Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, a GOTY-worthy video game, puts you on an adventure battling against multiple Nevrons. It may be challenging to grasp some of the mechanics, which can lead to numerous deaths. However, a character like Maelle can bulldoze over even the most challenging enemies, especially with the best build equipped and ready.
This build will cover the best weapons, skills, and Pictos and Luminas for Maelle. It will mainly focus on Maelle dealing damage to the Nevrons and Axons, with some alternatives you can use in case you missed some of the weapons, Pictos, and Luminas.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Best Maelle Build
Maelle is an absolute powerhouse in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and rightfully so. She's Gustave's foster sister, who joined the expedition years before her own Gommage. She mainly uses a sword with an affinity for Physical and Fire damage. She even has the chance to single-handedly defeat enemies, and deal millions of damage to them.
Understanding Maelle's Kit
Like the other Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 playable characters, Maelle (voiced by Jennifer English) has a unique passive mechanic. She has Battle Stances that can be changed using specific skills. The Stances are as follows:
- Defensive Stance: Maelle will take less damage and gain 1 AP when parrying or dodging
- Offensive Stance: Deals more damage, but also takes more damage (50% damage dealt, 50% damage taken)
- Virtuose Stance: Deal more damage without any adverse effects (200% damage dealt)
When Maelle reunites with Lune and Gustave, the Offensive and Defensive Stances are introduced. You'd initially think that Offensive may be the best way to go, until you realize the Virtuose Stance makes Maelle a monster based on her damage.
Virtuose-Focused Build
One of the best Stances that Maelle should be in is her Virtuose Stance. Unlike the other Stances, this allows her to have +200% damage without any downsides.
Weapon
There are a lot of weapon choices for Maelle, but there are notable ones that you can use. One is the famous Medalum, which you can get if you use Maelle in the Gestral Village Arena tournament.
- Medalum
- Element: No specific element
- Attribute focus: Defense, Agility
The Medalum had been my go-to weapon during my run from Act II. It immediately allows Maelle to be in Virtuose Stance(Level 4 Passive). This will go great with Burn due to the passive at Level 10, where every Burn applied while in Virtuose Stance is doubled. At Level 20, Burn will deal double damage. However, if you couldn't get the weapon, you can opt for other options (use skills that inflict Burn and use Swift Stride to switch to Virtuose Stance).
- Lithum
- Element: Void
- Attribute focus: Agility, Luck
Going into the end game, there are a lot of choices for Maelle, but one of the best choices for her will be the Lithum. I love the Attribute focus for the weapon since it prioritizes her turn order and critical chance. This can be acquired in The Reacher by defeating Alicia.
At Level 4, hitting a Marked enemy while she is in Virtuose Stance won't remove the Mark. Keeping the Mark lets her and her teammate deal more damage to the foe. At Level 10, a counterattack allows her to switch to Virtuose Stance. Level 20 gives her some defense, as changing out of Virtuose Stance will give her Shell.
- Barrier Breaker
- Element: Void
- Attribute focus: Defense, Agility
If you want an alternative, use the Barrier Breaker, which steals Shields by hitting enemies (Level 4) and switches to Virtuose Stance upon breaking any Shield (Level 10). Hitting a Marked enemy breaks all the Shields they have at Level 20.
Skills
In the earlier Acts in Clair Obscur, you will be using a lot of her Fire skills. However, you should develop a skill set that will utilize her Virtuose Stance the most. These are the key skills that you should get once they're available:
- Last Chance
- Stendhal
These skills inflict self-nerfs in exchange for devastating damage. Last Chance allows you to change to Virtuose Stance, though Maelle's self-Health will be reduced to 1, but refills all her AP. Stendhal deals extreme Void damage in 1 hit, but it inflicts Defenseless on her and removes all her Shields. The following skills you might get are:
- Sword Ballet
- Phantom Strike
- Burning Canvas
- Swift Stride
Some of these are high AP costs, so it'd be best to trade in skills such as Burning Canvas for Spark if you're struggling with managing your AP. We'll focus more on DPS Maelle and will not include any of her Support skills, as this can be done by other Expedition 33 members.
Pictos and Luminas
There are many Pictos and Luminas that you can equip on Maelle, but here are some of the best ones to include (if you have them already):
- Cheater - Allows Maelle to play twice in a row
- Inverted Affinity - Applies Inverted on herself for 3 turns on battle start, but increases 50% damage
- Immaculate - Increase damage by 30% until a hit is received
- Glass Cannon - Deal 25% more damage, but also take 25% more
- Painted Power - Allows for damage to exceed 9,999
I'd say that the most important Picto or Lumina that you should aim to get is Cheater and Painted Power. Cheater allows Maelle to play twice in a row, making it easier to switch to Virtuose Stance when needed. You'll need to defeat Sprong, though, which can take a while if you don't have enough damage.
Other than that, it's best to focus on Pictos and Luminas, which enhance Maelle's damage capabilities. Other slots can be taken up by ones that provide additional AP, such as Energising Start, Energising Parry, and other Support Pictos and Luminas.
If you haven't already, check out other guides on Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, such as how to find and use the Manor Family Canvas!