After sinking well over 60 hours into Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 chasing every last trophy and achievement, a few patterns (and painful mistakes) became obvious. The game is built around the number 33: level milestones, 33 music records, and the 33-floor Endless Tower. Leaning into that design turns a messy grind into a clean roadmap.
What finally worked for me was treating the run as three big milestones – level 33, 66, and 99 – and planning all side content around those. The big trap I hit (and I don’t want you to repeat) was missing one of the early music records and having to redo a huge chunk of the game. That’s why this guide frontloads the two missable pieces and then walks you through everything else in an efficient order.
Estimated 100% time: 50-75 hours Overall difficulty: Medium (with a few Hard skill checks like no-hit boss and Endless Tower) Platforms: PS5 (56 trophies including Platinum) / Xbox (55 achievements, no Platinum)
The “33” Structure: How the Game Wants You to 100%
The developers clearly centered Expedition 33 around the number 33, and using that as a mental roadmap makes 100% much easier:
33 Levels: Trophies at levels 33, 66, and 99 (Expeditioner, Trailbreaker, Survivor).
33 Music Records: Required for Connoisseur – two are easy to miss and can lock you out of Platinum.
33 Endless Tower Fights: Required for the “Endless” trophy/achievement.
I’ll use those three level milestones as the backbone of this guide. For every major phase, I’ll frame things as Step → Action → Result so you know exactly what each activity achieves for your 100% run.
Critical Warning: The Only Truly Missable Trophies
Before anything else, you need to protect your run from the two missable music records. Both are required for Connoisseur – Find all 33 music records, which in turn is mandatory for Platinum / 100%.
Missable Record #1 – Prologue Mime in Lumière
Step → Action → Result: Prologue in Lumière → defeat the optional Mime → you earn one unique music record that never reappears.
This fight is in the Prologue, in Lumière, and is very easy to walk past if you’re just following the main objective. Don’t make my early mistake of assuming you can come back later – for 100%, treat this as mandatory.
When: Prologue, before leaving Lumière for good.
What to do: Seek out and defeat the Mime encounter.
Why it matters: Skipping this locks you out of one record and so the Connoisseur trophy.
Missable Record #2 – Act 2 Camp Interaction After First Axon
Step → Action → Result: Early Act 2 → defeat the first Axon → trigger the special camp interaction → you receive another unique music record.
This one is nasty because camp scenes are easy to mash through. After that first Axon in Act 2, be deliberate:
Rest at camp and cycle through available conversations.
Watch for any scene that ends with a record reward.
Do not spam through dialogue — make sure the record is added before you move on.
My advice: As soon as you start a 100% run, write yourself a quick checklist: “Prologue Mime” and “Act 2 post-Axon camp scene”. Do those, and you’ve eliminated the only real run-killers.
Step-by-Step 100% Roadmap (Level 33 → 66 → 99)
Phase 1 – Story Through Act 2 & Level 33 (Lumière to Mid-Game)
Goal of this phase: Clear the early story, secure the missables, and hit level 33 for Expeditioner while picking up easy trophies naturally.
Step → Action → Result: Start the game → progress the Prologue in Lumière → you unlock Lumière (story trophy) and begin your expedition.
Step → Action → Result: Detour to fight the Mime in Lumière → you earn the first missable record for Connoisseur.
Step → Action → Result: Follow the main story through Spring Meadows, Flying Waters, Ancient Sanctuary, Gestral Village → you earn the respective area-completion trophies automatically.
Step → Action → Result: Recruit new party members as they appear → you progress toward Expedition 33 – Unlock all playable characters (usually ~72% of players do this naturally).
Step → Action → Result: Fight regular battles instead of skipping → one character hits level 33 → you earn Expeditioner.
During this phase you will naturally unlock several unmissable trophies:
Area progression: Spring Meadows, Flying Waters, Ancient Sanctuary, Gestral Village, etc.
Key bosses: First Axon, Second Axon, Paintress.
Character unlock: Legend (when Esquie joins), and progress toward Expedition 33.
Efficiency tips from experience:
Start grabbing journals and Lost Gestrals as soon as you see them; it makes Follow The Trail and Lost Gestrals much less painful later.
Experiment early with Gradient Attacks so you can unlock Chroma Proficiency (use a level 3 Gradient Attack) once you’re comfortable with the mechanics.
Don’t worry about grinding yet; normal exploration should take you close to level 33 without effort.
Phase 2 – Finish Story & Reach Level 66 (Trailbreaker)
Goal of this phase: Complete Acts 2–3, secure the second missable record, unlock all characters and traversal, and end the story around level 60–70.
