The second chapter of Frostpunk 2 concludes with your city surviving the Whiteout and discovering that the generator, in its current state, isn't efficient at supplying enough heat during Whiteouts. Depending on whether you chose to defeat or embrace the frost in the previous chapter, the third chapter will have you explore the Frostlands in search of Winterhome.
Once you discover Winterhome, you may choose to either settle it and establish a new colony, or salvage it for Cores to upgrade the generator in New London. The following guide offers a strategic walkthrough for Chapter 3 in Frostpunk 2.
How To Find Winterhome Ruins
The Winterhome Ruins are located in a territory called the Cursed Valley in the Frostlands. This region isn't far from New London, but you'll need to ensure that your Frostland Teams are well-equipped to explore it. If the area is marked as Dangerous or Deadly, you must research the Scouts' Headquarters and Scouts' Training ideas to decrease the threat levels.
After surviving the Whiteout in Chapter 2, you may find that the Cursed Valley is blocked by the storm and unavailable for exploration. You'll need to wait a few in-game weeks for the storm to clear before being able to explore the Cursed Valley.
Once the Cursed Valley expedition is completed, you'll have the option to colonize Winterhome. However, before you can do so, you'll need to build trails or Skyways to connect the colony to New London.
With the two colonies connected, you can send colonists over to Winterhome, provided that you meet the following requirements:
- Cold is absent in New London.
- Your trust level is at least "Accepted."
- You have at least 3,000 unemployed people.
Delaying the decision to either settle or salvage Winterhome will cause unrest among the factions, who will then pressure you to colonize Winterhome within the assigned time.
Choosing Between Settling Or Salvaging Winterhome
Once the colonists reach Winterhome, you'll face an important choice that will weaken your relationship with one of the opposing factions. In this case, the two factions are the Pilgrims, who wish to rebuild and settle in Winterhome, and the Stalwarts, who prefer to blow it up and salvage the Cores to power the generator in New London.
Settling Winterhome
If you choose to rebuild and settle Winterhome, you'll be required to frostbreak your way to the toxic fume outlets in Winterhome and build a Fume Filtration District on three of these outlets.
However, Winterhome in its current state is highly toxic, and employing your workforce to frostbreak these areas will result in casualties. The rising death count will also lead to a rapid drop in trust and increased tension in society.
You can avoid unnecessary colonist deaths by opting for the Safe Frostbreak option, but it comes with the cost of slower frostbreaking speeds and higher heatstamp costs. Moreover, you'll be running against the clock with only a few weeks to go before Winterhome gets engulfed in toxic fumes and becomes inhabitable.
However, you can minimize deaths by researching the Automated Workforce Factory, and building it inside an Industrial District. The Automated Workforce can frostbreak without sacrificing time or lives.
Building the Fume Filtration Districts on three of the toxic fume outlets makes Winterhome habitable, and brings an end to Chapter Three for this story arc.
Salvaging Winterhome
If you choose to salvage Winterhome instead of settling it, you'll still face the challenge of dealing with toxic fumes. However, instead of building Fume Extraction Districts, you'll need to construct regular Extraction Districts to extract Cores. You'll require a total of 40 Cores to build the next generator upgrade.
Once again, you can establish an Industrial District and outfit it with the Automated Workforce Factory to frostbreak your way to the Cores, minimizing the loss of human lives. Successfully extracting 40 Cores from Winterhome before it is overtaken by toxic gases will conclude Chapter Three.
Frostpunk 2: 4 Bad Decisions That Will Ruin A Playthrough
Frostpunk 2 is already a difficult game, but some decisions spell an early game over. Here's what decisions to avoid in order in any playthrough.
Dealing With Generator Sabotage In Winterhome
As you begin the operation to either settle or salvage Winterhome, the betrayed faction will express their displeasure by repeatedly sabotaging the generator. These sabotages will cause damage to other structures in Winterhome, and you'll need to manually repair them using Prefabs.
Since time is of the essence in this chapter, you cannot afford to let radicalized factions disrupt your operation. You can put an end to these recurring sabotages by expanding two Housing Districts and constructing a Watchtower.
Failing to either settle or salvage Winterhome within the assigned time will result in a failure, and you'll be sent back to the main menu. You can, however, reload a previous save and employ different strategies to accomplish your objectives within the time frame. It's highly recommended to utilize the Automated Workforce Factory, as it speeds up frostbreaking operations in Winterhome.
-
OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 85 /100 Critics Rec: 95%
- Released
- September 20, 2024
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood, Drug Reference, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Violence
- Developer(s)
- 11 Bit Studios
- Publisher(s)
- 11 Bit Studios
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- Franchise
- Frostpunk
- PC Release Date
- September 20, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- Genre(s)
- Strategy, Survival, City Builder
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
