Game Tips
General Philosophy
Frostpunk is a game of ruthless trade-offs. There is no single perfect path, but understanding the mechanics behind each decision will keep your city alive. Every tip below is tested on the hardest difficulty (Survival) and applies to all scenarios unless noted.
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Beginner Essentials
1. Pause Immediately. The first thing you should do upon loading any scenario is pause the game. Unpaused, time passes and your people freeze, die, or discontent rises. Use pause to survey the map, plan your first buildings, and queue orders without penalty.
2. Build the Beacon Early. The Beacon costs 5 wood and 5 steel and unlocks scouts. Scouts bring back survivors, resources, and sometimes steam cores. In most scenarios, building the Beacon on Day 1 or 2 is the difference between thriving and starving.
3. Never Run Out of Coal. Coal = heat = life. Before day 3, build at least two gathering posts near coal piles and assign workers. Once you have a coal thumper or mine, overproduce coal—stockpile for the inevitable temperature drop.
4. Prioritize Gathering Posts. A gathering post (requires 5 wood, 1 steam core on some maps) protects workers from cold and boosts efficiency. Always build gathering posts over sending workers directly to resource piles.
5. Sign the Emergency Shift Law Early. This law allows you to force a 24-hour work shift, giving an immediate resource boost. Use it only when you are desperate (e.g., coal running low before a storm). It drastically increases discontent and can cause death, so have faith in your ability to manage discontent later.
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Laws & Social Strategy
6. Soup vs. Sawdust – Pick Soup. The Food Law branch: Soup gives more meals per raw food (but reduces hope), while Sawdust makes people sick. Soup is safer; you can manage hope with other laws. Sawdust leads to a health crisis.
7. Extended Shift is Better than Emergency Shift for Steady Gains. Extended Shift increases work hours to 14 hours for 1 day, no deaths, less discontent than Emergency Shift. Use Extended Shift on your most critical resource (e.g., coal mine) every few days for a sustainable boost.
8. Child Labour – Optional. If you choose Child Labour (shelters or apprentices), you get extra workers. Apprentices (research boost) is stronger late-game. But if you are struggling early, Child Labour (all jobs) can save you. Avoid it if possible; the hope penalty stings.
9. Patrol Laws for Discontent. Sign Guard Stations and Patrol Laws early. Patrols reduce discontent over time. Combine with Propaganda laws if needed, but be careful not to alienate your people.
10. Radical Treatment Over Sustain. When someone dies, the Radical Treatment law gives a chance to save them (amputees) but costs medical supplies. It’s a better survival bet than Sustain Life (which consumes food). Amputees still work in some jobs.
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Exploration & Scouts
11. Scout with Purpose. Don’t send scouts randomly. Prioritize locations that give survivors (more workers) and steam cores. Always send scouts in a loop that covers multiple close points before heading far.
12. Automated Scouts are a Trap Early. The Automaton Scout upgrade (from the Factory) is expensive and consumes a steam core. Use human scouts until you have spare steam cores and generator upgrades secured.
13. Abandon Dying Scouts. If a scout team is caught in a blizzard with low health, click the scout and select “Return to City” immediately. Dead scouts lose all carried resources. It’s better to lose progress than the whole team.
14. Survivors are the Best Resource. Each survivor brings more hands. Prioritize locations marked “Group of Survivors”. Even if they are sick, a few medical posts can heal them into productive workers.
15. Don’t Forget the Tesla City. In “A New Home”, Tesla City provides a large amount of steam cores but is heavily guarded by lethal Tesla coils. You must first visit the optional site with a scientist to disable the coils. Otherwise your scout dies.
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Resource Management & Economy
16. The 2:1 Wood-to-Steel Ratio. Early game, wood is needed for tents, roads, and gathering posts. Steel is for tech buildings and later upgrades. Aim for 2 gathering posts on wood piles for every 1 on steel piles until you have a steady steel mine.
17. Build Resource Depots. Raw resources (like wood and steel) that sit on the ground degrade slowly, but stockpiles in depots don’t. Build depots near your resource piles to gather faster (workers walk less) and preserve the resource.
18. Cook Food as Needed. Raw food lasts indefinitely, but prepared meals spoil after 2 days (in-game). Only cook when your raw food stock is large; otherwise you waste meals.
19. Sell Surplus at the Outpost. The Outpost (late-game building) lets you trade resources for something else. Coal is usually abundant late-game; trade excess coal for food or steam cores.
20. Overdrive the Generator Only in Emergencies. Overdrive boosts heat but damages the generator. Use it only when temperature drops rapidly during a storm or when you need to save ill people in medical posts.
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Building & Technology
21. Always Research Faster. The first tech you research should be either Beacon (if you need scouts) or more gathering/heat tech (like more efficient coal gathering). Don’t research frivolous upgrades early.
22. Build a Workshop on Day 1. A workshop (requires 10 wood) allows research. Place it near your generator for heat bonus, and assign 5 engineers to it. Research non-stop.
23. Layer Your Districts (Heat Zones). Buildings that require heat (homes, workshops, medical posts) should be in the first or second ring around the generator. Resource buildings (mines, thumpers) can be further out, but will need more insulation or laws to keep workers warm.
