By Loathe parrying? Celebrate! Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 absolutely does not need to be tackled like a Sekiro-style gauntlet on any setting, brutal included. A mind-blowing “perfectly-hit” completion has now demonstrated that it’s doable on expert difficulty—yes, even that notorious Simon encounter—without ever rolling or deflecting. (Alright, you must roll one single time during the tutorial, but afterwards never again.)
YouTuber ymfah is usually known for masochistic Soulslike stunts, yet “how to take every blow in Expedition 33” couldn’t be more different. Players had already cleared it sans rolls or parries, yet cranking it to expert flips the script entirely.
At the outset, forfeiting deflections also forfeits bonus AP—meaning every hit hurts more and your output nosedives. The workaround? Abuse surprise attacks, pump vitality at every chance, and adhere to the golden rule: steer clear of mimes. Those tactics carry you through early scraps comfortably.
The first genuine wall is Eveque; sheer number-crunching insists that you’d need a ludicrous grind to scrape enough starter-zone XP. ymfah’s answer: a goofy out-of-bounds glitch to vault around Eveque, unlock the world map, harvest juicier experience, and pillage stronger weaponry. Afterwards you double back and flatten Eveque the intended way.
Several bumps remain—like the Curator matching your level—so you’re encouraged to skip random fights and freeze yourself at level 7 for safety. Additional boss skips showcased are largely ways to shave off even more grind.
Past those hurdles, it becomes a build-crafting puzzle: namely, turbo-charge Maelle with every crit node and damage amplifier you can beg, buy, or loot. Crucially, pick up the Picto that refunds action points every time you swallow a punch, finally balancing the AP drought.
I’ll tiptoe around further spoilers, but as the world opens, even zanier loadouts appear and the “eat every attack” plan snowballs into viability. Once you reach the finale, ymfah can more or less annihilate anything in sight—including the ultimate roadblock. Sandfall Interactive appear delighted to let you turn their own dials past eleven, and those one-shot monstrosities humiliate enemies regardless of how much you parry.