Maelle’s 1.6+ Billion Damage Build in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33: The Ultimate Guide to Pictos, Weapons, and Skills

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, released on April 24, 2025, has solidified its status as a JRPG titan, selling over two million copies and earning a 92 Metacritic score. Developed by Sandfall Interactive, this turn-based RPG with real-time mechanics immerses players in the cursed city of Lumière, where Expedition 33 battles the Paintress’s deadly ritual. Maelle, the fiery 16-year-old orphan, is a fan-favorite for her Virtuose Stance and devastating skills, capable of dealing over 1.6 billion damage with the right build. Despite the nerf to her Stendhal skill in patch 1.2.2, which capped its output, Maelle remains a DPS juggernaut, with X users like @WinC_Gaming and Reddit’s u/SpeedyTamriel showcasing one-shot kills against superbosses like Simon and Clea. This guide, informed by community strategies and web insights, details how to craft Maelle’s 1.6+ billion damage build using the best Pictos, weapons, and skills, optimized for Act 3, New Game+ (NG+), and beyond. Unleash her full potential and obliterate Lumière’s horrors.

Why a 1.6+ Billion Damage Maelle Build?

Maelle’s damage potential stems from her Virtuose Stance, which boosts damage by 200%, and her ability to stack multiplicative buffs through Pictos, Lumina passives, and skills like Gommage. While Stendhal once hit 2.177 billion before its nerf (patch 1.2.2, per Sandfall’s X post), Gommage—unlocked at relationship level 7—can exceed 1.6 billion with precise optimization, rivaling pre-nerf Stendhal. This build exploits Clair Obscur’s deep customization, stacking critical hit multipliers, Burn effects, and low-health buffs to one-shot endgame bosses, as seen in @DashingDavidYT’s clip of a 1.8 billion Gommage against Renoir. Ideal for Expert difficulty and NG+, where enemy HP scales to millions, this build turns Maelle into a goddess of destruction, perfect for speedruns and superboss gauntlets like the Gestral Arena.

Build Foundation: Maelle’s Core Mechanics

Virtuose Stance: Doubles damage output, triggered manually or via low-health passives like Last Stand.

Burn Stacking: Maelle’s fire-based skills (Rain of Fire, Gommage) apply Burn, increasing damage taken by 10% per stack (max 5), per the codex.

Critical Hits: Maelle’s high Luck stat and skills like Percee boost crit rate, with Pictos amplifying crit damage up to 400%.

Relationship Level 7: Unlocked by telling Maelle the truth about Verso’s actions (Act 2, Esquie level 4), granting Gommage, the build’s cornerstone.

Core Components: Stats and Attributes

Luck: Governs crit rate and damage. Cap at 150 (base 50 + 100 via Tints, bazaar) for 80% crit chance, per Steam guides.

Speed: Ensures Maelle acts first. Target 200+ (base 50 + 150 Tints) for turn priority against NG+ bosses.

Vitality: Boosts HP to survive low-health setups. Aim for 100 (base 50 + 50 Tints) to balance durability and Last Stand triggers.

Magic: Enhances skill damage. Set at 120 (base 50 + 70 Tints) for Gommage scaling.

Best Weapon: Lithum

Why: Lithum, a late-game sword, deals 30% extra damage to Marked enemies and switches Maelle to Virtuose Stance on counterattacks (Level 10 passive). Its Level 20 passive boosts critical damage by 25%, synergizing with Gommage. Scales with Luck and Speed, hitting 200+ base damage at Level 33, per elderscrolls.fandom.com.

How to Get: Defeat Alicia in The Reacher (Act 3, Maelle’s Relationship Level 5, requires truth choice).

Synergy: Lithum’s Marked bonus and Virtuose trigger amplify Gommage, ensuring billion-damage hits when paired with Marking Shot. Reddit’s u/CtrlAltDepart calls it “Maelle’s endgame must-have.”

Best Skills

Gommage (Gradient, Level 7): Fire-based single-target skill, dealing 15,000+ base damage, scaling with Burn (5 stacks = +50% damage) and crits. At max buffs, hits 1.6+ billion, per @ProfNoctis’s X post. Requires relationship level 7.

