'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAGAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFQABAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAb/xAAUAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD/9oADAMBAAIQAxAAAACemQH/AP/EACAQAAICAQMFAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIEAQMSABEhBQYHEyL/2gAIAQEAAT8A6l5GvUdaVaVG2n00nTFfxtPOWWj78fIyIVUxGZ3iMJ41/8QAFxEAAwEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAECIf/aAAgBAgEBPwCdR//EABURAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEA/9oACAEDAQE/AEL/2Q=='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The Monolith in Clair Obscur Expedition 33 is the final region you'll see in the campaign. After defeating the two Axons, you will enter the domain of the Paintress, the entity your party has been trying to reach since the Prologue. This will be one of the longest regions in the game, so be ready to deal with the numerous enemies and battle not one but two final boss-level fights.
This article guides you through The Monolith region in Clair Obscur Expedition 33.
Note: This walkthrough spoils all the story and game elements up to and including The Monolith region in the game.
Looking for Crossword hints & solutions? Check out latest NYT Mini Crossword Answers, LA Times Crossword Answers, and Atlantic Crossword Answers
A walkthrough of The Monolith region in Clair Obscur Expedition 33
Required Abilities: The Paint Break ability acquired through the Lost Gestral side quest is required to unlock one of the Paint Cages in The Monolith.
Trending
After defeating both the Axons in Clair Obscur Expedition 33, you'll return to the Camp. Interact with the Curator and upgrade your weapons and Lumina Points. You can also talk with your party members to boost relationship levels:
- Talk with Monoco to reach his Relationship Level 4 (You can also duel with him there to get 3x Resplendent Chroma Catalyst and 2x Recoat).
- Talk with Sciel, Maelle, and Lune to reach their Relationship Level 5.
After you've done all the prepping up, interact with the campfire and choose to write in Gustave's journal, and then go to sleep. This will trigger a cutscene, following which you'll be thrown into the overworld map. Before moving any further, head back to camp and talk to Esquie now to reach his Relationship Level 5.
Backtrack to the overworld. You can now roam around to do some grinding or progress straight towards The Monolith. As the party reaches near it, a cutscene will trigger, showcasing the Expedition destroying the barrier surrounding the region.
When you get control of the characters, a Merchant will be nearby, who will have Pure (armor for Verso) and Double Braid (haircut for Lune). Purchase if you want anything, and head northwards to reach the portal to The Monolith.
(When you reach the area through the portal, don't go around searching for any collectibles, because you won't find any. They'll start appearing later in The Monolith.)
Entrance
As you enter the region in Clair Obscur Expedition 33, rest on the Expedition Flag. Do any leveling up there if you want to, because it will be the only checkpoint between you and the first encounter with the Paintress. Move through the long, straight road, and you'll start a boss fight against her.
However, you'll soon realize that all your attacks will be nullified when they reach her. Yes, this is a boss fight you're meant to lose, so just use any attacks you want and keep progressing the turn counter. You'll eventually see a cutscene that will drop you inside The Monolith.
Inside the Monolith
Proceed ahead and rest at the Entrance Expedition Flag when you enter the Monolith. Keep moving straight and use the grappling hook to cross two chasms coming ahead. You'll see some Lanceliers blocking the path. This enemy type will be much stronger from here on, but its attacks and weaknesses will remain the same. Use the Ice attacks and shoot their glowing spot to defeat them quickly.
After defeating them, pick up the Color of Lumina at your feet and head left. As you're moving forward, the game will be drained of all the color and turn black and white. Don't worry, it isn't a bug. Proceed as usual. Head through the big photo frame on the right, and you'll get the colors back in Clair Obscur Expedition 33.
Tainted Meadows
When your screen returns to normal, there should be a path on your left and a road to an Expedition Flag named Tainted Meadows straight ahead. Rest at the Clair Obscur Expedition 33 checkpoint and then take the former, which will take you to a descending golden rope. Use it and fight the Portier roaming the lower ground.
