Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 devs had an internal competition to see who could hit for the most damage – and players broke their record "in like 1 week"

It seems that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 players are besting Sandfall Interactive at their own RPG – in just one week, they managed to hit damage numbers developers couldn't.

Speaking in a recent interview with Pirate Software head Jason "Thor" Hall, game director Guillaume Broche recalls a moment in which the Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 community surprised developers. Sandfall held "an internal small competition" to see "how high we can hit with a single hit," according to Broche, but fans had the devs' damage beat pretty quickly: "the players broke it [the record] in like one week."

Before players showcased their own skill at the RPG, Broche says lead VFX artist Léo Paris was "the top contender" for most damage output at Sandfall. His record didn't last too long, however, as a player "took the throne online and now he's engaging with him on Twitter." At this point in the interview, art director Nicholas Maxson-Francombe chimes in to also allude to the "constant posts" between Paris and the fan.

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Maxson-Francombe explains that the online thread saw the score "constantly going up" as the two would add their new records to it. Broche then expresses his bewilderment at fans' sheer ability to conjure up the most "broken" builds the RPG has to offer, allowing for all the more damage to be done: "The speed at which players found broken builds and everything – I mean, it was a testament to how much they love the system."

A testament indeed – Broche's words instantly remind me of the game's big Maelle nerf that came after devs said they "clearly overdid it" when boosting Stendahl, a skill many used to decimate bosses and reach ridiculously high damage records. Hitting such numbers certainly isn't as easy anymore, but fans are still killing it – now if only broken builds could carry us through the "ultra hard" Gestral Beach minigames, too.

Playing the new RPG yourself? Here are our best Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 tips to read if diving in.

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After spending years with her head in various fantastical realms' clouds, Anna studied English Literature and then Medieval History at the University of Edinburgh, going on to specialize in narrative design and video game journalism as a writer. She has written for various publications since her postgraduate studies, including Dexerto, Fanbyte, GameSpot, IGN, PCGamesN, and more. When she's not frantically trying to form words into coherent sentences, she's probably daydreaming about becoming a fairy druid and befriending every animal or she's spending a thousand (more) hours traversing the Underdark in Baldur's Gate 3. If you spot her away from her PC, you'll always find Anna with a fantasy book, a handheld video game console of some sort, and a Tamagotchi or two on hand.

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