Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Guide | How To Get 9,999 Damage Solo (Early Game Build Guide)

Unlock your full damage potential early on using Maelle and the right skill, gear, and stance setup.

Game Guide by Monarch on May 03, 2025

You can reach 9,999 damage with a single character early in the game—around level 22. To give some context, this setup becomes possible right after finishing Gestral Village. You don't need any late-game gear, and the strategy focuses entirely on maximizing single-target bursts with Maelle.

This guide focuses only on that character and does not involve any story spoilers or show other party members, so you're free to read safely.

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Battle Setup

The build revolves around a specific approach. You begin with the skill Fencer's Flurry, a medium physical attack that hits all enemies at least once and applies Defenseless. Once that debuff is applied, you immediately gain the advantage.

After setting up Defenseless, your goal is to parry incoming hits and take down enemies one by one. You'll find that one-shotting enemies becomes routine—even those with shields.

The trick for shielded enemies is to use free aim to break their shields manually. Doing this enables your weapon's passive, which triggers the Virtuose stance upon breaking a shield. Once you're in Virtuose stance, you're ready to execute the big damage move.

From there, you use Percee while in Virtuose stance. If you're lucky and manage to apply Mark via your Luminous setup, the bonus damage is even higher. Even without it, the result is devastating.

Damage Output

Using this build, you can easily hit the 9,999 damage cap. In one test, the total damage was 20,000. Subtracting the smaller damage from additional enemies reveals that the main target likely took close to 10k on their own. At level 22, this is a significant milestone and a great early-game power spike.

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Weapon Details

You need the Sekarum weapon. It should be leveled to at least 9. Boost it with a polished chroma catalyst if possible. This weapon has 430 powers, and its key feature is the level 4 passive that switches you to Virtuose stance upon breaking an enemy shield. This passive is the centerpiece of the entire build.

Sekarum also comes with good stat scaling. It supports Power and Vitality at B and C ratings, and you can continue upgrading it as you move through the game.

Pictos and Loadout

The main Picto you're trying to enhance is Rewarding Mark. This Picto improves with battle usage, and you need four victories to fully unlock it. You can track its progress by checking the diamond around the icon—each side of the diamond represents one win.

For this build, also equip Exposing Attack and Energizing Break. These Pictos play directly into the build's mechanics by giving you the AP and debuffs needed to chain big damage turns.

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Core Skills

You only need a handful of core skills for this build to work. Pierce, Fencer's Flurry, and Breaking the Rules are all you need. Each contributes to either applying Defenseless, generating turns, or directly amplifying damage through stance mechanics.

Most importantly, the Virtuose stance itself increases damage when the enemy is marked. This synergy makes it the strongest stance for Maelel in this setup and arguably the best skill interaction in the game for her.

Luminous Configuration

Your equipped Pictos provide the base of your Luminous selection, but you also want key supporting Luminous. Augmented Attack and Augmented Counter boost your regular and counter damage, which is essential for reaching the 9,999 threshold.

Burning Shots and Critical Burn add bonus burn effects. Dead Energy II is useful for amplifying bursts when you're going for the finishing blow.

Marking Shots is another critical piece. This Luminous gives a 20% chance to apply Mark, which significantly increases damage when you're in Virtuose stance. Even if it doesn't land, the rest of your setup is strong enough to still deliver massive hits.

You also want to include Roulette. This tool is found in Gestral Village and plays a key role in enabling high early-game DPS. It's one of the easiest ways to push your damage ceiling without late-game materials.

To safeguard the run, SOS Shell provides an emergency backup if things go sideways.

Attribute Spread

At level 22, Maelle's stats should look roughly like this: 13 Vitality, 26 Might, 3 Agility, 12 Defense, and 6 Luck. You're heavily favoring Maelle because it scales your damage while maintaining enough Vitality and Defense to stay alive through incoming pressure.

Luck is useful but not mandatory. With the right setup, you won't need to rely on crits to land kill shots.

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Final Thoughts

This early-game Maelle build is capable of reaching the damage cap before you're even a quarter of the way through the game. By leveraging shield breaks, stance switching, and smart skill choices, you unleash overwhelming burst damage while staying in control of every encounter.

Whether you're trying to dominate early bosses, clear challenging enemy formations, or just see the damage cap on your screen, this setup will carry you through the first half of the game with ease.

Once you master the timing and setup, you'll find yourself steamrolling enemies before they even get a chance to act. Have fun with the build, and enjoy how quickly Maelle becomes a one-woman wrecking crew.

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