Expedition 33 Characters: All 6 Playable Party Members

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has six playable characters: Gustave, Lune, Maelle, Sciel, Verso and Monoco. Each has a unique combat mechanic and their own skill tree, so they play very differently. This guide covers who they are, how each one fights, who voices them, and the key non-playable characters. A clearly marked section near the end covers when each character joins, which includes story spoilers.

All playable characters at a glance

You fight with three characters at a time. If your active party falls, others in reserve can step in to continue the battle.

Gustave

Gustave is an engineer who has spent his life working on Lumière's defense and farming systems. With a year left to live, he joins the Expedition to give the city's children a future.

How he fights: Gustave mixes melee attacks with his mechanical arm and a pistol. His mechanic is Overcharge: his arm builds charge as he attacks, and his Overcharge skill hits harder the more charge he has. A fully charged Overcharge can also Break an enemy.

Best for: players who want a straightforward, hard-hitting character to learn the combat with.

Lune

Lune is the daughter of well-known researchers and is set on finishing their work and solving the mystery of the Paintress. She charts the Expedition's route and refuses to let it fail.

How she fights: Lune is the party's mage. Her Skills generate elemental Stains, and she can hold up to four at once. Other Skills spend those Stains for stronger effects. Her elemental attacks are the easiest way to hit enemy weaknesses, and she has healing skills too.

Best for: players who like planning a few turns ahead and exploiting weaknesses.

Maelle

Maelle was orphaned at age three and is 16 during the game, far younger than the rest of the Expedition. Gustave is her foster brother, and she sees the journey as a chance to explore beyond Lumière.

How she fights: Maelle is a fencer who switches between Stances:

• Defensive Stance: takes less damage and gains AP from parries and dodges.
• Offensive Stance: deals more damage but also takes more.
• Virtuose Stance: the biggest damage boost of the three.

Her Skills move her between stances, and reaching Virtuose usually takes some setup, such as setting an enemy on fire first. Lune's fire attacks can help with that.

Best for: players who enjoy managing a rhythm and chasing big damage turns.

Sciel

Sciel is a farmer turned teacher who is warm, easygoing and at peace with death, though her cheerful manner hides a painful past.

How she fights: Sciel uses a scythe and a set of magical cards to stack Foretell on enemies, then consumes those stacks for heavy damage. Her Skills are split into Sun and Moon types, and using both lets her enter a stronger state called Twilight.

Best for: players who like setting up a big payoff over several turns.

Verso

Verso is an outsider with unknown origins who follows the Expedition closely. He's one of the story's central characters, so the less you know going in, the better.

How he fights: Verso uses Perfection ranks. Landing hits and parries raises his rank, and avoiding damage helps him keep it. The higher his rank, the more damage he deals.

Best for: confident parriers, since good defense directly powers his offense.

Monoco

Monoco is a Gestral, part of a race of friendly beings who see combat as a kind of meditation. He's one of the few Gestrals who speak the human language and has a scholarly manner, but he joins the Expedition mainly for the fights.

How he fights: Monoco collects the feet of defeated Nevron enemies to learn their skills, then transforms into those enemies in battle. His Bestial Wheel turns each time he uses an ability and powers up some of his moves. Many of his skills are spread around the world, so exploring pays off.

Best for: collectors and players who like a large, varied moveset.

Other key characters

These characters are central to the story but aren't playable party members:

• Esquie (voiced by Maxence Cazorla): a huge, friendly and famously lazy creature from Lumière's children's stories. He becomes your ride on the world map, and he picks up new traversal abilities as you go, including swimming, flying and diving underwater.
• Renoir (voiced by Andy Serkis): a relentless older man who hunts the Expedition and will pay any price to save his family.
• The Paintress: the giant figure who paints a number on the Monolith each year. Everyone that age or older is erased in the Gommage, and destroying her is the Expedition's mission.

Relationships at camp

From Act II, you can talk with party members at camp to raise your relationship level with each one. Higher levels unlock extra scenes, new skills and character quests, and Esquie's quest is how you unlock his final traversal ability. Most relationships and character quests can only be finished in Act III. For a deeper look at building each character, see our Pictos and Lumina guide.

When each character joins (spoilers)

Skip this section if you want to avoid story spoilers.

Gustave leaves the party at the end of Act I, and Verso takes over his role. Sandfall's lead writer has said this moment was planned early in development.

Frequently asked questions

How many playable characters are in Expedition 33?

Six: Gustave, Lune, Maelle, Sciel, Verso and Monoco. Three fight at a time, with the rest in reserve. Esquie travels with you but isn't a playable fighter.

Who voices Gustave in Expedition 33?

Charlie Cox, known for playing Daredevil. Other main cast members include Jennifer English as Maelle, Ben Starr as Verso, Kirsty Rider as Lune, Shala Nyx as Sciel and Andy Serkis as Renoir.

When does Monoco join the party?

In Act II, at Monoco's Station. He learns new skills by collecting the feet of defeated Nevrons, so it's worth exploring to find them.

How old is Maelle in Expedition 33?

Maelle is 16, much younger than the other Expeditioners. She's Gustave's foster sister and was orphaned at age three.

Is Esquie playable in Expedition 33?

No. Esquie is your mount on the world map rather than a party member in battle. He gains traversal abilities like swimming, flying and diving as the story goes on and through his relationship quest.

What is the best character in Expedition 33?

There isn't a single best character, since each one rewards a different playstyle. Gustave is the simplest to learn, Lune is the best at exploiting elemental weaknesses, and Maelle and Verso reward good timing and setup with big damage.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 © Sandfall Interactive, published by Kepler Interactive. mgame.gg isn't affiliated with or endorsed by them.