Frostpunk 2is a city-building and survival video game that lets players build and govern colonies,research scientific technologies, and enact various laws and ideas. This happens through the Idea Tree and the Research Institute. Players must complete the Story Mode’s Prologue tounlock the Research Institute, which then gives them access to the Idea Tree.

Once the Research Institute has been unlocked, players can build it byexpanding a Housing Districtand thenbuilding the Research Institute from the Housing tab. After building the Research Institute, players can access it from the Housing District’s information menu. Then, to access the Idea Tree, players can click on the circle in the bottom-right corner, allowing them to research new technology. There is a lot of technology, which can be overwhelming. So, what should players focus on first?

Deep Melting Drill Building in Frostpunk 2

10Deep Melting Drill

Improve Production With Deep Deposits

Resources are one of the most important things inFrostpunk 2. They’re a means of survival. Resources like food will keep your factions fed, while resources like materials are important for building, researching, and upgrading structures. Unfortunately, some resources can be hard to come by and may require you to send out expeditions orcreate trade routes. You may even find yourself having to make difficult decisions aboutrationing resources. No matter the situation, there will be times when you run low or don’t feel like you have enough resources to go around.

Researching any tech requires manpower, heatstamps, and prefabs.

Housing Insulation Screen in Frostpunk 2

While investing in Deep Melting Drill won’t erase these issues entirely, it can certainly help. The Deep Melting Drillimproves production and gives access to deep deposits. Unlocking the Deep Melting Drill requires time and resources. You’ll need to research the first Generator Upgrade and Melting Deep Deposits from the Idea Tree. Plus, in Story Mode, you’ll have to wait until Chapter 2 andswear to defeat the frost.

9Generator Upgrades

Keep Your Districts Warm And Cozy

There are three upgrades inFrostpunk 2, and it’s a wise investment to upgrade at least once early on. The climate inFrostpunk 2, as implied by the game’s name, is chilly and harsh, and yourcolonies willneed heat inFrostpunk 2to survivethese brutal conditions. The best way to give your city heat is with generators.

Uses oil instead of coal

Frostpunk 2 charactert covered in ash wearing goggles that show fire in the reflection, behind them is a snow covered city from above.

Generator Upgrade 3

Overdrive becomes safer, and oil produces more heat

Generators will supply not only heat but also power to your city. Remember, there are three upgrades for generators, as seen inGamers Heroes' video on YouTube.. The first upgrade makes it so that generatorsuse fuel instead of coal. The second upgrade unlocks Surplus Injectors that burn excessfuel inFrostpunk 2to increase output for all districts. The final upgrade improves theoverdrive function and produces more heat.

Exploring the Wilderness in Frostpunk 2

8Housing Insulation

Insulate Homes To Retain Heat

As the Steward of your colonies, it’s up to you to keep your colonies safe. A few things should be at the top of your priority list to keep them safe. For example, keeping your citizens warm so they aren’t freezing to death. While generators are a great first step, they can build stress from prolonged use and quit working. Plus, generators are only going to heat homes that are nearby. So, if you’re expanding your city, then it becomes obsolete. Fortunately, there’s another way you can keep your colonies warm:keeping homes well insulated.

Want to speed up the research progress? Build more Research Institutes!

Setting Up Skyviews in Frostpunk 2

Housing Insulation is definitely worth the investment. Insulation helps homesretain heat and reduces the stress on the generators. You can find insulation like Asbestos Lining and other goodies under the Housing section of the research screen. Look around and decide what you think is worth investing in for your factions.

7Filtration Towers

Keep Pollution And Squalor Low

According toQuick Tipson YouTube, you will eventually deal with squalor if you run generators orhave certain buildings that produce pollution. Squalor can become a big problem, producing diseases andslowing population growth. To see the current Squalor in your cities, hover over the Squalor icon at the top to learn more about what’s causing Squalor.

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As with most post-apocalyptic,city-building games, it’s up to you to keep your citizens happy and healthy. One way to do that inFrostpunk 2is tobuild Filtration Towers, which will help with pollution and Squalor. One Filtration Tower might not be enough, so feel free to build multiples until the Squalor becomes stable or diminished.

Creating an Outpost In Frostpunk 2

6Survivalists’ Headquarters

Make Expeditions Safer For Your Teams

Are you ready to branch out and start exploring the areas surrounding your city? Then you should invest in the Survivalists’ Headquarters. With these headquarters, you’lldecrease exploration time and territory threat level, making sending scouts out on expeditions safer.

Certain techs will be favored more by certain factions, which will improve your relationship with them. So, focus on those.

