Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s immense success is proof of one thing. There is still a genuine desire and hunger for turn-based JRPGs. Not the real-time action RPG pandering we have seen in recent years, but true turn-based experiences.

Games that employ this combat design tend to share a few commonalities. They tend to feature deep systems where a multitude of different strategies and builds are viable, and they tend to have a variety of testing bosses that put those builds to the test. Both of which Clair Obscur offers, forcing players to strategize, synergize, and parry with precision.

We want to focus on the bosses in particular here, as there are some absolute behemoths in this title. Bosses that force players to perform dodges and parries with the level of precision you would expect from a Soulsborne title.

There are so many to choose from, and each has its merits, but we want to decide once and for all which are the hardest bosses in Clair Obscur.

10

Golgra

Queen Of The Idiots

Golgra is the Gestral chief that you’ll fight many times in the game if you’re keen to engage with all the side content. However, her most powerful form is encountered when you challenge them to a duel in the Gestral Village.

I’ll admit that this boss mainly squeaks onto this list for two reasons. One is the sheer damage output that Golgra has at their disposal, and the second is that you have to fight them alone.

Their combos are pretty easy to dodge, with their angry phase offering a sterner test. However, the difficulty lies in the fact that if you make a mistake, it’s pretty much curtains, and you’ll need to try again.

Once you master the combos, there is much less fear factor, and you could even use this battle as a way to farm XP consistently. However, Golgra will make you work for it, that’s for sure.

9

Sirene

A Deadly Dance

The Axons are powerful creatures, and, in my opinion, the first real difficult tests that Clair Obscur has to offer, as all bosses to this point in the story feel like warm-ups by comparison. The two Axons are pretty even as far as difficulty goes, but I think that Sirene is just slightly easier on balance.

Sirene’s battle is tough as the combos are quite hard to master due to the cinematic nature of the animations.

However, the most irritating aspect of this fight by a mile is the boss’s ability to charm your party members, which effectively leads to them casting friendly fire attacks and killing themselves, meaning dodging those attacks becomes a non-negotiable.

It’s very easy to give in to her spell and allow your whole party to become charmed by her intricate dance. But if you can keep focused and avoid those pesky status effects, you’ll be halfway towards breaking the barrier leading to the Monolith.

8

Visages/Mask Keeper

Hides Truth With Lies

We mentioned that Visages is the tougher of the two Axons, and this is down to two things. Firstly, you have the sheer variety of attacks that this boss has at their disposal, thanks to the different masks that they can employ, each with their own attacks and effects. However, you also have the fact that the enemy’s second phase raises the stakes once again.

Just when you think you have conquered the boss, you’ll then have to take on Mask Keeper, a powerful and agile melee attacker that is supported by three masks that apply buffs, debuffs, and heal the Mask Keeper throughout.

The difficulty of this boss will vary from one player to the next, as you can negate the effects of the masks in the second phase by eliminating enemies in the three vales of Visages.

But, assuming you took this boss on at full strength like I did, it’s a fight that will truly test your skills at this point in the adventure.

7

Serpenphare

Slippery Little Snake

Unlike the other overworld mega-boss tied to an achievement, Sprong, Serpenphare actually proves to be quite a challenge. They boast some fast-paced combos, and attacks that can silence your party, limiting you to just base attacks.

Plus, they hit insanely hard, especially if you take them on as soon as Esquie learns to fly. But that isn’t the true reason why they occupy this list.

The reason they find themselves here is that they can suck the AP out of all our party members, meaning you need to have a pretty good AP refill strategy to deal decent damage from one turn to the next. Not to mention, when they absorb too much, they become a nuke that will explode and potentially take you out in the blast.

Combine this with its ability to add shields liberally, and you have a boss that will humble you if you don’t tailor your strategy to their respective skills. Don’t let that fluffy tail fool you; this snake has fangs.

6

The Paintress

Final Boss Fake-Out

As you work your way through The Continent toward the Monolith, you’re expecting The Paintress to be the grand finale. Our naive little party of heroes soon gets their eyes opened to the bigger fish to fry after this battle concludes, but the good news is that the fight is still worthy of all the build-up.

It’s a tough fight where you will need to avoid her deadly Void Meteors, master her gradient attacks, and more. But really, the reason why this fight poses such a challenge is that you still don’t have Painted Power, and the 9,999 damage cap is really starting to weigh heavily on your party at this point.

This means that you need to lean into multi-attack strategies, and master each combo The Paintress throws your way, which is easier said than done. However, as mentioned, there are many harder tests to come.

