Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Simon Expert Glitchless Route
Last update: 8/05/25.
This route is pretty much Bdud5's Simon route + some optimizations. You can find his notes here.
Notation
For menus, I will sometimes have something in parenthesis. If it's (S1-3), it refers to the slot the Picto should be placed in. If it's a Playstation controller button, it's a button you should press to optimize the menu.
For battles, there will sometimes be something like (1.1 QTE). This refers to the Quick Time Action you do when you use an Ability. A perfect is 1.2, a normal is 1.1, and a fail is 1.0. The number refers to the damage multiplier the skill gets from the QTE.
You can check the changelog at the bottom of the notes.
These are my personal notes for the category, the writing will reflect that. For the most part these notes will not say where to go or where things are, just what to do. I will be updating these as the route progresses, changes will be reflected in the changelog at the bottom of the notes.
There will also be enemy data and maybe some other useful information at the bottom of the notes.
If there's a time listed by a fight, it's my best time for it so far. It does not represent the average.
Prologue
Harbor
- Talk to Aprentices
- Talk to Maelle, skip Maelle duel
- Talk to Emma
4 CS on Transition
Act I
Spring Meadows
Pick up Critical Burn.
First strike the Lanceram before the house.
You can jump up to the right side before the house, or take the path through the house.
Pick up $360 in house detour.
Pick up Dead Energy II. Afterwards, jump off to the left and menu.
First strike the Abbest on your left.
Pick up Colour of Lumina under the bridge. Go to Flag.
Optionally, Lune equip Lighterim
Continent
Go to Camp before entering Flying Waters
Flying Waters
Pick up $333 along path.
Take the detour to the right by the tunnel to spawn 3 Denerim and fight them.
Go to Manor.
After getting Maelle menu.
Go to flag.
Talk to Noco and fight him.
Buy Exposing Attack ($3600). After Noco continue straight.
Fight the Bruler that jumps down at you before the tunnel
Talk to Coral Cave Flag
Ancient Sanctuary
If you've been hitless since getting Maelle, you can use the flag at the start here for Maelle Might. If so, you can skip Powerful vs Robust Sakapatate.
Talk to flag before Ultimate Sakapatate
After fight, go to right and pick up Stun Boost and Energy Tint.
Gestral Village
Go to flag.
Tournament
Pattern for first 3 fights: Parry, Degagement, Parry, Rain of Fire
Rewards for each: 2026XP, $366
Talk to Golgra. Then go talk to Jujubree (Merchant).
Camp
Sleep. Go to Esquie's Nest.
Esquie's Nest
Go to flag by entrance.
Backtrack to Esquie.
After talking to Esquie, run to flag by Francois and fast travel to entrance.
The Continent
Picked Colour of Lumina by the Demineur, Lancelier, Crueler. Then camp.
Camp
Talk to Curator
The Continent
First strike the group here.
Pick up Energising Start I on beach west of Stone Wave Cliffs
Pick up $1775 near Chromatic Bruler.
Pick up $1305 after breaking the rocks to Stone Wave Cliffs
Stone Wave Cliffs
Pick up $790 on the left before the 1st flag.
Pick up Colour of Lumina after grapple.
Pick up First Strike.
Pick up SOS Power.
Pick up $790 after Farm flag.
Pick up Colour of Lumina on path after Farm.
Pick up Colour of Lumina before last grapple up.
White-Haired Man (0:49)
Skip turn x4
Act II
Start off at camp, party full healed. Go to flag.
Do this menu before entering Forgotten Battlefield
Forgotten Battlefield
Buy Inverted Affinity from Merchant ($9870).
Camp
Go to Curator
Option 2 to sleep.
Continent
Fight group before Monoco Station
Menu before Monoco.
Monoco Station
Menu before Stalact.
Go to flag. Watch to see if you got a Recoat.
Old Lumiere
If no Recoat, talk to Merchant and buy Recoat.
If you bought Recoat, after party splits go to flag with Lune party.
Visages
Talk to the Plazza Flag.
Go to Sorrow Mask (Northwest)
Pick up Glass Canon.
Go back to flag and warp to Plazza.
Go to Joyous Mask (Southwest)
Pick up Confident Fighter.
Run into fight closest to flag.
Go to flag, warp to Plazza.
Forced Camp here. Go to flag, then go to Curator.
Sirene
Start battle with a group of Ballets.
Pick up Colour of Lumina near shadow Renoir.
The Monolith
The Paintress
Skip
Talk to Merchant in Flying Waters.
Pick up Weakness Gain at the end of the Stone Wave Cliffs section. It's behind the statue on the right.
Go to any flag along the way.
In Lumiere, fight the first battle with Chevaliers.
Chevaliers
- Lune Ice Lance, rest skip. Bring in 2nd party, flee.
Menu before Paintress
Act III
Camp
Talk to everyone, talk to campfire, Option 2
Abbest Cave
Talk to flag.
Go to flag.
Go to Chromatic Demineur.
Head in Sprong's direction, Camp.
Camp
Talk to Esquie 2-3 times to get through dialogue.
Talk to flag.
Go to Sprong
Use Chroma Elixer! Go to Glaisum fight.
