You’ve just started Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and honestly, Gustave feels like a tanky, reliable older brother. He’s the first guy you control, he’s got a cool bionic arm, and he swings a sword and a pistol like it’s no big deal. But there’s a trap here. Most players treat him like a basic "hit-it-until-it-dies" fighter, and then they wonder why their damage falls off a cliff when the bosses get weird.
Basically, if you aren't obsessing over his Overcharge meter, you're playing Gustave wrong.
The game doesn't explicitly tell you how to break the math, but once you figure out the synergy between his multi-hit skills and crit-focused Pictos, he goes from a steady damage dealer to a literal nuke. Let’s get into how to actually build him so he doesn’t become an "underdog" by the time Act 2 rolls around.
The Overcharge Trap: Why You Need to Count Hits
Gustave’s whole gimmick is Overcharge.
Every time he lands a hit, his arm builds a charge. At 10 charges, the arm glows red, and you can unleash a massive Lightning attack. Simple, right? Well, sort of. The mistake most people make is using basic attacks to get there. It’s slow. It’s boring. It gets you killed because you’re dragging out fights that should have ended three turns ago.
You need to focus on his multi-hit skills. Strike Storm is the gold standard here. It hits six times. If you land a critical hit, you get two extra charges. Do the math: if you crit even once or twice during that animation, you’ve basically filled 80% of your meter in a single turn.
🔗 Read more: Struggling with Wordle Today October 11? Here is Why Everyone Is Tripping Up
Key Skills You Actually Need
- Strike Storm: This is your bread and butter. It’s a 6-hit combo that scales with your weapon element.
- Overcharge: The finisher. Only use this when you’re at 10 charges. Using it at 5 charges is a waste of AP and a waste of potential.
- Marking Shot: Don't ignore this. It applies Mark, which doubles the damage of the next attack. If Gustave marks a target and then follows up with a maxed-out Overcharge on the next turn? That's how you see those 9999 damage numbers early on.
- Lumière Assault: Your early-game filler. It hits five times and generates extra charges on crits. It’s basically a mini-Strike Storm for when you’re low on AP.
The "Glass Cannon" Picto Combo
There’s a build floating around the community that sounds completely insane, but it works. It involves the Auto-Death Picto.
Yeah, you read that right.
This Picto literally kills Gustave the second the battle starts. Why would you do that? Because it grants a massive +26% Critical Rate. When you pair it with the Powerful Revive Picto—which gives him the Powerful buff and another +11% Crit Rate when he’s brought back—you turn him into a critical hit machine.
With almost 50% base crit, every use of Strike Storm or Lumière Assault is guaranteed to max out your Overcharge meter instantly. You lose one turn reviving him, sure, but the payoff is a character who can stance-break a boss in record time.
If that feels too risky, just stick to Rewarding Mark. It gives you +2 AP whenever you hit a marked enemy. Since Gustave should be marking targets anyway, it’s basically free energy to keep your expensive skills running.
Weapons and Stats: Don't Just Follow the Scaling
A lot of guides will tell you to just pump points into whatever stat your weapon says it scales with. Early on, that's actually kinda bad advice. The scaling in Act 1 isn't strong enough to justify ignoring Agility and Luck.
✨ Don't miss: 5e 2024 subclass homebrew guide: What Most People Get Wrong
If Gustave is slow, he isn't building charges. If he isn't critting, he isn't building extra charges.
- Agility: You want him moving often. The more turns he takes, the faster that arm glows red.
- Luck: This is non-negotiable for a Gustave build. More Luck equals more Crits, which equals faster Overcharging.
- Might: This is your raw damage. Only start dumping points here once your Crit rate feels "comfy" (around 30-40%).
As for weapons, the Gaulteram is the king of Act 1. You find it in the Yellow Harvest area. It’s an Earth-based sword and pistol combo that hits like a truck. Later, you’ll probably want to swap to the Cruleram for the Ice damage, especially since fewer enemies resist it. But honestly? Just keep your gear upgraded at the Curator. A well-upgraded "weak" weapon is always better than a base-level "strong" one.
The Act 2 Reality Check
Without spoiling the story, things change for Gustave.
A lot of players get frustrated because his skill tree feels "small" compared to characters like Maelle or Lune. That’s intentional. Gustave is designed to be the foundation. While the girls are swapping stances and managing elemental stains, Gustave is there to provide the heavy lifting.
In Act 2, look out for Analyze Weakness. It marks every single enemy on the field. If you’ve equipped the Gaulteram, this skill becomes even better because it activates a double-marking ability. It turns Gustave into the ultimate support-DPS hybrid. He sets the pins up, and the rest of the party knocks them down.
🔗 Read more: Shadow of the Tomb Raider: Why It’s Actually the Trilogy’s Best Entry
Actionable Build Checklist
- Prioritize Luck and Agility over raw Might until you hit mid-game.
- Equip Pictos that grant AP on Perfect Dodges or Mark triggers (like Dodger or Rewarding Mark).
- Always lead with Marking Shot if you’re fighting a boss or an elite enemy; the 50% damage boost is worth more than a single sword swing.
- Upgrade your weapon at every possible opportunity at the Curator. Gustave’s base stats are high, but he needs the weapon's Attack Power to keep up with the scaling of late-Act 1 enemies.
The best way to see if your build is working is to watch the Overcharge meter. If you aren't hitting 10 charges every two turns, you need more Luck or more multi-hit skills. Stop playing him like a standard knight and start playing him like the engineer he is—efficient, calculated, and explosive.