Tips And Strategies For Maelle In Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Maelle is the youngest member of the team in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, having volunteered to go to the Continent a full nine years before her impending Gommage. Despite her youth, though, she’s the party’s most capable fighter when it comes to singling out hard targets and bringing them down. She also has an arsenal of fire abilities that complement the rest of the team brilliantly.

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Played correctly, Maelle is one of Clair Obscur’s deadliest playable characters, either solo or fighting alongside the other Expeditioners. Her Stances also make her one of the most fun to set up Luminas for.

How To Use Maelle’s Stances In Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Each time Maelle uses a Skill, she will adopt one of three Stances until the end of her next turn; the Stance is indicated by the color of the icon in the upper-right corner of the Skill.

Stance	Color	Effect(s)
Offensive	Red	Maelle deals 50% more damage with all attacks, including Counters. Maelle takes 50% more damage from all sources.
Defensive	Blue	Maelle halves all damage that she takes. Maelle gains an extra AP whenever she successfully Dodges or Parries (in addition to any she would gain normally from Luminas, perfect Parries, etc.)
Virtuose	Purple	Maelle deals triple damage with all attacks, including Counters. Skills that allow Maelle to adopt Virtuose Stance often have extra requirements; for example, Swift Stride only shifts into Virtuose if the target is Burning. If these requirements aren’t met when the Skill is used, Maelle becomes Stanceless instead.

Stance

Color

Effect(s)

Offensive

Red

Maelle deals 50% more damage with all attacks, including Counters.

Maelle takes 50% more damage from all sources.

Defensive

Blue

Maelle halves all damage that she takes.

Maelle gains an extra AP whenever she successfully Dodges or Parries (in addition to any she would gain normally from Luminas, perfect Parries, etc.)

Virtuose

Purple

Maelle deals triple damage with all attacks, including Counters.

Skills that allow Maelle to adopt Virtuose Stance often have extra requirements; for example, Swift Stride only shifts into Virtuose if the target is Burning. If these requirements aren’t met when the Skill is used, Maelle becomes Stanceless instead.

Maelle can’t use the same Stance two turns in a row; if she uses a Skill that would put her into the Stance she’s currently in, she instead becomes Stanceless, getting no bonuses or penalties until she adopts a new Stance.

Many Skills have an additional effect if they’re used from a specific Stance. For example, Percèe costs 2 fewer AP if it’s used from Virtuose Stance, while Rain Of Fire applies additional stacks of Burn if used from Defensive Stance. Try to set up Maelle with Skills that can flow from Stance to Stance efficiently.

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Tips For Maelle

Maelle is a monstrous damage dealer, and you should assign her Attributes accordingly. Prioritize Might and Agility to maximize the number of turns she takes and the amount of damage she can deal on each, then pick a third based on your preferred weapon for her. Defense is a good choice, as it helps mitigate the drawback of Offensive Stance and makes Maelle virtually untouchable while in Defensive Stance.

Pictos And Lumina

Maelle’s Stances give her an opportunity to make use of Luminas that are riskier in the hands of other Expeditioners. For example, Roulette has a chance to either halve or double the damage of each attack made by the equipped character. If Maelle is in Offensive or Virtuose Stance, the half damage is effectively negated, but getting double damage on top of the Stance bonus lets her easily hit 9,999.

Set Maelle up with Marking Shot and Dead Energy, and she’ll be able to prime enemies with a Free Aim Shot, then hit them with her powerful single-target Skills, earning back the AP when the foe falls.

While Maelle herself doesn’t necessarily need Critical Burn, she’s so good at setting enemies on fire that giving it to her companions is usually a very good idea.

Skills

The left side of Maelle’s Skill tree focuses on putting Burn stacks on enemies, while the right side lets her penetrate enemy defenses, removing Shields and inflicting Defenseless. It’s a good idea to dabble in both before committing to one or the other.

Whatever else goes into your build, Rain of Fire, Swift Stride, and Breaking Rules are all must-haves:

Rain Of Fire is an easy way to apply Burn, especially if Maelle is equipped with Energising Start. If you need a cheaper option, Spark also works – just not as well.
Swift Stride is a cheap, reliable way to enter Virtuose Stance, especially if other characters like Lune are also applying Burn to enemies.
Breaking Rules removes all Shields from an enemy and damages them as well, making it vital against certain foes. Don’t get caught without it!

Make sure you have at least two Skills each that let Maelle enter Offensive and Defensive Stances, so that you have options to keep her from going Stanceless. As with all character builds, it’s also important to vary high and low AP costs, though the extra AP from Defensive Stance Maelle usually has a much easier time staying powered up than the rest of the team.