won't convince me but goodbye" or just, literally anything. No one is right in this situation, I agree. But if you mix the pain of painted Verso trying to live up to being the real Verso, which he isn't and he won't. And then both of them just acting like he isn't even real, idk. It just feels really bad||

[ionic kite]

Okay so

I'm gonna record me trying to fight Act 2's boss

And you all can tell me how bad at video games I am

I have to do it in 4 minute clips because XBox sucks

[halcyon elbow]

Act 3 ||Reacher|| ||I think Verso is fascinating, I could write an essay on him, but for the purposes of this interaction I have to bear in mind that both of his parents portray him as someone who does not present his true feelings. Renoir as Visages, and his mother as Painter Verso who says vanishingly few things that are unalloyed truths. In this instance, my read is that he isn't mad that Alicia is gone, or even that she left without saying goodbye, because if everything had gone to plan at the end of act 2 both of those things would have happened. I think he's actually more upset that she chose to leave him, and on terms that didn't really include him||

[dawn spindle]

mhm, I can agree with that.

||And yes he is very fascinating.||

||I don't say that cause he's voiced by Ben Starr mind you. ||

[nova temple]

Something this game does well is portaying human emotion as... messy

[dawn spindle]

I'm certainly not complaining about the game at all.
(Except it being too easy)

Act 3 ||Reacher|| ||But that happened and my heart went "no 😭 "||

[halcyon elbow]

Act 3 ||Reacher|| ||I actually think Aline's interpretation of Verso is less charitable than Renoir's, her reasons for painting him in the first place notwithstanding. Aline depicts Verso as someone who lies for his own ends covered in a layer of ruthlessness. Visages, I think, is more the depiction of a father who was never allowed into his son's heart and is full of regret over that fact||

[nova temple]

^ ||Eeeh, I don't know, I think the Verso we see in the game has grown beyond how he was Painted by Aline - because she Painted him with the capacity to learn and grow||

[dawn spindle]

My interpretation is the same as Argent's

[halcyon elbow]

Act 3 all ||The log about Julia makes me think he's been this way since the beginning, or near enough to it||

[dawn spindle]

same tags ||That they painted a young adult and that young adult has lived a 100 years after that, easily 4 times the initial memories fed to him||

can I click on that?

[halcyon elbow]

Maybe, I don't know

[nova temple]

Hmm

[reef iron]

did you just get this scene, Usha?

[nova temple]

How many of the non-expedition journals do you have, Usha?

[reef iron]

if yes, I will withhold comment until the game delves into it a little more

[halcyon elbow]

Actually all ||The cruelty she paints Alicia with also makes me think she's just much harsher than Renoir in the way she views her children. Painted Clea is its own bundle of weird and is more difficult to draw conclusions from, but I think whatever it was that caused Renoir and Aline to see Verso as a liar (best guess: abandoning the family business to become a musician?), she never truly got over the hurt of it||

[dawn spindle]

3 unknown

||I do have the one of saying "son, you'll never be a true artist if there's always a mask in between you and the viewer [...]". As well as Aline's. I think maybe that unknown is also hers? not sure||

Err ||2 unknown 1 survivor||

[nova temple]

Then you probably don't want to click on Kon's most recent messages

It's not a big deal, but they are informed by a journal you haven't seen

[halcyon elbow]

A couple of journals

[dawn spindle]

gotcha

I've no clue where to go now 🤔

[main olive]

chat how do I maximise Burn applications

Max I can reach is like 300

(in one turn, yet not enough to out damage stendhal)

[halcyon elbow]

If you are using Medallum, it is bugged in the original version with respect to the Burn procs it applies

Which is to say, if you are in Virtuose stance and apply burn procs with 1.0 Medallum, it does not apply the 200% damage to those particular stacks

[main olive]

I've been using Brulerum

[halcyon elbow]

Most effective burn/turn application I've found anyway is actually gunslinger

[main olive]

what

I mean, I apply my burn mostly by spamming shots at the enemy

[halcyon elbow]

Yeah that

But with ||Verso||

And then using Maelle for the big hit with stacks already set up

[main olive]

interesting

I've been using Corpeso but that applies on hit

not on gunshots

[halcyon elbow]

There's a bunch of Pictoses

[main olive]

I have double burn

I should

yeah I should check a list to find more

[halcyon elbow]

Free aim applies burn is another important one obviously

But then setting him up to get AP back for hitting enemies with burn or mark or on crit or what have you

[nova temple]

burn on crit stronk

[halcyon elbow]

You can get ~20 shots off in a single turn with the right setup

Then attack, and do it again (but I use followup on the second turn if I get the full 10 shots off and have 2AP left to spare, since it is a heavy hitter)

[main olive]

Time to rebuild some

[dawn spindle]

okay I found where to go, then died

[halcyon elbow]

||Have you done all the major party sidequests?||

[nova temple]

Act 2 ||roommates.jpeg https://www.instagram.com/p/DK-AROtI5xL/ ||

meelo.is.trying

An extra Lune and Sciel sketch to try and come back to colors.
While playing i went with the Verso and Sciel romance not knowing Lune was a possibility. Thinking about it i would've loved to have an option for a Lune and Sciel romance !
Their scenes together were really sweet, really wish we could've seen even more of them.

