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After facing Renoir multiple times throughout Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, the final encounter with the true version of him will finally allow you to banish him from the Canvas. After losing so much, it’s up to the Expedition to take down Mr. Dessendre. This is the final true boss of the gam,e so players will need to know every trick they can to overcome this encounter. This guide will show players how to beat the final boss fight in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
How to Beat the Renoir (Act III) Boss Fight in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
While this battle has a completely different moveset compared to the other encounters with Renoir, he still has no elemental weaknesses or resistances, just like his fight in Old Lumiere and Monolith. This means that you can use any party member you want for this fight.
Party Prep
Like many of the boss encounters in the game, the Burn status effect is one of the most useful that you can apply to the boss since it will provide both some extra damage at the start of every one of Renoir’s turns and can also be used by in tandem with Maelle’s Swift Stride attack to get her to enter Virtuose Stance. Lune can also get extra benefits from her Thermal Transfer skill on Burning enemies so applying Burn is just a useful tip for any encounter.
For Verso, make sure you get the Chevalam weapon from the Chromatic Chevaliere in the Crimson Forest. While you won’t be able to heal, you will start the fight at S-Rank. This means you can deal the most damage possible right at the start of the battle and will constantly be able to use some of his most damaging attacks as long as you don’t get hit. Strike Storm is a 5-hit combo and will deal high damage based on your weapons’ element. End Bringer contains 6 hits and deals extreme Physical damage with even more damage being done if Renoir is Stunned.
Steeled Strike is the most unique of Verso’s skills since it requires 2 turns. When you start the move, your turn will end and you will need to reach Verso’s next turn without taking any damage. If Verso is hit, he will be knocked out of the move and it will be interrupted, meaning the only thing that happens is you just lost a lot of AP and a style rank. If you can get to your next turn, Verso will let out a massive 13-hit combo that deals extreme Physical damage with even more damage done if you’re at S-Rank.
Verso should also use the Powerful ability to give the party the buff of the same name. This will give him and the party more damage for the next few turns. He will need to have an attack that has the ability to Mark. This can be Marking Shot, Defiant Strike, or a Pictos that has a chance to inflict Mark like Marking Shots, especially if you don’t use Sciel and if Monoco is either not being used or lacks Marking skills. These are the moves that you should use with Verso and should couple them with the boss being in Defenseless and Marked while the party also has the Powerful buff to get the most damage out of each attack.
Lune can use any of her Fire moves to apply the Burn status effect and she can use other skills like Ice Lance to inflict Slow on Renoir and decrease the number of turns he gets for a brief time. If you use a variety of elemental attacks, you will eventually be able to build up your Stains and use the Elemental Genesis move. This is an 8-hit combo that does massive damage and since Renoir doesn’t have any resistances or immunities, every single one of the hits from this combo will do massive damage. Lune can also be very useful as a healer so take into consideration how you will recover health if you decide to replace her. If you decide to remove her from the party, make sure Maelle has either Spark or Rain of Fire to fill the Burn gap.
Sciel should bring Marking Cards since it is very useful for building Foretells quickly and it will also Mark the boss to get massive damage potential for follow-up attacks from the rest of the party. I also suggest using moves like Fortune’s Fury and Intervention to get the most out of the team’s turns before Renoir gets his chance to strike back. The former will double the damage of the selected character’s next turn and the latter will allow you to select another party member to instantly play a turn with an additional 4 AP.
As you build up Foretells, you will want to use skills that are multi-hits to make sure you cash out the most damage possible. Sealed Fate is a great choice here since it is a 3-hit combo that is a great option, since if you get Critical Hits, the Foretells won’t be removed, meaning you can follow up next turn to cash out even more damage without having to worry about applying more Foretells. Twilight Dance is also a good move here. While it does consume all Foretells, it contains 4 hits and does extreme damage while also extending Twilight Stance by an extra turn. If you have hit the Twilight Foretell cap, you should consider using this move if you can. Using any of these attacks on Renoir, especially if he’s Marked, can do massive damage. If Lune isn’t in your party, also consider using Grim Harvest as a healing tool since this move will heal the party, with more health being given the more Foretells are applied to the boss.
Maelle should definitely have some Fire-based attacks like Spark and/or Rain of Fire, especially if you decide not to use Lune. As mentioned earlier, the Swift Stride attack will switch her into Virtuose Stance if used when the boss is Burning. She should also have the Last Chance skill if you are confident in your ability to avoid damage. This skill will drop you to 1 HP but instantly switch you to Virtuose Stance and give you 9 AP. You should also have several Gradient Attacks that will switch you into Virtuose Stance at this point in the game, so use them when you can.
