"Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Patch 1.2.3 Nerfs Maelle's Stendahl Build"

Sandfall Interactive has rolled out Patch 1.2.3 for their acclaimed RPG, *Clair Obscur: Expedition 33*, bringing a suite of fixes and crucial balance changes across all platforms. One of the key updates includes a nerf to what was considered the game's most overpowered build, as detailed in the patch notes below.

The developer had initially planned to focus solely on bug fixes for this update, but a standout issue with the game's balance necessitated immediate action. "Well, Stendhal did," Sandfall remarked, pinpointing the culprit behind the game's balance disruption.

The problematic build centered around young fencer Maelle and her sword, Medalum, which unlocked the powerful Virtuose Stance, dealing a 200% bonus damage. When combined with ability-stacking and the Stendhal skill, which inflicted extreme single-target Void damage, players could deal billions of damage, enough to take down the final boss in a single hit.

Sandfall acknowledged the oversight, stating, "It was underwhelming for most of development, so in our final pre-release balance pass, we gave it a big damage boost — and clearly overdid it. It ended up overshadowing most other options." They reiterated their desire for players to enjoy breaking the game but emphasized that the Stendhal skill made it too easy.

The nerf to Stendhal, included in the first full hotfix set for *Clair Obscur: Expedition 33*, aims to bring the skill more in line with other game options while maintaining its potency and synergy potential. Additionally, a bug fix addresses Medalum's third Lumina, which was incorrectly doubling all damage in Virtuose Stance instead of solely Burn damage.

Relevant Patch Notes for Update 1.2.3:

• Fixed Medalum third Lumina doubling all damage in Virtuose Stance instead of doubling only Burn damage.
• Stendhal: Reduced damage by 40%.

Maelle Outfits and Haircuts - Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

View 28 Images

*Clair Obscur: Expedition 33* has emerged as a breakout hit for Sandfall, achieving sales of over 2 million copies. Notably, the game launched simultaneously with Bethesda's *Oblivion Remastered* as a day-one Game Pass title, making this sales milestone even more remarkable.

Despite the shadow-drop of *The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered* alongside *Clair Obscur: Expedition 33*, both games have managed to carve out their success. The impressive performance of *Clair Obscur: Expedition 33* has even garnered praise from French President Macron. For those diving into the game, be sure to check out our tips to enhance your experience.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Update 1.2.3 Patch Notes:

Steam Deck

• Fixed backgrounds of various menus not displaying properly on the Steam Deck.

Various Ultrawide Fixes

• Gameplay no longer becomes zoomed after a cutscene occurs in ultrawide resolutions.
• The Options menu image will no longer be stretched in ultrawide resolutions.
• Combat UI now adapts correctly to ultrawide resolutions.
• Game will no longer minimize upon changing settings in ultrawide resolution.
• Cutscenes won’t letterbox in 32:9 aspect ratio.
• Title screen now displays fullscreen when the game is launched in ultrawide resolution.

Mouse and Keyboard

• UI button prompts in Expedition Menu are now visible and fully able to be triggered with Keyboard.
• Mouse buttons do not become unresponsive after first use.
• With mouse cursor on screen, using 'WSAD' or directional arrows to navigate in UI or trigger any other functionality will no longer hide the cursor instead of doing the intended action.
• Left Mouse-button click will no longer block the player from using Keyboard to navigate menus.
• Mouse input is not lost after the first Jump counter attack if it is pressed only once.

Fixed areas of the world map where you can get stuck:

• Between lanterns scattered on the ground near Stone Wave Cliff portal.
• While walking on the ship wreck near the Forgotten Battlefield level entrance.
• Between lanterns on the ground near Bourgeon encounter next to Stone Wave Cliffs level.
• Between two small rocks located between Spring Meadows and Abbest Cave.
• Between vases and corals when jumping from rooftopps.
• Between various rocks.
• In ruins behind Flying Manor level entrance.
• Near the bridge between Flying Waters and Spring Meadows.
• In the rocks on the World Map, near Flying Waters.
• Next to hardened land, close to the Flying Waters location exit.

Fixed situations where Esquie specifically would get stuck:

• When taking off from paint bridges, making him fall through the bridge and restrict movement.
• When flying into bottom parts of levitating structures near Visages.
• Near the Flying Waters entrance level.
• Near a giant hammer when traversing close to Blades' Graveyard level.

Weapon and skill fixes and tuning:

• Fixed Lithelim attribute scaling not working at high level. Reduced initial Vitality scaling from A to C (will still end at S at max level). Added Luck scaling starting at D.
• Fixed Blizzon attribute scaling not working at high level. Reduced initial Luck scaling from B to C (will still end at S at max level). Added Defense scaling starting at D.
• Fixed Medalum third Lumina doubling all damage in Virtuose Stance instead of doubling only Burn damage.
• Stendhal: Reduced damage by 40%.

Other fixes

• Boss encounter in Stone Wave Cliffs can now be finished on NG+.
• You will no longer be blocked by the Journal UI window after opening the first Journal in the Spring Meadows.
• Fixed being unable to shoot in Free aim while exploring levels due to worn triggers.
• Lune and Monoco no longer spawn in same place during end of theirs Level 6 relationship quests if they are completed without going to camp.
• If at camp you pick “remember the objective”, then quickly choose to "go to sleep" and immediately after press "leave", the screen no longer goes black.
• You can no longer trigger the "Discovering the truth" cutscene in Old Lumière a second time in a row, splitting the party forever with only Verso and Maelle in it.
• Update to rolling credits.