Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 difficulty settings explained - Which one should you go for?

There are three different Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 difficulty settings you can choose from to calibrate your overall experience. This is the latest turn-based RPG by French developers Sandfall Interactive, focusing on a unique story where you must stop a mystical being called the Paintress from eradicating all humans aged 33. Inspired by JRPG games like Persona 5, this title incorporates real-time interactive elements to create a unique and memorable gameplay experience.

This article will explain the primary differences between the three different Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 difficulty settings and recommend which one you should choose.

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All three Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 difficulty settings explained

All Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 difficulty settings (Image via Sportskeeda Gaming || Kepler Interactive)

You can choose from three different Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 difficulty settings. Each of them changes different values, like the amount of damage enemies do and how easy it is to parry and dodge enemy attacks.

Since this game has real-time dodge and parry mechanics not found in any other turn-based RPGs, each enemy attack gives you a small window to do so. Changing the difficulty settings makes this window shorter or longer, resulting in the action (dodge/parry) being harder or easier, respectively.

The three Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 difficulty settings are:

• Story: The Story difficulty mode is the easiest way to play Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. In this setting, enemies deal less damage, and you get generous dodge and parry windows.
• Expeditioner: This is the “Normal” difficulty setting, which is how the developers intended you to play this game. As such, enemies do damage as per their design. Parrying and dodging opportunities appear normally (compared to Story difficulty), making it challenging to pull off consistently. However, this window remains fair if you have the timing figured out properly.
• Expert: This is the highest difficulty setting in the game. Enemies do more damage than in the previous modes. Moreover, your parry and dodge windows are smaller than before, requiring split-second reactionary button presses to evade enemy attacks perfectly.

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Which Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 difficulty setting should you choose?

You can change Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 difficulty settings anytime (Image via Kepler Interactive)

If you mostly play games for their epic yet intricate stories, we recommend playing in the Story setting, as the combat becomes easy and you will rarely die. However, if you want a challenging gameplay experience to make the combat harder, try the Expert difficulty.

That said, using the Expeditioner setting is the best way to play this game and get a fair but challenging experience. We recommend you try this mode first and then change it as required, since you can do so anytime from the main menu.

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For more information about Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, check out these articles:

• How to parry, dodge, and jump in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
• Is there Romance in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33?
• How to fast travel in Clair Obscur Expedition 33