Frostpunk: Complete Survival Guide

A survival guide to the original Frostpunk: opening build orders for A New Home, how heat, food and coal really work, the Book of Laws, Hope and Discontent, surviving the Great Storm, plus notes on the other scenarios, Endless mode and the upcoming Frostpunk 1886.

Researched September 2026 — current as of the final version of Frostpunk (development of the original has ended; all updates and the three Season Pass expansions are released). Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

Status: 11 bit studios is no longer developing the original Frostpunk. Its sequel, Frostpunk 2, released in 2024, and a remake, Frostpunk 1886 (Unreal Engine 5, about 70% original content and 30% new, including a new Purpose path and new Adaptation laws), is planned for 2027. The original remains a complete, excellent game and everything here applies to it.

Quick Start

• The Generator is everything. Build homes and key workplaces inside its heat radius.
• Coal first, then wood and steel. On day one, gather the loose coal, wood and steel piles, then build a Coal Thumper or Coal Mine as soon as research allows.
• Research Heaters and Hunters early. Food and heat are your two killers.
• Research runs on engineers. Build a Workshop on day one and staff it. Two workshops early is common.
• Food: Gathering Post and Hunters' Huts, then Cookhouse. Raw food must be cooked to feed people; cooking also stretches rations.
• Tents first, bunkhouses later. House everyone immediately; homelessness kills Hope and health.
• Send scouts from the Beacon. Survivors, resources and Steam Cores are out in the Frostland.
• Sign laws deliberately. Laws are permanent. Read the side effects.
• Watch Hope and Discontent. If Hope hits zero or Discontent maxes out, you're exiled.
• Save before big decisions and before the storm.

Resources and Buildings

Key resources

Resource | Primary source | Used for

Coal | Coal piles, Coal Thumper, Coal Mine, Charcoal Kiln | Generator fuel and heaters

Wood | Wood piles, Sawmill, Wall Drill, frozen crates | Construction

Steel | Steel piles, Steelworks | Construction and advanced buildings

Raw Food | Hunters' Huts, Hothouses, Gathering Posts | Turned into food rations

Food Rations | Cookhouse | Feeding citizens

Steam Cores | Scouting only (plus a few map spots) | Automatons, advanced buildings

The early build

Building | Role | Notes

Gathering Post | Collects surface piles | Great for the first days

Workshop | Research | Staff with Engineers

Tents | Housing | Cheapest shelter

Cookhouse | Turns raw food into rations | Essential before day 3-4

Hunters' Hut | Raw food | Hunters work at night; a reliable food source

Medical Post | Treats the sick | Engineers staff medical buildings

Beacon | Unlocks scouting | Requires research

Coal Thumper | Mid-game coal | Placed on coal deposits

Housing progression

Tents, then Bunkhouses, then Houses. Better homes are warmer. Upgrading housing is one of the best ways to reduce sickness.

Heat, Cold and the Generator

• Heat levels: buildings range from Freezing and Very Cold up through Cold and Chilly to Comfortable. Aim for at least Chilly in homes and workplaces; Cold or worse makes people sick quickly.
• Generator range and power can be upgraded. Range increases the heated area; Power increases the heat level.
• Overdrive temporarily boosts heat but builds stress; if you max it, the generator can explode. Use it for short cold snaps only.
• Steam Hubs extend heat to outer districts. Heaters (researched) warm individual workplaces.
• Insulation research improves homes and workplaces. Prioritise it before temperature drops.

Temperature falls throughout A New Home. Every few days the cold gets harsher, so your heat technology has to keep pace.

Food

• Rations: Every citizen needs a Food Ration each day; check the Economy screen's food forecast rather than guessing.
• Cookhouse efficiency: The "Soup" and "Food Additives" laws stretch rations (with Hope/Discontent side effects). Choose one.
• Hunters' Huts are strong early; research later for more hunters and better output.
• Hothouses grow food in heat; they need heat and staffing.
• Starvation: Hungry people get sick and angry. Don't let the food stockpile hit zero.

The Book of Laws

Laws are permanent and some unlock others. They're split into Adaptation (work, food, health, shelter) and a later Purpose path (Order or Faith, in A New Home).

Key Adaptation laws

Law | Effect | Consideration

Child Labour | Children work in safe workplaces | Workforce boost; Hope hit

Child Shelters | Children help in medical/engineering | Morally easier; Engineer apprentices

Extended Shift | Longer shifts in some buildings | More output; Discontent and accidents

Emergency Shift | 24-hour shift in a building for one day | Accidents and deaths possible

Soup / Food Additives | More rations per raw food | Different health/Discontent penalties

Radical Treatment / Sustain Life | Medical priorities | Radical Treatment can amputate; Sustain Life extends care

Overcrowding | More patients per medical building | Reduces effectiveness per patient

Corpse Disposal / Cemetery | Handle the dead | Cemetery reduces Discontent, Corpse Disposal cheaper

Public House / Fighting Arena | Reduce Discontent | Side effects on crime or injuries

Purpose: Order vs Faith

• Order: Neighbourhood Watch, Guard Stations, Propaganda, Prisons, and eventually the "New Order" police-state endpoint. Controls Discontent through force.
• Faith: Evening Prayers, Houses of Prayer, Faith Keepers, Temples, and eventually the "New Faith" route. Controls Hope through belief.
• Going to the extreme end of either path is optional and has consequences for the ending. You can stop partway.

