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Everything you need to know about the hardest boss in Clair Obscur Expedition 33, Simon, and how you can easily one-shot him using Maelle.
There’s no shortage of incredibly challenging boss fights in Clair Obscur Expedition 33. While the game is technically a turn-based RPG, some of its optional boss fights feel like they are lifted right out of a Souls-like game. From multi-hit combos to bosses with incredibly huge HP bars, Clair Obscur Expedition 33 has it all.
While a good chunk of the endgame content can be classified as “difficult,” there’s nothing more challenging in the game than the optional boss, Simon. Locked within the Abyss, Simon is the game’s quintessential “final boss,” i.e., the boss that you will face after having completed almost every other piece of content in Clair Obscur Expedition 33.
Hidden within Renoir’s Drafts, an area that’s only accessible in Act 3 and recommends reaching Level 85 or higher, Simon is easily the toughest boss you will face in the entire game. It’s significantly more difficult than the story’s main boss, as well as Clea. However, there’s a way to defeat the boss in no less than 3 turns, basically one-shotting him. Here’s a comprehensive guide on how to one-shot the toughest boss in Clair Obscur Expedition 33, Simon.
How To Unlock Simon in Clair Obscur Expedition 33
Simon is an optional boss that you unlock only after reaching Act 3. You essentially need to unlock Esquie’s underwater swimming ability, which you can only do after maxing out your relationship with him. Once you unlock Esquie’s underwater swimming ability, head north and close to the Monolith. From the Monolith, go a little toward Sirene, and you will eventually see a small area on the water that has a portal on it. Go through the portal to reach Renoir’s Drafts. Do note that Renoir’s Drafts is one of the endgame areas, the other two being the Endless Towers and Flying Manor. The recommended level for Renoir’s Drafts is between 85 and 90.
However, you can get through the area comfortably as long as you’re at least Level 80. Although it’s best to tackle Renoir’s Drafts as well as Simon only after you’ve completed all the other areas in the game, doing so isn’t mandatory. However, if you’re having trouble going through the Endless Towers or against Clea, you’re probably not ready to take on Simon.
Build To One-Shot Simon (Maelle)
Once you’re properly leveled up to at least 80, you can comfortably make the one-shot build to take down Simon. For this build, we’re going to use only Maelle. You don’t want any other members in your party against Simon, as that will only reduce the amount of damage Maelle can dish out. We’re basically going to focus on raw damage output and try to dispatch Simon before he can even get a turn.
The biggest issue most players face against Simon is his enormous HP bar. In total, Simon has roughly 72 million HP, which far exceeds that of Clea or any other boss in the game. Furthermore, much like some of the other endgame bosses, Simon has two phases.
And if that wasn’t all, Simon has an ability in his final phase that allows him to completely wipe out your current party (removed from the Canvas), forcing you to use your secondary team against the boss. Add to that the boss’s 10-15-hit combos that punish you for failing a single parry or dodge counter, and you have what is easily the most frustrating boss fight in the entire game. Additionally, Simon can also siphon the HP of active party members, dropping them to 1 HP. Suffice it to say, Simon is a force to be reckoned with. And even if you go in fully prepared, you’re bound to have a tough time with this boss fight.
That is, unless you’re using an incredibly powerful build that practically one-shots the boss in all his phases. With Maelle, you can easily dish out upwards of 40 million damage, granted you’re using the right set of Luminas and skills. Here’s a breakdown of the build that we at Deltia’s Gaming used to one-shot Simon and other endgame bosses in Clair Obscur Expedition 33:
Weapon
- Medalum (Level 33)
Attributes
For attributes, you essentially want to focus on Agility and Defense to maximize Medalum’s damage output. Once you max out Defense and Agility, invest the spare points into Might. With Cheater, Energy Master, and Energizing Turn, you’ll get roughly 8200 HP, which is more than enough to get you through most of the game’s endgame content. While you can invest a few points into Luck, it’s not necessary, as our damage output will already be high enough where crits feel like diminishing returns. Instead of critical damage, we’re going to focus on Maelle’s Virtuose Stance, which increases damage dealt by 200%. Here’s a breakdown of the attributes:
- Vitality: 0
- Might: 63
- Agility: 99
- Defense: 99
- Luck: 0
Pictos
- Cheater
- Energy Master
- Energizing Turn
Luminas
- At Death’s Door
- Augmented Attack
- Augmented Counter 1
- Augmented Counter 3
- Augmented First Strike
- Auto Rush
- Auto Shell
- Base Shield
- Break Specialist
- Breaker
- Breaking Burn
- Breaking Shots
- Combo Attack 1
- Combo Attack 3
- Confident Fighter
- Critical Break
- Critical Moment
- Double Burn
- Energizing Break
- Energizing Burn
- Energizing Rush
- Energizing Shots
- Energizing Start 1
- Energizing Start 2
- Energizing Start 3
- Energizing Start 4
- First Offensive
- First Strike
- Glass Canon
- Gradient Breaker
- Immaculate
- Inverted Affinity
- Longer Shell
- Marking Shots
- Painted Power
- Powered Attack
- Roulette
- SOS Shell
- Second Chance
- Shortcut
- Solo Fighter
- Survivor
- Tainted
- Warming Up
Skills (Mandatory)
- Last Chance
- Stendhal
How To Use the One-Shot Build Against Simon
Now, when it comes to using this build, it’s quite simple. You essentially have to make the most out of the turns you get as Maelle. Since she’s already starting in Virtuose Stance (courtesy of Medalum), you will be able to finish the first phase with a single Standahl.
The second phase is a bit tricky, as in that phase, Simon has 72 million HP. While you can reach roughly 100 million damage in a single hit, it’s not possible with this particular build. Using this build, our damage is capped at 40 million. However, with Roulette, we can easily get past it by using Last Chance and attacking Simon with Inverted active. Here are the steps you need to follow to one-shot Simon:
- In the first phase, perform a Stendhal to immediately finish the encounter.
- In the second phase, start by using Stendhal again, and if you’re not reaching the 20-40 million mark, reload the checkpoint and start again. Not dealing 20 million damage means Roullete isn’t going to trigger for this turn. As such, it’s best to just retry the boss instead of waiting for him to kill Maelle.
- Once you reload, repeat the process until you see Maelle’s Stendhal dealing at least 20 million damage.
- After Standahl, use Last Chance, which will drop Maelle’s HP to 1, granting her another turn (courtesy of Shortcut).
- After casting Last Chance, use another Stendhal, and that should be able to finish off Simon before he can do anything.
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