Review
Expedition 33 brings so much excitement to the world of turn-based RPGs, giving players all the tools they need to craft the perfect build and tear through the lands with as much force as possible. There are plenty of options when it comes to abilities, picots, and weapons, and one of the most important aspects of any build is deciding how to use elements most effectively.
To succeed, players need to keep an eye out for elemental weaknesses and resistances, and swap their attacks accordingly. Every element has its uses and purpose, with certain enemies becoming cake-walks with the right attacks, but some provide more consistent utility overall and will be able to carry players through even the toughest of battles.
8 Earth
Viable In The Right Situation, But The Weakest Of The Bunch
The Earth element is one of the types that doesn’t bring a whole lot to the table. There are plenty of weapons and skills that have Earth damage attached to them, and if players ever encounter an enemy with a weakness to it, then it is a fine choice to bring out to specifically target that foe.
Aside from fringe situations, Earth is often considered to be on the weaker end of the elemental chart, as while it doesn’t do any less damage or have any inherent weaknesses, there are just fewer enemies to target with it and a lack of real incentive to choose it over a more versatile option that will serve players better in their adventure.
7 Dark
All The Evils In The World
Dark damage is a pretty good method of dealing with certain enemies toward the end stages of the game, with several side bosses having weaknesses to it. It is very important to understand the elemental types and where to use them best, so even if early on dark isn’t the most reliable choice, players should keep a weapon around with the element to benefit from it when they need to.
The reason it isn’t as strong as the others is due to the number of enemies that can absorb it, making it pretty ineffective against a good portion of the foes in the game. It’s not enough to make it completely useless, but players just need to pay close attention to their attacks and when best to use the element.
6 Lightning
Damage From The Heavens
Lightning is an above-average damage type that has very few enemies to absorb and a decent number of side bosses that players can target with a nice burst of electrical goodness. Many of the attacks and skills that have lightning attached to them are area hits that shock multiple enemies at once, which means if players see that a whole group is weak to it, then they can clear out the whole fight in one go.
There are very few enemies that have a resistance to lightning, and even those that do are pretty easy to take out overall, so the weakness is basically nonexistent. Aside from that, it is a generally decent element that will take players far and can be used to great effect when the time is right.
5 Light
The Guidance In The Darkness
Light attacks are pretty common and easy to come by, and part of that might be lore-related, but it could also reflect the player’s need to quell the darkness that runs through the world. The number of enemies that can absorb light attacks is very small, which means that players have very little in their way when it comes to using it during a fight.
Light attacks are always a reliable way of dealing consistent damage without the pain of it being resisted, but there are a few cases where it won’t deal the most damage for the player and can be swapped out accordingly to another, more situational one when needed.
4 Physical
As Simple As It Gets
Physical damage is the most basic kind of attack that players can use in Expedition 33, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have its uses. It’s one of the safest damage types that can reliably get through almost every enemy with no trouble, and is especially good for unknown opponents with an unknown resistance.
There are a lot of builds that focus on picto combinations with specific element types, but for the most part, players can happily build around a simplistic playstyle that focuses more on dealing damage in a simple way than targeting weaknesses.
3 Void
Nothing To Stand In The Way
Void damage is sort of a counterpart to physical in that basically zero enemies have an inherent resistance to it, but it also doesn’t provide too many opportunities to target a weakness. The main reason void is slightly better than physical is the few enemies that do have that weakness toward the later stages of the narrative.
Even if there aren’t many chances to amp up the player’s damage by switching to void, the ability to deal consistent amounts of damage regardless of the enemy is a powerful tool, which is made even better by the few moments where it does focus down a vulnerability.
2 Ice
Slowing The Enemy To A Halt
Ice is an element that often brings with it some added bonuses that can really help players against the toughest opponents. While individual attacks from a weapon won’t slow the enemy, many ice abilities come with a status effect that makes the difference in avoiding those extra-fast swings.
It is a rather double-edged sword, as there are a few enemies that will be more than happy to push through the frost without much trouble. But at the same time, there are many more foes along the way that will fall much quicker thanks to a chilly blast from a weapon or skill.
1 Fire
Bringing The Burn
Fire damage is a great tool for any player to add to their arsenal that will reliably help them deal with groups of enemies, individual targets, and even the final few bosses with no problems at all. A few opponents have resistance to fire, yet the damage remains high regardless, especially in fights that go the distance.
Part of what makes fire so good is the abilities that use it often apply burn, which ticks over time and provides a lot of extra damage throughout many turns. Dishing out a boatload of burn ticks all at once can shred through any enemy, and if they happen to also be weak to fire, then that damage becomes even more devastating.
