If You Still Haven’t Figured Out How To Play Monoco In Clair Obscur, Try These 10 Incredible Skills

While Monoco is easily one of the best and most loved characters in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, he isn’t very popular when it comes to actual gameplay. This is likely due to the fact that he has such a wide variety of skills compared to other characters, and they take quite a bit of work to unlock. Add to this the fact that controlling his mask mechanic is not easy, and can feel like a completely random luck of the draw if you don’t have a set skill rotation figured out.

Monoco’s diverse skill selection is widely underutilized by most players due to the above factors, but if you’re overwhelmed trying to figure out which skills to use, the following selections are a great place to start. Most players feel confined to using Monoco as a support build, which isn’t a bad strategy, but he’s an excellent damage dealer as well if you have the right skills available, particularly for a Break build.

1

Break Point: Take A Break

Break Point Completely Fills & Then Breaks Enemy Break Bars

While every character has excellent Gradient skills by design, I would argue one of the best in the entire game belongs to Monoco. His Rank 3 Gradient Skill, Break Point, outclasses just about every other Gradient skill because it not only fills a target’s entire break bar, but it also breaks them automatically. Aside from Sciel’s End Slice, which has ridiculous damage potential, Break Point takes the cake for Gradient attacks.

As with every Gradient Skill in Clair Obscur, you’ll need to increase Monoco’s relationship to Level 7 before unlocking Break Point, which means you’ll have to wait until the endgame before you’re able to put it to use. However, it’s an essential skill for difficult endgame bosses, and well worth saving up Gradient charges for.

2

Sakapatate Fire: Burn Baby Burn

Apply Burn Stacks & Deal Extreme Fire Damage To All Enemies

One of the best Monoco skills to complement a full party build that emphasizes Fire and Burn elements is the Sakapatate Fire skill, which is easily his most powerful Almighty Mask skill. You’ll need to defeat an Ultimate Sakapatate with Monoco in the active party to get this, which can be encountered in the Endless Tower in Stage 7, Trial 3, or in the Monolith and/or Endless Night Sanctuary.

Related

I Love Clair Obscur, But Let’s Face It: There’s One Game Mechanic That Makes Zero Sense

I still don’t understand why you can exceed 100% Critical Hit Chance in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and it’s been bothering me since launch.

Sakapatate Fire is an incredible Fire skill that will deal three hits of extreme Fire damage to ALL enemies, while simultaneously stacking 3 Burn per hit. That’s an easy 9 additional Burn minimum, which can be enhanced with various Burn Luminas and/or Pictos, such as Double Burn. Fueling Break is highly recommended if you use this skill regularly alongside Monoco’s various Break skills.

3

Duallist Storm: Lord Almighty

Deal Increased Extreme Physical Damage With Almighty Mask

Duallist Storm is another one of Monoco’s Almighty Mask skills that absolutely crushes single-target enemies. You can collect a Dualliste foot much earlier in the Endless Tower at Stage 1, Trial 3, or you can even find one at the Flying Manor if you take the path to your left from the entrance. Either way, this is an excellent skill that deals four hits of extreme Physical damage and can also Break enemies.

Further, if Duallist Storm is upgraded, meaning you use it while in Almighty Mask, it will deal increased damage with every hit. This is a serious damage-dealer when used from Almighty Mask, and will be effective against a majority of enemies since very few are resistant to pure Physical damage.

4

Creation Void: Random Or Not, Here I Come

It’s Not Random If There’s Only One Target

While the Creation Void skill might seem like it’s designed for multiple targets, it’s actually one of the best single-target attacks you can use for Monoco if there’s only one enemy in the encounter. This is because it will deal a total of three hits on random targets, but if there’s only a single opponent, all three will automatically hit that enemy. What makes this skill especially powerful is that if you do hit the same target with all three hits, damage is increased each time.

This is on top of the fact that Creation Void deals extreme Void damage, and it will deal even further increased damage if upgraded in Caster Mask. All these factors combine to give Creation Void some of the highest single-target damage possible, especially when enhanced with effects from various weapons in Clair Obscur, as well as Pictos and Lumina passives that potentially enhance damage even more, such as Roulette.

5

Obscur Sword: You Don’t Know The Power Of The Dark Side

Deal High Dark Damage Against Powerless Enemies

The Obscur Sword skill is a Heavy Mask skill that deals five total hits against a single target, which is good enough in itself. However, it also deals Dark damage, which is incredibly effective against certain enemy types, and it can also be enhanced if you’ve applied the Powerless debuff against your target. This is an especially effective strategy for Monoco because he has various ways of applying Powerless, such as his Eveque Spear skill.

Related

10 Rarest Trophies & Achievements In Clair Obscur Most People Never Get

While there are quite a few easy trophies in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, there are also some incredibly rare ones that most players don’t get.

