While Monoco is easily one of the best and most loved characters inClair Obscur: Expedition 33, he isn’t very popular when it comes to actual gameplay. This is likely due to the fact that he has such a wide variety of skills compared to other characters, and they take quite a bit of work to unlock. Add to this the fact that controlling his mask mechanic is not easy, and can feel like a completely random luck of the draw if you don’t have a set skill rotation figured out.
Monoco’s diverse skill selectionis widely underutilized by most players due to the above factors, but if you’re overwhelmed trying to figure out which skills to use, the following selections are a great place to start. Most players feel confined to usingMonoco as a support build, which isn’t a bad strategy, but he’s an excellent damage dealer as well if you have the right skills available, particularly for a Break build.
1Break Point: Take A Break
Break Point Completely Fills & Then Breaks Enemy Break Bars
While every character has excellent Gradient skills by design, I would argue one of the best in the entire game belongs to Monoco. His Rank 3 Gradient Skill,Break Point,outclasses just about every other Gradient skillbecause it not only fills a target’s entire break bar, but it also breaks them automatically. Aside from Sciel’sEnd Slice, which has ridiculous damage potential, Break Point takes the cake for Gradient attacks.
Filling and Breaking an enemy’s Break Bar will Stun them and cause them to take increased damage.
As with every Gradient Skill inClair Obscur,you’ll need toincrease Monoco’s relationshipto Level 7 before unlocking Break Point, which means you’ll have to wait until the endgame before you’re able to put it to use. However,it’s an essential skill for difficult endgame bosses,and well worth saving up Gradient charges for.
2Sakapatate Fire: Burn Baby Burn
Apply Burn Stacks & Deal Extreme Fire Damage To All Enemies
One of the best Monoco skills to complement afull party buildthat emphasizes Fire and Burn elements is theSakapatate Fireskill, which is easily his most powerful Almighty Mask skill.You’ll need to defeat an Ultimate Sakapatatewith Monoco in the active party to get this, which can be encountered in the Endless Tower in Stage 7, Trial 3, or in the Monolith and/or Endless Night Sanctuary.
Sakapatate Fire is an incredible Fire skill that willdeal three hits of extreme Fire damage to ALL enemies, while simultaneously stacking 3 Burn per hit. That’s an easy 9 additional Burn minimum, which can be enhanced with various Burn Luminas and/or Pictos, such asDouble Burn.Fueling Breakis highly recommended if you use this skill regularly alongside Monoco’s various Break skills.
3Duallist Storm: Lord Almighty
Deal Increased Extreme Physical Damage With Almighty Mask
Duallist Stormis another one of Monoco’s Almighty Mask skills thatabsolutely crushes single-target enemies.You can collect a Dualliste foot much earlier in the Endless Tower at Stage 1, Trial 3, or you can even find one at the Flying Manor if you take the path to your left from the entrance. Either way, this is an excellent skill that deals four hits of extreme Physical damage and can also Break enemies.
Further, if Duallist Storm is upgraded, meaning you use it while in Almighty Mask, it will deal increased damage with every hit. This isa serious damage-dealer when used from Almighty Mask, and will be effective against a majority of enemies since very few are resistant to pure Physical damage.
4Creation Void: Random Or Not, Here I Come
It’s Not Random If There’s Only One Target
While theCreation Voidskill might seem like it’s designed for multiple targets, it’s actually one of the best single-target attacks you can use for Monoco if there’s only one enemy in the encounter. This is because it will deal a total of three hits on random targets, but if there’s only a single opponent,all three will automatically hit that enemy.What makes this skill especially powerful is that if you do hit the same target with all three hits, damage is increased each time.
You can get Creation Void’s foot by defeating a Creation enemy at Stage 11, Trial 2 of the Endless Tower or finding one in Renoir’s Drafts.
This is on top of the fact thatCreation Void deals extreme Void damage,and it will deal even further increased damage if upgraded in Caster Mask. All these factors combine to give Creation Void some of the highest single-target damage possible, especially when enhanced with effects from variousweapons inClair Obscur, as well asPictos and Lumina passivesthat potentially enhance damage even more, such asRoulette.
5Obscur Sword: You Don’t Know The Power Of The Dark Side
Deal High Dark Damage Against Powerless Enemies
TheObscur Swordskill is a Heavy Mask skill that deals five total hits against a single target, which is good enough in itself. However, it also deals Dark damage, which is incredibly effective against certain enemy types, and itcan also be enhanced if you’ve applied the Powerless debuffagainst your target. This is an especially effective strategy for Monoco because he has various ways of applying Powerless, such as hisEveque Spearskill.
