Unlock Maelle’s full potential early in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 by ditching your party. Learn how to build her into a solo force of darkness.

In a game packed with party synergy and tactical team compositions, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 pulls a sneaky trick on players who dare to play it safe: it hides raw power behind solitude. One character that thrives in the absence of allies is Maelle, especially when you lean into her Solo Void build.

While it might feel counterintuitive to bench your other party members, this setup turns Maelle into an elegant wrecking ball before the game even gets serious. The catch? You’ve got to embrace the silence and the shadow, both literally and figuratively.

Maelle embraces the void in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

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In the early game, Maelle can go from solid support to total solo menace if you build her right, and that build starts with embracing her Virtuose Stance, a damage-boosting mode that requires a bit of setup but pays off in big, fiery ways.

The centerpiece of the Solo build is the weapon Medalum, which instantly places Maelle into Virtuose Stance at the start of battle. This grants her a massive +200% damage bonus right out of the gate.

The weapon, when paired with the right Pictos, like Inverted Affinity, creates devastating synergy. Moreover, it means you don’t need to rely on Swift Stride early on, since Virtuose is active from the first frame of combat.

But don’t sleep on this weapon, it’s very easy to miss. To get it, you must play as Maelle during the final round of the Gestral Village Arena in Act 1. Miss that, and your only other shot is much later and requires defeating a tougher opponent, Golgra.

After acquiring the weapon, Stendhal becomes your go-to nuke for single target. Despite some nerfs, it’s still one of the most potent skills in the game and scales beautifully with the burst-heavy nature of Virtuose Stance. For AoE, Phantom Strike is a great option.

Stack that with Pictos like Inverted Affinity, Immaculate, and Glass Canon. You got yourself a nuke. Just be prepared to dodge or parry if anything survives.

And, don’t forget to activate Solo Fighter, which significantly boosts her power when she’s the lone warrior on the field. Yes, you need to kick everyone else out of the party to make Maelle shine.

Since you’ll be flying solo and relying on parries, equipping Lumina like Empowering Last Stand, Energizing Parry, and Last Stand Critical (or even Healing Counter for survivability) helps with Maelle’s solo play, AP management, and increases damage potential.

Put it all together, and you’ve got a character who can solo entire fights, melt bosses, and look fabulous doing it.

Why going solo with Maelle breaks the early game

Send your party packing, unleash the void, and erase everything. | Image Credit: Sandfall Interactive

Going solo might sound risky in a game like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, where battles can be brutal and team synergy is usually key. But Solo Void build is not a gimmick, it’s a legitimate way to break the early game wide open and turn what would normally be tough fights into speedruns.

By removing your other party members from battle (yes, you can literally deactivate them from the Pause menu), you activate the Solo Fighter Picto and unlock a completely streamlined playstyle.

Suddenly, you’re not juggling cooldowns or coordinating turns, you’re focused entirely on maximizing Maelle’s damage. With her weapon, Medalum, which scales with both Agility and Defense, she hits hard while also being able to take hits, a crucial edge when she’s on her own.

All of this pushes you to fine-tune her attributes even more, perfect her skill rotation, and push for optimal play. It’s the kind of build that makes you feel clever and powerful at the same time. And once it starts clicking? You’re not just surviving, you’re dominating.