There should be another golden rope to the left of where you did the battle. It will lead to a lower ground that will have a few roaming Nevrons. Defeat them and embark on the path to unlock The Monolith's first collectible, a Paint Cage. It will be just behind the large bronze structure acting as a rock.
The first two locks will be just opposite the Cage. One will be above the large bronze door, while the other will be hidden on the lower right side. For the last one, use the golden rope to the right of the Cage and behind the bronze rock to reach the higher ground. Looking back, you should see it on top of a platform.
Collect your Revive Tint Shard from the unlocked Cage and backtrack to the Tainted Meadows Expedition Flag in The Monolith. Move straight and engage in a battle against a Portier roaming ahead. Defeat him, go straight, and take a left. You'll find a new enemy type in Clair Obscur Expedition 33 roaming around. Triggering a fight will reveal it to be a "Clair." This enemy will be immune to Light and physical attacks. Thus, elemental skills are the only way you'll damage it, especially ones that have Dark affinity, since that is what Clairs are weak to.
After the battle, you'll notice a familiar foe moving around in front of you. It will be Eveque, the optional boss from the Spring Meadows region. Defeating it will upgrade the Cleansing Tint Pictos to Level 15.
After the fight, move towards the statues with different poses and look to their left to find a Color of Lumina. Move to the left of the sculptures and take a right to fight a trio of Lancelier, Portier, and Volester inside the Monolith in Clair Obscur Expedition 33.
Now head back to the statues and this time walk beside the extreme edge of the region behind them until you see a lower platform, jump to it and you should see a Color of Lumina hiding behind a crate. Go backwards and use the handhold to reach back to the upper region and navigate to the Tainted Meadows Expedition Flag.
From there, head to the region where you first fought the Clair enemy and take a right from there; the screen should turn into black and white here. Once you reach the edge, look for a cave-like opening on the right side and go inside it.
When the color returns, you'll realize that you're in the Flying Waters region. There should be a boulder beside rising air bubbles in front of you that divides the road into two. The right path will take you to a combat encounter, while taking a left will bring you to Mistra the Merchant in Clair Obscur Expedition 33. It will have many items for you to purchase, along with the opportunity to fight it one-on-one to unlock the Energizing Cleanse Pictos.
Backtrack and head to the left path, but not before checking behind the upcoming boulder in the middle to find a Resplendent Chroma Catalyst. Now, take the long path on the right to find the Tainted Waters Expedition Flag inside The Monolith in Clair Obscur Expedition 33.
Tainted Waters
You can explore ahead or fight the Nevrons roaming in front of you. Look around the perimeter of the large mound of land in the center to find a Resplendent Chroma Catalyst inside The Monolith. Next, take the right path from the crossroads to fight a few more Nevrons. After dealing with them, look for a broken golden column with a grid-like structure. Crawl underneath it to find a Color of Lumina lying inside a barrel.
When you take the left path in the fork from the Tainted Waters Expedition Flag, it will further divide into two roads. The right one will introduce you to another new enemy type. This one is called "Obscur," a counterpart to Clair. Thus, following the rule of opposites, this one is weak to Light and immune to Dark Elemental Affinity.
After fighting him, take the left road and use your grapple to fight the Chromatic Burgeon boss inside The Monolith. While the strategy will remain mostly similar to the previous fight, some new skills will help make this fight manageable. Like Maelle's Gustave Homage attack, which will do massive damage to the boss. Defeating it will reward you with a second Burgeon Skin and a scythe for Sciel.
Backtrack to the opening where you fought the Obscur enemy and head inside. Use the rope to proceed to the next region in The Monolith in Clair Obscur Expedition 33.
Tainted Sanctuary
Rest at the Tainted Sanctuary Expedition Flag inside the Monolith first and foremost. Move forward until you encounter a split in the path. Take the right road to find a Color of Lumina near a crate. Then head towards the left track to start a fight against a Robust and Ranger Sakapate in Clair Obscur Expedition 33.