Make sure you have Fluent Fury can be useful since it can Break, but I would say her most important moves are Burning Canvas and Stendhal attacks. The former is a 5-hit high Void damage which applies Burn on every hit and will also get increased damage for each Burn applied to the target. The latter is a single strike that deals extreme Void damage. While it removes all Shields on Maelle and applies Defenseless to her, this is one of the most damaging attacks she can do. Offensive Switch or Guard Down are also great additions since they can apply Defenseless to Renoir, making the next few attacks do more damage. With Defenseless and Marked applied to the boss, these attacks will do massive amounts of damage, and with Painted Power, could easily take out the boss in a few strikes.
Monoco can be really useful since he has access to a lot of multi-hit attacks while also being able to buff the party and debuff the boss. The only catch is that you need to make sure you’ve defeated the necessary enemies to unlock these skills. Since this is the final boss of the game’s main story, you should have access to every enemy at this point so you can get any of the moves needed to build a powerful Monoco for this battle. I suggest the Chalier Combo (6-hit high Physical damage combo), Moissonneuse Vendance (3-hit high Physical damage combo that can Break), Hexga Crush (2-hit medium Earth damage, applies Defenseless), Glaise Earthquake (3-hit medium Earth damage, applies Powerful to self, applies to full party if on the Heavy Mask Bestial Wheel), Gault Fury (4-hit low Physical damage and applies Mark, increased damage if on the Balanced Mask), and Dancseuse Waltz (3-hit high Fire damage, damage increases if target is Burning, even more damage if the Bestial Wheel is on the Balanced Mask). If you have a few of these attacks, I would consider using Monoco, but if most of these skills aren’t unlocked yet, definitely use a different party member.
I also have some Pictos suggestions. Firstly, make sure you have Painted Power to remove the game’s damage cap. After defeating The Paintress, this Pictos/Lumina should just be a mainstay on all of your characters. Make sure you have any Luminas that increase gained AP just to make sure you can make sure you can use any move you want when your turn comes around. If you have defeated Sprong, Cheater is also super useful since it allows you to play twice in a row. Shortcut is also really good since it will allow you to instantly play when you drop beneath 30% for the first time in a battle. If you couple this with Last Chance and Shortcut, you can get 3 turns back to back. Since you will likely bounce from full health to low health, I suggest having Full Strength, Immaculate, and At Death’s Door. The first one will give you a 25% damage boost when at full Health, the second one will give you a 30% damage boost until you receive a hit, and the final one will give you 50% increased damage when you drop beneath 10% health.
Here are some additional Pictos/Lumina suggestions that can help take down Renoir:
- Painted Power- Exceed the 9,999 damage cap
- Cheater- Always play twice in a row
- Energizing Turn- Gain 1 AP on turn start
- Any of the Energizing Starts- Gain 1 AP at battle start
- Energizing Parry- +1 AP on successful Parry
- Energy Master- Every AP gain is increased by 1
- Empowering Parry- Each successful Parry increases damage by 5% until the end of the following turn. Taking damage removes this buff
- Dodger- Gain 1 AP on Perfect Dodge. Once per turn
- Shortcut- Immediately play when falling below 30% Health. Once per battle
- Longer Powerful- On applying Powerful, its duration is increased by 2
- Gradient Fighter- 25% increased damage with Gradient Attacks
- Inverted Affinity- Apply Inverted to Self for 3 turns at battle start and gain 50% increased damage while Inverted
- Glass Canon- Deal 25% more damage, but take 25% more damage (Maelle)
- At Death’s Door- Deal 50% more Damage if Health is below 10% (Maelle)
- Critical Moment- 50% increased Critical Chance if Health is below 30% (Maelle)
- Teamwork- 10% increased damage while all allies are alive
Phase 1
Renoir has two pretty straightforward attacks in Phase 1. One is referred to as a combo. This 5-hit sequence starts when he slowly pulls his sword behind his head and, after a very long startup, swings at a party member, releasing a Chroma slash at them. He will then pause with the sword at his side and then, after a pause, perform a second slash. He will then leap at his target and perform quick slashes. For his final strike, he floats into the air and charges a strike above his head. After a pause with the sword above his head, he will slash his sword downward.
The second basic combo is simply referred to as an attack. Renoir slowly swings his sword around his head. When he puts the sword in front of his body, there will be an explosion of Chroma that you will need to jump over. He will then pause with his sword at his head before swiping it past his legs. As the sword passes his legs, another explosion will go off. This one you will either need to dodge or parry.