I'm not entirely sur...

Instagram

[halcyon elbow]

Act 2 ||"Roommates" ||

[main olive]

||What happens on an Expedition stays on the Expedition||

[nova temple]

||Look at what good friends they are||

[dawn spindle]

You told me to! And against what might seem, I am actually capable of taking advice!
-# Some times.

So yes.

[halcyon elbow]

Act 2 ||Sciel says almost exactly this!||

[halcyon elbow]

Oh well in that case Act 3 ||I'd go finish the main story and then clean up the rest of the map||

[dawn spindle]

Oh, I am uncapable of doing that.

[halcyon elbow]

Act 3 ||I absolutely mowed over the final dungeon because I was overgeared/overleveled for it, for what it's worth. Most of what remains is a good deal harder than the final dungeon||

[dawn spindle]

||Yeah, it's more like. I need the end to be The End. I tend to stop playing after rather than go back and 100% things.||

||In fact in some games I've done the end, then done the 100% then done the end again because I don't feel satisfied if I don't have the end be The End. I know... it's my brain just being stupid ||

[main olive]

I'm doing the same thing

I'm completing everything before I go do the end

I can tie some loose ends later but I'd like to have most everything done by then

I want to fight John Clairobscur here in this dungeon

Act 3 ||Renoir's Drafts|| ||Simon? I think his name is||

[nova temple]

do it

[ionic kite]

Damn I actually almost won the fight when I was recording

[halcyon elbow]

You could do that here very easily

[dawn spindle]

I streamed my fight to a friend to show him how hard it is and how I can't see anything and got the fight down to 10% for the first time, just earlier.

[ionic kite]

(also when i post this video, there's gonna be one fight that's just the first phase, it was because my storage filled up so i couldnt record the second phase)

[dawn spindle]

I would rather not if possible!

I'm already aware imma be OP for the final story bit.

[ionic kite]

I had to react to a new phase on the fly in the second try lmao

[dawn spindle]

same, lol

[ionic kite]

I can probably beat it later today

[dawn spindle]

It wasn't that fight

the fight you're doing is harder than the one I did just earlier.

[ionic kite]

But knowing that the game apparently gets harder

It's definitely still worthwhile showing these attempts

So you guys can tell me how bad I am

THat's my last attempt for the moment but I will probably try and beat it tonight

[wild jackal]

You can cap your damage or increase the enemy health at the flags now so that you don't just walk over everything in the last dungeon.

[dawn spindle]

Oh yeah, that's true

I haven't been using that yet

[nova temple]

I think increasing enemy health is a more fun way to increase challenge

[main olive]

But what if I want walk over everything in the final dungeon

[nova temple]

so number can still go brrr

[main olive]

Act 3 ||I'M COMING FOR YOU PAPA, I'M BREAKING YOUR SPINE IN HALF AND USING IT TO MOUNT MY PAINTINGS, GRRAAAAA||

[nova temple]

aggro

[dawn spindle]

Spensa!?

[main olive]

I went to check mods again to see what they've been cooking and I'm in awe

Act 2

I haven't stopped chuckling for a minute

||"It's feet time!"||

[halcyon elbow]

This game won't get Baldur's Gate 3 levels of mod support but it will get a nice healthy little modding community I think

[main olive]

There's 3 camps of modding I think
the numbers magicians that alter things like parry timings, drops, skill balance
the funny cosplayers that add CJ from San Andreas and Shrek into the game
and the people that add jiggle physics if catch the drift

I have yet to find a mod with thomas the tank engine

[dawn spindle]

I'm not sure this game needs more physics 😳

[main olive]

I always smell weakness when I see a mod like "Sciel not tan no scars no tattoos"

Would you like some vanilla ice cream too

[dawn spindle]

Probably cream ice cream

[main olive]

I found drip
Act 2 ||A mod to add the coat to the Renoir suit, what the fit look peak in the first place||

[nova temple]

I too like to mod away all the cool bits of a character

[main olive]

Yeah, it's like washing away most of what gives the character some flavor

Especially the no scars part

unseasoned chicken ahh mod

[dawn spindle]

Okay. Okay... okay... I'm fine.

[main olive]

It looks so peak

[dawn spindle]

It looks... fine, yes. Hmm, what was I doing?

[nova temple]

It wouldn't be a falsehood to say that this game has increased my interest in just casually wearing suits all the time

[main olive]

It made me want a baguette too

[dawn spindle]

Ah, I already had that.

But like, generic women suit only looks so good on my body type and getting one tailored is expensive, so instead I do very weird missmatches like does a tight leather skirt go well with a shirt, vest and tie? The answer won't surprise you.

[main olive]

Found a mod that gives Stendhal a x25 damage multiplier
why not just do it a one hit kill at that point

[dawn spindle]

Because we want to see number

[ionic kite]

||https://youtu.be/G5zhbnatTzc?si=AAoee762oUGCFy9d|| Act 2 end

Aleight fellas

Tell me how bad I am at video games

[dawn spindle]

Very.
-# I haven't watched.

[halcyon elbow]

Is there a reason you're starting the fight with only two people?

