Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 follows its daring journey to confront the Paintress, a persistent foe causing humanity great distress. As you dive into the game, you’ll encounter various characters, with Gustave being your first companion.
Gustave serves as your initial character, showcasing the combat mechanics early in the game. Don’t underestimate him; his skills can be quite intricate. Here’s everything you need to know about him.
The Best Weapons for Gustave
Gustave’s top equipment is accessible early, aligning with the fact that he’s a part of your team for a limited time. The first sword, the Lanceram, can be easily obtained by defeating a Lancelier in Spring Meadows. This weapon enhances Vitality and Agility and, while not too complex, it becomes crucial when you switch to Verso, granting Perfection status at higher levels.
Next, you can find the Abysseram after taking down the Bourgeon in the southern Stone Wave Cliffs. This sword improves Vitality and Defense and focuses solely on Physical damage. As you upgrade it, you’ll see more overall damage and, when it reaches level 20, you’ll even restore some health with each regular attack.
The Best Builds for Gustave
As one of your first allies, Gustave will lead the way for quite some time due to his balanced nature, allowing him to heal himself while still dealing damage. Here are some optimal builds for him.
First Playthrough Build
This build aims to make Gustave a versatile character, especially useful in the early game. The focus is on creating an aggressive DPS type.
Although Overcharge takes time to charge up, it’s his most effective skill. Utilize Lumiere Assault and Strike Storm to build charges quickly. Shatter provides some area damage when needed, and you can use Powerful to enhance allies against specific elemental weaknesses. Lastly, Recovery helps Gustave regain health without expending resources.
| Early Game Gustave | |
|---|---|
| Best Attributes | |
| Weapon | Lanceram, Abysseram |
| Skills | – Overcharge |
| – Lumiere Assault | |
| – Powerful | |
| – Shatter | |
| – Strike Storm | |
| – Recovery | |
| Pictos | – Dead Energy II |
| – Augmented Attack | |
| – Empowering Attack | |
| Luminas | – Energizing Start II |
| – Burning Shots | |
| – Versatile |
New Game Plus Build
In your New Game Plus experience, while Gustave’s time in your party remains unchanged, his strength can increase significantly. This playthrough focuses on leveraging better gear from your previous journey.
Using the Simoso sword at its highest level, Gustave can inflict Light damage and become nearly invulnerable. His skills will revolve around marking enemies, using Marking Shot to weaken them, and enhancing team damage with techniques like Marking Shots and Burning Shots. To improve survivability, employ From Fire for self-healing during combat.
| Gustave | |
|---|---|
| Best Attributes | |
| Weapon | Simoso |
| Skills | – Overcharge |
| – Lumiere Assault | |
| – Marking Shot | |
| – Shatter | |
| – Strike Storm | |
| – From Fire | |
| Pictos | – Burn Affinity |
| – Charging Burn | |
| – Double Burn | |
| Luminas | – Marking Shots |
| – Burning Shots | |
| – Versatile |
Gustave’s balanced nature makes him a key player as you progress through the game, and with the right builds, you can maximize his potential whether you’re playing for the first time or diving back in for a second run.