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Everything you need to know about Stendhal, and why the skill got nerfed in Clair Obscur Expedition 33’s latest title update.
The latest title update for Clair Obscur Expedition 33 comes with a rather questionable change, a nerf for a skill that many players have been using to get through the endgame – Stendhal. Before the update went live, developer Sandfall Interactive came out with an official statement regarding the nerf. According to the developer, the skill was nerfed to deliver a more “balanced” experience. Additionally, the developer also mentioned that Stendhal and one of the most powerful weapons in the game, Medalum, weren’t working as intended. While the latter is true, as Stendhal was dealing way more damage than intended, it’s still a change that’s quite confusing.
Here’s everything you need to know about Maelle’s Stendhal skill, including its previous damage values and why it ultimately got nerfed with the latest title update for Clair Obscur Expedition 33.
Note: This article has spoilers for the main story of Clair Obscur Expedition 33.
How Did the Stendhal Work in Clair Obscur Expedition 33 Before the Update?
Before the update, Stendhal was arguably the most powerful skill in the entire game. The skill essentially went toe-to-toe with Gommage (even surpassing it in NG+). Casting Stendhal with the right set of buffs and weapons could easily net you upwards of 50 million damage, if not more. And in New Game+, you could easily take the damage threshold close to a billion. Technically, the skill is meant to multiply base damage by 2.5 times. However, due to some unknown reasons (or bug), Stendhal ended up multiplying the base damage by 25 times. As such, it ended up dishing out comically large amounts of damage with very little AP cost and build-up.
Even without any additional buffs, the skill was capable of “one-shotting” most enemies in the endgame. In fact, the skill was so powerful that it could technically “one-shot” the final boss of the game. Additionally, with a bit of additional prep work, Stendhal worked as the sole skill you needed to practically go through almost every single encounter in the endgame, including Simon. We at Deltia’s Gaming also used the skill as the base of our “one-shot” build for Maelle, and also the best method to get past Simon, the hardest boss in Clair Obscur Expedition 33.
Before today’s update, Stendhal, followed by Last Chance, dealt roughly 40 million damage against the Painted Love. However, after the update, we tested Stendhal under the same conditions, and it dealt only 11 million damage. There’s essentially a 40% reduction in the skills’ overall damage value.
Does the Update Break Builds That Used Stendhal?
Yes, if your build was primarily focused on Stendhal, it will deal significantly lower damage than before. While you will still easily reach millions in terms of damage numbers using Stendhal, it won’t be enough to “one-shot” bosses. Even with Roulette and Glass Canon, Stendhal barely reaches its previous damage values. That said, you can still use the skill to dish out quite a lot of damage. That said, if you’re looking for an alternative to the skill for endgame bosses, there’s still Gommage. The only issue with Gommage is that it requires a bit more set up since it’s a Gradient Skill.
Another Possible Reason Why Stendhal Got Nerfed
While it’s purely speculation on our part, there’s probably a more “exciting” reason behind Stendhal getting nerfed. While there’s nothing official, it’s very much possible that the nerf is an indication that Sandfall is working on a DLC for Expedition 33. Considering the amount of praise the game has received since its release, as well as it being a commercial success, selling more than 2 million copies in less than 2 weeks, that’s not unlikely. And probably that’s why the Stendhal skill got nerfed in Clair Obscur Expedition 33. That said, it’s still just speculation on our part. And until confirmed by Sandfall themselves, this info should be taken with a grain of salt.
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