South Park: The Fractured But Whole: Complete Guide

A guide to South Park: The Fractured But Whole (2017) for new and returning players: how the grid combat works, picking and combining classes, building Might with artifacts and DNA, using buddies, the town-exploration powers, collectibles, and the three DLC packs.

Researched September 2026 — current as of the final PC update released with Bring the Crunch (August 2018). Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

Status note: The game has been finished since 2018. Its last content (Bring the Crunch) and patch came out on 31 July and 1 August 2018. It's single-player and works offline. The Steam version still goes through Ubisoft's launcher and account system (Ubisoft Connect).

Quick Start

1. Choose Casual, Heroic or Mastermind. Heroic is the intended experience. Mastermind is much harder. The joke "skin color" slider in character creation also changes difficulty (it affects money rewards and some dialogue).
2. You start with Speedster, Brutalist or Blaster and unlock the other classes during the story. You end up mixing powers from up to four classes, so your first pick isn't permanent.
3. Might is your power level. It comes from Artifacts and later DNA. Keep your Might at or above the recommended level for a fight and most combat stays manageable.
4. Positioning is half of combat. Attacks hit specific tile patterns. Moving onto the right tile, or knocking enemies into each other, matters more than raw damage.
5. Watch for timed button presses. Pressing on time when you attack increases damage, and pressing on time when you're hit reduces damage. They also build the shared Ultimate bar.
6. Take selfies with everyone. Coonstagram followers unlock story progress, side content and rewards.
7. Keep crafting. Healing items, costumes and artifacts come from collected materials. Craft healing food before hard fights.
8. Come back to earlier areas. Buddy powers (Captain Diabetes, Human Kite, Toolshed, Professor Chaos) and fart powers open routes you couldn't use before.

Combat Basics

Fights take place on a grid that changes shape with the arena. Each turn your character or buddy moves, then uses one of four powers (plus items). Key points:

• Attack shapes. Each power has a pattern (adjacent tiles, a line, a cone, an area, a jump). Before using one, look at the highlighted area to see who it hits.
• Knockback. Many attacks push targets. Push enemies into other enemies, allies' attacks, or hazards like lava and explosive barrels for extra damage.
• Status effects. Bleeding, Burning, Shocked, Gross Out, Confused and others. Stacking damage-over-time effects on high-HP enemies is one of the strongest strategies.
• Timed presses. Hit the prompt when attacking for extra damage, and when defending to reduce damage taken.
• Ultimates. Every character has one, and they draw from a shared bar built by timed presses. Use them to break a bad fight or finish a boss phase.
• Time powers. Story progress gives the New Kid fart-based time powers that can skip enemy turns, pause time to reposition, and more. They're central to several boss fights.
• Environmental hazards and interrupts. Watch for enemies charging big attacks. Hit them with a knockback or status effect to interrupt, or move out of the target tiles.

Healing and revives

Healing comes from powers (healing classes and buddies) and consumable food items. Carry plenty of healing items and a revive option into boss fights. Some bosses have phases that rely on hazards or timers rather than damage.

Classes

There are ten classes in the base game plus two from DLC. Once unlocked, you can equip any four powers from any combination of classes you've unlocked.

Build ideas

• Bleed and burn: Assassin plus Elementalist powers stack damage-over-time effects that melt bosses.
• Healer build: Take Plantmancer's healing and cleansing powers, then fill the rest with control from Psychic or Brutalist.
• Knockback control: Brutalist and Psychic powers push enemies into each other or into hazards.
• Beginner's all-rounder: One ranged attack (Blaster), one area attack, one heal and one mobility attack. You'll be ready for most encounters.

Rebuilding your power set costs nothing, so change it before tough fights.

Might, Artifacts and DNA

• Artifacts go into slots on your character and raise Might. Many also give stat bonuses. Better artifacts come from crafting, looting and story rewards.
• DNA strands unlock later and add more targeted stat boosts. The stats are Brawn, Brains, Health, Spunk and Move.
• Might mostly decides whether a fight is fair. If a fight is too hard, check that your Might matches the recommendation and that your artifact slots are all filled.

