2021-06-03T17:00:38 02:00

Frostpunk Guide: The Best Tips for Survivors

In this Frostpunk guide you will learn how to

improve your research performance
satisfy your inhabitants
manage your settlement more effectively
get extra resources on a regular basis

Released in 2018 for the PC, the simulation game Frostpunk () is still an alternative for city builder fans who want to play an unusual scenario with a gripping story. In the meantime, you can also dive into this exciting world on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

To make sure you don't lose your fun in the fight for survival, our beginner's tips explain the basic mechanics of the game. We'll also show you how to manage your city more effectively and develop it so that you can withstand the big storm.

Warm home, happy citizens

Whenever you start a new game, make sure to provide all citizens with a roof over their heads first. The rule of thumb in Frostpunk is that the warmer the home, the happier and healthier the citizens. That's why you build the dwellings for your population in the innermost ring directly next to the generator, where they are already heated by its operating heat.

The tents available in Frostpunk at the beginning are only a makeshift solution, since they do not keep out the cold sufficiently when the temperature drops. Research "barracks" (research level 1) as soon as possible and replace the existing tents with them. To do this, simply place a barrack directly on top of an existing tent and even save some raw materials during construction. When you have unlocked research level 3, you research the much more stable "houses" and replace your barracks.

If new citizens are added to the city, you will have no choice but to build new dwellings further away. Replace them first when reaching a new quality level! Additional heat for lower temperatures can be obtained by steam centers placed in the center of residential areas. You can also improve them through research.

Tips for effective research in Frostpunk

Regardless of the scenario or game mode in Frostpunk, build a research lab in your city as early as possible, as the first techniques such as "faster gathering" will make the game much easier. It is worthwhile to run up to three research labs, as they support each other in research. Two research labs research with 130 efficiency, three with a total of 150%, each additional research lab adds another 10 efficiency.

If an ice storm is imminent, speed up research by enacting laws for longer work shifts or 24-hour emergency shifts. Beware: using such measures increases dissatisfaction! With the laws "children's home" and "engineer apprentices" you initially take the children out of your game as a workforce. But you get an additional research bonus, because your engineers are supported by children.

Scout and discover faster

Your scouts will steadily provide you with new townspeople and resources after researching "Signal Station" (research level 0), if you let them explore the map outside the town. Please note: Only scouts will give you the steam cores that are important later in the game, which you can use to build high-quality industrial buildings and automatons! You will also receive new citizens for your settlement (apart from certain scenarios) only if you discover buried settlements or shelters with the scouts - without scouts it is not possible.

With the research "More scouts" (level 1) you can send out another scout troop in the early game, with "Lighter scout sledges" (level 2) the scouts move 50% faster. This is indispensable, especially in Frostpunk's endless game mode, if you want to explore many places one after the other. If your scouts are moving on already explored paths, they will also move much faster, so it's worth sending them back to the city regularly with found resources. In some events, your scouts may die, and any resources they find will be lost!

Automation for remote buildings

At the latest when you build coal mines, masonry drills and other collection buildings that depend on resource spots, they are difficult to heat in colder temperatures. This quickly affects the health of the workers employed in them, who fall ill more often and more severely. At level 3, research the factory to make Automatons; alternatively, rely on your scouts to spot some.

You'll want to use these at resource gathering buildings that are far outside the area heated by your generator and other heat sources. Automatons initially operate at 60 efficiency, but this can be increased through research. They are a useful addition because they do not need to rest except for recharging pauses, and they continue to work even during a storm.

Important: Since automatons in Frostpunk need to recharge regularly and do this either at the generator or at steam centers, you will save a lot of time if you build a steam center near the automaton's work site. Deactivate it after construction, since an Automaton can recharge at a deactivated Steam Center.

Improve insulation and heaters

Research unlocks improved versions of various buildings. When temperatures drop, you can't do without improved buildings, as their basic insulation level will better protect your citizens from the cold. This also saves you money indirectly, because you don't have to use external heating.

Intercept stronger temperature fluctuations caused by the weather with radiators, which are installed in all production and community buildings and are improved through research. Important: The research "radiator efficiency" (research level 3) reduces the coal consumption!

Especially in collection stations and buildings far away from the generator you should not do without heaters, because citizens working permanently in the cold will fall seriously ill faster. In order to help sick citizens recover faster, research "Heat insulation in health care" (research level 2).

Observe zones of influence

The heat-giving steam center, many community buildings such as the inn or battle arena, but also collection points and resource production buildings have a radius of influence that you can see when you place the building. For heat and community buildings, this tells you in which radius the building's effect will take effect. Make sure that the areas do not overlap so that you do not waste coal or space.

Wide area coverage is more important than double coverage. For resource buildings, you can see in which radius around the building resource spots are used. Make sure that your workers do not have to walk too far to reach the resource deposits and that as many deposits as possible are included at the same time.

