Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 master laughs in the face of the RPG's challenge modifiers, as not even the game's toughest boss with 100 times more health can withstand 1.4 trillion damage

One of the best parts of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is the freedom the RPG gives you to break its combat system apart, and oh boy, one player has done it. It turns out that not even the game's toughest boss – buffed up with 100 times more health than usual thanks to the newly introduced challenge modifiers – is any match for a 1.4 trillion-damage attack.

Since Clair Obscur developer Sandfall Interactive nerfed Maelle and her overpowered attack and (broken sword Medalum) shortly after the RPG's launch, it forced players to become more creative. Now, in the single most impressive video of the game I've ever seen, one buildcrafting genius has made the scythe-wielding Sciel the star of the show in an incredibly long (but oh so satisfying) fight against postgame superboss Simon on New Game+, Expert difficulty, and the aforementioned 100x health challenge modifier applied.

And the best part? They've also explained exactly how to replicate it. Known on Reddit as Rephian (but Coccobello on YouTube), the setup involves stacking as many speed-buffing Pictos on Sciel as possible, as well as giving her a selection of Luminas to maximise the amount of AP she accumulates, and equipping her Charnon weapon. Verso is also here for the ride, but only temporarily – he shows up to buff Sciel and help smash Simon's break bar before promptly dying and sitting on the sidelines for the rest of the lengthy battle.

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When I say lengthy, I mean it. Coccobello spends the best part of an hour actually setting up the 1.4 trillion attack by using Sciel's unique combat mechanics. The basic loop sees her shoot the enemy to accumulate Foretell, before using Delaying Slash to consume Foretell and gain a Moon Charge.

Thanks to her high speed (as well as debuffs applied to her foe), Delaying Slash also enables Sciel to stunlock Simon – by using it before his turns, he never gets the opportunity to attack at all. Alternatively, she can use Twilight Slash or Dark Cleansing if the next turn isn't Simon's and she doesn't have enough AP for Delaying Slash.

Repeating this process, Sciel is able to keep stacking Moon Charges and consuming Foretell, until she's ready to shift into god mode. In the video, Coccobello racks up 295 Moon Charges and around 2,600 consumed Foretell over the course of about 50 minutes before shifting to the next phase, which requires some very careful planning to pull off.

After first waiting to have two free turns in a row, Sciel debuffs Simon using Doom, before continuing the stunlock by using Delaying Slash. Then on the next pair of free turns, Coccobello uses a Healing Tint on her to give her an extra shield (thanks to the Shielding Tint Pictos), and then Delaying Slash again.

Finally, with yet another pair of free turns, Sciel shoots the enemy to Mark it (increasing damage on the next hit by 50%), before using Fortune's Fury to make her deal double damage on the next turn. Fortune's Fury also puts her into Twilight mode, which – thanks to the amount of Moon Charges stacked before it – gives her an additional 7,700% damage boost.

After that, Coccobello hits what's essentially a detonate button, using Sciel's big Gradient Attack, End Slice, which deals extreme damage but is also buffed based on the amount of Foretell consumed since the start of the fight. Which, by this point, is rather a lot.

All of this comes together in an explosive finish, dealing exactly 1,439,873,207,638 damage in one earth-shattering blow. It's totally unnecessary and wildly over the top, especially given how long it takes to set up, but you can't deny how stylish it is. Poor Simon didn't know what was about to hit him.

One of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's funniest moments was actually "random improv."