South Park: The Fractured But Whole is an RPG video game developed by Ubisoft. The game allows players to customize the difficulty level, which affects various aspects of the gameplay experience.
Combat Difficulty
The most obvious impact of difficulty level in The Fractured But Whole is on combat. On higher difficulties, enemies have more health, do more damage, and are generally smarter and more aggressive. This makes battles longer and more dangerous. Players will have to use more strategy and really utilize the full combat system to survive fights on the harder difficulty settings.
Some key ways the difficulty affects combat:
- Enemy health pools are larger.
- Enemies deal more damage per hit.
- Enemies use more advanced abilities and strategies.
- Status effect durations on player are longer.
- Player abilities and attacks deal less damage.
This means players have to carefully manage resources like health items, work together with allies, time abilities properly, and exploit enemy weaknesses much more thoroughly compared to lower difficulties. Battles become tests of skill and strategy rather than just slugfests.
Access to Abilities
The difficulty level also changes when certain abilities and bonuses are unlocked for the player. On higher difficulties, powerful character upgrades are only accessible later in the game. This reduces the player’s power level early on and forces them to better utilize weaker abilities.
For example, on Normal difficulty, the player may unlock an extremely strong Ultimate ability for their character at level 7. But on Master difficulty, that same ability may not unlock until level 15. This creates a greater challenge in battles by limiting the player’s arsenal.
Crafting and Resources
Crafting consumable items like medicine, food, and buff potions is an important part of the game. Higher difficulties reduce the effectiveness of crafted items and the duration of their effects. Ingredients can also be more scarce on harder settings.
This means the player has to be more selective and deliberate with their crafting. They may not be able to rely on a huge supply of powerful healing items or buffs for every battle. It encourages more frugal use of limited resources.
Ally Abilities
The player can recruit certain NPC characters to join them in battle as allies. These allies have special abilities that supplement the player’s own skills.
In higher difficulties, the abilities, AI behavior, and potency of allies are downgraded. Allies will not be able to provide as much offensive or defensive support during battles. The player has to pick up the slack themselves.
Enemy Density
The Fractured But Whole has various sections where the player has to battle through crowds of enemies or solve environmental puzzles while under attack. On higher difficulties, the density and frequency of enemy encounters is increased.
This means less downtime between battles to catch a breath and recharge. More enemies also appear during swarming events, putting extra pressure on the player to manage crowds and prioritize threats.
New Game Plus
After completing the game once, players have the option to start a New Game Plus playthrough. This carries over all abilities, crafting recipes, money etc from the previous playthrough, but enemies are tougher.
New Game Plus essentially stacks increased difficulty on top of the player’s maxed out character. This provides an extreme challenge for seasoned players to test the depths of the combat system with a full array of abilities available.
Summary
In summary, higher difficulty levels in South Park: The Fractured But Whole make combat more demanding through smarter enemies with more health and damage. Players have reduced access to powerful abilities and upgrades early on. Crafting consumables and ally support are also downgraded. There are more enemy encounters between story moments too.
By limiting the player’s options and resources while making enemies more threatening, the higher difficulties force players to utilize the full breadth of the game’s mechanics. Simple button mashing or relying on a few overpowered abilities is no longer enough. The player must fight strategically and manage long term progression carefully from battle to battle.
For experienced players seeking a real challenge, the New Game Plus mode ratchets up the difficulty even further when replaying the game. Overall, the adjustable difficulty settings allow for a customizable experience catering to players of all skill levels.
Difficulty Settings
There are 5 difficulty settings in South Park: The Fractured But Whole:
| Difficulty | Description |
|---|---|
| New Kid | Enemies have less health and deal less damage. Recommended for players new to RPGs. |
| Call Girl | Balanced difficulty. Recommended for most players. |
| Supreme | Enemies have more health and abilities. Harder enemy density and crafting. |
| Mastermind | Significantly increased challenge. Only experienced players. |
| Ironman | Extreme difficulty for hardcore gamers. Amped up enemies and restrictions. |
Effects on Combat Strategy
The increased difficulty affects players’ combat strategy in various ways. Here are some examples:
- Need to use more buffs/debuffs – As enemies hit harder, effects like Protection or Vulnerability become more vital.
- Focus fire to defeat enemies quickly – Can’t afford to let powerful foes attack for long.
- Manage healing items carefully – Limited restoratives must be used wisely.
- Exploit enemy weaknesses – Taking extra damage from certain attacks becomes key.
- Use ultimate abilities sparingly – Long cooldowns mean these can’t be wasted.
- Keep distance from enemies – Getting swarmed is deadly, kiting is safer.
- Conserve resources across battles – No chance to replenish between most fights.
Higher difficulties reward playing thoughtfully and deliberately. Players are incentivized to use the full array of offensive and defensive options at their disposal. No single overpowered strategy will suffice anymore.
Minimum Level Recommendations
The higher difficulty settings are tuned for players who have levels up their character and allies. Here are some recommendations for minimum levels before tackling each difficulty tier:
| Difficulty | Recommended Level |
|---|---|
| Call Girl | Level 1 |
| Supreme | Level 5 |
| Mastermind | Level 10 |
| Ironman | Level 15 |
Jumping into the higher difficulties at too low a level will be extremely punishing, especially for players unfamiliar with RPG mechanics. It’s best to build up experience on lower settings first.
Highest Difficulty Gameplay Tips
For players seeking the ultimate challenge on Mastermind and Ironman difficulty, here are some tips to survive:
- Stock up on lots of medicine and healing items.
- Use knockback abilities to keep melee enemies at range.
- Equip gear that prevents Status Effects or boosts Defense.
- Frequently craft new gear with better stats.
- Take allies who can shield/heal/taunt.
- Use traps and hazards in the environment against foes.
- Focus on taking out the most dangerous enemy first.
- Use Ultimate attacks only when absolutely needed.
The key is patience and controlling the flow of battle. Rushing in will quickly get the player overwhelmed. Fight defensively and look for openings to control enemies and deal damage safely.
Conclusion
In South Park: The Fractured But Whole, the difficulty setting has a major impact on core gameplay elements. Higher difficulties transform the game from a raucous button masher to a serious test of strategy and resource management.
By tweaking factors like enemy strength, abilities, player resources, and ally support, the higher difficulty tiers force players to fully utilize the RPG systems. Simple brute force is no longer enough. Players must fight smart, utilizing buffs, debuffs, combos, ultimates and more to overcome challenges.
For those seeking the ultimate challenge, Ironman and New Game Plus difficulties offer an extreme gauntlet to run the full gamut of the combat system. By tailoring the difficulty to their own skill level, players can find the perfect balance of challenge and enjoyment in South Park: The Fractured But Whole.
