Despite the dangers awaiting across the Continent in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, one of the most entertaining and valuable companions you’ll encounter is Esquie—a legendary, cheerful deity who claims to have existed since the beginning of time. Beyond his charming personality, Esquie plays a vital role in helping your party explore the world through his unique set of abilities.
To access every hidden path and secret area across the Continent, you’ll need to unlock Esquie’s various traversal powers—including swimming and flying. Here’s how to find Esquie and begin unlocking his abilities.
How to Unlock Esquie in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33?
You’ll see Esquie for the first time in the second part of Act 1, immediately after you’ve finished the main quest in Gestral Village. When you’ve developed enough in the story, Chef Golgra will open up an entrance to Esquie’s Nest, which is east of the village. That’s where you’ll encounter Esquie in a rather humorous and light-hearted cutscene that will launch you into an unforgettable side quest.
Unlocking Esquie’s Abilities
In Chef Golgra’s opinion, Esquie’s hands hold the key to essential movement skills, like the ability to swim and fly. These skills are needed to travel to remote places, such as swimming across the sea to locate The Paintress.
But Esquie will not give these powers freely. To start unlocking them, he requests your party to go and get a lost rock named Florrie, whom he thinks was stolen by his “neighbour,” Francois. He even recommends recouping it by force if necessary.
Dealing with Francois and the Real Florrie
En route to fight Francois, armed with the information that Francois is hiding inside Esquie’s Nest, be on the lookout for a secret Mime boss that happens to be waiting inside. This foe shall reward you with the Sciel’s Baguette costume—a fashionable compensation for the aggravation.
After you obtain and defeat him, the reluctant turtle hands over what seems to be Florrie. But returning it to Esquie, he finds out it’s not the actual one, either. He finally recalls that the actual Florrie was lost along the Stone Waves Cliffs. Through this first quest, Esquie is available to call upon during your overworld travels, beginning with simple ground movement.
As the narrative unfolds and your relationship with Esquie matures, you will unlock more of his exploration skills, such as underwater diving.
How to Get the Underwater Esquie Ability?
Progress to Act 3
The underwater diving ability won’t become available until Act 3 of the game. Make sure you’ve progressed the main story up to this point.
Increase Relationship Level with Esquie to Level 6
Esquie’s skill is based on your relationship level with him. To unlock the diving skill, you need to be at relationship level 6. You can advance this by participating in hangout events with Esquie at the camp. These usually unlock after major story events. If you have missed the earlier hangouts, no need to panic—you can replay them sequentially by talking to Esquie several times at the camp.
Complete the Final Hangout Event
At level 6, there will be a special event for a hangout. You will find that Esquie learns about his neighbour, Francois, who has been keeping a rock that has the power to dive. You will accompany Esquie to his nest, share a very short battle with Francois, and, after the battle, Esquie will get the ability to dive underwater.
Things to Keep in Mind
- Regularly Interact with Esquie: To avoid missing any relationship opportunities, it’s best to talk to Esquie regularly at camp after pivotal story events.
- Prepare for the Confrontation: Although the run-in with Francois is short, prepare your party with enough equipment and healing before starting the last hangout event.
- Explore Thoroughly: Once you have unlocked the diving skill, go back and explore areas of water you cannot access to find new loot and quests.
How to Use Esquie’s Diving Ability?
Once unlocked, Esquie can now dive into areas highlighted by glowing blue lights on the surface of the water. These areas tend to hold valuable items, such as the Colour of Lumina, and could lead to secret quests or lore-filled areas. Venturing into these areas will yield great rewards and further your knowledge about the world of the game.
