One of the first big bosses you can fight in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 are the hulking Burgeons. These creatures are as tall as skyscrapers and can be difficult to fight at the start of the game when you're more under-leveled and don't have the proper combat builds.
During the first few hours of your game, you'll also likely come across a side quest which asks you to help a small Burgeon become a big one. Whether you like it or not, you'll have to come face-to-face with a Burgeon at some point. Here are some tips on how to beat a Burgeon in Clair Obscur Expedition 33, and where you can find them for the side objective.
Where to find a Burgeon
If you come across The Small Burgeon location while perusing the overworld, you'll meet the tiny creature itself. For it to become its normal size, it needs the skin of the same-looking creature, which are the gigantic Burgeons.
Step 1: Your first run-in with a Burgeon will likely be in the Flying Waters. At some point you'll make it to a fork in the road that isn't so obvious. Instead of going left toward the lampposts and buildings, make a right through the tall kelp.
Step 2: Head down this path and you'll find your way to a Burgeon. I fought this Burgeon before I discovered The Small Burgeon quest, so by that point you may have already fought this guy.
Step 3: Other than the Flying Waters, you'll come across numerous Burgeons while traversing the overworld. You can choose to initiate combat with them or pass by them, but if you're looking for a fight or for Burgeon Skin, you'll want to start combat with them. Just be careful you're not initiating a fight with a Burgeon that's at a much higher level than you are, so just make sure you're prepared and you go into the fight with the proper Pictos and Luminas.
How to fight and beat a Burgeon
The Burgeon is a unique boss due to the fact that it'll take one of your three party members out of the fight early on. You'll be stuck with two fighters most of the time, so here's how to deal with that.
Step 1: At the start of the fight before the Burgeon's first turn, make sure to use any crucial moves that may be inaccessible for most of the fight. I say this because on the Burgeon's turn, it will swallow one of your party members, making them unusable for quite awhile.
In this case, it may be wise to use these first few turns to buff or debuff the enemy. That way, when someone inevitably gets swallowed, they may have been able to help in the fight in some way. For example, you should take this time to use Gustave's Powerful skill that applies the Powerful buff to his allies for three turns in case the Burgeon swallows him.
Step 2: Once your party member is swallowed, you have to figure out how to synergize your party's moves with only two members. By this, I mean think about how your two characters can help each other. In my first Burgeon encounter, it swallowed Lune, leaving Maelle and Gustave.
Maelle has the ability to apply Burn with her Spark ability, which can help her get into the Virtuose Stance if she uses Swift Stride after. Gustave can benefit from this with his From Fire move which not only deals damage, but can heal himself if the target Burns. On the flip side, Gustave can use Marking Shot to Mark the target, and Maelle's Percée move has increased damage to Marked targets.
Step 3: You should note that the Burgeon is weak to Lightning damage. Gustave has the best Lightning damage moves at this point, but if he's gone, Lune may have some if you've unlocked them in her skill tree. Your best bet is to have Gustave in play, since your goal here is to deal Lightning damage and Break the enemy.
Once you Break the Burgeon and Stun it, it will cough up the swallowed party member. But first, you must use skills that say "Can Break" on them. For kill two birds with one stone, gain enough charges to use Gustave's Overcharge ability to its fullest. This move deals high Lightning damage depending on your Charges built up, and it can Break the enemy.
Step 4: The Burgeon has a manageable but annoying move set that can hinder your progress in the fight. One of its moves will spit miasma on you, damaging your party member and inflicting Exhaust on them. This Status Effect prevents your character from gaining AP from any source, which makes it difficult to use any skills that cost a lot of AP.
Avoid this by dodging the miasma. Once the Burgeon spits out that green miasma, wait one full second before dodging. This is a slow-moving spit that you'll want to dodge right before it lands on you. In one turn, it can spit out four balls of miasma.
Another move it has is a 4-hit combo. First, it will perform a slower body slam on you. Then it'll wind up its arm to then hit you three times with its fist in quick succession. If it's a 5-hit combo instead, the Burgeon will slam its left hand into you two times slowly, then three time in quick succession with its right hand.
Step 5: Once you finally Break the Burgeon and Stun it, it will spit out the swallowed party member. The rest of the fight is a lot easier from this point on, and you should be able to take it out pretty quickly after that. Deal as much damage as you can during the time that the Burgeon is Stunned, since he'll have to skip his next turn.
Once you defeat any Burgeon, one of your rewards is that Burgeon Skin. Give that to the tiny Nevron in The Small Burgeon area, and you'll receive a reward for your efforts once you wait for it to transform and come back later.