Hope and Discontent

• Hope falls when people die, freeze, starve, go homeless, or when you break promises. It rises when you fulfil promises and keep people safe.
• Discontent rises with harsh laws, long shifts, bad conditions, and unfulfilled demands.
• Promises: Citizens make requests ("build X homes by day Y"). Accepting and fulfilling them is one of the best ways to raise Hope and lower Discontent.
• Exile: If Hope hits zero or Discontent hits max, you lose.

Scouting and Automatons

• Beacon: Build one early to send scouts to explore the Frostland.
• Scout finds: survivors (more workers), resources, and Steam Cores.
• Outposts: Some scenarios allow outposts to ship resources back.
• Automatons: Built with Steam Cores; they work 24/7 and don't need heat, food or homes. Use them in cold, far-away workplaces like Coal Mines.

Scenario Guide

A New Home (main scenario)

• Early (days 1-7): Gather piles, Workshop, Tents, Cookhouse, Hunters' Huts, Beacon.
• Middle (days 8-25): Coal Thumper/Mine, Sawmill or Wall Drill, Steelworks, Heaters, Steam Hubs, Insulation, Bunkhouses.
• Late (days 25+): Houses, Automatons, generator upgrades, stockpiles of coal and food, heating upgrades for everything.
• The Great Storm: Near the end, a catastrophic storm drops temperatures to extreme levels for several days. Before it hits: stockpile a very large coal reserve, upgrade the generator's power and range, insulate homes, upgrade houses, and bring everyone inside the heat. During it: consider shutting down outer workplaces and using Overdrive sparingly.

The Arks

A small team of engineers must protect seed vaults. There's no general population, so every worker matters, and heat for the Arks is the priority.

The Refugees

You manage a mix of privileged Lords and the refugees who arrive later, each group with competing demands. Balancing their needs (rather than the Order/Faith choice of A New Home) is the core tension, so read each law's effect on both groups.

The Fall of Winterhome

A failing city: you manage a collapsing settlement and must evacuate and survive. Heavy on logistics.

Season Pass expansions

Expansion | Summary

The Rifts | Bridges over chasms; a new map with its own layout challenges

On The Edge | An outpost scenario dealing with New London and the Frostland

The Last Autumn | A prequel about building the Generator before the cold arrives

Endless mode

Endless mode offers Endurance (tougher survival) and Serenity (relaxed city-building) variants on several maps. Great for long sandbox games once you know the systems.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Building outside the heat radius early. Workers freeze and get sick.
• Too few engineers in the Workshop. Research stalls and you fall behind the cold.
• Ignoring promises. They're the cheapest Hope boosts.
• Letting coal run dry at night. The Generator shuts off and everyone freezes.
• Signing extreme laws too early. Many are permanent regrets.
• Starving the city to save food. Hunger spirals into sickness and Discontent.
• Under-preparing for the Great Storm. It's the difference between winning and exile.
• Overusing Overdrive until the generator explodes.

Advanced Tips

• Hunters are safe food. Hunters' Huts give food even at night and are reliable before Hothouses.
• Wall Drills vs Sawmills: Wall Drills extract wood from the cliff walls and don't depend on nearby trees.
• Charcoal Kilns turn wood into coal. A good fallback if coal deposits are far.
• Automatons into cold jobs: Put them in the outermost, coldest workplaces.
• Research order sample: Heaters, Beacon, Hunting improvements, Coal Thumper, Steam Hubs, Insulation, Wall Drill/Sawmill, Steelworks, Hothouses, Automatons, Generator upgrades.
• Use the Economy screen to see production/consumption at a glance.
• Emergency Shift sparingly: Great for rushing a crucial resource before a storm, deadly if overused.

FAQ

Is Frostpunk still being updated? No. 11 bit studios has finished development of the original Frostpunk. Frostpunk 2 released in 2024, and Frostpunk 1886, a reimagining of the original, is planned for 2027.

What is Frostpunk 1886? A remake of Frostpunk in Unreal Engine 5 with roughly 70% original content and 30% new, including new Adaptation laws and a new Purpose path. Laws still can't be changed once signed.

How do I beat the Great Storm? Stockpile a lot of coal, upgrade the generator's power and range, insulate everything, and upgrade houses before it arrives.

What happens if Hope reaches zero? You're exiled and the game ends.

Should I use Child Labour? It's an early workforce boost with a Hope hit. Child Shelters is the gentler alternative.

Order or Faith? Both work. Order controls Discontent via force; Faith controls Hope via belief. You don't have to go to either extreme.

Does Frostpunk have an endless mode? Yes, with Endurance and Serenity variants on several maps.

Sources

• Frostpunk on Steam
• Steam news: Revisiting New London dev diaries and Frostpunk 1886 (2026)
• Steam news: Voices of the City Q&A (May 2026)
• 11 bit studios