Go to Camp.
Camp
Talk to Esquie till Francois.
Go to Thunder Eveque.
Use Chroma Elixer! Go to Serpenphare.
Go to Sniper fight.
Go to Renoir's Drafts.
Renoir's Drafts
Need to pick up Grandiose Catalysts according to how many drops you got.
If only 1 drop, need to get 3.
Talk to flag.
This menu is optimally done during the long jump down to Simon.
Time on fight end.
Archive
Spring Meadows Lanceram Volester Abbest 70XP $216 (0:19)
Turn 0
- Gustav
- Shoot Volester 3 times to kill (main body, hitting weakness does less)
- Then shoot other weakpoints and attack Lanceram (default)
- Lune: Ice Lance Abbest (default)
Parry Lanceram, Abbest dies to burn
SWC Rocher 3367HP 1575XP(NB) $316 (0:11)
- Lune: Wildfire (fail QTE)
- Gustav: Marking Shot
- Maelle: Percee
Timings
Spring Meadows
The $720 chroma detour takes 11.5s.
Empowering Attack Picto is ~15s detour after Eveque.
Flying Waters
The Bruler than jumps down after Manor can be done pretty quick. $466, 1340XP, Bruleram.
The Bruler + Crueler fight gives 1069XP $400
Money pickups after tunnel cost ~6.5s for $990
Esquie's Nest
Backtracking after Francois is 12s faster, but loses $1305 and Colour of Lumina.
Flagging after Esquie saves ~13s, but loses Energising Start III.
Visages
Killing self with Wildfire + Perfect Recovery > Flee: ~14.5s
Killing self with Wildfire + Perfect Recovery > 2nd party: ~21s
Killing self with 2 Moisonneusse (2 short combo) > ~34s
Sirene
Standard Wildfire Ballet death: 29s
Enemies before Glissando: 32s
Other
Upgrading Healing Tint when near curator: 4s
Scribbles
Sciel needs 18 Luck, can hold off on some of it till Renoir 2 if I want to invest more might.
At LVL30, she will need 3 Agility 18 Luck to have EXACTLY enough for Paintress.
Verso doesn't need to be the fastest for Paintress with Auto Rush (even though we're rushing ourselves). No idea why.
For Renoir 2, without Weakness Gain Lune can enable 4 Agility 18 Luck Sciel with 49 Agility 24 Luck.
In other words, substitute 3 Might for 3 Agility on Lune to get 1 more Might on Sciel.
Grim Harvest doesn't work on Faketress. Harvest does, but doesn't consume Foretell.
Can probably delay Maelle might investment till Old Lumiere. Should hit just around the the threshold with marking shot and verso might investment.
Looks like Sciel doesn't need any might to kill Gault with Phantom Blade
Renoir 3 Setup: Don't touch Verso, give Sciel Weakness Gain and Auto Rush Lumina
Changelog
8/05/25
- Add note to check drops on Glaisum fight, can drop Grandiose
- Minor fixes
8/04/25
- Skip Energy Tint in Spring Meadows
- Mark Ice Lance on Luster in Flying Waters as optional
- Note optimal menu timing for SWC
- Pick up SOS Power in SWC
- Equip SOS Power to Maelle before Forgotten Battlefield
- Skip Continent Color of Lumina
- Move flag in notes before Sirene to camp
- Sirene pictos & lumina menu adjusted for SOS Power
- Mentioned that you might need to parry an extra hit in Paintress P2 if Verso Leadership was not C-Rank
- Cut 1 Lumina from Maelle in Act 3
- Cut Floating Cemetary, added camp before Sprong. Menus adjusted for SOS Power instead of Auto Powerful
- Use Chroma Elixer before Glaisum fight
- Cut flag from Camp before Francois
- Added Healing Tint to Francois fight
- Chroma Elixer before Serpenphare
- Sniper fight changed to use Fortune Fury instead.
- Flag before Simon adjusted, max out Defense instead of putting into might.
- Slight change to menu before Simon. Added note to do it during the jump.
- Simon P1 changed to accomodate SOS Power instead of Auto Powerful
7/08/25
- Slight Chroma route improvement. Skip $999 in Flying Waters and $790 in SWC. Get $1775 on Continent after Energising Start I, by Chromatic Bruler.
7/04/25
- Cut 3rd Energy Tint, skip Spring Meadows Tint
- Cut Resplendant pickup in Visages
- No longer need to attack Ballets in Sirene
- Adjusted stat attribution before Abbest, Maelle gets 3 Luck to get 50% crit for Chromatic Demineur
- Delayed Weapon upgrade until after Abbest, so you have enough Resplendant for 19
- Delayed first Maelle Lumina upgrade until after Abbest
- Adjusted Maelle Lumina menus before Abbest, Chromatic Demineur, Sprong
- Flag in Floating Cemetary after Chalier now
- Maelle now gets Auto Powerful before Sprong (damage is needed now with 3 Luck in stats)
- Maelle re-equips Confident Fighter after Sprong, Verso gets Immaculate instead of Confident Fighter
- Adjusted Lumina menus for Sciel & Verso before Simon (I think)
7/3/25
- First Draft