Buddies

You take up to three buddies into each fight from a larger roster of Coon and Friends and Freedom Pals characters. Buddies have their own powers and Ultimates. In exploration, some unlock routes:

Tips for picking buddies: bring one who can heal or support, one strong damage dealer, and one who counters the enemy type you're fighting. Rotate them in and out between fights.

Exploration, Collectibles and Side Content

• Selfies and Coonstagram. Selfies with townspeople add followers, and some quests need a follower count. It's easy to skip these, so take selfies as you pass people.
• Crafting materials. Search trash cans, boxes and containers everywhere. Duct tape, glue, sports drink bottles and taco-related items are common ingredients for healing food, costumes and artifacts.
• Toilets. Toilets around town trigger the Don't **** Yourself mini-game (the accessibility update removed its timer).
• Costumes and customization. Collect costumes to change your look. Most have no stat effect.
• Superhero backstories and side quests. Characters give side quests with rewards. Many of them unlock artifacts and costumes.
• Fartkour. Fart powers also help with movement puzzles and reaching hidden areas.

A good habit: after every major story chapter, walk around town with your new powers and clear the places you couldn't reach before.

DLC

The 1 August 2018 update added "You're Dead" hints to Bring the Crunch, so dying twice in an area loads tips and videos. The Summer 2018 update added an Accessibility Option that turns mini-games into single-button inputs, removes timers from hacking and the toilet mini-game, and lets you toggle Inspection Mode instead of holding it.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Ignoring Might. Hard fights usually mean your artifacts are behind. Check your slots and craft upgrades before retrying.
• Staying still. Standing where you are loses fights. Move to where your attack hits several enemies, and out of their telegraphed tiles.
• Skipping timed presses. They add damage, reduce damage and build Ultimates.
• Hoarding healing items. Use them. You can craft more.
• Not updating your powers. New classes give better tools, so review your four powers after each unlock.
• Rushing the story. Side content gives artifacts and followers that make later fights much easier.
• Not interrupting charged attacks. Some enemy attacks can wipe your whole team if you don't stop or avoid them.

Advanced Tips

• Use knockback combos. Push enemies into allies' attack zones, or into each other for collision damage.
• Build damage-over-time stacks. Burning plus bleeding on a tough target can do more than several big hits.
• Use turn order. Look at the timeline and act before a dangerous enemy moves.
• Make status teams. Pair your status powers with buddies who apply the same or complementary effects.
• Play Mastermind with a plan. Bring more healing items, balance Might early, and use Ultimates aggressively.
• Use DLC classes on the main story. Netherborn and Final Girl can be used in the base game once you have the DLC.

FAQ

Do I need to play The Stick of Truth first? No. The Fractured But Whole has its own story and gets you up to speed quickly, though some jokes land better if you've played Stick of Truth.

Can I change class later? Yes. Once you unlock more classes you can mix any four powers from them, so your first choice is only temporary.

What does the skin color slider do? It works as a difficulty setting. It changes money rewards and some dialogue, and it's separate from the combat difficulty (Casual, Heroic or Mastermind).

Is the Season Pass worth it? From Dusk till Casa Bonita and Bring the Crunch are proper story campaigns with new classes. Danger Deck is a combat challenge pack. Get the Gold Edition if it's on sale.

Is there anything I can miss for good? The story is linear, but most side content and collectibles can be revisited as you get new powers. To be safe, take selfies and finish side quests when they become available.

Is it hard? On Casual or Heroic, not especially, as long as your Might keeps up. Mastermind is a real tactics challenge. If you're stuck, lower the difficulty or equip better artifacts and try again.

Sources

• Steam store page and Ubisoft announcements (DLC and title updates)
• South Park: The Fractured but Whole on Wikipedia