How to Get Medalum in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

If you’re playing Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, one of the easiest weapons to miss is also one of the strongest: Medalum, a sword designed for Maëlle. Getting it early can completely change how powerful your team feels, but if you don’t know what to do, you’ll walk right past it. Here’s the full guide.

Why Medalum Is So Strong

Medalum’s strength comes from how it interacts with Maëlle’s unique stance:

Start of battle advantage: Medalum automatically puts Maëlle into Virtuoso Stance at the beginning of combat.
+200% damage: Virtuoso Stance doubles her output immediately.
Sustained power: With skills like Fleuret Flurry and Mezzo Forte, you can keep her locked in Virtuoso Stance almost indefinitely.

The result? Maëlle can deal massive damage very early in the game, often hitting the 9,999 cap before Act One is over.

How to Get Medalum Early

You’ll first have the chance to earn Medalum when your expedition reaches Gestral Village during the story. Here’s what to do:

Fight through the arena: You’ll face four champions in a series of battles.
Final champion choice: For the last fight, you must pick one expedition member to fight alone.
Pick Maëlle: Winning this duel with her is the only way to unlock Medalum in Act One.

If you send Gustav or Lun, the rewards are just upgraded versions of weapons you already own. They’re decent, but nothing compared to Medalum.

What If You Miss It?

Missed your chance? Medalum can still be obtained later, but it’s much harder. You’ll need to return to Gestral Village and defeat Chief Golgra. She’s a tough opponent, and most players won’t be able to beat her until much later in the story.

The smart move is to grab Medalum as early as possible.

Other Rewards in Gestral Village

While you’re in Gestral Village, there are a few more things you should not miss:

Roulette Picto

Found at the end of a gallery behind a riddle door.
Its effect is simple but powerful: every attack either deals half damage (50%) or double damage (200%).
Stacking Roulette with Virtuoso Stance allows Maëlle to hit absurd numbers early.

Free Lumina Points

A Gestal in the bazaar will exchange expedition entries for Lumina Points. These points are vital for unlocking more passives through the Lumina system, so always hand them over when you can.

Alternatives to Medalum

If you didn’t get Medalum, you still have some solid options:

Sarum Sword (Bazaar Merchant): Activates Virtuoso Stance whenever Maëlle breaks an enemy’s shield. Later perks let her break two shields with Free Aim and deal damage through shields.
Bedilum (Behind Paint Spike): Found behind a blocked paint spike near Gestral Village. You’ll need the Paint Break ability from rescuing lost Gestals to reach it.

These aren’t as strong as Medalum but will carry Maëlle until you can upgrade again.

Pictos and Luminas Explained

To make the most of Maëlle (and any character), you need to understand Pictos and Luminas:

Pictos: Items you equip that boost stats and grant special abilities.
Mastery: After winning four battles with a Picto equipped, its ability is unlocked permanently.
Luminas: Once unlocked, that ability becomes a Lumina, which can be applied to multiple characters at once using Lumina Points.

Tip: Always equip new Pictos right away, even if they don’t look useful. Mastering them early saves you a grind later.

The Break Mechanic

Damage alone won’t carry you in Expedition 33 — you also need to understand Break.

Every enemy has a Break Bar below their health.
It fills up when you land Free Aim shots, parry attacks, or use break-focused skills.
Once the bar is full, a star icon appears. Using a skill marked “can break” will then shatter the bar.

Breaking an enemy does three things:

Stuns them, often removing their next turn.
Strips their defenses.
Makes them take extra damage.

This is especially useful against tricky enemies like Mimes, whose invisible wall halves your damage until they’re broken.

Bonus Early-Game Tips

Find Lost Gestals: Collect at least 5 to unlock Paint Break, which lets you destroy paint spikes hiding loot and weapons.
Don’t kill White Neons: Help them instead. Later in the game you’ll be rewarded with 100 Lumina Points if you spared them.
Always buy Color of Lumina: Merchants often sell it, and it permanently expands your Lumina slots.
Follow the lamps: Lamps mark the main story path. Use them as guides while you explore side areas for loot.

Final Thoughts

Getting Medalum for Maëlle early makes Expedition 33 much easier — she becomes one of the strongest characters in your party almost instantly. Choose her in the Gestral Village arena fight, pair Medalum with Roulette Picto, and you’ll be tearing through Act One with ridiculous damage.

If you missed it, don’t stress — there are other strong weapons, and you can reclaim Medalum later. But if you’re starting fresh, make sure to grab it the first time.