Best Monoco build in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Monoco is the de facto support unit in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. He is arguably the most versatile playable character in the game — thanks to the sheer breadth of his moveset — but he shines among the other damage-focused characters.

Monoco is meant to set up advantageous scenarios for two other DPS party members to capitalize on. Monoco can fill up the enemy’s Break bar or even help take care of shields. He’s also able to match damage ,should the need arise, as he’s like Lune — a character who works just as well in a support role as a DPS role.

If you’re interested in the best for your gestral buddy, this Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 guide will break down the best Monoco build, including his best weapons, attributes, and skills to prioritize.

Best Monoco build in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Monoco can act as a DPS unit, but his skills are better-used in a support role. Unlike Lune — who can definitely go toe-to-toe with the other damage-focused units — Monoco can’t quite compete at that high of a level, which is fine; he isn’t designed to. A team with Monoco on support is different from a team with Lune on support, as it is still offense-focused.

The best Monoco build in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is:

• Attributes: Agility and Defense
• Weapon: Joyaro
• Skills: Potier Energy, Benisseur Mortar, Chevaliere Piercing, Stalact Punches, Sakapatate Explosion, and Portier Crash
• Pictos: Immaculate, Energising Parry, and Empowering Parry

Monoco joins your party in Act 2, and as soon as you can allocate his attributes, you want to fully invest in Agility. His best weapon in Act 2, the Nusaro, scales very well with Agility, and you can increase your attack, speed, and defense all at once. Extra points should go to Vitality for survivability.

In Act 3, Agility is still the best attribute to prioritize because Monoco’s overall best weapon, the Joyaro, also scales well with Agility. Leftover points should go into Defense because it scales well with the weapon, and Agility and Defense are great stats, no matter how you decide to use Monoco.

Best attributes for Monoco

Your attribute spread for Monoco will look pretty similar across Acts 2 and 3, with one key difference.

In Act 2, prioritize Agility. You’ll want him to attack early, if not first, and be able to survive long enough to support your team with damage or utility.

In Act 3, completely max out Agility as it is still his best attribute. Defense comes into play in Act 3 with the Joyaro weapon, as Agility and Defense are both used for scaling. On top of that, Agility and Defense are the support attributes and are necessary for any support unit.

Best weapon for Monoco

The best weapon for Monoco is the Joyaro.

This weapon is missable, but luckily, you can receive it from two locations. You can defeat the Lampmaster in Flying Manor (not to be confused with the Lampmaster boss at the end of Act 1) or you can get it from the Ultimate Sakapatate in Endless Night Sanctuary.

The weapon scales well with Agility and Defense, Monoco’s best attributes, and has good passive abilities. Joyaro allows Monoco to start the battle in his Almighty Mask form, allowing for an enhanced version of whatever skill you decides to use on turn one.

However, since you must beat endgame super bosses to receive it, you’ll probably hang on to the Nusaro until then. The Nusaro has similar benefits as the Joyaro instead, it rewards you for parrying and allows you to access enhanced versions of your skills as well.

Best Pictos and Luminas for Monoco

The best Pictos for Monoco are those that provide a decent mix of health and offensive stats and something to offset his primary weakness — the high AP cost of his skills. To that end, the best Pictos for Monoco are Immaculate, Energising Parry, and Empowering Parry. Below are the detailed descriptions of what these Pictos do and the stats they grant bonuses to.

• Immaculate — Speed and Crit Rate. 30% increased damage until a hit is received.
• Energising Parry — Health. +1 AP on successful Parry.
• Empowering Parry — Speed and Crit Rate. Each successful Parry increases damage by 5% until end of the following turn. Taking any damage removes this buff.

While these Pictos cover Monoco’s weaknesses, they do require a level combat prowess to really work. Full stop: If you want to use Monoco to his fullest in your team, your parries must be on point. As for Monoco’s Luminas, you want ones that grant more AP, parry effects, Break, or a damage boost.

We recommend using the following Luminas, depending on how many Lumina Points you have.

• Dead Energy II
• Energising Start II
• Rewarding Mark
• Marking Shots
• Auto Rush
• Breaking Counter
• Breaker
• Full Strength
• Inverted Affinity
• Augmented First Strike
• Augmented Counter II
• Sweet Kill
• Painted Power
• Exposing Attack
• Longer Powerful
• SOS Power
• Glass Canon
• Teamwork
• Tainted
• Warming Up

Best skills for Monoco

The best skills for Monoco are the following:

• Potier Energy: Gives 1-3 AP to all allies. Caster Mask: Gives 1 additional AP.
• Benisseur Mortar: Deals medium single target Ice damage. 3 hits. Change to Almighty Mask if target is Marked. Caster Mask: Increased damage.
• Chevaliere Piercing: Deals single target Physical damage through Shields. 6 hits. Damage increased for each Shield on the target. Agile Mask: Increased damage.
• Stalact Punches: Deals medium single target Ice damage. 4 hits. High Break damage. Heavy Mask: Increased damage.
• Sakapatate Explosion: Deals medium Lightning damage to random enemies. 3 hits. Critical hits trigger an additional hit. Caster Mask: Increased damage.
• Portier Crash: Deals high Physical damage to all enemies. 1 hit. Can Break. Heavy Mask: Increased damage.

Unlocking Monoco’s best skills takes a bit more effort than it does for characters, since you must find and defeat requisite enemies with Monoco in your party to unlock those skills. For a while, you’ll need to play with a lower-powered Monoco before you’re able to unlock his full potential (though you’ll get there in time, don’t worry).

Potier Energy is your best support skill, while your other skills are for filling in any gaps in your offense. Monoco is perfect in the first position of your team setup as he’s able to dictate the pace of the match, either with a strong damaging start or by granting AP to your main damage deal — whether Maelle, Lune, or Sciel — so they can set up their one-shots.