Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Guide | How To Play Maelle

Maelle is the highest potential DPS character in the game. She can deal insane amounts of damage, and even if you're not playing her perfectly, you're probably still out-DPSing other characters in your group.

To maximize her effectiveness, you need to understand her core mechanics—especially her stance system—and how to align her skills, weapons, Pictos, and Luminas to suit her burn-heavy build.

Maelle's Stance Mechanics

Maelle has three stances—Defensive, Offensive, and Virtuous—and she can also be stanceless. She always starts combat without a stance. Each skill will place her into a stance, and you can tell which one by checking the icon in the top right of the skill's info box.

Defensive stance reduces incoming damage by 50% and gives you +1 AP when you parry or dodge, in addition to the regular AP gain from those actions. This stance helps you stockpile AP during the enemy's turn while reducing damage, letting you spend big when your turn comes around.

Offensive stance increases your damage by 50% but also increases damage taken by 50%. You typically don't want to end your turn in this stance, but it's great to be in it right before attacking to maximize your output.

Virtuous stance is Maelle's best stance. It increases your damage by 200% with no downside. This bonus also applies to counterattacks, so if you end a turn in virtuous stance, your counter damage can be massive. Ideally, you want to enter virtuous stance as often as possible.

Entering Virtuous Stance

Unfortunately, there are not many skills that allow Maelle to enter a virtuous stance directly. One of the few is Swift Stride. It does a bit of damage, but if you use it on a burning target, it shifts you into virtuous stance.

Since Maelle and other characters can apply burn, this becomes your main method of entering virtuous stance. It's highly recommended to pair Maelle with allies who can apply burn so she can transition into this stance consistently.

Some weapons also let you enter virtuous stance by other means—after counterattacking, destroying shields, or dropping below 50% health. These weapons make it easier to maintain high-damage windows without wasting turns on setup.

Key Skills and Their Uses

Many of Maelle's skills deal fire damage and apply burn, physical damage, or scale with her weapon's element. Later in the game, some deal void damage, but early on, you'll be working mostly with fire and physical damage.

Spark is a low-cost, early skill that hits once and applies 3 burns. If you use it in an offensive stance, it applies 2 more burns, totaling 5.

Rain of Fire hits twice and applies 3 burn per hit. If you use it in a defensive stance, it applies 2 extra burn per hit, stacking up to ten burns. It costs more AP but sets up higher burn counts.

Combustion deals physical damage in two hits and consumes up to ten burn stacks to increase its power. It hits incredibly hard in the early to mid-game and is a great burst skill once burn is applied.

Mezzo Forte re-applies your current stance and gives you more AP. It costs only 1 AP, so it's great when you're already in virtuous stance and want to keep it going while building up AP.

Fleuret Fury is another great early-game skill. It deals physical damage in three hits and, if used in virtuous stance, keeps you in virtuous stance. This helps you keep up your damage momentum and chain strong counterattacks.

Dealing with adversaries who use shields requires the ability to break the rules. Although it doesn't strike with much force, it instantly eliminates every shield and awards you AP for each one. You even receive another turn if the target is vulnerable. It is, therefore, an effective instrument for difficult battles.

Choosing the Right Weapons

The best weapons for Maelle are those that help her enter or maintain virtuous stance and synergize with her burn playstyle.

JARUM is excellent because it switches you into virtuous stance on counterattack and applies 5 burns when counterattacking. It also increases counterattack damage based on how many shields you have, making it even better with shield-boosting Pictos and Luminas.

LITHUM also switches you to virtuous stance on counterattack and preserves marks on enemies, allowing you to deal more damage. It reduces damage taken after leaving virtuous stance and provides void damage, which is strong against many enemies.

MELARUM focuses on physical damage and gives her healing utility. When she enters virtuous stance, all allies heal for 20% of their health. If her health drops below 50%, she enters virtuous stance automatically. It also gives her damage reduction when above 80% HP.

SEASHELLUM gives Maelle one shield when switching to offensive stance. Her base attack also switches her to offensive stance, providing another path to shield generation. While in offensive stance, she gains a 50% critical hit chance, which allows her to rely less on Luck and more on direct damage.

DEUNUM gives AP to allies when Maelle gains AP in defensive stance. While it doesn't boost her damage directly, it helps your team use high-cost skills more often. It also gives her more AP on stance switch, increasing her total AP economy.

The Metal weapon starts her in virtuous stance and doubles all burn stacks applied while in that stance. It also doubles burn damage, making it perfect for stacking massive burn early and triggering devastating combos.

FACESUM focuses on amplifying burn application and spread. In offensive stance, burn stacks are doubled. Burn damage is increased by 50%, and her base attack spreads burn to random enemies. Combined with Luminas like Combo Attack 1 and 3, this weapon turns her into an AoE burn monster.

Pictos and Luminas for Maelle

To optimize Maelle's effectiveness, focus on buffs that enhance burn. Breaking Burn, Burning Affinity, Double Burn, and Critical Burn are all great choices.

If you're using the Faysum weapon, combo-focused Luminas like Combo Attack 1 and Combo Attack 2 help her spread burn, and deal damage more efficiently.

In the early game, you might need Energizing Star or Energizing Turn to keep your AP high. Eventually, Maelle generates so much AP naturally that you can scale those back and swap in more offensive Luminas.

She also has a few skills that benefit from Marked status, so using Luminas that apply Mark can increase her burst damage potential.

Final Thoughts on Maelle

Maelle is absolutely devastating in combat and can carry your team through the entire game. Once you understand her stance system and burn synergies, she becomes a powerhouse capable of dealing incredible amounts of damage.

With the right setup, she maintains constant pressure, burns down enemies in seconds, and stays in control with powerful counterattacks.

Later in the game, you'll unlock even more potent abilities that amplify her damage further, but even early on, she's a top-tier unit. Prioritize burn, build around her strengths, and watch her become your team's deadliest force.