Last updated: 5 September 2026

How to Beat Simon in Expedition 33

Simon is widely regarded as one of the toughest fights in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 — an optional superboss that tests every defensive skill the game has taught you. He hits like a truck, has three phases, and a party member who dies on his turn is removed from the fight for good, so mistakes are brutally punished. This guide covers where to find him and how to beat him. It contains late-game spoilers.

01Spoiler Warning & Finding Simon

This guide spoils a hidden Act 3 superboss and its reward — turn back if you want to find it yourself.

Simon is an optional secret boss, not a main-story fight. He waits in The Abyss, reached through Renoir's Drafts — an underwater path you can only access once you have unlocked Esquie's swimming ability. Come at level 90 or higher with fully upgraded weapons; he is balanced as an endgame challenge well beyond the main final boss.

02Why Simon Is So Hard

Simon is a different level of difficulty from the rest of the game:

• Three phases, each with new and faster attack patterns.
• An enormous health pool that demands sustained, efficient damage over a long fight.
• Several attacks can wipe or cripple your party if you fail to parry or dodge them, and if a character dies on Simon's turn he removes them from the fight outright — they cannot be revived for the rest of the battle.
• Defense is mandatory, not optional — you cannot simply out-heal his damage, so you must read and answer his attacks cleanly.

03Preparation Before the Fight

Do not attempt Simon underprepared — the fight rewards a fully optimised party:

1. Reach a high level and finish your characters' core builds before challenging him.
2. Equip your best Pictos and Luminas — prioritise survivability, AP generation, and crit damage.
3. Bring your strongest weapons and make sure attribute investment matches their scaling.
4. Stock healing and revival items and any consumables that mitigate big hits.
5. Practise your parry timing on lesser bosses first — Simon punishes sloppy defense instantly.

04Fight Strategy

Winning is about flawless defense and steady, efficient damage:

• Prioritise survival over greed — take guaranteed safe damage rather than risking an instant-kill attack.
• Learn each phase's tells — his attacks are consistent, so deaths early on are how you learn the patterns.
• Parry to build AP, then spend it on your highest-damage skills during safe windows.
• Use a strong single-target carry (a built Maelle or S-Rank Verso) to chew through his health pool.
• Keep your healer alive — losing your sustain mid-fight against his health pool usually ends the run.
• Stay patient across all three phases — a clean, slow win beats an aggressive death every time.

Beating Simon rewards Simoso, one of the strongest weapons in the game — a fitting prize for clearing the toughest fight.