14 December 2025

Best Gustave Build In Expedition 33

By newsgame

While every character in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is unique and has their own mechanics, Gustave has a very interesting one. As the first playable character, players quickly learn to understand each character’s gameplay and play within those limits. You can also try to expand those limits by building Gustave however you want to, which is the core of the game’s fun.

For example, take Lune’s build in Expedition 33, players can build her to unleash a literal Hell on enemies and Burn them for the entire combat duration. Or, you can simply build her to be an AoE machine, dealing incredible AoE damage on every turn.

clair-obscur-expedition-33-all-merchant-locations-inventory

All Merchant Locations In Clair Obscur Expedition 33

Merchants serve as some of the best sources of items in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, so here is where to find them all.

Updated on December 13, 2025, by Nahda Nabiilah: With Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 taking most of the awards and setting a new record in the Game Awards 2025, it’s only fair to revisit and enjoy the breathtaking world again. Of course, another visit means having Gustave in the squad again, at least for a while. Whether restarting the game or starting a new game plus, here’s an updated version of Gustave build in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.

Gustave Best Early Game Build In Expedition 33

Since Gustave’s weapons don’t have any effects, it’s better to pick a weapon that scales with stats that make Gustave extra defensive. So, go for weapons that scale with Vitality and Defense.

Best Weapons and Attributes (Gustave Early Game Build)

gustave best weapons and attributes in expedition 33

Rank	Weapon	Attributes Priority
1	Abysseram	Vitality Defense Luck Agility Might
2	Lanceram	Vitality Defense Luck Agility Might
3	Cruleram	Defense Vitality Luck Agility Might

Best Pictos and Luminas (Gustave Early Game Build)

gustave best pictos and luminas in expedition 33

Best Skills (Gustave Early Game Build)

Skill	Effect
From Fire	Deals medium single target damage. 3 hits. Uses weapon’s element. Heals self by 20% if the target Burns.
Lumiere Assault	Deals low single target damage. 5 hits. Uses weapon’s element. Critical Hits generate 1 Additional Charge.
Recovery	Recovers 50% Health and dispels Status Effects. Gives 0-2 Charges.
Powerful	Applies Powerful to 1-3 allies, increasing the damage they deal. for 3 turns. Gives 0 to 2 Charges.
Shatter	Deals High Lightning damage to all enemies. 1 hit. Can Break. If a target is Broken by the hit, Overcharge is fully Charged.
Overcharge	High Lightning damage based on the amount of Charges. 1 Hit. Can Break.

Strategy (Gustave Early Game Build)

As the first character in Expedition 33, Gustave’s playstyle is rather simple. First, players need to charge his Overcharge stack to the maximum, or it’s not worth launching it. For that, delay the casting of Gustave’s Overcharge attack and keep using his Base Attacks and Lumiere Assault to get the 10 charges. It’s important to build him with as much Luck and Defense as possible to reach around 30% Critical Chance. Add the Critical Burn Lumina, and Gustave will attack with around 60 to 70% Critical Chance. That will add more charges to his Lumiere Assault hits and allow him to unleash Overcharge more often.

Strike Storm is an amazing attack and can replace Lumiere Assault, but it costs a lot of AP, which is not ideal in the early game. The broken Luminas and Pictos will not be available to passively build Gustave’s AP and make it easy to cast Strike Storm. So, it’s better to stick with Lumiere Assault to charge Overcharge.

Other than these attacks, Recovery and From Fire are good sustain skills for Gustave to help him stay alive during combat. Powerful also adds some supportive abilities to Gustave’s gameplay. Finally, Shatter expands on Gustave’s abilities and allows him to deal high AoE damage to all enemies with a chance to break them and fully charge Overcharge.

Gustave Best NG+ Build In Expedition 33

Even in New Game Plus, Gustave won’t get an effect on his weapons, which will greatly affect his utility during fights. For that, when picking his best weapons, it’s better to go with the ones that scale the best with his attributes. However, that’s not all for Gustave, as he can still be useful thanks to some interesting effects that you can build around.

Best Weapons and Attributes (Gustave NG+ Build)

Rank	Weapon	Attributes Priority
1	Tireso	Vitality Defense Agility Might Luck
2	Lanceram	Vitality Agility Defense Might Luck
3	Corpeso	Vitality Agility Defense Might Luck

Best Pictos and Luminas (Gustave NG+ Build)

Best Skills (Gustave NG+ Build)

Best Skills - Gustave NG+ In Expedition 33

Skill	Effect
From Fire	Deals medium single target damage. 3 hits. Uses weapon’s element. Heals self by 20% if the target Burns.
Marking Shot	Deals low single target Lightning damage. Applies Mark.
Recovery	Recovers 50% Health and dispels Status Effects. Gives 0-2 Charges.
Powerful	Applies Powerful to 1-3 allies, increasing the damage they deal. for 3 turns. Gives 0 to 2 Charges.
Shatter	Deals High Lightning damage to all enemies. 1 hit. Can Break. If a target is Broken by the hit, Overcharge is fully Charged.
Overcharge	High Lightning damage based on the amount of Charges. 1 Hit. Can Break.

Strategy (Gustave NG+ Build)

Other than not having effects on his weapons, Gustave also barely has any skills that he can rely on. Players can still build him to deal damage, but it’s better to run Gustave as a support in E33. Since Gustave can apply Powerful on all his allies for 3 turns, it’s a good opportunity to add the Rush on Powerful and Shell On Rush Luminas. This will help Gustave put most buffs on his teammates. You can further increase the utility of those buffs by adding more turns and increasing their effects during combat.

After building Gustave’s buffing abilities, you can make him a debuffer by giving his base attacks more hits and debuff effects, like Slow, Defenseless, and Powerless. You can also sacrifice his damage to give him more breaking damage, which adds a CC layer to Gustave’s build in Expedition 33.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Tag Page Cover Art

Released: April 24, 2025
ESRB: Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence
Developer(s): Sandfall Interactive
Publisher(s): Kepler Interactive