Should you take the optional paths or head directly to face Visage in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33?

While exploring the island of Visage and facing the first Axon, you can choose to take optional paths to explore the island in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Although you can head straight into taking on the Axon, exploring optional paths will determine the difficulty of the boss fight and could even fetch you some rewards.

Thus, it makes sense to explore the optional paths in Visage Island in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Let's look at what happens if you do so.

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What happens by exploring the optional paths in the Visage Island in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

The three optional pathways (Image via Kepler Interactive)

Upon arriving on Visage during Act 2 of the main story of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, you will be greeted by the Mask Keeper. He will inform you that the Axon is waiting for you – it is up to you to either explore the island first or directly head out to face Visage.

There are three pathways, each indicating three basic emotions of a human. These are:

• Leftmost - Joy
• The one directly to the left of the gate - Sorrow
• Right of the gate - Anger

Head down each path, and you will come across optional areas that you can explore. These locations are great for farming enemies. They also contain items, such as weapons or Lumina Shards, to help you upgrade your characters.

Furthermore, each area has big Masks that you can interact with. Answer them with their corresponding emotions to trigger optional boss fights. These bosses will be powered-up versions of the regular enemies you face while exploring each location on Visage Island.

• Angry: Seething Boucheclier
• Joy: Jovial Moissonneuse
• Sorrow: Sorrowful Chapelier

Defeating these bosses will destroy their corresponding masks, which are useful during the Visage boss fight in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. This will prevent the Axon from utilizing one of the strongest attacks in its arsenal, making the boss fight extremely easy. You will also get some handy weapons that you can use.

Once you defeat the Axon, you can leave the island and choose to fight the next one, Sirene, in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.