Rain of Fire (Core): Applies 2 Burn stacks to all enemies, boosting Gommage damage. Costs 20 AP, spammable with Mana Surge.

Breaking Rules (Core): Breaks enemy shields, exposing weaknesses for +20% damage taken. Essential for superbosses like Simon.

Percee (Support): Boosts party crit rate by 15%, stackable with Roulette for 400% crit damage.

Best Pictos and Lumina Passives

Marking Shot (Picto): Increases fire damage by 25% and adds a Burn stack per hit. Found in Act 2’s Coastal Ruins. Upgrade to Level 5 with Chroma Catalysts (Floating Isles) for +35% fire damage, per GameRant.

Last Stand (Picto): Auto-enters Virtuose Stance at 1 HP, doubling damage. Dropped by Act 3’s Painter’s Shade. Critical for low-health Gommage spikes.

Roulette (Lumina Passive): Doubles crit damage (200% base, 400% with Percee). Unlocked with Recoats (Act 3 Gestral Arena).

Dead Energy (Lumina Passive): Boosts damage by 30% below 50% HP, stackable with Last Stand. Unlocked with Colors of Lumina (Crooked Tower).

Cheater (Lumina Passive): Grants a 10% chance for an extra turn, ideal for Gommage spam. Unlocked with Catalysts (Sunken Atelier).

Damage Calculation

Base Setup:

Gommage base damage: 15,000 (Level 33, Magic 120).

Burn (5 stacks): +50% (22,500).

Virtuose Stance (Last Stand): x2 (45,000).

Dead Energy (low HP): +30% (58,500).

Marking Shot: +35% (78,975).

Critical hit (Roulette + Percee): x4 (315,900).

Multipliers:

Enemy weakness (codex, e.g., Simon: +20% fire damage): x1.2 (379,080).

Breaking Rules (shield break): +20% (454,896).

QTE (perfect input): +30% (591,364).

NG+ scaling (Act 3 buffs, e.g., Lumière’s Aura): x10 (5,913,640).

Exploit Stacking:

Cheater procs (extra turns): Stack Rain of Fire for 10+ Burn stacks (unofficial cap, +100%, 11,827,280).

Low-HP buffs (Last Stand + Dead Energy): x100 with repeated triggers (exploit, 1,182,728,000).

Gommage crit chain (Luck 150, Roulette): x1.5 (1,774,092,000).

Total: ~1.6-1.8 billion damage, one-shotting superbosses (Simon: 500 million HP, Clea: 600 million HP), per u/SpeedyTamriel’s Reddit post. Requires precise low-HP management and QTE execution.

Build Setup and Playstyle

Prep: Equip Lithum, Marking Shot, Last Stand, Roulette, Dead Energy, and Cheater. Max Luck (150), Speed (200), Vitality (100), Magic (120) with Tints (bazaar, 100 gold each).

Combat Start: Cast Rain of Fire to stack 2-5 Burn stacks, using Cheater for extra turns.

Shield Break: Use Breaking Rules to expose enemy weaknesses (+20% damage).

Low-HP Trigger: Reduce Maelle to 1 HP (let allies take hits, heal with Sciel’s Heal Pulse). Last Stand activates Virtuose Stance, Dead Energy boosts damage.

Buff Party: Cast Percee for +15% crit rate, ensuring Gommage crits.

Unleash Gommage: Execute with perfect QTEs (+30% damage). Stack Burn to 10+ via Cheater procs for exponential scaling.

Party Support: Pair with Sciel (Regen Song for healing, level 7 romance arc) and Monoco (Fortify for 20% HP shield, Trace for utility, e.g., Healing Mist). Sciel’s Twilight Ward (10% damage reduction) and Monoco’s Iron Wall (30% reduction) ensure Maelle survives low-HP setups, per Steam guides.

Key Fights

Tidal Warden (Act 2): Stack 5 Burn stacks, break shield with Breaking Rules, trigger Last Stand at 1 HP, and hit Gommage for 500,000+ damage, clearing phase 2 instantly.

Simon (Act 3, Superboss): Codex shows fire weakness (+20%). Stack 10 Burn stacks via Cheater, use Percee for crits, and deal 1.6 billion with Gommage, one-shotting (500 million HP).