Step → Action → Result: After defeating the first Axon in Act 2 → rest at camp and exhaust interactions → you obtain the second missable music record for Connoisseur.
Step → Action → Result: Continue through Esquie’s Nest, Stone Wave Cliffs, Forgotten Battlefield, Monoco’s Station, Old Lumière → you earn all remaining area-completion trophies.
Step → Action → Result: Progress Esquie’s story and exploration → unlock her traversal abilities (plane, train, and submarine equivalents) → you earn Plane, Train, and Submarine.
Step → Action → Result: Complete character recruitments as they appear → you earn Expedition 33 – Unlock all playable characters.
Step → Action → Result: Fight most encounters you see, with some optional detours → someone hits level 66 → you earn Trailbreaker.
Step → Action → Result: Finish the main story, defeating Monolith and seeing the finale → you unlock Monolith, Back to Lumière, and The End – Reach the end.
At this point you should also be well on your way with relationship and side-content trophies:
Sciel, Monoco etc. – push relationship conversations at camp toward level 7 for their respective trophies.
Curious – most players get this naturally by triggering optional camp scenes.
Time to Spill Some Ink – breaking enemies as part of normal combat.
Paint Cage – breaking a Paint Cage when introduced.
Pro tip: If you care about the no-hit trophy Professional, start identifying which bosses feel easiest for you mechanically. On a later, over-leveled attempt, you can come back and focus purely on dodging and blocking.
Goal of this phase: Hit level 99, clear optional bosses and mini-games, and mop up collectibles before tackling the Endless Tower.
Step → Action → Result: Return to high-yield areas with Nevron enemies → grind efficiently → you push from ~66 to 99 → you earn Survivor – Reach level 99.
Step → Action → Result: Visit Gestral Beach locations (west of Gestral Village, northeast of Flying Casino, west of Monoco Station, southeast of Sirene’s Dress, and south from there) → clear all five mini-games → you earn Gestral Games.
Step → Action → Result: Explore the Flying Manor in Act 3 with Esquie’s flying ability → refight prior bosses and defeat Clea → you earn the Clea trophy.
Step → Action → Result: Track down and defeat optional bosses Serpenphare and Sprong → you earn À On and Sprong.
Step → Action → Result: Return to the Painting Workshop area and finish its mystery → you earn Noir et Blanc.
Step → Action → Result: Keep diving into Renoir’s Drafts with Esquie and defeat Simon → you earn Peace At Last.
Recommended levels:
Optional bosses: aim for level 80+ to make them manageable.
Collectibles and mini-games can be done while you are grinding XP; mix them in to break up the repetition.
Grinding tip from my run: Rotate between 2–3 efficient Nevron spots instead of staying in one area; it keeps combat varied and helps you spot any missed collectibles along the way.
Phase 4 – Endless Tower & Final Collectible Check
Goal of this phase: Clear the 33-floor Endless Tower, then verify that every record, journal, and Lost Gestral is accounted for.
Step → Action → Result: From late-game map, head to the southwest cliffs → enter the Endless Tower → you begin the 33-battle gauntlet for the “Endless” trophy.
Step → Action → Result: Fight your way through all 33 floors (enemies scale upward toward hidden-boss difficulty) → complete the tower → you earn “Endless” – Reach the top of the Endless Tower.
Step → Action → Result: Open your records, journals, and Lost Gestrals menus → compare against a checklist → you confirm all 33 records, all journals, and all Lost Gestrals → you secure Connoisseur, Follow The Trail, and Lost Gestrals.
Endless Tower tips:
Do this at level 99. You’ll still be challenged; doing it earlier turns it into a slog.
Stock up on healing and support items; treat it like a lengthy boss rush.
Because you face variants of almost every enemy type, your knowledge from the story and optional bosses really pays off here.
Category Breakdown: What Each Group of Trophies Demands
1. Story Trophies (Non-Missable)
All main-story trophies will unlock just by completing the narrative:
Area progress: Lumière, Spring Meadows, Flying Waters, Ancient Sanctuary, Gestral Village, Esquie’s Nest, Stone Wave Cliffs, Forgotten Battlefield, Monoco’s Station, Old Lumière.
Key bosses: First Axon, Second Axon, Paintress, Monolith.
Milestones: Back to Lumière, The End.
Character: Legend (Esquie joins the party).
You cannot miss these unless you stop playing the game.
2. Exploration & Collectibles
Connoisseur – 33 music records: Includes the two missable ones (Prologue Mime and Act 2 camp interaction). Treat this as a run-long project.