Oh, yeah, you can just have three people in your party instead of two to start with

Otherwise yeah just getting more consistent at dodge/parry and that comes with reps

I'd also just be more patient during gunslinging so you aren't missing the target while the target flinches

Some enemies you can just mash the trigger on but not all of them

[main olive]

That fight took me like twenty tries

[halcyon elbow]

Yeah

A lot of attacks to learn

[dawn spindle]

Same id say exactly 30

20*

[halcyon elbow]

I don't think you're struggling unusually here except for fielding two in your starter party instead of three

[ionic kite]

Strategy

I'd rather close out with my team of three

Than with my team of 2

Because I know I will lose that first team

Regardless s

[dawn spindle]

I did parry almost everything by the end of it.

[halcyon elbow]

You'll see more of the fight if you leverage the action economy of the team of three

That's a confidence issue more than a skill issue I think

You are struggling most with the party-wides, for what its worth

As in, attacks that hit the whole party seem pretty obviously to be the bigger struggle for you

[dawn spindle]

The amount of damage you do accross both parties does end up the same but the economy is different I think?

[halcyon elbow]

I think that's a more common issue generally because a complaint I hear a lot is that people have a harder time parrying stuff where the camera has moved and that's almost always true of group attacks

[halcyon elbow]

You get more relative turns while you have all three out than you do while you only have two out

[dawn spindle]

Man, I have a problem when the camera is further away in that I just. don't. see.

[halcyon elbow]

That, and non-partywides get spread more evenly across a party of three, which operates as a form of mitigation

[dawn spindle]

Like in overworld if I'm riding I don't see small things on the terrain. It's kind of annoying to be blind.

[halcyon elbow]

Act 2 final fight specific tip ||Shoot the Paintress' balls when she summons them||

[dawn spindle]

Wow Kon

[fallow geode]

right, with 3 people I have a whole 2 that can die and still be able to play Lune's Res skill

[halcyon elbow]

||I'm watching you gunsling with Verso at the Paintress herself||

[dawn spindle]

I wasnt expecting that of you.

[halcyon elbow]

Its the slow meme that kills

[ionic kite]

I can shoot those?!

[dawn spindle]

Yeah

[halcyon elbow]

Yes

Takes more hits

[ionic kite]

I moved the cursor over them

[halcyon elbow]

But yes

[dawn spindle]

They don't go red no

[ionic kite]

And it didn't turn red

[dawn spindle]

They're kinda bugged

[halcyon elbow]

||They aren't a weak point, is why||

[dawn spindle]

They're not the only ones in the game either

Usually red means = targetable

Even with random objects

[halcyon elbow]

Assume you can shoot all balls

I'm sure there's an exception but I can't think of one

[dawn spindle]

The entire enemy goes red when you hover over it. So I am pretty sure it's a bug?

Oh maybe it's cause you cant damage it?

Like shooting the ball does no damage to the enemy-maybe?

[halcyon elbow]

That makes sense as well, at least, not directly yeah

[ionic kite]

Anyway to explain more why I'm starting with two:
I did this during the preceding fight too. Basically, what would happen is I would open with my main team, I'd get wiped at some point midway through the fight (that is true of the last fight and this one), and then my backup team wouldn't be able to keep up the momentum because half their turns would be spent reviving each other and I'd get wiped abotu halfway through the health bar.
So what I thought of when I was doing the preceding fight, is that if I start with my team of 2, they'll have a lot more momentum and then when they inevitably get wiped out, I'll be able to continue with the momentum with the team of 3

[halcyon elbow]

I think that makes sense if and only if you think you've seen everything and can get a clear

And even then if you're regularly seeing everything you're probably also able to clear it without losing the first party

[ionic kite]

Yeah that's why I thought "Well my first team is getting wiped regardless, so I should start with the backup team and end with the main team because they can keep the pressure"

[fallow geode]

I just ignore my backup team
bunch of freeloaders

(also means I get to focus all my lumina and pictos on 3 people instead of 5)

[dawn spindle]

I actually switch around my main party a lot

But mostly my back up team is only meant to be the clean up crew

[ionic kite]

That's usually what it is for me too

But when I get a really hard boss fight like this and ||Renoir||

[dawn spindle]

For a big boss at first i bring them out to get in some more practice and see all the attacks. But later I just don't even bring them out if the boss isn't at least under 40%.

[ionic kite]

The "clean up" crew usually loses all the momentum that the main party builds up

[dawn spindle]

Isn't that like a psychological thing?

Which is fine mind you, play however you want.

[ionic kite]

I don't think it is, though

Cuz like here's what happens

The party that comes out first gets wiped about halfway through

Second party comes out

I try and do things, but then one of them goes down

And that leaves my last party member to revive them

And then someone else goes down and I have to revive again

Repeat until I get fully wiped

Meanwhile if I put the party of 2 in front

I get wiped pretty fast but it's no big deal, they get their damage off

And then my party of 3 comes out

And they have less health to go through and more leeway for failure

Because there's three of them

So I can choose more strategically who heals

[dawn spindle]

Right so when that's happening I just, don't bring out the second party since clearly I just need more practice.