5

Renior

Papa Don’t Preach

The paintress may be the big bad that is advertised throughout the majority of the game, but in the end, the final boss you’ll face up to will be none other than Maelle’s papa. Although he’s not overcome with fatherly love, he will be more than happy to lay you out if you give them the opportunity.

This boss is not only the most cinematic of all, but one of the most deadly, as Renoir will call upon the power of the Axons to make use of their buffs and most deadly attacks, while introducing a third Axon into the mix.

Plus, the guy has a number of insane attacks of their own, such as his Void Cross, or calling upon the family canvas in his second phase. A lot of it is more flashy than it is deadly, but critically, a lot of it isn’t as well, and will one-shot you if you aren’t careful.

It’s a fight with many moving parts, one that tests endurance, and one that boasts one of the most incredible soundtracks of all. Which, in this game in particular, is quite the accolade.

4

Lampmaster (Painted Workshop)

So Many Limbs

When you finally solve the Painted Workshop puzzle and unlock the hidden area of this mysterious area, you’ll come across a rather familiar foe.

By this point, you will likely have fought a good few versions of the Lampmaster since your first encounter at the Stone Wave Cliffs. However, none compare to the Painted Workshop’s rendition.

This is effectively a wild game of Simon Says, where you’ll need to watch the order in which the lamps light up, and free aim to shoot them to avoid dealing with the devastating attack that comes after. The only issue is that it’s very tricky to actually see and take action on these shots, making this a fatal memory game.

But even beyond that, this Lampmaster has awkward combo timing, hits like a truck, and even applies blight for good measure. This creature puts all Lampmaster bosses that came before to shame, so don’t underestimate them; they aren’t like the rest.

3

Painted Love

Cohesive Parenting

The Endless Tower is a true test of Clair Obscur combat mastery, asking the player to fight just about every enemy variant at their most powerful.

Which means you’ll need to understand what Luminas work best for each scenario, what characters are best equipped for each fight, and what weaknesses you can exploit to make it to the next trial.

However, all 32 trials that came before combined aren’t anywhere near as challenging as the last one, where you’ll face off against Painted Love, assumedly the painted versions of Aline and Renoir. It’s basically like fighting those two at once, and that’s as horrible as it sounds.

This duo is incredibly powerful, with a moveset that includes a number of very awkward combos. Not to mention that the Paintress clone is able to heal themselves with one of their combos, which can make the match drag out even longer. They say love hurts, and seeing how hard it hits, I can see why now.

2

Clea

Hey Soul Sister

We don’t get to see much of Maelle’s enigmatic sister throughout the game’s phenomenal plot, but one thing that is immediately clear is that she is insanely powerful. So, when you finally beat all the Nevrons in the Floating Manor and gain access to the area housing her painted creation, you know you’re in for one hell of a fight.

In truth, this fight isn’t difficult due to needing a refined build or an airtight strategy. In fact, just about anything you want to run will work. The reason why this is so tricky is that Clea will heal herself if you take damage to any of her attacks, effectively meaning this fight will rage on forever unless you learn her combos to a tee.

Of course, you could refine your setup so that you deal more damage than she can heal and overpower her. However, that requires just as much effort and skill to accomplish.

It’s essentially a fight that demands perfection, otherwise you’ll feel like you’re running in place, driven mad by the canvas just like poor Aline.

1

Simon

Expedition Zero, Zero Mercy

Simon is Clair Obscur’s very own super boss, and boy, does he live up to the billing.

Every boss that came before heading to The Abyss in Renoir’s Drafts to fight this Expedition Zero member will feel like child’s play by comparison.

Their first phase is pretty tough as they call one-shot you with ease, their combos are reasonably tough to master, and if your teammates happen to die in battle, they will be erased from the battlefield, largely rendering your revive tints useless.

However, this is nothing compared to the second phase, where Simon’s health bar gets even spongier, and their combos become nothing short of insane.

It requires exquisite timing just to stay alive, but you’ll also need an airtight build if you want to melt their health bar before you inevitably mess up a combo by a fraction of a second.

It’s a match-up comprised of fine margins and big damage counters, and only those who have truly mastered all that Clair Obscur has to offer will stand a chance.

NEXT

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33: All Gestral Beach Challenges & Rewards

This guide explains all Gestral Beach challenges and rewards in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Released

April 24, 2025

ESRB

Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence

Developer(s)

Sandfall Interactive

Publisher(s)

Kepler Interactive

Engine

Unreal Engine 5

Cross-Platform Play

No