Sandfall Interactive, the developer behind the acclaimed role-playing game Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, has rolled out Patch 1.2.3 across all platforms. This update brings a host of fixes and pivotal balance adjustments, notably nerfing the game's most overpowered build, as detailed in the patch notes below.

Sandfall had previously indicated that balance changes were not on the immediate horizon, focusing instead on bug fixes "unless something clearly stood out." "Well, Stendhal did," the developer acknowledged.

The notorious build centered around young fencer Maelle and the sword Medalum, which unlocks the Virtuose Stance, granting a 200% bonus to damage. Players exploited this by stacking abilities with the Stendahl skill, which delivers massive single-target Void damage, enabling them to deal billions of damage and defeat the final boss in a single hit.

"It was underwhelming for most of development, so in our final pre-release balance pass, we gave it a big damage boost—and clearly overdid it. It ended up overshadowing most other options," Sandfall explained.

"We still want you to be able to break the game—and you absolutely still can—but Stendhal was making it a bit too easy."

The nerf is part of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's inaugural comprehensive hotfix. While Stendhal remains a potent single-hit skill with excellent synergy potential, it's now more balanced with other options. Additionally, the patch corrects an issue where Medalum's third Lumina was doubling all damage in Virtuose Stance, rather than just doubling Burn damage.

Here are the key highlights from today's patch notes:

• Fixed Medalum third Lumina doubling all damage in Virtuose Stance instead of doubling only Burn damage.
• Stendhal: Reduced damage by 40%.

Maelle Outfits and Haircuts - Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

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Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has become a breakout success for Sandfall, surpassing 2 million copies sold. This achievement is particularly notable considering its launch coincided with Bethesda's The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered as a day-one Game Pass title, demonstrating ample room for both games to thrive.

The game's success has even garnered praise from French President Macron. For those eager to dive in, be sure to check out our tips on what to know before starting your journey.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Update 1.2.3 Patch Notes:

Steam Deck

• Fixed backgrounds of various menus not displaying properly on the Steam Deck.

Various Ultrawide Fixes

• Gameplay no longer becomes zoomed after a cutscene occurs in ultrawide resolutions.
• The Options menu image will no longer be stretched in ultrawide resolutions.
• Combat UI now adapts correctly to ultrawide resolutions.
• Game will no longer minimize upon changing settings in ultrawide resolution.
• Cutscenes won’t letterbox in 32:9 aspect ratio.
• Title screen now displays fullscreen when the game is launched in ultrawide resolution.

Mouse and Keyboard

• UI button prompts in Expedition Menu are now visible and fully able to be triggered with Keyboard.
• Mouse buttons do not become unresponsive after first use.
• With mouse cursor on screen, using 'WSAD' or directional arrows to navigate in UI or trigger any other functionality will no longer hide the cursor instead of doing the intended action.
• Left Mouse-button click will no longer block the player from using Keyboard to navigate menus.
• Mouse input is not lost after the first Jump counter attack if it is pressed only once.

Fixed areas of the world map where you can get stuck:

• Between lanterns scattered on the ground near Stone Wave Cliff portal.
• While walking on the ship wreck near the Forgotten Battlefield level entrance.
• Between lanterns on the ground near Bourgeon encounter next to Stone Wave Cliffs level.
• Between two small rocks located between Spring Meadows and Abbest Cave.
• Between vases and corals when jumping from rooftopps.
• Between various rocks.
• In ruins behind Flying Manor level entrance.
• Near the bridge between Flying Waters and Spring Meadows.
• In the rocks on the World Map, near Flying Waters.
• Next to hardened land, close to the Flying Waters location exit.

Fixed situations where Esquie specifically would get stuck (poor guy):

• When taking off from paint bridges, making him fall through the bridge and restrict movement.
• When flying into bottom parts of levitating structures near Visages.
• Near the Flying Waters entrance level.
• Near a giant hammer when traversing close to Blades' Graveyard level.

Weapon and skill fixes and tuning:

• Fixed Lithelim attribute scaling not working at high level. Reduced initial Vitality scaling from A to C (will still end at S at max level). Added Luck scaling starting at D.
• Fixed Blizzon attribute scaling not working at high level. Reduced initial Luck scaling from B to C (will still end at S at max level). Added Defense scaling starting at D.
• Fixed Medalum third Lumina doubling all damage in Virtuose Stance instead of doubling only Burn damage.
• Stendhal: Reduced damage by 40%.

Other fixes

• Boss encounter in Stone Wave Cliffs can now be finished on NG+.
• You will no longer be blocked by the Journal UI window after opening the first Journal in the Spring Meadows.
• Fixed being unable to shoot in Free aim while exploring levels due to worn triggers.
• Lune and Monoco no longer spawn in same place during end of theirs Level 6 relationship quests if they are completed without going to camp.
• If at camp you pick “remember the objective”, then quickly choose to "go to sleep" and immediately after press "leave", the screen no longer goes black.
• You can no longer trigger the "Discovering the truth" cutscene in Old Lumière a second time in a row, splitting the party forever with only Verso and Maelle in it.
• Update to rolling credits.