[ionic kite]

And I can get off damage even when I'm healing

[halcyon elbow]

Remember also that damage is mitigation

Your first party is going to get further into the fight even with the same number of enemy turns simply because they do more damage

A party of 3 might clear an entire phase where a party of 2 might only get halfway through (especially if you're spending turns picking up your other party members)

[main olive]

Act 3/DBZ memes
||Now that I've max powered the characters I've turned all of them into La Expedicion Blanca, the ultimate anti-papa fighters in the universe||

https://tenor.com/view/isaaca67-gif-24864993

[analog tiger]

I felt my latin american senses tingling so I came check this chat

lo and behold

[dawn spindle]

Lmaao

I just clicked on the chat too

We have been summoned by DBZ somehow

[analog tiger]

the latin blood knows

[main olive]

I can't believe the memes back then manifested El Goku Blanco into reality

[scarlet trout]

https://youtu.be/mXLOLgC2V2Q?si=saALqCWarQF8X4n3

this game is fake. We all imagined it because lol

[halcyon elbow]

Beat ya to it (video is fantastic, 100% worth double posting)

[scarlet trout]

I figured lol

[halcyon elbow]

This is instead of his review, by the way, though I think how he feels about it speaks for itself

[scarlet trout]

Everything about this game is fake

It’s so insane

[halcyon elbow]

To his credit Argent's been saying almost exactly that for weeks

[scarlet trout]

And Tassi

But also uh it does make me a little concerned for whatever game 2 will be

[halcyon elbow]

They seem confident!

"Now that we actually know how to make a video game" lmao

[scarlet trout]

They should be! But also the second album is always hardest

[merry lance]

I mean, if CO:E33 is anything to go by, that problem's like half a decade out

[halcyon elbow]

They have all the time in the world

[main olive]

Expedition 32 when

[scarlet trout]

I hope they go away from it tbh

[halcyon elbow]

We've had a bit of the "do they sequel or do they anthology" discussion and the more I think on it the more I feel like anthology is the better direction

[analog tiger]

I want another game in the setting

anthologies are fun but real easy to mess up

[scarlet trout]

I think they’re like Larian where they’re talented enough to make great games that aren’t tied to one IP or world

[halcyon elbow]

Most of Larian's games are in the same setting

[scarlet trout]

DOS 1 and 2 are set like 500 years apart and then BG3 is a whole different universe

[halcyon elbow]

BG3 is a whole different universe but not one they had to come up with wholecloth

Not that it is easier or harder -- just different -- but I would not consider Larian a dev who, well, branches out regularly

[analog tiger]

talent has nothing to do with it also

bg3 is also a third game in an existing universe lmao

[halcyon elbow]

More than that

Just the third game in the series in the setting lmao

Sword Coast is well trod ground in video games

[scarlet trout]

Kon you get what I’m saying. I’m not gonna spend 30 minutes arguing over the fact that Larian does things and understands what it does really well enough that they can change massive amounts of their systems and add new ones

[halcyon elbow]

I fundamentally disagree with what you are saying

[scarlet trout]

Okay

[halcyon elbow]

Not trying to nitpick

Swinging bigger than that I hope

[scarlet trout]

Larian fundamentally changed so much about their combat and story telling from DOS 1 to DOS2 and then a massive change to BG3

[halcyon elbow]

When I say anthology, I mean I want them to branch out as widely as, say, FFs 6-10

[scarlet trout]

Like the differences in surfaces in combat. The action economy. The fact that they created a detailed voice acted facial animated cutscenes after being heavily text based

[halcyon elbow]

Differences in tone, style, and theme, too

[analog tiger]

gods I hope they don't do that

I mean they can change tone and style and theme but keep it in the same universe

[halcyon elbow]

If they remade FFs 8, 9, and 10 too the way they're remaking 7, you wouldn't be able to confuse them for the same game at all

[scarlet trout]

I’m talking about Larian here

[reef iron]

after some thought and time away from the game, i'd be happy if they moved on to another world

e33 full game spoilers ||anything that might lead away from "grow up and live in the real world already"||

[analog tiger]

e33 full game ||I would like for them to offer a counterpoint to that in the same setting instead of just leaving it as the setting's message||

||that'd leave a sour taste in my mouth wrt E33||

[reef iron]

full game ||well that is the final word right now and might be the permanent last word. better to think of it that way than imagine it WILL change||

[analog tiger]

full game ||I prefer to hope, personally||

I can see them going anthology but I'd not be very happy about it in part because I find it a bit cowardly

full game ||they set up some interesting questions in this game, and the easiest way to proceed would be to not answer them at all and just move on to a different setting||

full game ||I'd like to at least see what writers are and what they can do||

[shell minnow]

Act 3 ||Cleaned up some old areas, like Falling Leaves (oops everything was a one shot) and then dipped my toes into Renoir's Drafts which definitely was NOT a one shot. I managed to get the contortionistes down but I didn't want to beat my head against the other enemies, so I dipped.||

[reef iron]

full ||hope is all well and good, but i'm not talking about hoping. i'm talking about not acting as though e33 is currently part of a set and imagining that there's a "full story" being told as if this wondeful but imaginary part 2 is already here. it isn't. the current reality is what we have and what we take from the game that actually currently exists||

