Clea is one of the hardest optional boss fights in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 in the Flying Manor, and the most punishing test of parry in the game. If you face her unprepared, the battle will be impossible. She summons Nevrons to do the dirty work while she sits back and heals maximum health if you miss a single parry. This guide will explain everything you need to know to defeat the Clea boss in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, including her location, weaknesses, and attack patterns.
Where to Find Clea in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Clea is locked behind a sealed atelier in the Flying Manor, an optional late-game area floating above the Continent. You can only reach it after Esquie gets flight ability in Act 3.
The Flying Manor is found in the sky between the Forgotten Battlefield and Monoco’s Station. Look for the glass pyramid landmark in the air. From the Central Plaza Expedition Flag, you will see four glass display cases and a locked door across a gap. Speak with the painted boy who stands in the center of the room, and he will explain the condition to unlock Clea’s area.
To open the door, you must beat four returning main bosses you will encounter on four branching paths from the plaza. These are stronger versions of the ones you have fought before:
- Dualliste: The hardest of all. Take down the other three enemies first so you can use their Perfect Chroma Catalysts to upgrade weapons to level 33 before fighting him.
- Goblu: Found via the elevator on the left. Watch for his rhythmic bounce moves.
- Lampmaster: Located down the stairs on the right from the plaza. Ignore the lamps and focus on DPS to rush him down.
- Évêque: Climb the giant frames to reach him. Use Break Skills to break through their resistances to take things under control.
Once all four bosses are defeated, return to the plaza, talk to the boy, and the door to Clea’s encounter will open. Make sure you are at least Level 75, though I recommend being over Level 80 to survive the arena.
How to Beat Clea in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Remember this one important point: Clea heals herself.
Every time she attacks, she will summon a wave of Nevrons. If you fail to parry or dodge even one hit in the combo, she will heal for roughly 450,000 to 500,000 HP. If you get hit multiple times, she can undo your entire last turn of damage right away. The only ways to control the combat are perfect counters, turn manipulation, and overwhelming burst damage.
You can either parry every single strike to prevent the heal or deal so much damage (1 million+ per turn) that her healing doesn’t matter. Ideally, you do both.
Clea Information
- Weaknesses: Void, Light
- Resistances: Physical
- Health Pool: Approximately 10 million HP
Void damage is her vulnerability, so Maelle is very dominant here. Since Clea is resistant to Physical damage but weak to Void and Light, your team composition is very crucial.
Recommended Party Setup
- Maelle: She is non-negotiable. Equip her with Lithum or Barrier Breaker (Void weapons). In Virtuose Stance, she can output the massive damage required to outpace Clea’s healing. Her Gradient attack Gommage can delete half of Clea’s health bar or more when fully charged.
- Sciel: For her speed, use Rush and All Set to give your team more turns. Her Fortune’s Fury skill is excellent for doubling Maelle’s next attack. If you have her Guleson weapon equipped, you can enter Twilight mode to apply Mark automatically. This weapon also adds 3 Foretell stacks along with the effect. Her Gradient attacks can also remove the boss’s health enough to offset a missed parry when needed.
- Lune: This character offers Burns through Hell, burst damage via Elemental Trick into Elemental Genesis, Crippling Tsunami for Slow application, and Rebirth for revivals that grant 2 extra AP.
- Monoco: A solid alternative if you have his Creation Void skill, which will hit Clea’s weakness hard.
You must equip Anti-Stun Lumina on every character. Later in the fight, some attacks will Freeze or Stun you. If you have been stunned, you won’t be able to parry the follow-up, which allows Clea to heal.
Further, Cheater gives you extra turns when you nail perfect moves, greatly increases how many actions you can take, and Painted Power buffs damage across the board. You’ll want to have a few other solid Luminas, too. Augmented First Strike and First Offensive both spike your damage on the opening turn. At Death’s Door increases the attack damage when your health drops low, and Quick Break lets you chain right into another turn after Breaking Clea.
