Core Gameplay: Frostpunk

Frostpunk is a brutal city-building survival game where you lead a group of exiles to build a new society in a frozen world. There is no traditional combat; instead, your main interactions are with your citizens (through laws and buildings), the environment (via exploration and resource gathering), and the ever-present cold. This guide breaks down the core gameplay loop and systems across four progression tiers: Early Game, Mid Game, Late Game, and Endgame.

Main Gameplay Loop

The loop is: Survive → Expand → Research → Manage → Face Crisis → Adapt.
1. Survive: Maintain heat, food, and shelter. Your generator is the heart of the city.
2. Expand: Build new districts (if on the map) or individual buildings to house more workers and produce resources.
3. Research: Use the Technology Tree to unlock better buildings, resource efficiency, and survival tools.
4. Manage: Pass laws to shape society (e.g., child labor, soup kitchens) and assign workers to jobs.
5. Face Crisis: Weather events (e.g., temperature drops, storms) and scripted events (e.g., Londoners, refugees) test your city.
6. Adapt: Change laws, build new infrastructure, or explore the Frostland for resources and survivors.

Combat / Interaction Systems

• No direct combat. The only "interaction" is with the environment and citizens.


• Hunting: Hunters gather raw food from wildlife. Done via Hunting Huts (early) or Hangars (late). No fighting animations; it's a passive income.


• Exploration Teams: Sent to Frostland locations. Encounters may include hostile survivors (e.g., cannibals) or dangerous terrain (e.g., frozen lakes). No combat; outcomes are determined by choices or team equipment.


• Law Enforcement: Passing harsh laws (e.g., New Order) can cause unrest or riots, but there is no armed conflict. Guards (via buildings like Guard Stations) reduce discontent.


• Disasters: Overheating generator, coal explosions, or plague outbreaks are events to mitigate, not fight.




Progression System


Progression is measured by:

• Technology Level: From "Basic" (wood/coal) to "Advanced" (steam cores, automatons).


• City Population: Starts with ~80 survivors; can grow to 700+.


• Generator Upgrades: Power, range, insulation, and overdrive.


• Hope and Discontent: These meters unlock or restrict law passages and influence ending.


• Factions & Uprisings (A New Home scenario): The Londoner faction appears mid-game; their defection reduces population. Managing them is critical.




Exploration & Quests / Missions



• Exploration: Send scouts from the Beacon (built early) to Frostland sites. Each site yields resources, survivors, or lore. Some are timed (e.g., "Winterhome" must be reached before the storm).


• Quests / Scenarios: Each scenario has a unique progression. For "A New Home":

- Early: Build basic survival, find iron and steam cores.
- Mid: Discover Winterhome (ruins), deal with Londoners, rush to stockpile for the Great Storm.
- Late: Prepare for the storm (stockpile coal, food, medical supplies).
- Endgame: Survive the Great Storm (80+ hours of extreme cold).

• Scripted Events: Refugees arriving (must accept or turn away), shipwreck survivors, and trapped scientists. These provide population or resources but may trigger unrest.

Economy & Resource Management

Five primary resources:
Economy Cycle: Gather → Stockpile → Consume → Upgrade or Expand. Heat is the most important modifier; cold reduces efficiency.

Character / Build Growth

• Leader (You): No leveling; choices determine society direction (Order, Faith, or Equality).


• Citizens: No individual stats. They have a "health" (sick/healthy) and can be assigned roles (worker, engineer, child). Engineer types can research faster; workers gather faster. Automatons (steam-powered robots) work 24/7 but cost steam cores.


• Technology Tree: Divided into Exploration, Industry, and Society. Each tier unlocks more efficient buildings (improved mines, hothouses, infirmaries).


• Laws: Two tracks – Order (discipline, guards, propaganda) and Faith (churches, shrines, confessions). Both unlock powerful abilities (e.g., "Faith Keepers" to reduce discontent, "New Order" to eliminate hope).


• Generator Upgrades: Levels 1-4 for power, range, and safety (prevents overheat events). Overdrive gives temporary extra heat but risks explosion if used too long.




Endgame Structure



• The Great Storm (in A New Home): After day ~40-50, the storm arrives. Temperature drops to -120°C or lower.


• Survival Phase: Everything must be built for extreme cold: fully upgraded generator (4 power, 4 range), central hothouse, multiple infirmaries, and massive coal stockpile (15,000+ coal). Automatons are invaluable because workers cannot work outside.


• Laws: Pass all possible hope/discontent laws to stabilize the city. The ending shows the final hope and discontent values; survive until a countdown timer ends.


• Other Scenarios: The Ark (save seeds), The Refugees (manage massive population), The Fall of Winterhome (evacuate city). Each has unique endgame conditions.