[nova temple]

||Average Drafts experience||

Full game ||I think I wouldn't like anything more than a passing reference to this game in a future "sequel." I would love to explore more of the world, I like the worldbuilding, and I would love to do that through the Writers' lenses. Maybe establish some of the other arts as magical?||

[merry lance]

||"Germanic Opera: Expedition 32"||

Full Game ||But yeah, I think if they do another work in the same setting, involving the Descendres at all would diminish the ending of Expedition 33. Take us somewhere else, with a different branch of The Arts, or even a combination of branches of The Arts.||

[ionic kite]

Alright let's beat this boss

[ionic kite]

YEEEEAH

TAKE THAT ||PAINTRESS
HOW DARE YOU GRIEVE FOR YOUR DEAD SON, STUPID ASSHOLE||

Oh no

||Not the emotions phase||

||And there.... is Painted Power. I can now become the god I always wanted to be. But at what cost...||

||Yaaaaaaaay we've got our good ending, surely Renoir will do absolutely nothing to ruin it!||

[ionic kite]

END OF ACT 2

W H A T

||A GLIMPSE OF THE PAST
MONOLITH YEAR 49||

||RENOIR WHAT DID YOU DO||

||WHAT DO YOU MEAN EPILOGUE ALICIA||

[silver pawn]

So tempted to click these spoilers 😅
I’m like a scene behind you!!

[ionic kite]

||And yeah I was right, Act 3 is going to be Maelle||

[nova temple]

You reeeally shouldn't

[ionic kite]

Def do not

[silver pawn]

Fear not! I do not have a masochistic streak hahaha

I’ll catch up tomorrow! Or the next day… however long it takes me to get there

[ionic kite]

Uhhh idk how to tag this so I'm just gonna do this

[ionic kite]

||So the plot of the game has been inside of a canvas, where Renoir and Aline have been fighting?||

||Ohhh so Aline is essentially trying to create a society inside the Canvas, which is Lumiere. Meanwhile, Renoir wants to destroy it for... reasons.||

||It's very interesting that Renoir created Verso, but Aline created the fake Renoir. I wonder how much of all this Verso knew, and if he did know, why he wanted to help Renoir. At the end of Act 2, it seemed like he accepted his fate, but did he know the whole time it would end that way? I'd imagine so, because the fake Alicia knew (it had to have been a fake, because the real Alicia is Maelle).||

[scarlet trout]

End of act 2

[ionic kite]

Fair enough

Act 3. ||Maelle.||

||So Aline DID create Verso.
....Why did I think Renoir did?||

Oh my GOD ||THE HAIRSTYLE WE GOT FOR MAELLE IN THE MANSION WAS CALLED ARTIST||

||Still Verso in camp tho||

||Time to create the greatest expedition in history||

||So can I just. End the game whenever I want to at this point?||

So I've been hearing that the twist of this game is divisive
Is it referring to ||everything being inside the Canvas||?
Or is it something else?

[silver pawn]

Question for the brains trust! Act 2 general gameplay ||How are you guys spreading your lumina points? Roughly even spread? Or focusing on just three for a super strong team?||

[dawn spindle]

I did even spread but I think a lot of people have done it based on what they feel they need for each character.

[silver pawn]

Yeah that’s what I’ve gone for so far. I’m about to Act 2 ||Face the Paintress, and I’ve got 60ish lumina points to distribute. Everyone is already at 100+ each. Just wondering if maybe I should hold onto them until after the Paintress? I’m worried that someone is going to die and I’ll waste the points haha. I know that’s spoilers though! So I dunno how much advice you can give 😅||

[dawn spindle]

Haha, I will tell you what I did, I kept around 30 in reserve just in case. Which isn't a lot but itd make a difference if it was needed, but doesnt make a lot when spread accross all characters.

So I felt I wasnt missing much when keeping it.

I'm not saying whether that was the correct course of action! But that was my logic at that point.

Though, in a non-spoiler manner, you will continue to get a lot of lumina so I think you shouldn't worry about that.

[silver pawn]

Ok, I think that’s a good way to go! I appreciate the way you answered the question without spoilers haha! So thankyou!

[silver pawn]

Act 2 ||Facing the Paintress|| ||Huh! That was not what I was expecting! Was prepared for a huge battle there. The burning of everyone’s faces, is lending more credence to my Maelle is actually Alicia theory… I was expecting her to come out of that all burnt and that to be the big reveal. Also, is the Paintress Verso’s mum? Hmmmm, but there’s always another secret! We continue…||

[dawn spindle]

Time for a little more E33, this time without beer, only coffee.

Goddammit, Argent this is fully your fault but I just thought "hmm or i could go buy Date Everything"

guys I think I lost all my skill, I'm unable to parry.

[wheat reef]

Maybe the lack of beer?

[dawn spindle]

It seems so. 😔

But I also have a headache which means no beer, and possibly more skill issue.

I have closed the game for now. I also think I'm fighting something that's above my current level

but that's nothing new.

[nova temple]

It's a good way to fill up any amount of free time you have!

[wheat reef]

Ooh yeah definitely no more beer then

[dawn spindle]

I do not have such thing.

[wheat reef]

I have also been somewhat swayed by Argents propaganda

[nova temple]

I only recommend good things!

