Frostpunk 2 sets up the player as New London's Steward, the untested successor of the Captain from the first game. The city's struggling infrastructure quickly challenges the player to come up with solutions. Moreover, the competing desires of the city's factions increase the pressure.
Having factions that disagree too deeply can cause great difficulty in keeping the peace, and factions that aren't pleased often enough can even trigger a game over. Thus, players must plan which factions they nurture in their city carefully. Here we dive into what triggers each faction to splinter from the main group, what their goals are, how to keep them happy, and even some of the best faction combinations to cultivate.
Frostpunk 2: How Long to Beat (& How Many Chapters)
Players who have questions about the length of Frostpunk 2's campaign, and about its open-ended game mode, can find answers here.
Factions In Frostpunk 2 Explained
Factions in Frostpunk 2 serve as the main method by which players see how the populace reacts to their decisions, similar to the hope and discontent mechanics in Frostpunk. Factions that view the Steward favorably can provide unique bonuses, and are more likely to vote for the player's proposed laws (as long as it doesn't directly contradict their worldview) in the Council. However, factions that distrust the Steward can riot, sabotage districts, and even hold a vote of no confidence against the Steward - triggering a game over. As a result, it is tactically desirable to plan out which factions will match the player's goals the most at the start of the playthrough.
Keeping a Faction Happy
To keep the approval of a Faction up, the player should sign laws, research topics, and make decisions that align with the Faction's core values. These values fall into three categories, with six possible traits.
- Adaptation/Progress
- Equality/Merit
- Reason/Tradition
Not every faction will have convictions in every category, but most have values in at least one. Players can see which values a given action aligns with by tracking the belief icons tagged on the action. To see which icons correspond to which beliefs, hover over the values bars on the bottom left-hand side of the screen.
A quick fix for increasing a Faction's approval is to Fund Projects for them, make a promise (only works when the promise is kept), or grant them the ability to propose the next law (works even if it does not pass). However, these measures are usually temporary unless repeated, as factions have a passive degradation of approval when the city isn't being run according to their worldview.
Spawning Factions
There are two groups of factions in the base game - those that appear during the campaign, and those that appear during Utopia Mode. Each has its own spawn conditions, some of which directly contradict each other. Typically, factions appear in one of the following methods:
- By default, at the start of the playthrough
- As a result of a pop-up binary decision during gameplay
It is nearly impossible to avoid spawning factions with opposing ideas by design, as this conflict is a major portion of Frostpunk 2's challenge.
Frostpunk 2: Beginner Tips & Tricks
Survive Frostpunk 2's frozen wasteland with these essential tips. Master the Frostland and expand your city with confidence.
Every Faction In Frostpunk 2's Campaign
There are nine known factions in Frostpunk 2's Campaign. Players will only see a maximum of seven at a time, as some spawn as a result of binary decisions, but this is still many competing groups in a single playthrough. It is strategically helpful to plan out which factions would most benefit the players' goals, and trigger their spawn. To determine which factions are most desirable in a given playthrough, players should be aware of where each faction sits on the 6 core beliefs, and what their unique faction abilities are.
|
Faction |
Spawn Condition |
Beliefs |
Special Abilities |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Frostlanders |
Default Faction from Chapter 1 onward |
|
Deradicalize - reduce the fervor and size of either the Evolvers or Pilgrims faction (depending on which is currently active) |
|
New Londoners |
Default Faction from Chapter 1 onward |
|
Deradicalize - reduce the fervor and size of either the Stalwart or Faithkeeper faction (depending on which is currently active) |
|
Faithkeepers |
Choosing Faith in the Mysterious Symbol Dialogue (Prologue) |
|
Prayers & Baptisms - Increase Trust & reduce Tension at the cost of growing the faction's size |
|
Stalwarts |
Choosing Order in the Mysterious Symbol Dialogue (Prologue) |
|
Deploy Guards - Increase the available number of Guard Squadrons, lowering Crime temporarily |
|
Pilgrims |
Appear at the end of Chapter 1 with Stalwarts faction active |
|
Deploy Guides - increase Frostland Exploration Speed & building of Skyways or Trails |
|
Evolvers |
Appear at the end of Chapter 1 with Faithkeepers faction active |
|
Train Workers - increase workplace efficiency at the cost of possible injury |
|
Wanderers |
Default Faction from Prologue onward |
Favors Survival at all costs |
Tighten Belts - reduce food scarity in return for slightly increased hunger |
|
Colonists |
Settle a Colony (such as the Dreadnought) |
No core beliefs |
No ability |
|
Prisoners |
Build a Prison and round up Protesters |
Favors Captain's Rule Laws |
Enlist Guards - prisoners serve as guards, increasing available guard squadrons (until their sentence is over) to decrease Crime temporarily |
Every Faction In Frostpunk 2's Utopia Mode
The other way to play Frostpunk 2 on release is its Utopia Mode, the open sandbox version of the game. In this scenario, players select an ambition, a difficulty, and an array of starting factions - two known quantities and a random faction. It is advised to choose factions whose goals align with your selected ambition.
Starting Faction Combinations
|
Option 1 |
|
|
Option 2 |
|
|
Option 3 |
|
Faction Goals & Preferences
There are six factions that can spawn at the start of the run in Utopia Mode, as well as several that can splinter off later. As a rule, starting factions always have the Deradicalize ability for their splinter faction, while splinter factions provide resource bonuses.
|
Faction |
Spawn Condition |
Beliefs |
Special Abilities |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Labourers |
Available from starting choices |
|
|
|
Merchants |
Available from starting choices |
|
|
|
Foragers |
Available from starting choices |
|
Deradicalize - Reduce the size and Fervor of the Icebloods Faction |
|
Machinists |
Available from starting choices |
|
Deradicalize - Reduce the size and fervor of the Technocrat Faction |
|
Thinkers |
Available from starting choices |
|
|
|
Lords |
Available from starting choices |
|
|
|
Icebloods |
Splinters from the Foragers (spawns faster when avoiding laws with preferred traits) |
|
Hunting Trip - Greatly increases Food Income temporarily |
|
Technocrats |
Splinters from the Machinists (spawns faster when avoiding laws with preferred traits) |
|
Assist Researchers - Greatly Increases Research Speed temporarily |
-
OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 85 /100 Critics Rec: 95%
- Released
- September 20, 2024
- 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
- PC Release Date
- September 20, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- Genre(s)
- Strategy, Survival, City Builder