Recovery Hospital in Frostpunk 2

While exploring the wilderness shouldn’t be a top priority in the beginning, if you want to expand and gather more resources and materials to keep your city running, then you’ll eventually want to send scouts out on expeditions and drilling missions. Survivalists’ Headquarters can help keep them safe on their journey.

5Skyways

Improve Resource Gathering And Transfers

As you start venturing out and exploring surrounding areas, you’ll eventually come acrosspoints of interest, like Outposts, where you canextract resources. However, extracting resources requires a Trail or Skyway connecting to your city or settlement. Trails are nice, but Skyways are even better because they increase resource output and allow better and faster transfer of resources between a colony and a city.

Running out of resources and materials is easy if you only focus on harvesting from your city. So, exploring the wilderness will give you access to more resources so you don’t run out as easily. Placing Skyways across all points of interest and connecting them to your city will help keep things running. Plus, if you’re building Outposts and Settlements,having Skyways connected will help transfer resources between them. While building Skyways can be time-consuming, it makes up for it with increased production speed in areas outside your city.

District Construction in Frostpunk 2

4Extraction Strongholds

Increase Outpost Production Efficiency

Much like thepreviousFrostpunkgame,Frostpunk 2relies greatly on scouting and exploring to survive. Part of that means sending out teams on expeditions to explore and collect resources. To do that, you’ll need toset up Outposts. Outposts are integral to surviving in harsh conditions as they provide constant resources.

While Outposts are excellent at providing resources, you can improve them even more by unlocking and researching Extraction Strongholds. Pair Extraction Strongholds with Frontier Footholds, and you’llincrease production while decreasing the number of teams each outpost needsto operate. With both, you’ll maximize the efficiency of Outposts, but out of the two, Extraction Strongholds should take precedence.

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3Patrol Watchtowers

Decrease Crime And Protests

Crime is another issue that you’ll probably face at some point in yourFrostpunk 2colonies. Crime can cause other issues, such as tension among citizens and even a decrease in the population. Patrol Watchtowers are an excellent solution for keeping the crime rate low, according to the video byQuick Tipson YouTube.

To see your crime rate, hover over the handcuff icon at the top of the screen. You’ll see information about the Crime rate, including if it’s absent, stable, or growing.

Patrol Watchtowers are the better watchtower category for those who follow a more traditional choice route. With Patrol Watchtowers, you’ll have access to up to16 Guard Squads. Guards will look over your city and break up any protests. To make even better use of Patrol Watchtowers, choose Protecting People as your priority for district protection andresearch Guard Immunityto improve your Guards.

12 Guard Squad Output; Requires 200 Workforce and 20 Heat

12 Guard Squad Output; Requires 100 Workforce and 20 Heat

Patrol Watchtower

16 Guard Squad Output; Requires 200 Workforce

Also, it’s good to note that while Patrol Watchtowers decrease crime, they raise tension slightly. Other watchtowers can help, but the Patrol Watchtower is the best choice.

2Recovery Hospital

Reduce Diseases And Cure Illness Faster

InFrostpunk 2, you will betaking care of thousands of residents. Just like in real life, people are going to get sick with diseases and illnesses. If you do nothing about it, then tension will rise, and the number of citizens available for your workforce will decrease. A decrease in the workforce means a decrease in production and resource gathering. Yourentire city could fall apart, and everything you’ve worked toward will have been for nothing.

It’s a good idea to invest in a Recovery Hospital as soon as possible to prevent that from happening. Of course, you’ll also want to invest in things thatreduce cold inFrostpunk 2, along with hunger and Squalor, so the disease isn’t running rampant. However, those who do get sick in your cityneed a place to go where they can rest and heal, and that’s where the Recovery Hospital comes in. The Recovery Hospital will decrease diseases while also curing sickness faster. Tension may rise slightly with the Recovery Hospital, but keeping your city healthy is worth it.

1Maintenance Hub

Decrease Material Demand Across Districts

Keeping up with your districts and citizens inFrostpunk 2requires a lot of resources and materials. Even if you’re doing everything right regarding resource gathering, youcan still run low, especially if you’re researching and building a lot. Fortunately, the Materials Hub can help if you’re tired of material upkeep.

The Materials Hub is one of the best techs early in the game. Unlocking and placing this hub in your district willdecrease material demand. It works on all nearby districts, so be strategic with your placement. Other beneficial hubs include:

Lowers heating demands

Temperature-controlled food storage

Fuel Stockpile Hub

Fuel storage

Frostpunk 2has a lot of similarities to the first game, including researching tech and choosing the best tech available for your districts. What you choose to focus on is entirely up to you, but it’s a wise idea to invest in tech that will boost productivity, resources, and things like food and heat while keeping crime and disease low. These 10 techs are some of the best to invest in to help you keep your city surviving in the harshest conditions.