[dawn spindle]

I will play Slay the Princess one of these days.

Which is the game I associate with you now.

[nova temple]

That's the correct game to associate with me

[dawn spindle]

I have moved to also associate Alice: Madness Returns, not directly with you but because I love the game and you're the only one around here I've seen directly mention it.

[nova temple]

Fair, fair

[main olive]

Hey I played some of that too!
I need to go back and play all the games because it's been years

[dawn spindle]

Alice?

I never finished McGee's

Like, it was really fun, a little janky, full of soul.

but I got softlocked pretty hard.

In fact, you might say I got hardlocked.

There was a ledge and in no way did I ever manage to make her go up the ledge, only down (death) or back. I checked to see if i was doing something wrong but people were just going up normally and I just couldn't. I had like 20% left so I just watched someone play the end 😔

I don't know anyone else that had that happen so don't let that discourage you. Returns is a lot more refined codewise (you can smell the money on it)

[ionic kite]

Let me call Galen

[halcyon elbow]

[nova temple]

bUt zElDuH

[dawn spindle]

I have no idea what this reference is...?

[main olive]

I decided to go back to Stendhal builds

[main olive]

Time to find John Clairobscur

[analog tiger]

I love alice mcgee and madness returns 🙏

[main olive]

Act 2
||Finally managed to complete Monoco's feetpic collection via the infinite tower||

I'm sure there's a cracked combination here

I can smell it

Act 3 ||Endless tower||
||Call this the domestic violence bossfight||

[main olive]

Act 3 ||Renoir's Drafts||
||Esquie I think we're on the wrong neighborhood dawg||

same tag
||Very ominous.||

||OH MY GOD IT'S JOHN CLAIROBSCUR THEMSELVES||

i

I don't know how to say this

||I one shot him||

oh that was just phase one

neat

Aight John Clairobscur got hands

||WHAT DO YOU MEAN ERASED FROM THE CANVAS||

[halcyon elbow]

Act 3 ||Abyss|| ||Its really John Darksouls inexplicably in Clair Obscur||

[main olive]

Act 3 ||Abyss|| ||He literally has a second phase cinematic that says "Rise..." it's very dark souls||

https://tenor.com/view/dark-souls-dark-souls-3-dark-souls-iii-dark-souls-boss-lothric-gif-7338590287385124008

[halcyon elbow]

||Simon and Dualliste in particular are both very Dark Souls coded||

[main olive]

I wonder if I can do a Solo Maelle on this...

[main olive]

How did he do that

Act 3 ||Abyss|| ||"the expedition is removed from the canvas." like that? on god? no cap? for real?||

[halcyon elbow]

||Welcome to phase 3||

[main olive]

I reach phase 3 and get instantly smoked

Need a new plan

I think I can one shot him again with a different setup

[main olive]

I WAS SO CLOSE

[dawn spindle]

That's what she said.

[halcyon elbow]

Usha

[dawn spindle]

coughs

Kon?

[halcyon elbow]

https://tenor.com/view/bpk-suspicious-cat-gif-17789357722703982067

[dawn spindle]

Is there a problem, sir?

[main olive]

Managed to get this boss down to a smidge of HP but every time he attacks I give up trying to parry or dodge

Someone is leaving this fight in one shot and so far it's been me and I have a save point right next to him

[wheat reef]

the true endgame is transcending the need to parry

[dawn spindle]

Is that because you oneshot everything or because you've achieved inner peace?

[main olive]

Me when I see the boss does ten attacks and each attack is 3 quick hits that each can one shot me
I accept my fate and try again

[merry lance]

Ooh, JSH is in the middle of dropping his CO:E33 video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FU7UMIiBPd4

It's quite long, and full spoilers

[main olive]

Act 3 ||Abyss|| ||Let's do this, one on one.||
||John Clairobscur vs Jane Expedition||

||This was a trap, John Darksouls, for I have baited you into allowing the rest of the expedition to attack after me||

Joking around this has been one of my best attempts yet

[wheat reef]

yes
achieve inner peace so you can oneshot everything

[dawn spindle]

Ah of course of course, my bad.

[main olive]

I don't wanna go back to farm more

[main olive]

John Clairobscure update

[nova temple]

You are certainly doing better than I was

[main olive]

This is with only two optimized characters, the rest is very subpar

Hell, Lune is only working as a sacrifice to boost Maelle's damage because she has the autodeath rune and buffs while Maelle has all the "[buff] when fighting alone"

I've spent two or so hours here but I've minmaxed things to such a degree that I've gone from 2.5 million in damage to 18 million

so close to cracking this

up that to a 22m

[nova temple]

the fight is one-shottable

(it's how I did it)

but I am not much for buildcrafting, I just looked it up

[main olive]

I know that if I go out, farm a bit and come back I can one shot this but I'm really invested now

We continue

Act 3 ||Abyss||
||LET'S GO MONOCOOOOOOOOO MY DAWG YOU DID IT YOU ABSOLUTE MADMAN YOU REALLY DID IT||

[halcyon elbow]

"Quite long" isn't specific enough. It is 3hr, 33min, 33sec

[main olive]

