South Park: The Fractured But Whole is Ubisoft’s sequel to 2014’s The Stick of Truth, but while it still takes place in the same snowy, Colorado town, its combat has been completely overhauled along with its progression system, making it a different beast this time around.
With its fundamentals having been altered, those accustomed to The Stick of Truth‘s mechanics will have some learning to do here. Though it isn’t the most difficult of games, we still have a selection of tips that will certainly aid you on your adventure that we wish we knew before stepping foot into South Park for a second time.
South Park: The Fractured But Whole Tips: Always choose Call Girl
Call Girl is your most useful ally by a considerable margin, with her boasting two of the greatest attacks in the entire game. With the majority of the game’s attacks limited to just a few tiles ahead of the player, Call Girl being able to target an enemy from pretty much anywhere on the field with her Phone Destroyer power is incredibly useful, with it dishing out damage along with lowering their defenses.
Her ultimate move is pretty handy, too, with it targeting every enemy on the field and again lowering their defenses. This is particularly valuable in large-scale battles, with most ultimates only covering a specific area of the field or, in some cases, targeting an individual opponent. Call Girl’s ability to deal out reasonable amounts of damage both in close proximity and at range ensures that she should always have a place on your team, as there isn’t a single encounter in the game where she doesn’t come in handy. Unlock her in the U-Stor-It facility and never look back.
Also: South Park Fractured But Whole Class Guide: Every Power and Which Classes You Should Choose
South Park: The Fractured But Whole Tips: Play on the hardest difficulty setting
South Park: The Fractured But Whole is a particularly easy game from start to finish, so if you’re playing through its first few hours and find that you’re toppling every enemy you come across with ease, then you’ll likely have a more enjoyable time if you up the difficulty level as soon as possible. While it’s still not too challenging on this setting, you’ll at least struggle a little bit with some of its bosses and more challenging enemies, allowing its surprisingly strategic combat system to really shine.
South Park: The Fractured But Whole Tips: Choose powers that complement each other
You will eventually have access to 10 classes in The Fractured But Whole, with each class boasting four unique powers. It can be overwhelming to know which ones to choose from at first, but examine each of them (you can use our handy guide to do that) and you’ll notice that many complement one another perfectly. For instance, the Cyborg class boasts a move that can pull in up to four nearby enemies, while the Martial Artist can dish out damage to every enemy standing near them. This means that both moves combined make for a devastating one-two punch that can potentially debilitate an entire enemy team.
Certain classes also work well when combined with one another. For instance, opting for moves from a DPS class such as the Brutalist and combining them with self-healing abilities can make you nigh-on unstoppable, with you able to both dish out and endure a lot of punishment. You could also combine a singular, high-power ranged attack with healing abilities and status effects, dispatching enemies from a distance while ensuring that your team on the front line remains healthy. There’s a lot of room for experimentation in The Fractured But Whole, but rather than choosing a selection of incongruous powers, instead make sure that
South Park: The Fractured But Whole Tips: Buy Artifacts from vendors
With South Park: The Fractured But Whole being a relatively easy game, I found myself being forced to visit vendors very infrequently. The game is very liberal when it comes to handing out healing potions, so aside from the odd revive serum stocking up on items wasn’t a necessity. However, these vendors shouldn’t be ignored as you progress through the game, with them routinely selling Artifact recipes that will significantly increase your Might.
In one particular part of the game I was given access to a side-quest with a recommended Might level of 500. At this point I was considerably below that particular level, but after purchasing a couple of Artifact recipes from the various vendors throughout the town, I reached the level with ease. As such it’s always best to routinely check in on vendors whenever you’re passing through the town, and checking to see if they’ve got Artifacts for sale that are a higher level than your own.
South Park: The Fractured But Whole Tips: Don’t worry about your first class choice
Most RPG players will spend some time deliberating over which class they should choose, given that it will affect every aspect of the game from there on out. However, in The Fractured But Whole this is less of an issue, as not only will you frequently be given access to new classes throughout the game, but eventually you will be allowed to select powers from any of them, mixing and matching them at will.
There are a total of 10 classes in the game, each boasting four unique superpowers including an ultimate ability. Continue playing through the game and you’ll be given the option of selecting powers from three of them, before Cartman allows you to pick and choose from the full roster at your own discretion. As such, don’t worry if you pick a class that you’re not sure about, as soon enough you’ll have enough powers that you won’t even remember which class you started out as.