Build enough resource depots

At the start of every game in Frostpunk, there is already a building in which the starting supplies of your settlement are stored. However, this is no longer sufficient, at the latest, when you have built up and expanded a functioning industry in the resource supply. All supplies that you produce when the warehouses are full or that your scouts bring back to the city from expeditions will be irretrievably lost! At the latest, when a resource indicator turns red, you should urgently expand.

To do this, research a resource depot upgrade (research level 1) and then the large resource depot (research level 2). In scenarios like A New Hope and the endless game of Frostpunk, take special care to build up large food stocks, as it is very difficult or impossible to produce food during the ice storm.

Frostpunk: Tips on the health system

At the beginning of the game, set up a medical station directly in the ring around the generator and equip it with engineers. If, during the construction of the first dwellings, workers fall ill due to the cold, they will be treated efficiently and will quickly be available again as workers. Then quickly research "Upgrade for medical station" (research level 1), so that patients are treated 10% faster - the less time your workers spend sick, the better!

At research level 2 you improve the building insulation of all health system buildings by one level with "Heat insulation in health care", at research level 5 by another level with "Heat insulation in health care II". If the heat level is still not sufficient, add a steam center in front of the hospital. Make sure, however, that this is set to run 24 hours a day, since all health buildings are open around the clock in Frostpunk.

Regularly enact laws

Pass your first law at the start of the game, so that you can pass another one every day. This is especially important, as many laws unlock new building options and improvements that allow you to farm more effectively and raise the spirits of your citizens.

Some laws are considered controversial among your citizens, which increases dissatisfaction for a short time, but the long-term benefit is more important in such cases - for example, the introduction of the "emergency shift" or "special shifts". In addition to the "Adjustment" laws, with which you change the (working) everyday life of your citizens, you decide in the "Purpose" section whether the focus of your settlement should be on faith or order in the future. If you have chosen one of these two options with a first building, the other way is no longer available to you!

Sensible care for the seriously ill

Especially severe illnesses cannot be avoided at the latest during the first severe cold spell in Frostpunk. Therefore, unlock "Hospital" on research level 2, because there also severely injured people can be treated effectively. With "Hospital Checklist" (research level 4) you can improve the treatment of the injured by 15%. If you have too few engineers available, it is also worthwhile to research "Mechanized Hospital" (research level 3), as you will need five engineers less.

Ideally, supplement this with research into the "Factory" (research level 3), in which you can produce prostheses, and the "Radical Treatment", "Nursing Home" and "Prosthetics" laws. With the "Nursing Home" law, you store citizens who are not able to work from the medical stations and hospitals. Thanks to "Prosthetics", amputees receive manufactured prostheses and return to work.

With the "Extra Rations for the Sick" law, you can speed up healing by giving more food to the sick; after that, unlock "Triage". This will help you cure many sick people quickly, especially in extreme situations. For 60% immediately healing citizens, you accept 25% dead among the sick, the remaining 15 stay sick. Especially in scenarios with a very long, for Frostpunk typical ice storm and correspondingly many sick people you save your settlement this way!

Efficient resource gathering in Frostpunk

At the beginning of the game, you start in an area with a lot of resources lying around like wooden crates, coal piles and steel debris. You can send workers to each of these piles for mining, but doing so will tie up too much manpower. Place a collection station in such a way that it includes as many of the resource piles as possible and then only fill the building with workers.

The workers will then gradually mine all the resources lying around by themselves and you can assign the remaining workers and engineers to more important work. In case of a cold snap, turn on the "heater" (research level 0) of the collection point to keep your workers warm.

With the research "Fast Gathering" (research level 0) your gatherers become 15% faster, with "Efficient Gathering" (research level 3) you increase the gathering speed by another 15%.

If you use the coal generator for raw material extraction, it is also worthwhile to improve the building insulation of the collection points with "Collection point insulation" (research level 2) and "Collection point insulation II" (research level 4) by 1 level each. Collection points also benefit significantly from "Improved Radiators" (research level 2) and "Advanced Radiators" (research level 4).

Demolish useless buildings and roads

While you can initially have many resources collected by hand at the beginning of the game in Frostpunk, you unlock mining buildings, such as the coal mine or the wall drill, with continued research. When resources are exhausted, you can demolish the corresponding collection points and the paths leading to them to get some resources back.

If you change your resource production to a different type of production, you also demolish old buildings to free up manpower. For example, if you built sawmills to cut down frozen trees, you'll have to upgrade to masonry drills at the latest when they run out.

Since you will unlock new community buildings later in the game, which will only benefit your citizens if you build them in the residential district, you will also have to make room here by demolishing existing residential buildings. Examples of this are the Battle Arena and the Inn, along with the buildings from the "Faith" or "Order" Law Alignment.

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