Act 3 ||I did Flying Manor in one go, overcracked my build too much for Simon, tomorrow I finish this game I think||

[nova temple]

Hey, FYI Dualliste music slaps

[slate ginkgo]

yo i is starting this game for first time

expedition or exper

experrt

dang i cant type today

[reef iron]

expedition is fine to start

can always increase it if you want more

[slate ginkgo]

i like a challenge but dont wanna be beaten to the dirt, but i think i would have fun with expert

imma try expert and then tone it down if needed

[nova temple]

I think Expert is a reasonable difficulty

You'll need to pay a little more attention to your build, but it's not like you have to be perfect

[slate ginkgo]

which is the way i like it

also this music is amazing

[nova temple]

1000%

Unrelated, Act 2 ||I was today years old when I learned that if you fail the Lampmaster's lamp trial, its strong attack grows in power with each use - which is why Monoco's corresponding ability does too!||

[slate ginkgo]

prolouge done

hot dang

[nova temple]

indeed

[halcyon elbow]

The hits start coming and they do not stop coming

[silver pawn]

It’s soooo good

[ionic kite]

bro what the HELL is Stendahl

Why did Maelle just do almost 600 THOUSAND damage?!

I heard that skill was busted but I was looking at it and was like "It's a single hit, how strong can it be"

So I'm gonna be going for probably a while without getting endings

[nova temple]

600k is a good start

[ionic kite]

ONE M I L L I O N ? !

CASUAL ONE MIL

Granted I am fighting enemies I probably should have fought a while ago

But still

[main olive]

So far I've managed to do 22 million but with slightly better setup I think I could go to at least 36

If my math maths

[nova temple]

Act 2 ||In this week's episode of "this game is fake" we have Charlie Cox saying he did all his Gustave VO in like 4 hours||

[dawn spindle]

This reminds me a little of when I learnt that Samantha Béart did all of Karlach in a few months, as opposed to everyone else that spent far longer since she was a much later addition. Which had me also like

[nova temple]

Games are weird, man

[halcyon elbow]

This squares with what I've heard from Jennifer English and Ben Starr

Both of them said this was far and away the most efficient recording they've ever been a part of

[dawn spindle]

I think, People are amazing, is my take.

[halcyon elbow]

Crediting in large part a lack of indecision because the writers were sitting there directly expressing their vision for the scene, which basically never happens

[nova temple]

Yeah, that checks out

Sophie's actress talked about how Blizzard's acting director does a similar thing - which matches with what I've seen on panels and stuff - and how useful it is to get instant feedback, and a back & forth between actor and director

or writer

[dawn spindle]

It is what makes the most sense, there has to be a reason for when it doesn't happen, either the game is too big, or very likely bureaucracy/management.

[nova temple]

It's way less efficient to do it this way

For the writer/director, at least

It's way easier to write a bunch of lines, have an actor record a few takes, and then have someone pick the best of those

More streamlined, way easier on scheduling

[dawn spindle]

It is... one person vs more people. So idk in the total how that efficiency translates.

And it's more efficient for a higher quality output, too.

If you're considering only the director then yeah, ofc.

But I'm not super familiar with the inner workings I'm just trying to logic it through

[fallow geode]

devils advocate: the multiple people can be recording their takes simultaneously, while for the writer(s) to be in the room requires it to be sequential

[dawn spindle]

Yes, that's what I was thinking of when I said if the game is big, it'd be nigh impossible

[wheat reef]

Considering how expensive ppl keep saying VA is it seems weird to me that someone wouldnt go for the choice that has the VA spending less time recording lines

[halcyon elbow]

To Sandfall's credit, Guillaume Broche and Jennifer Svedberg-Yen traveled to London to do these recordings

It isn't like this was being done in their backyard

[wheat reef]

Thats a good point but maybe in that case they would benefit from more directors. Although on the other hand I guess too many cooks in the kitchen and all that

[dawn spindle]

I think it could be done in some ways...

But yeah it's a lot more complex than it seems.

Smaller studios should be able to do it though, I feel.

[main olive]

I think I'm ready to end this expedition

I've already done most of what there is to do

unless you have another John Darksouls tier boss hidden somewhere

[halcyon elbow]

One of the more consistent analyses I've seen of Expedition 33's success is that the studio size ended up being more advantage than disadvantage in a world where studios are thousands of people working on a single game

[halcyon elbow]

Act 3 ||Did you slay the dragon?||

[main olive]

||The one that's floating around the sky? one shot, yeah.||

Act 3 ||Flying Manor|| ||I also turned Clea into a pin cushion before she did turn into one in a cinematic||

[halcyon elbow]

That sounds like everything

||Lampmaster 2: Verso Boogaloo?||

[main olive]

The what

[halcyon elbow]

||Painter's Workshop||

[main olive]

ooooooooooooooooo

Yeah let's check that place

[halcyon elbow]

Act 2 ||I do not normally enjoy metal covers but this works well: https://youtu.be/i9JIiCH464E ||

[dawn spindle]

I just listened to this and I entirely forgot I also had the Dredge OST running on steam and it honestly kinda sounds really good with waves in the background.

[main olive]

Once I'm done with this game I don't know what to play

[dawn spindle]

I think you'd like Sultans' Game...

