Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Guide | How To Play Monoco

This guide will show you how to get the maximum out of Monoco in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. In contrast to other characters, Monoco doesn't follow a normal skill tree. Instead, he gains new skills by beating enemies and taking on their special powers.

To ensure he remains effective throughout your playthrough, keep him in your active party from the earliest possible stage so he can collect as many skills as you encounter.

Understanding the Bestial Wheel

Monoco occupies one of nine slots on the Bestial Wheel every turn—two each for Agile, Heavy, Balanced, and Caster masks, plus a single Almighty mask. The mask you occupy boosts corresponding abilities, increasing their damage or adding special effects. 

For example, when you find yourself in an Agile slot, all Agile abilities deliver enhanced damage. Landing on the Almighty mask amplifies any ability you use, regardless of its type, making it a highly coveted position.

Matching Abilities to Masks

To get the most out of Monoco's attacks, you should use an ability that corresponds to your current mask. Whenever possible, plan your turns so that you cast a matching skill and benefit from the mask's boost. Each ability spins the Bestial Wheel forward by a set number of slots, indicated in its tooltip. 

Because your starting mask is randomized at the randomized combat, you'll need to organize Monoco's by their spin value—from smallest to most considerable—so you can quickly calculate rotations and strive to land on the Almighty mask whenever your strategy allows.

Acquiring and Organizing Skills

Monoco gains each new ability by defeating an enemy while he's in your party. In the skill menu, icons reveal the origin of each power, and colored borders show which mask enhances it. Monoco excels at breaking enemy defenses—he possesses more break-focused skills than any other character—making him your primary breaker under challenging encounters. 

Moreover, his repertoire spans almost every damage type (physical, dark, fire, ice, earth, and light), allowing you to adapt to each enemy's vulnerabilities.

Recommended Core Skills

Early on, you'll want to slot Moisanus Vandere, a Balanced three-hit attack that shatters defenses for moderate AP cost. It remains formidable throughout the game when boosted by the Balanced mask. Griller Bash, a Caster ability, also breaks shields and helps you transition through your masks smoothly. 

For Heavy mask rotations, Thorax Punches delivers potent ice damage that often fills an enemy's break bar in a single use, while Glazed Earthquake can wipe out groups when you start in Heavy or Almighty. 

Bestial Spin doesn't cost any AP and gives you an extra turn in the Agile mask. This lets you quickly switch to better abilities without using all your resources.

Weapons and Their Effects

Monoco's weapons can fundamentally alter your approach to the Bestial Wheel. Lucharo, Grandaro, and Joaro let you begin the battle in Agile, Heavy, or Almighty masks, respectively, granting consistency to your rotations. Bolaro reverses the wheel's direction and feeds AP to allies when you use mask-matching or upgraded skills. 

Fragarō enhances your Free Aim Shot by doubling its damage (except in Almighty) and randomizing your wrandomizingNew Sorrow rewards expert parrying: each parry advances the wheel by one, but taking damage resets it, while mask-matching skills deal 30 percent more damage and grant extra AP. 

Sidaro builds damage bonuses each turn. You use an upgraded, mask-aligned ability and let your base attack randomly reposition you on the wheel at the start of combat.

Picto and Lumina Enhancements

When picking Pictos and Luminas for Monoco, choose the ones that increase his break damage or give him more AP. Because Braking is such an important part of his job, any improvement that gives him more AP when he brakes or makes his turn last longer will make him much more consistent and do more damage. Look for effects synergizing with crit or health-based healing, further complementing his versatile play style.

Attribute Priorities

Allocate most of your points into the stats that best suit your chosen weapon—whether Vitality and Agility for a speedy build or Vitality and Luck for crit-focused play. Investing in Vitality makes it easier to stay alive and heals you faster. 

Luck increases the chance of critical hits, which increases direct damage and any upgrades that activate when you get a critical hit. Agility speeds up your turn order, giving you more control in battle.

Final Notes

To master Monoco, you must accept that the Bestial Wheel is constantly changing and that his skills are improving. By carefully selecting weapons anchoring you to preferred masks, organizing ability, organizing value, and equipping break- and AP-focused enhancements, you'll transform Monoco into an unbeatable breaker and a versatile damage dealer. 

Experiment with rotations and gear combinations to discover the setup that best suits your strategy. Then, enjoy the unique challenge of commanding Monoco in every encounter.

Also, check our Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Review and other guides below:

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Beginner's Guide | Tips & Tricks
• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Guide | Parry Build For Expert Difficulty
• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Guide | Best Early Game Farm Location
• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Guide | How To Find Chromatic Petank
• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Guide | How To Get Verso's Best Weapon (Cultam)
• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Guide | How To Play Verso
• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Guide | Solo Verso Overload Build
• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Guide | Solo Verso Sniper Build
• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Guide | Jar NPC Item Location