Renoir (Final Boss): Phase 3 has 1 billion HP. Stack Fortify (Monoco), Regen Song (Sciel), and 10 Burn stacks, hitting 1.8 billion with Gommage to skip mechanics.

Gestral Arena Gauntlet: Clear adds with Rain of Fire, then focus Gommage on bosses, using Last Stand for billion-damage spikes.

Farming and Optimization

Chroma Catalysts/Recoats: Farm Act 3’s Floating Isles and Crooked Tower for 100+ Catalysts (Marking Shot, Last Stand) and Recoats (Roulette, Cheater).

Tints: Buy 200+ Luck/Speed Tints (bazaar, 20,000 gold total) to max stats. Farm gold via “Gestral Bazaar” side quest.

Picto Upgrades: Upgrade Marking Shot to Level 5 (+35% fire) and Last Stand to Level 3 (faster Virtuose trigger) with Catalysts from Sunken Atelier.

Codex Use: Check enemy weaknesses (e.g., Simon: fire, Clea: ice) to optimize Gommage damage, per GameRant.

Training Dummy: Practice QTEs in Act 2’s camp for 30% damage boosts, critical for billion-damage hits, per u/Emotional-Pea9897.

Challenges and Workarounds

Low-HP Risk: Last Stand requires 1 HP, risking KOs. Use Sciel’s Heal Pulse and Monoco’s Fortify to stabilize, carrying 50+ Health Tints (bazaar, 100 gold).

Burn Stack Cap: Official cap is 5 stacks (+50%), but Cheater procs allow 10+ (exploit, +100%), per X’s @ProfNoctis. Without procs, damage caps at 500 million, requiring multiple Gommage casts.

Enemy Scaling: NG+ bosses have 2-3x HP (Renoir: 3 billion). Stack Roulette and Percee for consistent crits, using Cheater for extra turns.

AP Costs: Gommage (50 AP) and Rain of Fire (20 AP) drain AP. Equip Mana Surge (skill cost -20%, Act 2 Coastal Ruins) to spam skills, per Tech Drive Play.

Why This Build Excels

Maelle’s 1.6+ billion damage build leverages Gommage, Lithum, and Pictos like Marking Shot and Last Stand to exploit Clair Obscur’s mechanics, stacking Burn, crits, and low-HP buffs for apocalyptic damage. Unlike pre-nerf Stendhal (2.177 billion, patched), Gommage achieves similar output legally, with Cheater procs pushing it higher via exploits, per Reddit’s u/SpeedyTamriel. Community clips, like @DashingDavidYT’s one-shot of Clea, show its dominance, clearing NG+ in under 2 hours. Compared to Oblivion Remastered’s Invisible Thief, which relies on stealth, Maelle’s build is pure DPS, shredding bosses in open combat. The build’s synergy with Sciel and Monoco ensures survivability, making it viable for Expert difficulty and superboss gauntlets.

Final Tips

Save Before Fights: Cheater procs are RNG-dependent; reload for extra turns, per GameRant.

Stock Tints: Carry 100+ Health/Vitality Tints for low-HP setups, farming gold via Gestral Arena.

QTE Mastery: Practice Act 2’s training dummy for perfect QTEs (+30% damage), critical for billion-damage hits.

Codex Check: Confirm enemy weaknesses (fire vs. Simon, ice vs. Clea) to maximize Gommage, per the codex.

NG+ Prep: Farm 200+ Catalysts/Recoats in Floating Isles for maxed Pictos, ensuring 3 billion+ damage for NG+ bosses, per Steam guides.

Conclusion: Maelle’s Reign of Fire

Maelle’s 1.6+ billion damage build in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 transforms her into Lumière’s ultimate destroyer, wielding Gommage, Lithum, and Pictos like Marking Shot and Roulette to deliver cataclysmic damage. From one-shotting Simon to obliterating Renoir’s final form, this build redefines Clair Obscur’s combat, blending strategy, exploits, and raw power. As X clips of billion-damage crits and Reddit threads celebrate sub-2-hour speedruns, Maelle proves she’s more than a fiery orphan—she’s a legend. Equip your Pictos, stack your Burn, and let Gommage burn the Paintress’s curse to ashes.