[exotic ember]

Have you played Doom Eternal?

[main olive]

I don't think my machine can Doom Eternal, but I'm going to do something no one ever does
Look at my backlog and play something I bought five years ago

[exotic ember]

You may be surprised. If it can run Clair Obscur it can probably run Doom Eternal pretty well. Game is super well optimized

I would think it could at least

[main olive]

I'm moving to videogames general later to poll, I gotta look at my backlog

[analog tiger]

I have suggestions

[merry lance]

So Doom Eternal?

[main olive]

I meant to say dark ages

Paint workshop done

anyone left I can atomize

Date

Before I end this expedition I must face my greatest enemy

LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Act 3 ||Lumiere|| ||Scene goes hard||

[nova temple]

Oh, you may want to bump the enemies' health a bit, if you are crushing everyone that hard

[merry lance]

There is another fight set you might be missing, just checking the name of the zone

Sunless Cliffs

[nova temple]

Ah, was just gonna ask about Sunless Cliffs 😅

[main olive]

Oh no I very much want to crush everything in my path

I feel it's thematic accurate that I break ||Papa|| in half with my bare hands

[halcyon elbow]

IIRC Nick is still on 1.0

So no bumping anything anyway

[main olive]

It has it's advantages

and disadvantages

got a couple bugs the other day that were very annoying

[nova temple]

Hm, right

[main olive]

How's the NG+ experience

Act 3 ||Lumiere|| ||I'm going to break your damn legs.||

||KAIJU FIGHT||

Expedition word of the day

Depression

[exotic ember]

Oh yeah don’t play dark ages right now.

If you ever want to try that, wait a while since they’re actively making improvements to the game balance to make it better

[exotic ember]

Based on what I’ve heard at least, wouldn’t recommend on 1.0 with no challenge modifiers

[main olive]

Epilogue ||What do you mean December 33||

[halcyon elbow]

Epilogue ||This has been big RAFO'd by Sandfall||

[main olive]

All ||I need to know more about Clea, by far the most interesting character in the family, what's going on with her both inside and outside the canvas? was was she cooking? why does Maelle talk about her like she's the strongest in the family, "Silent War" said Renoir, Who or what are the "Writers" and why did they attack The Painters?||

I need ten books

now

All ||What was the deal with Simon, why was he so strong? Clea calls him "My love" and talks about an Oath, oh phase 2 he gets white hair like Maelle (Painter hair?) he said he was "tricked" by Aline and he killed an Axon, but that Axon looks very human there in Old Lumiere, it almost looks like Clea even||

I have so many questions

[halcyon elbow]

All ||Yes that is the Clea Axon. Real Clea pretended to be Painted Clea (with whom Simon was in a relationship) and empowered him then convinced him to destroy the Axon, and then painted over Painted Clea to turn her into a Nevron factory. As far as I can tell she really hated how both of her parents chose to portray her||

||The Axons are Renoirs depictions of his family, kind of a response to Aline's painted versions. I tend to think his are much kinder than hers||

||As for why Clea is the most powerful, she's the oldest but of the three children she's also the only one who seems to have not given into the "temptation" of abandoning Painting for her secondary artistic interest (in her case, sculpture), whereas Verso seems to have abandoned Painting altogether to pursue music, while Alicia.... well, we know how her interest in writing turned out||

[main olive]

||Alicia Writing?||

[merry lance]

||Oh man, I could make the worst use of a gif right now||

[halcyon elbow]

||She was manipulated by the writers into creating the conditions for the fire that killed Verso and scarred her. She also has the only typewriter in the entire house in her room. Plus, Stendhal is the pen name of a French writer||

[main olive]

Fascinating

All Ending
||I decided to pick Verso and end this canvas once and for all, Renoir did have some very convincing arguments that made me pick that and erase the canvas||

[halcyon elbow]

All ||It is worth going back and seeing the other ending. You can get to it fairly quickly||

[main olive]

I may try and recreate that Esquie plushie

I need one

[halcyon elbow]

They're working on an official one

I think it might already be up?

Act 3 ||Pierre Esquie is the name of a French architect, which is why he needs stones (and why he has a connection to Sciel and her husband Pierre)||

[main olive]

Yeah but the shipping costs are going to end me

I'll try and make one myself

[halcyon elbow]

https://tenor.com/view/do-it-myself-iwilldoitmyself-gif-5018673

[main olive]

Mom told me where to buy the materials

[exotic ember]

Didn’t know that one!

[analog tiger]

E33 all ||I want more about Clea too and also I want to see her in military uniform please and thank you 🙏 ||

E33 all ||give her Renoir's suit please 🙏 ||

[main olive]

Anyone has any lore videos to link me

I kinda wanna watch if I missed something

[boreal galleon]

All ||https://youtu.be/oMOZ9p1wC_I?si=8jOhi7zDeSIeM4DO|| That video might be up your alley!

Spoilers just in case

[ionic kite]

Ooooh I like this video idea

I clicked by mistake but

Thumbnail is fine at least

I need to watch this after I finish

[nova temple]

I liked the idea, didn't like the video 😅

Too much... fluff

[main olive]

Wait is that Daredevil

WAIT

HOLD ON