South Park: The Fractured But - Classes, Ranked (2024)

The quirky and appropriately inappropriate game, South Park: The Fractured But Whole, puts the player in the shoes of a New Kid struggling to save the iconic mountain town from crime, villainy, and chaos. To do this, they must become a superhero and adopt one of 12 character classes, each with their own unique and powerful abilities.

Eventually, you do get access to all of them when Cartman lifts the rules, as well as a hybridized class mixing the abilities of various archetypes. Nonetheless, for the bulk of the game you'll need to pick and choose; so here are the classes that have the most to offer and are strongest on their own.

Updated on June 28, 2024, by Bobby Mills: South Park: Snow Day hit systems across the board in 2024, to a muted response. It has its moments, but its always-online PvP and half-baked tower defence gameplay mostly just made fans yearn for the days of Stick of Truth and The Fractured But Whole. Hence, what better time than now to touch up our ranking of the sequel's classes, to optimize your next playthrough?

12 Brutalist

It's Clobberin' Time

The Brutalist is your straightforward melee tank. The reason they rank low is that they need to be right in the enemy’s face to deal damage and this often gets the player killed when fighting bosses with devastating attacks. Spontaneous Bootay, and her copious rolls, say 'yo.'

Most of their abilities also prioritize one enemy at a time, which can be problematic in fights. Their one redeeming power is Gastro Smash, which hits four enemies around them with knockback, a bit of damage, and applies the gross-out debuff.

11 Elementalist

Elemental, My Dear Fellow

Elementalist is so cool, it's hot: a robust support class that sadly deals very low damage. The name of the game is crowd control using status effects. Ice Prison can chill troublesome targets, and the ultimate move, while weak, can inflict shock and chill four squares around the player.

It really relies on having a strong team, and some fights lock you into specific setups which can pose a problem. Hydro Helper can be useful for healing and raising attacks; this class is stronger on Mastermind difficulty, but in the base game, it’s not worth it.

10 Blaster

So Anyway, I Started... Well, You Know

Blasters are ranged fighters that have decent abilities to keep enemies at bay and deal nice damage. If only Snow Day had more of those, as opposed to endless button-mashing melee weapons, eh? Heat Wave will send three enemies in front of the player flying back, and deal high damage, while Plasma Beam cuts through any foes that happen to line up in front of the Blaster. Woe betide thee, Drow Elves.

The real cherry on top is the Backfire Blast, as that will deal great damage to up to seven enemies in front of the player and apply both gross-out and burning. It doesn't provide the best-looking fire effects in gaming (and who tunes into South Park for top-tier animation, anyway?), but it's effective.

9 Cyborg

Boo-Yah!

The Cyborg is, essentially, a superior Brutalist with some added range and utility moves. Fatal Attraction can drag enemies in close, and Faraday Uncaged can send them back with a shock effect. Ganz Technique is handy for crowd control as you can enrage an opponent and then gain block, forcing them to blow a powerful move on an invincible shield.

The ultimate attack, The Big Guns, is a devastating move that barrages enemies three tiles away with a swarm of bullets. It comes in particularly handy in fights with Crab People, who enjoy ganging up on individual fighters.

8 Assassin

Become Part Of The Creed

The Assassin is largely a class designed to target single opponents, deal decent damage, and apply bleeding effects with Quick Cut. If you favour getting in, slicing and dicing, then getting out, Assassin's your class. Shadow Swap can be used tactically to put an enemy in harm's way, such as in boss fights, or to drop an enemy in the center of your team to get attacked.

The ultimate Deadly Dive deals incredible damage and inflicts bleeding. Afterward, your character becomes invisible and therefore untouchable, allowing them to sneak up on another target or withdraw to safety for a turn. The (brutal) optional fight against Morgan Freeman is rendered toothless by abilities like this. Assassin overall ranks a bit lower, as it can be complicated to use effectively and has little range apart from the ultimate.

7 Speedster

Gotta Go Fast!

Speedsters, in all their kinetic glory, can be useful, assuming you have a strong team to follow up on their abilities. Their Supersonic Dash will allow them to dart forward and knock an enemy back, which can be great for putting them close to strong hitters like Super Craig or Captain Diabetes (aka Scott Malkinson, but his moniker is catchier).

