Things To Do Before The First Whiteout In Frostpunk 2

Summary

Prioritize building good faction relationships to avoid conflict during whiteouts.
Solve the city's core problems: hunger, crime, squalor, cold, and disease.
Stockpile food, fuel, and upgrade generators to prepare for extreme cold.

The world of Frostpunk has undergone a rapid period of cooling that kicked off a catastrophic and apocalyptic series of events. Entire cities were swallowed by snow as people scrambled to develop new cities centered around powerful steampunk generators to survive the coming frost. The events of the first game have the player manage one of these new cities through its first couple months and culminate with helping the city survive the first of the world's extremely powerful blizzards, called whiteouts.

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By Matthew Weideman

In Frostpunk 2, the city has now stood for three decades and its people have survived wave after wave of brutal whiteouts for nearly a generation. And yet, when the player takes over as Steward, the city is not quite prepared for another one. It is up to the player once again to guide their city — in both Story and Utopia Builder modes — through these vicious storms to establish a long-lasting society that will continue to endure for generations to come.

1 Establish Good Relationships With The Factions

Take Advantage Of Rallies Before The Storm Hits

Faction rallies can help solve problems
Relationships will likely worsen during the whiteout

In addition to meeting all the city's needs, players have to stay in the good graces of its various communities and factions, or they can be exiled. As citizens die and other problems grow in the city, these groups can quickly turn on the Steward, which can easily happen during a whiteout. Because of this, it is important to have good faction relations when a storm is approaching.

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When a faction has a good relationship with the Steward, they will start rallies that can spread across the city's districts. The player gets to choose from a list of benefits that come from the rallies, which can range from extra Heatstamps to increased Trust. These rallies can help the player solve problems or build stockpiles to prevent problems in the future.

2 Solve The City's Five Problems

Hunger, Crime, Squalor, Cold, And Disease

The first whiteout will probably cause these problems to grow again
There are many ways to solve the problems

At the start of the game, the city is on the verge of a crisis. One of the first things a player must do is solve five core problems: hunger, cold, crime, squalor, and disease. Many of the game's mechanics revolve around solving these problems, so nearly everything the player does can reduce these issues.

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The most important aspect of solving the problems is to get the city's production of Materials, Goods, Heat, and Food into positive numbers. Players need to use frostbreaking teams efficiently to conserve Heatstamps since they are the biggest limiting factor for how quickly this can be done. Once the production chains are set up, building shelters and curing disease are the last steps to getting the five problems under control.

3 Have Enough Shelter For Everyone

Shelter Reduces The City's Cold Problem

Frostpunk 2 - Chapter 1 - Housing District Close Up

Build and expand Housing Districts and Housing buildings
Keep Population Growth in check

Shelter is one of the most vital needs for people, and is even more necessary when facing temperatures as low as those in Frostpunk 2. As such, when there is not enough housing for all the city's population, cold becomes a more serious problem. The player is periodically informed that many people have frozen to death and then disease begins to spread at an increasing rate. If these problems are around at the start of a whiteout, the player is in serious trouble.

In addition to building or expanding Housing Districts, the player can use the Idea Tree to unlock buildings like Worker's Villages and Subsidized Housing Blocks to add shelter around the city. Players can also pass laws that limit the Population Growth to ensure that the city doesn't grow so quickly that housing becomes a problem. Balancing this before the first whiteout is a crucial task.

4 Build At Least One Hospital

Sickness Will Grow As The Cold Comes

There are multiple types of hospital
Building more hospitals can reduce Disease faster

Factions differ on many aspects of the Idea Tree, and deciding the type of hospital to build is no exception. In Utopia Builder, a regular Hospital is the only option at the start of the game. Adaptation-focused factions will propose a Recovery Hospital, which is less effective at reducing Disease but also increases Population Growth. Progress-focused factions will propose a Teaching Hospital, which is great at reducing Disease and also increases research speed at the cost of increasing Tension.