24. The Hothouse is a Trap. The Hothouse (greenhouse) requires a steam core and a lot of space. It produces food but is inefficient compared to hunting. Use hunting huts early and upgrades later.
25. Automations are Endgame. Automatons are robots that work 24/7 and don’t need heat. They are expensive (steam cores and steel). Build them only once you have a stable economy. Use them in coal mines or steelworks to free up workers for other jobs.
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Heat & Generator Management
26. Generator Range vs. Power. It’s better to upgrade generator power (heat output) before range. Power affects all heated buildings; range only extends the warm area. You can always build closer.
27. Use Steam Hubs Sparingly. Steam hubs extend heat to distant buildings but cost coal. A single steam hub can heat multiple buildings if placed centrally. Avoid using multiple hubs when one can cover the area.
28. Insulate Your Tents. Early on, building bunks (upgraded tents) provides more insulation and saves you from having to constantly increase generator power. Research House Insulation before the first major freeze.
29. Overdrive and Generator Damage. Each overdrive session reduces generator integrity by 10-20% (depending on difficulty). Repairing costs steam cores and time. Only overdrive when temperature drops below -60°C or your people risk death.
30. Coal Consumption Multiplier. At each temperature level (chilly, cold, very cold, freezing), coal consumption roughly doubles. Plan your coal stockpile accordingly. The moment you see “Temperature Drop” warning, start emergency shifts on coal production.
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Disasters & Crisis Management
31. The Londoners – Don’t Let Hope Drop. The most dangerous disaster is the Londoners event (in A New Home). If hope drops below 50% and discontent is high, citizens will leave. Keep hope high by passing laws like Evening Prayers or Building Statues.
32. Storm Preparations. When the storm hits (late game), the temperature plummets to -120°C. Every home must be level 4 insulated, and all workplaces must have heaters or be automated. Stockpile at least 10,000 coal before the storm.
33. Medical Crisis – Overcrowding. If many people get sick, build extra medical posts (not infirmaries—too expensive) in heated zones. Use the “Overcrowding” law to treat more patients per post (but increases chance of death).
34. Death Cleanup. Dead bodies cause discontent and hope loss. Sign the Cemetery law early to manage corpses. If not, build a corpse pile (but it’s bad).
35. Child Labour During Crisis. If you are about to run out of coal during a storm, pass Child Labour – All Jobs to force children to work in coal mines. This will save the city but cause hope and discontent long-term. Use as last resort.
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Advanced Optimizations
36. The Perfect Layout. In the frozen world, centralize your generator. Build a symmetric grid: first ring: tents (homes), second ring: workshops/medical, third ring: resource buildings, outer ring: mines/thumpers. This minimizes walking time for workers and heat loss.
37. Timing the Emergency Shift. On the morning of a temperature drop, emergency shift your coal thumper to build up a buffer. Then, as the temperature falls, you have coal to burn. The shift ends before the worst of the cold hits.
38. Scout Cycling. Send two scout teams in opposite directions to cover the map faster. When one returns, send it out again immediately. Keep a few scouts stationary at resource deposits to grab survivors as they appear.
39. Steam Core Spending. Steam cores are the rarest resource. Spend them only on: (1) Beacon upgrades, (2) Factory for automatons, (3) Infirmary if you have a death crisis. Never waste on Hothouses or early mines.
40. Faith vs. Order. For the final scenario (A New Home), Faith tree is generally easier because it boosts hope and provides comfort laws. Order tree gives more control via propaganda but can lead to totalitarianism. Play Faith for beginners.
41. The Generator Upgrade Timeline. Aim to have generator power level 2 and range level 1 before day 15. Then save cores for automatons. By day 30, upgrade to power level 3.
42. Survival Guide – No Pausing. On Survival difficulty, you cannot pause to build. Memorize key shortcuts (space for speed, number keys for buildings). Practice on Normal first.
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Endgame & Surviving the Storm
43. Stockpiling Before the Storm. The game’s final storm hits on day 48 (A New Home). From day 40, stop building non-essential structures and dedicate all workers to coal and food stockpiling. Aim for 20 days of coal supply.
44. Turn Off All Non-Essential Buildings. During the storm, every building that isn’t a home, medical post, or cookhouse should be turned off (click the building and press the power icon). This saves coal. Only run the generator and steam hubs for housing.
45. Heater Upgrades. In the final days, research the Heater upgrade for workplaces. This allows your steelworks and coal mines to operate even at -100°C. Without heaters, workers will die.
46. Food During Storm. You cannot hunt during the storm (hunting huts stop working). Have at least 3 cooked meals per person stockpiled. If you run out, citizens will starve—and starve quickly.
47. Hope and Discontent at Zero. If either hope reaches 0 or discontent reaches 100%, you lose. During the storm, maintain hope by passing laws like “Soup Kitchens” or “Evening Prayers”. Assign a few workers to hope-boosting tasks.
48. Faith Keepers/Propaganda. Use your Faith or Order abilities strategically. When discontent spikes, use the ability to calm them. Save the ability for emergencies only.
49. After the Storm – Rebuild. If you survive, the game ends immediately. But you can still play past the storm in some scenarios. Use the remaining resources to upgrade housing and lower discontent for a better ending.
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These tips are derived from hundreds of hours of gameplay. Remember: Every city is different – adapt to your situation. Stay warm, and may the Generator never falter.