Clea’s Attacks and Counters
| Attack | Description | How to Parry |
|---|---|---|
| Powerful Nevrons | A three-hit attack using Dualliste, Braseleur, and Portier. | A Dualliste fades from the background and performs a quick downward slash, which should be parried. A Braseleur leaps from the right with a hammer slam; parry exactly when it gets close. A Portier jumps from behind Clea for a final slam. Delay slightly and parry as it drops. |
| Violent Nevrons | 5-hit combo with Danseuses and Troubadours. | A Chalier will first sweep horizontally, which you must parry. Following that, two Stalacts slam at once. Jump immediately following the parry. Repeat the same pattern: parry the Chalier, jump the Stalacts. After the third cycle, the Chalier will vanish from the arena. Ice Stalacts will finish with a double punch that must be parried. |
| Nevrons from the Deep | 6-hit combo by four Nevrons – one of the most dangerous attacks. | A Rocher swipes twice with its head, so parry both swipes and immediately do the same for Goblu’s attacks twice from the left. Next, a Bourgeon will perform a slow head slam. Time the parry for this delayed attack. The Bourgeon reveals a Dualliste mid-slash behind it, where you’ll need to react fast with another parry. At 33% HP, Clea adds a mechanic, and this attack receives a deadly variant where the Bourgeon appears instantly and permanently swallows a party member with no counterplay. There’s no getting them back, so you need to burn her remaining health down right away with your remaining squad. |
| Musical Nevrons | 5-hit combo strikes from Danseuses and Troubadours. | Two Troubadours will appear, followed by four Danseuses. You’ll see four vertical energy waves coming at you one after another, and you have to parry each one. The Troubadours will uppercut together after a short pause. Parry right when they start swinging up. That pause between the last wave and the uppercut can catch the players. |
| Agile Nevrons | 7-hit long, single-target combo by many Nevrons. | Two Lanceliers appear with a Benisseur. The Benisseur swings twice back to back, so parry both. Then immediately parry the Lancelier’s stab, and the Benisseur’s third slash. The Benisseur will leap for a fourth delayed attack. As you prepare to parry, watch the back for the Giant Jar—it spins 360 degrees twice before slamming. It has a second delayed slam at the very end of the chain. You need exact timing on the Jar attacks once the Benisseur leaps. |
| Creepy Nevrons | 4-hit combo from two Nevrons. | Three swipes from Noir enemies (watch the left hand). It ends with a Hexga leaping smash; wait until it’s in the air and swinging down to parry. |
| Creepy Nevrons Alternate | 6-hit combo by many Nevrons. | A Cruler slams overhead with its club, which must be parried. A Pelerin will then slash from the left right after which needs another instant parry. Next, parry the Cruler slams and the Pelerin dashes forward, and jump the attack when a Greatsword Cultist lunges from the right. In the end, the Cruler will leap slam after a second’s delay, so parry it as well. |
You cannot play passively. Even with good parries, the fight can drag on too long without burst damage. Use Sciel to stack Foretell. If you use Shadow Bringer (applies Foretell) followed by Phantom Blade (consumes Foretell), you can drop a massive nuke that rivals Maelle’s damage.
From Maelle’s end, build up three Gradient Charges and use her Gommage ultimate from Virtuose Stance that deals massiveheavy single-target Void hit. Further, equip Lune’s Terraquake or Monoco’s Stalact Punches to drive up the Stagger. While breaking the boss only stuns her for one turn, that’s when she can’t heal.
During the first few attempts, just observe Clea’s moves and practice to clean parry them. If you miss even a single parry, she gets the huge heal back, so staying consistent beats aggressive play. When everything is done right, Clea won’t recover health, and it will turn the fight into a battle of attrition you’ll eventually win.
Clea Rewards
- Clea’s Life Picto (Level 30): Recovers 100% health if no damage taken since last turn. Combined with Cheater, this grants full healing on second turns, given you don’t use self-damaging skills first.
- Perfect Chroma Catalyst x1: Increases one weapon to maximum level.
- Grandiose Chroma Catalysts x3: Substantial weapon upgrades.
- Recoat x1: Appearance customization.
After the victory, speak with the painted boy again in Central Plaza, and he will give the Clea outfit for Maelle, Lune, or Sciel. The total of five Perfect Chroma Catalysts you collect from the Flying Manor bosses will let you max out a weapon for each party member, which increases massive damage for the rest of the content and the post-game challenges.
