Clair Obscur Expedition 33 Pictos’ are even more broken than weapons or skills and can easily turn the tide of battle, so you better equip the very best.
There’s a hard cap on how many times you can lose to a boss before snapping and deciding to turn your squad into walking war crimes. Thankfully, Clair Obscur hands you some incredible tools – if you’re bold (or obsessed) enough to find them.
These Pictos can turn a brutal grind into a parade of one-shots and tactical domination. Here’s what to hunt down and why your future self will thank you.
Best Pictos in Clair Obscur
Energy Master
- Effect: Increases every AP gain by 1
How to get the Energy Master pictos
You can get the Energy Master Pictos by defeating the Serpenthare, a flying Nevron that roams around the sea between the Coastal Cave and Boat Graveyard.
Why it’s great
With Energy Master, you’ll get an extra AP every time you gain AP. This means you’ll be getting a massive boost whenever a character would normally get AP, like attacking, parrying, and so on. It’s great for every character, but particularly for Lune, who often needs to dish out lots of damage.
Painted Power
- Effect: Breaks 9999 dmg limit + HP
How to get Painted Power
You’ll get this Pictos automatically after defeating The Paintress, a mandatory boss encountered at Monolith Peak, the main structure in The Monolith region. This battle occurs at the start of Act 3, and you can’t miss it since progression halts until she’s defeated.
Why it’s great
Painted Power is the key to endgame viability. The game’s default damage cap of 9,999 makes high-damage builds feel weak late-game; bosses have enormous HP pools and barely flinch. Painted Power removes that ceiling entirely. With this, you can hit for six or even seven digits. Combined with buffs, Cheater, and Inverted Affinity, you’ll be melting bosses in a single turn. It’s mandatory for super boss hunting.
Cheater
- Effect: Act twice every turn
How to get Cheater
Found in the open water between Crimson Forest and Blade’s Graveyard. You must have Esquie’s swim or flight ability to reach this region. Once you can traverse water, search for a large, roaming enemy named Sprong. Defeat him in battle to automatically receive the Cheater Pictos.
Why it’s great
It fundamentally changes combat. With Cheater equipped, your character gets two full actions every turn. Open with a buff (like First Strike or Immaculate), then follow up with a massive attack. It doubles efficiency and allows for complex strategies: buff + attack, debuff + interrupt, or chain heals and AoEs in a single round. It’s also essential for exploiting Energizing Start AP stacking.
Inverted Affinity
- Effect: +50% damage, can’t be healed
How to get Inverted Affinity
Travel to Forgotten Battlefield, go to the Ancient Bridge rest point, and climb the rope into a partially destroyed building. Inside, you’ll find Kasumi, a merchant. Buy Inverted Affinity from her for 9,870 Chroma.
Why it’s great
You trade healing for +50% bonus damage for the first three turns. This is perfect for boss fights where you aim to win fast, especially when layered with Painted Power, Cheater, and Immaculate. The “Inverted” state is risky but manageable: use characters who can dodge, and go all-in on frontloaded destruction.
Immaculate
- Effect: +30% damage until hit
How to get Immaculate
DexertoDefeat the Mask Keeper boss in Visage Plaza, a required story boss. It’s part of your natural progression, so you’ll get this Pictos just by playing through the game.
Why it’s great
A straight 30% damage boost until you take damage makes this a precision player’s dream. It rewards skilled parrying and dodging by keeping the buff alive indefinitely. Immaculate excels in burst strategies. Pair it with Energizing Start for a devastating opener, or with Cheater to buff on turn one and detonate on turn two.
You’ve done everything you can to optimize your characters with Pictos. Now check out the best attributes and fine-tune your dodging and parrying timing.
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