Regardless of the player's choice, unlocking a Hospital and then constructing one in a Housing District is an important step in preparing for a whiteout. As the temperature drops during the storm, Disease becomes a growing problem, and having at least one Hospital around can keep it from becoming a disaster.

5 Establish Multiple Sources Of Food

Food Districts Are Not Infinite

Frostpunk 2 How to Stockpile Food For The Whiteout

Establishing a Food Colony is the best option
It is helpful to have Multiple Food Districts

Most food deposits are finite, so relying on one Food District for the city is waiting for catastrophe. The only exceptions are deep food deposits that can only be accessed by a Deep Melting Drill and there are not enough of those to sustain the population in the middle or late game.

Finding settlements that provide food is a great way to increase food production, but these will shut down when the whiteout arrives unless the player can expand them. Building a Food colony is the most reliable way to have a permanent extra source of food for the city during the whiteout.

6 Stockpile Food

Food Demand Increases During Whiteouts

Find food in the frostland
Expand Food Districts and build Hothouses

Once multiple sources of food have been procured, it is important to store as much food as possible before the first whiteout comes. Food demand increases during the storm and there will be no supply coming from most settlements or any scout teams. Players need to build as many Food Stockpile Hubs as necessary to build the largest stockpile they can.

Expanding Food Districts also increases the amount of food they can produce in addition to letting the player build Hothouses for even higher food output. Scout teams can also bring in food from exploring, so that should be a priority for them in the weeks leading up to a whiteout.

7 Stockpile Fuel

Fuel Consumption Increases With Heat Demand

Whiteouts cause Heat Demand to increase drastically
Having extra fuel can prevent the city from freezing to death

Many factors determine how much fuel is needed to power up the Generator and provide enough heat for the city. Districts, Buildings, weather, and even certain Laws and Ideas can raise or lower the necessary amount of fuel. Because of this, having extra fuel on hand is extremely important to be prepared for worsening conditions.

Depending on the type of Generator upgrade chosen by the player, they may only need to focus on Oil or split their attention between Oil, Coal, and Steam. In either case, Fuel Stockpile Hubs can increase the amount of fuel stored in the city and keep the player ready for even the most frigid days.

8 Upgrade The Generator

An Advanced Generator Is Key To Surviving The Extreme Cold

Frostpunk 2 - Chapter 1 - Starting Generator

Adaptive Pumps allow the Generator to use any fuel source
Oil Pumps restrict the Generator to oil but make it more efficient

The Generator is the heart of any large colony or city in the Frostpunk universe. If it goes down, the last hope for a developed society will die with it. Given its importance, keeping all generators fueled and running is possibly the most important task that the player has in the game. That being said, the Generator is not strong enough to keep the city warm in the face of a whiteout and needs to be upgraded.

The Adaptive Pumps upgrade allows the Generator to use coal, oil, and steam to generate heat in their cities. This flexibility can be very helpful when the city is running low on a particular fuel source and for cities built on map types that start with several geothermal vents. Oil Pumps, on the other hand, make the Generator much less flexible, with the trade-off that the generator is much more efficient at converting fuel to heat. The player needs to choose one of these upgrades based on the availability of fuel before the first whiteout hits so that they do not freeze to death in the storm.

Use The Idea Tree To Conserve Heat

Some Ideas can reduce Heat Demand
Other Ideas can increase Heat production

The Idea Tree is full of ways to help with the cold. Once players have spare Heatstamps to start getting ahead of future problems, they should focus on researching things that reduce Heat Demand and increase Heat Production.

Housing Insulation is a great place to start with research since it is a passive bonus that doesn't require any resources to upkeep. The second and third-tier Generator upgrades are also useful for keeping fuel stockpiles in place. Worker's Villages increase a District's efficiency while providing housing, which can help kill two birds with one stone. With so many options available, the player should always have research active to progress their city's abilities to withstand the cold.

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