Best Pictos & how to get them in Clair Obscur Expedition 33
Clair Obscur Expedition 33Pictos’ 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
How to get the Energy Master pictos
you’re able to get the Energy Master Pictos by defeating the Serpenthare, aflying 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
How to get Painted Power
You’ll get this Pictos automatically after defeatingThe Paintress, a mandatory boss encountered atMonolith Peak, the main structure inThe Monolithregion. This battle occurs at the start ofAct 3, and you can’t miss it since progression halts until she’s defeated.
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 evenseven digits. Combined with buffs, Cheater, and Inverted Affinity, you’ll be melting bosses in a single turn. It’s mandatory for super boss hunting.
How to get Cheater
Found in the open water betweenCrimson Forest and Blade’s Graveyard. You must haveEsquie’s swim or flight ability to reach this region. Once you can traverse water, search for a large, roaming enemy namedSprong. Defeat him in battle to automatically receive the Cheater Pictos.
It fundamentally changes combat. With Cheater equipped, your character getstwo 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
How to get Inverted Affinity
Travel toForgotten Battlefield, go to theAncient Bridge rest point, andclimb the rope into a partially destroyed building. Inside, you’ll findKasumi, a merchant. BuyInverted Affinity from her for 9,870 Chroma.
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
How to get Immaculate
Defeat theMask Keeperboss inVisage Plaza, a required story boss. It’s part of your natural progression, so you’ll get this Pictos just by playing through the game.
A straight30% damage boostuntil 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 may to optimize your characters with Pictos. Now check out thebest attributesand fine-tune yourdodging and parrying timing.