Follow The Trail – All journals: Thoroughly check corners of each major area; journals are easy to skip when rushing objectives.
Lost Gestrals – All Lost Gestrals: Many are tucked into side paths and optional nooks. Use your traversal upgrades to revisit old areas.
Unlock rates for these sit in the ~40% range, which tells you many players quit before cleaning them up. If you stay methodical, they’re very manageable.
3. Character Levels & Relationships
Expeditioner – Reach level 33.
Trailbreaker – Reach level 66.
Survivor – Reach level 99.
Expedition 33 – Unlock all playable characters.
Sciel, Monoco etc. – Reach relationship level 7 with specific party members.
My rule of thumb: never leave a camp without exhausting available conversations. It’s easy, free progress toward the relationship trophies, and doesn’t require grinding.
4. Optional Bosses & Advanced Combat
Clea – Beat Clea in the Flying Manor side area.
À On – Beat the Serpenphare.
Sprong – Beat Sprong.
Peace At Last – Beat Simon via Renoir’s Drafts.
Professional – Defeat a boss without taking any damage.
“Endless” – Reach the top of the Endless Tower.
These trophies explain why 100% completion rates drop sharply. My experience: doing them after hitting level 99 makes them demanding but fair, especially when paired with knowledge of enemy patterns from the main story.
5. Skill & System Mastery
Plane, Train, and Submarine – Discover all of Esquie’s traversal abilities.
Chroma Proficiency – Use a level 3 Gradient Attack.
Time to Spill Some Ink – Break an enemy.
Paint Cage – Break a Paint Cage.
Most of these unlock as you naturally experiment with mechanics. If something hasn’t popped by late game, deliberately set up a battle where you focus on that requirement (e.g., build to Gradient level 3 and fire it off for Chroma Proficiency).
6. Mini-Games & Puzzles
Gestral Games – Win all of the Gestral games across the five Gestral Beach spots.
Noir et Blanc – Solve the Painting Workshop’s mystery.
Curious – Witness an optional camp scene.
These are more about patience than skill. I found it easiest to tackle Gestral games and the Painting Workshop once I had strong traversal, then sweep the map in one focused session.
Platform Notes: PS5 vs Xbox
On PlayStation 5, you’re chasing 56 trophies, including the Platinum (The Greatest Expedition in History), which unlocks after every other trophy. On Xbox, you pursue 55 achievements covering the same in-game tasks but without a Platinum-style meta reward.
Aside from that difference, requirements and strategies are effectively identical. All of the advice in this guide applies equally to both platforms.
Time & Difficulty Breakdown for 100%
Main story (Acts 1–3): 30–40 hours.
Leveling to 66: Mostly covered by story and light side content.
Grinding 66 → 99: ~10–15 hours in Nevron-heavy areas.
Optional bosses & side content: 5–10 hours.
Endless Tower (33 fights): 2–4 hours depending on build and familiarity.
Collectibles (journals, records, Lost Gestrals): 3–5 hours if you’ve been picking things up along the way.
If you stay organized and follow the level 33 → 66 → 99 structure, you’ll avoid most backtracking and keep the grind feeling purposeful instead of random.
TL;DR – Key Steps to 100% Expedition 33
Protect the run:
Defeat the Mime in the Prologue (missable record #1).
Trigger the Act 2 camp interaction after the first Axon (missable record #2).
Phase 1 – To Level 33:
Clear early areas (Lumière → Gestral Village).
Recruit all characters you can.
Start picking up journals, Lost Gestrals, and records.
Phase 2 – Finish Story & Level 66:
Complete Acts 2–3 and all main bosses.
Unlock Esquie’s traversal abilities.
Push relationships at camp toward level 7.
Phase 3 – Post-Game & Level 99:
Grind Nevron spots until level 99.
Beat Clea, Serpenphare, Sprong, and Simon.
Win all Gestral games and solve the Painting Workshop mystery.
Earn Professional by no-hitting an easy boss while over-leveled.
Phase 4 – Endless Tower & Cleanup:
Clear all 33 floors of the Endless Tower for “Endless”.
Cross-check all 33 records, all journals, and all Lost Gestrals.
On PS5, your Platinum The Greatest Expedition in History pops once everything else is done.
The breakthrough for me was realizing how tightly Expedition 33 is structured around its number motif. Once I aligned my route to levels 33 / 66 / 99 and the 33 records / 33 Tower fights, the entire 100% journey felt intentional instead of overwhelming. Follow this roadmap, respect the two missable records, and you’ll turn a daunting list of 56 trophies / 55 achievements into a clean, satisfying checklist.
