In the frozen world of Frostpunk 2, you'll be faced with the same relentless cold, dwindling resources, and the ever-present risk of societal collapse as the first Frostpunk game. Frostpunk 2 builds on its predecessor, introducing new gameplay mechanics, survival challenges, and strategic opportunities that push you to take any action necessary to protect your city and survive catastrophic whiteouts.
This guide aims to provide the essential tips for Frostpunk 2 that help you navigate the tricky challenges the game throws at you. From efficient city planning and resource management to strategic diplomacy, you'll learn everything you need to know to succeed in the crucial early hours of the game.
Frostpunk 2 Review
Frostpunk 2 has once again whisked players away to an apocalyptic Earth for a city building experience that many may not soon forget.
Always Meet Heat Demand
Heat Is A Crucial Resource You Can't Ignore
Heat is produced by the generator and circulated throughout the city. The generator needs a steady supply of fuel, such as coal or oil, to continue producing heat. You can view the heat demand and supply for the city by hovering over the fire symbol on your HUD. Unfulfilled heat demand is depicted by a red bar as well as with numbers.
Failing to meet the heat demand increases societal tension, raises the risk of illness and death among citizens, and ultimately weakens your population and workforce. This effect only worsens as the temperature grows colder, with heat demand rising significantly.
Manage Resources Wisely
Mastering Efficient Resource Management Will Take You Far
Treat everything in Frostpunk 2 as resources, especially your workforce and production districts. When mining coal, growing food, or extracting materials, it's essential to maintain a surplus but avoid overproducing. Initially, you'll be limited by how many active workers you have to complete the various tasks around the city. However, you can manage how many workers you want working in a specific district and free the rest for other tasks.
You can also deactivate a district if it has already produced enough resources to meet the city's needs.
You can manage worker allotments and deactivate a district by clicking it to open the management panel. Adjust the sliders to modify the workforce percentage, and use the switch icon to deactivate the district.
Strengthen Your Workforce
A Strong Workforce Means Easier Expansion
Your workforce is drawn from the city's total population. Growing the population of your city strengthens the workforce for further expansion. You can increase the population by meeting the city's basic demands, such as Heat, Food, and Materials. As the population grows, so does your workforce.
You can prevent many of the city's pressing issues by meeting Heat and Food demands. In dire situations, you could resort to passing a law that alters the total population to workforce ratio.
Diseases and deaths directly impact your workforce, so ensure that citizen needs are adequately met.
Start Expeditions Early
Exploring Your Surroundings Is Key To Acquiring Critical Resources
Expeditions allow you to send Frostland teams to explore the nearby regions surrounding New London. Frostland teams can find interesting resources while they are out exploring, including people, fuel, and Steam Cores, all of which contribute to the city's growth and survival.
Exploration is unlocked by constructing a Logistics District on an abandoned Waystation. You can continue to build additional Logistics Districts to further expand your exploration capabilities.
Frostpunk 2: How to Decrease Disease
Disease can cause significant problems for a City in Frostpunk 2, and this guide details several ways that players can address this issue.
Make Frostbreaking A Habit
Frostbreak To Access New Materials & Fertile Land
Frostbreaking is an essential activity in Frostpunk 2 to access materials, fertile soil, and waystations buried under the frost. However, as the game progresses and you take on additional responsibilities, it's easy to overlook the importance of frostbreaking.
Even if you've met your city's every immediate need, frostbreaking must go on! It's always better to prepare the land in advance rather than wait until an urgent construction need arises.
Monitor Weather Forecast
The Weather Forecast Allows You To Prepare For The Immediate Future
On the top-right of your screen is a thermometer that displays the current temperature and upcoming changes in the week. Keeping an eye on this meter will help you adapt to the upcoming challenges.
If you don't want to end up in situations where you've run out of fuel to sustain the generator during the colder seasons, it's crucial to actively monitor the weather forecast. It will help you make better decisions, such as stockpiling crucial resources and even halting production during the cold spell to meet heat demands.
Regularly Unlock New Ideas
Ideas Provide Direction To Your City & Society
In Frostpunk 2, the 'Idea Tree' replaces the original game's research tree, allowing you to research solutions to the city's growing problems. Ideas can either be supported or opposed by the different factions, and pursuing them can sometimes come at a cost.
You can also consult with the different factions in your city and promise them to research their proposed solution. Successfully researching their ideas within the allocated time frame strengthens your relationship with them. Factions with a strong relationship with you will often support the laws you propose to pass in the Council.
Make Tough Decisions
Don't Shy Away From Making Hard Moral Choices
As you learn about the different factions in the game, their unique worldviews, and the growing needs of the city, you’ll inevitably encounter situations requiring moral choices. For instance, you might need to enforce infection badges on sick patients, restrict family visits to prevent disease spread, or rely on propaganda to ensure faction compliance.
When you face such moral decisions, try not to overly stress about the consequences. Instead, discover the impact your choice has on the factions. Sometimes, a decision that seems morally questionable may turn out well for you in the long run.
Frostpunk 2: How to Decrease Squalor
Squalor can create significant problems for a City in Frostpunk 2, and this guide details several ways that players can reduce it.
Maintain Law & Order
Lawless Society Goes Rogue
As the population of your city grows, so will public demands. Failing to meet these demands raises public tension, potentially leading to violence and vandalism. If left unchecked, continued crime can lower your respect and ultimately erode the factions' trust in you.
Crime can be mitigated by enforcing laws that range from guard patrols to imprisonment, or even martial law. However, do remember that laws concerned with governing the city require a two-thirds majority in the Council. This is to prevent you from becoming dictatorial.
Create Multiple Save Games
Avoid Losing Progress if Your City Falls into Disarray
In Frostpunk 2, the complexity of expanding your city and sustaining its population means that things may not always go as you planned. Even if you may have taken all the necessary steps to survive a cold spell, you could still run out of fuel for the generator due to an oversight in your planning, which could result in illness and deaths of your citizens.
Regularly creating new save files ensures that you always have a restore point to return to if things go awry. Make it a habit to save your game each time you feel that the city is in a comfortable position. Neglecting to save at critical moments could force you to restart a chapter.
Frostpunk 2
- Released
- September 20, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood, Drug Reference, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Violence
- Developer(s)
- 11 Bit Studios
- Publisher(s)
- 11 Bit Studios
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- Franchise
- Frostpunk
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- Genre(s)
- Strategy, Survival, City Builder