After the fight, take a left. You'll see some statues to your right, but before going near them, take a left to find a Color of Lumina lying beside some boxes. Now move ahead of the sculptures. You'll see a familiar enemy patrolling the area, the Ultimate Sakapate boss (along with two Catapult Sakapate).
Attack him to start the boss fight inside the Monolith. The strategy remains the same: break the boss to reveal his weak spot and shoot it to deal massive damage.
Head to the right after the fight until you find an opening to a long detour. There will be a Resplendent Chroma Catalyst. Backtrack to the region where you fought the Ultimate Sakapate and look around the edges of a large tree to find some Chroma lying around.
From there, head south to find another detour with a path split. Take the left road and pass underneath the small space.
Move ahead and take a right to fight against a trio of Ranger Sakapatate, Catapult Sakapatate, and Clair in Clair Obscur Expedition 33. Before heading down the opening the three enemies were guarding, turn around and head towards the right.
There should be another small space you can pass through by crouching. Move forward and look for an opening to your right to find a Paint Cage inside The Monolith. Stand at the edge of the platform with the Paint enclosure and look for some rocks on your left to find the first lock.
The second one will be stuck in the middle of the tall rock spire that was at the center of one of your previous regions. The last lock will be behind the black Paint root with blue veins, located before the Cage as you try to backtrack to the aforementioned opening. Use the Paint Break ability to break it.
The Cage will contain Random Defense Pictos. Now, backtrack to the region where you fought the trio of Ranger Sakapatate, Catapult Sakapatate, and Clair, and head inside the opening to rest (and level up if you have the means) at the Tainted Cliffs Expedition Flag in Clair Obscur Expedition 33.
Tainted Cliffs
Move past the Clair Obscur Expedition 33 checkpoint and climb up the winding stairs. When you reach the top, you should immediately see a Resplendent Chroma Catalyst lying near the left side edge. Go north and use your grappling hook to cross the gap. Keep moving forward, but don't forget to take the batch of Chroma lying next to you.
When you reach the end of the current road, the screen will turn black and white again, as you'll see two figures interacting up in the air. After they vanish, head left where you can fight some Cultists patrolling ahead of you.
After the fight, you'll immediately see a split in the path, with some more Cultists on the right and a narrow path on the left. The latter will lead you to a Petank which you can chase back to where you came from to put it in the green predestal.
You need to finish this fight quickly, not only because the Petank can flee in the next three to four turns, but it can apply Dizzy before that. It is a status effect that makes Free Aiming — needed to target the enemy's (constantly moving) weak spot to deal massive damage — harder. Thus, the best way to defeat him and earn the rewards is to have AP building Pictos and Luminas so that you can shoot more bullets at its weak spot.
After the fight, head right to defeat some Cultists. This group of enemies will reward you with an Energizing Pictos level-up. Next, head to the location where you first found the Petank and go towards the floating frames. You should see a prompt to grapple across. Do so and you'll reach the Lighthouse. Go behind it and you'll find a Recoat in The Monolith biome.
Head back to the region where you fought the Petank and take a right. You'll see some Chroma lying around in the front, a golden rope on the left, and a road to a wide area on the right. Use the thread to descend into an area where you'll fight against a Mime, Clair, and Obscur with a Voluminous Haircut for Maelle as a reward.
Complete the fight, use the golden rope to head back up and take the right path this time, which will pit you against A Hexga, a Greatsword Cultist, and Obscur. After defeating them, look for some consecutively escalating platforms you can climb to pick up some Chroma in Clair Obscur Expedition 33.
Drop down and look for a new Pictos to the right of a big photo frame with brown canvas. It will be called Weakness Gain. Next, head through the Heptagon tunnel and grapple towards the big airship. Then use the two more grappling points to reach the next Expedition Flag inside the Monolith region in Clair Obscur Expedition 33, Tainted Battlefield.
