Clair Obscur: Expedition 33: How to beat Renoir (Old Lumiere)

In Old Lumiere, Renoir awaits players in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. This is the first serious boss fight of the game — everything else you’ve fought up until now was child’s play. Not only do you not get access to your backline if someone gets Vanished, you’re also required to use Maelle for this fight. That’s not a big deal if you’ve been keeping her in your party all this time anyway, but it’s something to consider if you haven’t been upgrading her weapons/Pictos.

The attack timings are tricky. He can fully restore his health if you aren’t careful, and he can even banish party members away from the fight. I died quite a few times against Renoir in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, until I learned how to counter Vanish. Here’s everything you need to know.

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Tips to defeat Renoir in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Renoir’s attacks

• Renoir attempts to vanish [x]: A black orb and a grey screen appear, and if the attack hits, that character is gone from the fight permanently. Right as his sword begins to point at the Black Orb, hit that Gradient Counter. I tend to time it right as his sword swings down.
• Renoir performs a melee combo: Renoir attacks five times. These are pretty easy to parry, but keep in mind there’s a pause between the third and fourth attacks. For the third attack.
• Renoir gathers an incredible amount of Chroma: A huge orb of chroma fills up in the sky and contracts. This is a Gradient Counter move. When the orb begins to contract in on itself, hit the Gradient Counter.
• Renoir attacks from a distance: Four ranged attacks. Like the melee ones, you can listen for the grunts and parry alongside those. It felt harder to time than the melee.
• Petals start to gather around Renoir: Two huge petals appear next to him. You have a few turns to destroy these, or they’ll each restore 25% of his HP.
• Renoir summons strange masks: Seven quick ranged attacks come from the masks. After the mask wiggles, parry. The last hit’s delayed briefly, so keep that in mind.
• Renoir sends waves of Chroma: Five ranged attacks — time your parries when the Chroma field contracts in all the way. There’s an easy rhythm to follow.

(Winning fight begins at 18:46)

Verso, Lune, and Maelle were my lineup for the Renoir battle in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, which was very helpful. The ability to heal will not be wasted if you miss some of his parry timings.

Though Renoir has no elemental weaknesses to exploit or worry about, I still made sure to stack as many Fire stacks on him as possible. The extra damage, especially with Roulette, certainly helps.

Renoir has a magic trick to show you, but just Gradient Counter it out of the way (Image via Sandfall Interactive)

Depending on how lucky/unlucky you are, he may immediately go for Vanish, so keep an eye out. Right as the sword starts to come towards the Black Orb, you need to hit the Gradient Counter to keep that character in the fight.

The melee attack of Renoir is pretty easy to counter. The first three hits have a rhythm, and there’s a pause for a sweeping sword strike for the third hit. Right as the blade is coming down to the ground, you should be able to safely parry.

The Waves of Chroma are much easier for me to parry than the ranged attack, that's for sure (Image via Sandfall Interactive)

The final hit is a spinning strike in the air, so right as the spin dies down, get ready. Listen for his grunting, which will help with the timing. Similarly, when he uses the ranged combo, you can listen for the grunts and parry alongside those as well. When Renoir is under 50% health in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, this will become the waves of Chroma attack instead.

With Maelle, try to keep Defenseless on him as much as possible to increase incoming damage for Renoir in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. This is a tanky boss, so anything you can do will help. Another great reason for Defenseless is that you can use Breaking Rules to get a second attack.

As long as party members don't get Vanished, you can bring in the backline group to make one last stand (Image via Sandfall Interactive)

The most stressful part of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s Renoir boss battle is when he hits 50% or less health. He summons two large petals that, after a few turns, will essentially heal him to nearly full health.

Save any Gradient Attacks for these (in particular, Lune). If you don’t fancy a long encounter, definitely focus on these before returning to focus on Renoir himself. You can also use Virtuose Strike with Maelle to put her in Virtuose Stance, and follow up with Fleuret Fury to take one down.

A ton of your damage in this fight comes from parrying, but simply having a solid build can hit him repeatedly for 9999, even at this point in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. As long as your party doesn’t start getting Vanished, you can get access to your backline, which is what happened to me in the video footage above.

Once the battle is over, there's still so much to do. Rest at camp, then get back to it (Image via Sandfall Interactive)

Once Renoir is defeated in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, you can claim 51,750 XP, 5,988 Chroma, the Level 10 Melarum Weapon, Polished Chroma Catalyst x3, and Recoat x1. We won’t spoil what happens after this point, so just enjoy the cutscenes and progress on your journey.

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Check out our other Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 guides and features

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 review
• Is there Romance in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33?
• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 difficulty settings explained