Core Gameplay by Progression Tiers





Early Game (Days 1–15)


Goal: Establish basic survival and immediate expansion.

• Immediate Actions:

1. Pause game on starting. Build Med Post (for sick), then gather wood/coal from piles.
2. Build Tents for shelter (10 wood each). Aim for 2-3 tents per 10 people.
3. Research: Beacon (first technology) to send scouts. Also research Hunting Gear for better food.
4. Pass first law: Soup or Extra Rations (soup reduces food consumption but lowers hope; extra rations consumes more but raises hope). Most start with soup.
5. Build Hunters' Huts and assign workers. Coordinate with cooking building.
6. Scouts explore nearest Frostland locations for steam cores and coal.

• Watch out for: Overcrowding (sick in unheated houses), lack of coal at night (generator must run at night), and early temperature drops (need more insulation).




Mid Game (Days 16–35)


Goal: Stabilize economy, explore fully, handle population growth and first crisis (Londoners).

• Key Actions:

1. Research Industrial or Society tech: Coal Mine (better than thumpers), Steelworks, Hothouse (if you have steam cores), or Factory (makes automatons).
2. Expand housing: Bunkhouses or Houses (needs steel) to reduce sickness.
3. Use scouts to return all survivors. Accept refugees but be aware they eat food.
4. Pass laws to manage hope: Extend Shifts (more work hours) or Child Labour (if desperate).
5. The Londoner event: Hope drops; use propaganda/faith buildings to counter. Build Guard Stations (Order) or Shrines (Faith).
6. Prepare for the first storm warning (usually day ~30): Stockpile coal up to 5000+, food 2000+.

• Economy Check: If coal production < 30 per hour, you'll run out. Aim for 50+. Food should be > 3 per person per day.




Late Game (Days 36–50)


Goal: Technological supremacy, mass automation, stockpile for the Great Storm.

• Critical Steps:

1. Research all Generator upgrades (Power 3-4, Range 3-4). Install Safety Valves law to reduce risk.
2. Build Automatons: each requires 5 steam cores and 40 steel. Deploy to Coal Mines (24/7), Steelworks, or Food production.
3. Replace all tents with Houses (no sick from cold). Heated Houses need steam hubs? No, houses are fine if generator covers them.
4. Build Infirmaries (medical upgrades) to treat gravely ill.
5. Pass New Order (Order tree) or Faith Keepers to eliminate hope trough – this stops Londoners and prevents defection.
6. Explore all Frostland and bring back Winterhome survivors if on A New Home. They are a last population boost.

• Storm Preparations: You need > 20,000 coal (depending on difficulty) for the 80-hour storm. Build storage buildings (Coal Storage, Food Storage).




Endgame (Days 50–70+, during Great Storm or final challenge)


Goal: Survive the Great Storm and achieve scenario victory.

• Storm Mechanics:

- Temperature drops in stages: -90°C → -120°C → -150°C. Generator Overdrive can withstand -120°C but not -150°C. Use overdrive only when needed.
- All outdoor workplaces shut down (except Automatons). Workers must stay indoors.
- Sickness spikes. Ensure 3-4 Infirmaries and abundant medical supplies.
- Hope and discontent matter even now; keep morale high via laws (e.g., Evening Prayers, Agitators).

• What to do:

1. Keep generator at max power (level 4) with range 3 or 4. Overheat it only if houses become cold.
2. Use Overdrive sparingly, and repair generator after each use to avoid explosion.
3. Automatons must cover all essential production (coal, food, steel). Have a backup coal stockpile in case mines freeze.
4. If playing A New Home, after storm passes, the game counts down 3 days. Survive until timer ends.

• Victory: You get an epilogue showing your city's fate based on hope/discontent and laws chosen. High Hope + Low Discontent = Utopia. Low Hope + High Discontent = Police State or Collapse.




Example Build Order (A New Home, Normal Difficulty)



• Day 1: Med Post, 2 Tents, Hunter's Hut, Workshops (2). Research Beacon.


• Day 2: Beacon built, scout to nearest resource. Research Hunting Gear.


• Day 3: Second Hunter's Hut, Cookhouse. Research Sawmill (wood efficiency).


• Day 7: Build Coal Thumper + Gathering Post. Research Hothouse (steam core from scout).


• Day 12: Build Hothouse. Research Steelworks.


• Day 20: Build Steelworks, Factory. Research Automaton.


• Day 30: First Automaton built, send to coal. Pass Child Labour (if needed).


• Day 40: All houses, steam hubs, infirmaries. Generator upgrades to level 3.


• Day 50+: Stockpiling for storm. Pass New Order.


• Storm: Survive.

This guide covers the essential gameplay loops and tier-based progression. Adapt difficulty settings and scenario-specific events as needed.