Clair Obscur nerfed ability that caused 4 billion damage

The first balancing patch for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 arrived yesterday(07/05) and will include a critical adjustment: the nerf of the Stendhal ability, which allowed for up to 4 billion damage — enough to defeat the hardest post-game boss, Simon, 45 times in a row. The patch will be initially released on Steam, with other platforms receiving the update shortly after.

The studio Sandfall Interactive communicated the decision through X (formerly Twitter), stating that they did not intend to adjust the game's balance so soon, prioritizing only bug fixes in the beginning:

"We did not plan on making balance changes so soon — only bug fixes — unless something stood out. And Stendhal stood out."

During development, Stendhal was considered underpowered. Therefore, it received a big damage boost shortly before release. The result: the ability became dominant and unbalanced when combined with certain Pictos (equipment) and Luminas (passives), allowing players to scale damage to absurd levels with relative ease.

"It was weak for most of development, so in the last pre-release adjustment we gave it a big damage boost — and clearly overdid it. It ended up overshadowing most other options."

Despite the nerf, the studio emphasizes that the game's philosophy remains the same: the Luminas system was designed to allow players to "break the game" with creative combinations. The adjustment, according to the team, aims to restore balance to the diversity of builds.

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

The developer also teased the players:

"You have one more day to enjoy the ability as it is and set insane records."

The adjustment to Stendhal is part of the first set of hotfixes that, in addition to balancing, will also bring bug fixes. After the patch, the ability will still be a strong option for single-target damage, but more aligned with the other strategies available in the game.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, recently released, has been drawing attention for its complex build system and real-time combat with a strong emphasis on parry and reading attack patterns. The diversity of combinations offered by Pictos and Luminas is one of the main attractions of the title, and maintaining this healthy ecosystem seems to be the studio's priority at the moment.