Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Player Elevates Maelle’s Damage Beyond 1 Billion Against Toughest Boss with New Build: “The Damage Queen Returns”

Despite significant nerfs to Maelle’s damage output in the first patch after the release of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, the recent Thank You update has unveiled fresh strategies that enable her to unleash over 1.1 billion damage against the toughest boss in the game, thanks to new weapons, Pictos, and more.

Shortly after the game’s launch, players quickly discovered just how powerful Maelle could be. With her Medalum weapon paired with the notorious Stendhal skill, she could obliterate even the most formidable end-game bosses—until the first patch hit. The Medalum’s damage was reduced from double to only double burn damage, and Stendhal’s effectiveness was cut by 40%. It seemed like Maelle’s reign of dominance had come to an end.

Following Expedition 33’s impressive showing at The Game Awards 2025, the developers rolled out a free ‘Thank You’ update, introducing a new area, boss, weapons, and Pictos. Among these, the Licorum weapon for Maelle, found in the new area Verso’s Drafts, has garnered attention for its 10% damage buff per skill hit, synergizing perfectly with the new Picto, Frenzy, which offers the same benefit.

To achieve staggering damage in Expedition 33, players need to stack various status effects like burn, marks, and shields while maximizing damage multipliers through buffs, skills, and Picto effects. YouTuber BltzZ has showcased a build that amplifies Maelle’s base damage using multiple multipliers while consuming over 100 stacks of status effects.

The go-to attack is Burning Canvas, a skill that strikes five times. Maelle’s allies, Sciel and Lune, primarily focus on applying mark and burn status stacks to the enemy, specifically targeting the game’s toughest boss, Simon. Sciel also casts Fortune’s Fury on Maelle, granting a substantial 200% damage boost.

Additional multipliers include the Picto Gradient Overcharge, which allows players to consume three stacks of Gradient for double damage, and Feint, which negates damage from the first four hits of a skill, letting the fifth hit deal a staggering 600% damage. Given that Burning Canvas hits five times, the potential for damage becomes clear.

BltzZ provides a comprehensive look at their entire build, including all weapons and Pictos, in their video, which also features an excellent breakdown of the strategy for those looking to replicate this powerful setup.