Tainted Battlefield
Look for a Resplendent Chroma Catalyst at the back of a rock behind the Flag. Now move forward through the wooden bridge. There should be some Nevrons waiting at the edge. This group will comprise a Troubadour and two Charliers. The battle will upgrade your Longer Shell Pictos and Troubadim weapon. When you jump down, there should be a Color of Lumina lying around to the right.
The left path will have a group of one Charlier and two Ramasseurs roaming around. Defeat them to upgrade the Ramasson weapon in Clair Obscur Expedition 33. The right path, on the other hand, will have a detour that will hold a Color of Lumina at its end. But you'll need to fight some enemies to reach it.
Now, head back through the detour and follow the western perimeter to locate a golden rope that goes up. Take it and pick up the Chroma near the cliff edge. Drop down from the same edge. There should be some Nevrons waiting for you on the left behind a large wooden box. Defeat them and take a left to find a Color of Lumina, then go inside the opening.
Follow the road to reach an area with a grave. Go east from there and inside a cave to find a door to The Manor. It will take you to the gardens, where you'll find Aline's journal entry and L'amour D'une Mère music record. You can explore more if you want to reach the Entry Hall Flag.
Backtrack to the grave and take the right this time to progress in The Monolith in Clair Obscur Expedition 33. Grapple through the big frame and onto platforms to reach the next region. Rest at the Tainted Hearts Expedition Flag.
Tainted Hearts
Head straight inside the station, where color will drain once again from the world, and you'll see two characters in the air arguing. After they disappear, move ahead and cross the narrow walkway. The colors will return once again. When they do, take a left and go towards the path on the right. The road will split ahead, where east will take you to an optional fight against Gargant inside the Monolith, while west will take you to a storekeeper.
The boss will give you XP, Chroma, and Resplendent Chroma Catalysts.
Climb the handholds to meet a Merchant named Melosh. It will host a few items along with a boss fight to unlock a weapon and a Pictos. Look for a corpse near a train in the same area to find the Enfeebling Attack Pictos. Take a left from Melosh to go through the train carriages and head straight. Use your grappling hook to cross the gap. You'll reach a Paint Cage (containing Empowering Parry) at the end. Here are the locations for all the locks:
- Opposite the Paint Cage. At the edge of the black ledge.
- Above the Paint Cage, to the right of the hanging train.
- On the path to the Paint Cage.
Now go back and take a right to head towards the station entrance, which will be blocked by three enemies — an Obscur, Danseuser, and Braseleur. Defeating them will reward you with Braselim, a new weapon for Lune in Clair Obscur Expedition 33. After the fight, check near the stairs to find a Color of Lumina lying around. Now move ahead and use the grapple to cross the gap. Look around the pillars to find a Resplendent Chroma Catalyst.
After picking it up, talk to the Faceless Boy. After exhausting all dialogue options, choose the option to head to Lumiere. When you exit the train, rest at the Tainted Lumiere Expedition Flag in Clair Obscur Expedition 33.
Tainted Lumiere
After doing all the prepping (if you want to do any), head down the wide area and fight all the enemies roaming around. They will all be of the Chevalier enemy type. One of these groups will eventually drop a Perilous Parry Pictos. Look in the northwest region of the area to find a Recoat beside some boxes covered with a sheet.
Next, head right and grapple across the dilapidated street. Take a right and look for another grappling point.
The screen will turn to black and white, and you'll see the couple interacting in the air again. When they disappear, look for a grappling point on the east. Go northeast and you'll find some Chroma lying around. Take a left from there to find a Color of Lumina near a harp. Head north from there and take a left from the yellow-leaved tree to find another Color of Lumina in the Monolith.