Powerless is a debuff that reduces the amount of damage an enemy deals by 20%, and is well worth applying whenever possible. If Obscur Sword is cast from Heavy Mask, you’re dealing five hits of high Dark damage against a Powerless enemy with increased damage for the upgraded attack, which equates to an incredible amount of damage. You can get this from the Obscur enemies in Crimson Forest or Stage 8, Trial 3 of the Endless Tower.

6

Lampmaster Light: Walk Toward The Light

Scales Up Damage Every Time It’s Used In An Encounter

Lampmaster Light might be the highest damage-dealing skill available to Monoco, and possibly even to any character in the game, at least after Maelle’s Stendahl skill was nerfed. It deals increased damage every time you use it in a given encounter, stacking up to five times. It also deals increased damage when cast from Almighty Mask, and we’re talking serious numbers here.

If that wasn’t enough, it deals high Light damage to all enemies, meaning you’re dealing some of the highest possible damage in the game after five uses in Almighty Mask, and it’s going to hit every enemy instead of just a single target. You can get this skill from Stage 2, Trial 3 of the Endless Tower, or by solving the Painting Workshop mystery.

7

Chevaliere Thrusts: Double The Trouble

Deal Double Damage With Critical Hits

Yet another high damage skill that affects all enemies is Chevaliere Thrusts. This is a Heavy Mask skill that, when upgraded, deals increased damage with three hits to all enemies. However, what makes this skill special is that it causes critical hits to actually deal double damage. Needless to say, this skill has serious potential if you have your Critical Rate up to 100%, and you’re pretty much guaranteed to deal double damage with each hit.

The Chevaliere Thrusts foot can be picked up by defeating the Steel Chevaliere enemies found at various points in the game. There are a couple in the open Continent northwest of Monoco’s Station, but you can also defeat them in Stage 10, Trial 2 of the Endless Tower.

8

Glaise Earthquakes: I’ve Got The Power

Buff All Allies With Powerful & Deal Earth Damage To Boot

Once you defeat a regular or Chromatic Glaise Nevron enemy with Monoco in your party, you’ll unlock Glaise Earthquakes. This is one of my favorite support skills for Monoco because it doubles as an offensive skill, dealing three hits of Medium Earth damage to all enemies while also applying Powerful to yourself. If upgraded with Heavy Mask, it will also apply Powerful to all allies as well, making it one of Monoco’s top support skills.

Related

For A Nearly Flawless Game, Clair Obscur Dropped The Ball With This Missing Mechanic

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is an incredible game overall, but there’s one missing mechanic that is hard to believe they didn’t include.

Glaise enemies can be found at various points in the game, including Stage 6, Trial 2 of the Endless Tower, as well as Yellow Harvest, Falling Leaves, and The Chosen Path. If you decide to try to get the skill in The Chosen Path area, make sure you choose Monoco for the far-left canvas, as each canvas initiates a 1v1 duel and the chosen character cannot be used for the remaining canvases.

9

Cultist Blood: A Worthy Sacrifice

Deal Increased Damage By Losing Most Of Your Health

Cultist Blood is a very unique skill that sounds bad on paper but is absolutely worth it if you have the proper Luminas equipped. This is a Heavy Mask skill that will deal three hits of medium Dark damage to all enemies which will be increased if upgraded using Heavy Mask. However, the main feature of this skill is that it drops Monoco’s health by 90% to deal even more increased damage.

This might not seem like it’s worth it, but if you have the At Death’s Door Lumina and/or Pictos equipped, as well as the SOS Luminas (i.e., SOS Power, SOS Shell, and SOS Rush), you’re in business. Further, if you can avoid getting hit and have Clea’s Life active, you can mitigate this health loss quite easily.

10

Grosse Tete Whack: Hit ‘Em Where It Hurts

Deal High Physical Damage & Apply Defenceless

Grosse Tete Whack is yet another Heavy Mask skill that I’d highly recommend, but it’s one that many players miss out on and prevents many from getting the Monoco Skills Trophy, “Feet Collection”. Grosse Tete is one of the few enemies you can’t find in Endless Tower, and if you missed out on the skill in the open Continent, you’ll have to go to Flying Manor to unlock it.

Grosse Tete Whack deals high single target damage that can be increased when upgraded, but it will also apply Defenceless to the enemy. Defenceless is a debuff that increases damage received by 25%, and it will last three turns when applied with Grosse Tete Whack. Overall, this is another one of Monoco’s excellent skills in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 that will give you a major advantage, and if you’ve been struggling with a sound strategy for him, any of the skills listed here will change your game up entirely.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Systems

9/10

Released

April 24, 2025

ESRB

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

Developer(s)

Sandfall Interactive

Publisher(s)

Kepler Interactive