The other attacks you will encounter during the first phase see Renoir utilize his reality-warping abilities. The first of these attacks is the Void Cross. Renoir will slash the air in front of him, cutting the air with a horizontal and vertical line to form a cross. The large gash is the air created by the slash will slowly collapse in on itself. When the cut becomes barely visible, it will quickly shoot out a wave of Chrama at a target. The other attack you need to look out for is the Black Hole. Renoir will summon a giant orb above his head. This unstable ball is surrounded by a ring which, after a delay, will collapse into the orb with a sound cue. When the ring reaches the center of the orb, it will unleash a single blast at the whole party.
When Renoir drops beneath 50% health, he will summon the Axons: Visages, Sirene, and Reacher. These giants will each provide unique buffs to Renoir for the remainder of this phase.
Reacher will provide Renoir with support, which means he will be equipped with the Powerful buff. Meanwhile, Visages will give Renoir some Shields to protect him. Sirene’s support won’t happen until the end of this phase.
Now that you can avoid damage, all you need to do is take the offensive when it’s your team’s turn. Use Verso and Sciel to Mark the target while Maelle uses her Stendhal attack in Virtuoase Stance to deal massive damage to the boss. Sciel can also use Fortune’s Fury to double a teammate’s damage, and Verso can use attacks like Follow-Up and Steeled Strike to dwindle Renoir’s health. When the boss drops below 10% health, Sirene will heal Renoir, returning him to full health. While this might seem bad, this actually means that Phase 1 is complete. A cutscene will play, which will lead into Phase 2.
Phase 2
At the start of the phase, Renoir will summon the Family Canvas Portrait. When this picture of the Dessendre’s lands on the ground, he will step into it and return with several buffs. These improvements include Powerful, Shell, and Rush. He will also have a completely new moveset that you will need to learn to avoid.
During Phase 2, Renoir has two combo attacks. One is when Renoir attacks “swiftly.” This is a 6-hit sequence. Renoir will perform a slow spin as he approaches a target before pulling his arm behind his head. After a brief pause, he will perform 2 quick slashes back-to-back. After a short delay, he will perform two more slashes in rapid succession. He will quickly attack again and then pause on the left side of the screen. I might appear this is the end of the combo, but he will perform more attacks after twirling in the air.
The other combo sees Renoir attack “frenetically.” This is an 8-hit combo. He will step toward a party member before holding his sword in front of his face. After a brief pause, he will spin before swiping from your right. After a pause to your left, he will swing back to the right. He will then fly back to the left side of the scene without an attack before unleashing a flurry of 4 attacks in quick succession in a steady rhythm. After the end of this combo, he will pause before performing an extra strike, off rhythm from the rest of the combo. Finally, he will spin in the air as the screen goes black and white. Wait for him to stop spinning and, after a brief pause, perform a Gradient Counter. Since you just need to perform a Gradient Counter at the end of the sequence to parry the attack, I suggest dodging the rest of the combo since it will give you a larger window to avoid damage.
The Pool of Darkness sees Renoir fly straight into the air as he spins his sword to face the ground. When an audio cue is played, he will quickly strike down into the ground, letting off a burst of Chroma that targets the whole party. After Renoir plants his sword in the ground and a short pause, a wave of Chroma will surround him, and then another burst of Chroma will be released. This will happen one more time to end the combo.
Renoir can summon Void meteors like the ones you saw during The Paintress boss fight. Instead of forming an arch above the boss, 5 meteors will surround the boss at the points of a star. The meteors will fly out from the star and curve toward the party. The order they are fired is bottom left, top right, top, bottom right, top left.
Renoir will eventually unleash his power.” He will fly around the combat arena, taking pieces of each Axon. After his flight, he will float above the party, in front of the eclipse. He will then fly down to the party’s left. After a sharp sound cue and Chroma surrounds his sword, he will slash at the party. He will briefly pause to your right and the same audio cue and Chroma effect will happen again before he swipes at the party a second time. He will float above the party again. Chroma will surround his hand and, after the audio cue, he will throw a ball of Chroma at the Expedition. He will pause in the air to make it look like the combo is over, but the audio cue will sound again, and he will dive toward the ground to let off one final explosion.
When on offense, use the same approach as the first phase and when you reach a Level 3 Gradient Charge, have Maelle perform Gomage to due massive damage.
When Renoir reaches the final bit of health, he will stop taking damage. Progress the fight to his next turn, and he will perform his Unleash attack. As he takes to the sky, however, Maelle will intercept him and plunge him back down to the ground, bringing this fight to a close. Now, all that remains is the game’s final choice…
You can now defeat the final boss in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Stay tuned to Gameranx for more news, updates, and guides for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 as well as other great games in the future.