Use the grappling hook to reach a region where you'll face an Obscur with some Chevalieres. Defeat them and look nearby to find an Expedition 70 Journal entry. There will be a Color of Lumina just ahead of it. Backtrack to the yellow-leaved tree and head inside the tunnel. When you exit it, take a left, then go south.
The path ahead will host an optional boss fight against Clair Obscur inside the Monolith. It will reward Dreameso (weapon for Verso), Chroma Catalysts, Colour of Luminas, and Breaking Attack Pictos.
Go straight from the boss fight to find the Lithelim weapon for Lune. Use the grapple to head back through the gap to fight a Clair and an Obscur. After defeating them, head straight to the dark, cavelike entrance and rest at the Tower Peak Expedition Flag inside the Monolith.
Move straight ahead into the wide arena. You'll eventually trigger a cutscene that will put you against Renoir.
Renoir boss fight
Here are all the attacks Renoir can do in phase one:
- Renoir performs a melee combo - Six sword attacks. Parry/dodge all. Note that there will be a long delay between the third and fourth attack.
- Renoir attacks from a distance - Four Chroma wave attacks. Parry/dodge the first three. The final one will come when he lands from the jump.
- Renoir sends waves of Chroma - Five Chroma wave attacks at the entire Expedition. Parry/dodge all.
- Renoir attempts to vanish an Expedition Member - Two attacks. If the second one connects, the targeted party member won't be available for the rest of the right. Dodge the first hit and Gradient Counter the second.
- Renoir gathers an incredible amount of Chroma - Three Chroma attacks. Parry/dodge the first two, Gradient Counter the final one.
When the Renoir in Clair Obscur Expedition 33 drops to 50% health will cause him to shift to the second phase. He'll heal himself fully and acquire the Rage special effect, allowing him to act twice in one turn. Aside from the previous attacks, there will be new additions to Renoir's arsenal:
- The Dark Creature claws the Expedition - Two claw and one bite attack. Parry/dodge all.
- The Dark Creature launches itself at the Expedition - Two strikes. Parry the first one and jump through the second one.
- The Dark Creature uses a tail attack - A single tail attack. Use the Gradient Counter.
Keep fighting the boss, and you'll eventually defeat Renoir. Move ahead into the portal and rest at the Monolith Peak Expedition Flag, and prepare for another boss fight. Move ahead to face The Paintress in Clair Obscur Expedition 33.
The Paintress boss fight
The Paintress boss fight in Clair Obscur Expedition 33 (Image via Sportskeeda Gaming || Kepler Interactive)
The Paintress will be similar to Renoir in terms of difficulty and scale. If you want a detailed guide on defeating the entity you've been wanting to defeat all along, check out our guide on The Paintress boss fight.
After defeating the boss, a long cutscene will play that will transition you into the Epilogue of Clair Obscur Expedition 33's campaign, titled Alicia.
Epilogue
Heading downstairs in the Manor in Clair Obscur Expedition 33 (Image via Sportskeeda Gaming || Kepler Interactive)
You'll be dropped off at The Manor. Head down two sets of stairs and take a right to pass through the dining hall and into the room with the canvas. A cutscene will start. When you get control of Maelle again, interact with Clea and exhaust all the questions.
Next up, interact with the Canvas to enter it. A long cutscene will play, making you realize there is still a lot of Clair Obscur Expedition 33 to play, because the game's third act will start, titled Maelle.
That completes the walkthrough of The Monolith in the game.
Check out our other articles on Clair Obscur Expedition 33:
- Is Clair Obscur Expedition 33 coming to Nintendo Switch and Switch 2?
- 7 best RPGs to play while waiting for Clair Obscur Expedition 33
- Is there Romance in Clair Obscur Expedition 33?
- How to parry, dodge, and jump in Clair Obscur Expedition 33
- How to fast-travel in Clair Obscur Expedition 33
- All Chroma Elixir Shard Locations in Clair Obscur Expedition 33
Are you stuck on today's Wordle? Our Wordle Solver will help you find the answer.
