Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has quickly cemented its place as one of the finest turn-based RPGs in recent memory—a remarkable debut from French developer Sandfall Interactive. The game follows the perilous journey of Expedition 33, a group determined to defeat the enigmatic Paintress and other formidable bosses to prevent the extinction of Lumière’s inhabitants.
Beyond its gripping narrative and visually stunning world, Expedition 33 introduces deep gameplay mechanics, including a complex system of equippable items called Pictos. Each Picto grants unique passive abilities that enhance attack power, health, or defense. With over 150 Pictos to discover, managing them effectively can be overwhelming.
That’s where we come in. Below is a ranked list of the best Pictos in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, from the useful to the truly game-changing.
Attack Lifesteal
One of the earliest Pictos you can get in the game, Attack Lifesteal is found in the Ancient Sanctuary area accessible in Act 1. Simply performing a base attack will help you regain 15% of your health, making it quite useful to have equipped to avoid using a healing tint to preserve AP for more AP-heavy attacks.
Shared Care
Found near the White Tree entrance by a stack of crates, Shared Care gives you added benefits when healing an ally, allowing you to recover 50% of your health as a reward. It saves you from spending a Healing Tint when in battle and gives you a heftier share compared to the 15% health recovery offered by the Healing Share Pictos.
Auto Death
Found in Yellow Harvest by purchasing it off an easily missable Gestral Merchant, Auto Death may seem frightful to you as it gives the seemingly useless ability to kill you upon the start of a battle. However, when you combine this Pictos with other Pictos such as Death Bomb (which damages your enemies upon death), Shielding Death (which grants 3 Shield Points to your allies upon death) or Breaking Death (which fills up your enemy’s Break meter upon death), it gives you an added boost on the battlefield. Of course, when equipping this Pictos, it’s recommended to equip the Second Chance Pictos as well.
Solidifying
The first time you’ll encounter the Solidifying Pictos is after you defeat the Great Sapling in the Crushing Cavern, but you’ll receive a Level 20 variant after defeating a Gestral Merchant in the Sacred River. If your health bar is inching towards zero, Solidifying is a great Pictos to look out for, as it automatically gives you 2 Shields if your health is below 50% while gifting you an extra boost in defence and speed.
Sweet Kill
A nifty Pictos you must get your hands on, Sweet Kill can be found on the Forgotten Battlefield, not far from the first checkpoint flag in the area. There is also a late-game version of the Pictos you can purchase from Grour the Merchant in Renoir’s Drafts after defeating him. This Pictos grants the passive ability to restore 50% of your health bar upon killing an enemy, while also amplifying your speed and critical hit chances.
Energising Parry
One of the handiest Pictos you can find early on in Act 2, Energising Parry is a Pictos you earn after defeating Chromatic Luster in the Forgotten Battlefield. However, if you miss this Pictos, you can skip ahead and purchase its Level 20 equivalent after defeating a Gestral Merchant in the Sacred River.
In short, this Pictos allows you to gain 1 AP every time you complete a successful parry. Naturally, this is extremely useful and can fill up your AP gauge very quickly, allowing you to execute skills that mete out higher damage. You can also find the highest-level version of this Pictos in Renoir’s Drafts (a Level 90+ area) after defeating Grour the Merchant in a duel.
Painted Power
By the time you near the end of Act 2, the maximum damage your party members can deal out is 9,999. It’s only after you start Act 3 that the Painted Power Pictos is available for use. This Pictos allows you to deal damage exceeding 9,999, with the ability to massively boost your health bar when equipped. It’s highly recommended to equip (and learn) this Pictos, as it’d be handy for dealing with tank-like bosses such as Sprong or Serpenphare.
Clea’s Life
As suggested by the name, the Clea’s Life Picto is obtainable after you defeat Clea in the Flying Manor area accessible in Act 3. Unlike other healing Pictos, Clea’s Life guarantees to completely restore your health bar, with the caveat that you did not incur any damage in your last play turn. If you’re confident in your parry or dodge abilities, then this Pictos will be handy in a tough fight.
Second Chance
If you’re struggling with a boss, then the Second Chance Pictos is a crucial one to have and equip. Second Chance is obtained after defeating Painted Renoir in the Monolith at the end of Act 2. As suggested by the name, it grants your player characters the ability to resurrect with full health and play for a second time if defeated. However, this ability only works once.
Cheater
This Pictos is a definite must-have, but of course, they don’t make it easy for you to get the best of the best. To get your hands on the Cheater Pictos, you have to defeat Sprong, which is a late-game boss. This particular Pictos allows you to play twice consecutively for every turn, which makes it a huge advantage in any battle. Equipping it will boost your health and attack speed, though it costs 40 Lumina Points to arm.
What did you think of our list of the best Pictos in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33? Are there any Pictos in the game you’d add or omit from the list? Let us know in the comments.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login