Powerless is a debuff that reduces the amount of damage an enemy deals by 20%, and is well worth applying whenever possible. If Obscur Sword is cast from Heavy Mask, you’re dealingfive hits of high Dark damage against a Powerless enemywith increased damage for the upgraded attack, which equates to an incredible amount of damage. you’re able to get this from the Obscur enemies in Crimson Forest or Stage 8, Trial 3 of the Endless Tower.
6Lampmaster Light: Walk Toward The Light
Scales Up Damage Every Time It’s Used In An Encounter
Lampmaster Lightmight be the highest damage-dealing skill available to Monoco, and possibly even to any character in the game, at least afterMaelle’s Stendahl skillwas nerfed.It deals increased damage every time you use it in a given encounter,stacking up to five times. It also deals increased damage when cast from Almighty Mask, and we’re talking serious numbers here.
If that wasn’t enough,it deals high Light damage to all enemies, meaning you’re dealing some of the highest possible damage in the game after five uses in Almighty Mask, and it’s going to hit every enemy instead of just a single target. You can get this skill from Stage 2, Trial 3 of the Endless Tower, or by solving thePainting Workshop mystery.
7Chevaliere Thrusts: Double The Trouble
Deal Double Damage With Critical Hits
Yet another high damage skill that affects all enemies isChevaliere Thrusts. This is a Heavy Mask skill that, when upgraded, deals increased damage with three hits to all enemies. However, what makes this skill special is that it causescritical hits to actually deal double damage.Needless to say, this skill has serious potential if you have your Critical Rate up to 100%, and you’re pretty much guaranteed to deal double damage with each hit.
Many players advocate forJoyaroas a preferred Monoco weapon, but I personally thinkSidarois his best-in-slot weapon, with ridiculous upside potential assuming you are consistently using upgraded skills.
The Chevaliere Thrusts foot can be picked up by defeating the Steel Chevaliere enemies found at various points in the game. There are a couple in theopen Continent northwest of Monoco’s Station,but you’re able to also defeat them in Stage 10, Trial 2 of the Endless Tower.
8Glaise Earthquakes: I’ve Got The Power
Buff All Allies With Powerful & Deal Earth Damage To Boot
Once you defeat a regular orChromatic Glaise Nevronenemy with Monoco in your party, you’ll unlockGlaise Earthquakes. This is one of my favorite support skills for Monoco because it doubles as an offensive skill, dealing three hits of Medium Earth damage to all enemies while also applying Powerful to yourself. If upgraded with Heavy Mask, it will alsoapply Powerful to all allies as well,making it one of Monoco’s top support skills.
Glaise enemies can be found at various points in the game, including Stage 6, Trial 2 of the Endless Tower, as well as Yellow Harvest, Falling Leaves, and The Chosen Path. If you decide to try to get the skill in The Chosen Path area,make sure you choose Monoco for the far-left canvas, as each canvas initiates a 1v1 duel and the chosen character cannot be used for the remaining canvases.
9Cultist Blood: A Worthy Sacrifice
Deal Increased Damage By Losing Most Of Your Health
Cultist Bloodis a very unique skill that sounds bad on paper but is absolutely worth it if you have the proper Luminas equipped. This is a Heavy Mask skill that will deal three hits of medium Dark damage to all enemies which will be increased if upgraded using Heavy Mask. However, the main feature of this skill is that it drops Monoco’s health by 90% to deal even more increased damage.
This might not seem like it’s worth it, but if you have theAt Death’s DoorLumina and/or Pictos equipped, as well as the SOS Luminas (i.e.,SOS Power,SOS Shell,andSOS Rush), you’re in business. Further, if you can avoid getting hit and haveClea’s Lifeactive, you can mitigate this health loss quite easily.
10Grosse Tete Whack: Hit ‘Em Where It Hurts
Deal High Physical Damage & Apply Defenceless
Grosse Tete Whackis yet another Heavy Mask skill that I’d highly recommend, but it’s one that many players miss out on and prevents many from getting theMonoco Skills Trophy,“Feet Collection”.Grosse Tete is one of the few enemies you can’t find in Endless Tower, and if you missed out on the skill in the open Continent,you’ll have to go to Flying Manor to unlock it.
Grosse Tete Whack deals high single target damage that can be increased when upgraded, but it will also apply Defenceless to the enemy. Defenceless is a debuff that increases damage received by 25%, and it will last three turns when applied with Grosse Tete Whack. Overall, this is another one of Monoco’s excellent skills inClair Obscur: Expedition 33that will give you a major advantage, and if you’ve been struggling with a sound strategy for him, any of the skills listed here will change your game up entirely.