Their Double Edge ability is what makes them shine and is why many players, particularly beginners, will pick them. Double Edge allows the player to perform two actions by sacrificing their next turn. This is great for taking down weakened opponents, finishing off bosses, or quickly applying healing or status effects on yourself and an ally. You'll gawp at how quickly the difficulty becomes unbalanced in your favour.

6 Psychic

The Future's Becoming Clear

Psychic is another support class, but one that’s much more useful in battle than the other classes we've discussed. Psi-Shield can grant yourself or an ally protection; key in certain fights. Cerebral Blast can deal damage and inflict Defense Down prior to an attack by a strong teammate, and the ultimate, Chakra Cleanse, can heal and protect all allies.

Dazzling Flash is arguably the strongest ability in the Psychic's arsenal, as it damages an enemy and applies confusion, causing chaos as an enemy can turn against their own team. Butters would be proud.

5 Martial Artist

Everybody Was Kung Fu Fighting

Martial Artist has the highest possible DPS in the game (how's that for a USP?) and gives you the ability to control where your enemies are, maximising your dispensation of pain. Dragon Force Punch will send enemies flying back until they hit something, Dragon Dance lashes out at those in close range, and Dragon Reversal not only deals knockback, but drops their defense and applies the slow debuff.

The ultimate is one of the most impressive in the game. It deals no damage, but it causes all enemies on the battlefield to become enraged and gives the player massive levels of block. Simply draw them in, activate, and then send them flying back. Those cats were fast as lightning.

4 Final Girl

Plot Armour At Its Finest

The Final Girl is a classic horror trope that's seen in plenty of video games. In the DLC campaign, Bring The Crunch, Final Girl is a versatile character who can stand on their own or work well within a team. Fatal Trim has a good range and can deal both knockback and bleeding. Saw Bleed lays traps that inflict Hemorrhage when stepped on and Hammer Bomb allows the player to decide where the enemy gets knocked to.

The ultimate is handy for fighting groups or troublesome bosses, such as those you'll find in the camp where the DLC takes place. When foes have less than 50 percent health, or if the boss is at less than 33 percent, this ultimate will kill them in one hit.

3 Plantmancer

Poison Ivy Has Nothing On This

Plantmancer is arguably the best support class in the game, thanks to some strong abilities. Purifying Petals will cleanse, heal, and apply an attack boost to yourself or your allies. Sweet Scent will draw an enemy in close and then charm them to fight for you, while Root Burst will knock back an enemy and apply bleed.

While Sweet Scent is a powerful ability and makes Plantmancer worth it alone, the ultimate Nature’s Gift is a godsend in long, drawn-out fights. It can be used to revive and heal all allies on the battlefield. Morgan Freeman (and Mitch Conner) won't know what hit him.

2 Gadgeteer

Go, Go, Gadget Chocolate Salty Balls!

The best class in the base game, without doubt, is the Gadgeteer, who can become a one-man army with their abilities. Boom-Boom Buddy is a decoy that will explode when attacked, Straight Shooter drops a turret that fires on the enemy for three turns and can also be targeted by the enemy (drawing the aggro off your organic fighters), and Gigavolt Globe will shock enemies so your turret and allies can do serious damage.

The ultimate is a powerful ranged AOE that deals massive damage to anything unlucky enough to be within its radius. All in all, with Gadgeteer at your bionic fingertips, you can hold your own with decoys or provide incredible ranged DPS in any fight.

1 Netherborn

You've Got Friends On The Other Side

The best class in the entire FBW package, by far, has to be the Netherborn introduced in the From Dusk Till Casa Bonita DLC. The Netherborn is a brutal damage dealer. Soul Slash can knock three enemies back with substantial damage, Dire Shroud can be used to damage an enemy and apply defense down (or buff yourself or an ally with Protection and Regeneration), and Ghastly Grasp is a powerful attack that can chain to other enemies.

However, where the Netherborn’s power truly lies is the ultimate Grim Fate, which chills enemies in a radius around the player. It also transforms the New Kid into the Ultimate Netherborn, which dramatically enhances all abilities for three turns. Sure, it's another example of Ubisoft's 'pay to win' obsession – but once you've got this class in the base game, literally nothing can stand up to you, Dovahkiin.