Running an entire city all by yourself is hard work, especially when said city happens to be the last bastion of civilization on Earth. Not only are you tasked with providing your people with Food, Heat, Goods, and everything else a society needs to survive the end of the world, but you’re also in charge of squashing political disputes between rival factions.
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Frostpunk 2features a handful of factions that are often at odds with each other and will constantly question your every decision. Youcouldtry to play nice and do your best to appease everyone, but it’s usually easier to pick a side instead. One of the easiest ways to influence factions is to pass laws that align with their agendas. Laws also provide bonuses that will improve the quality of life in New London. But which are the best laws to pass? Keep reading to find out.
There are no right or wrong laws in Frostpunk 2. Every law is viable and whether you should pass it or not depends largely on your playstyle and the objectives you want to achieve. This is merely a list of laws thatprovide some of the best bonuses for the average playthrough.
10Durable Goods
No Expiration Date on These
Durable Goods is a Survival law found in the Resources category. It’s one of only two Goods-related laws and slightly reduces Goods demand per capita. Goods may not seem like a crucial resource at the start of the game, but that gradually starts to change as you approach the mid and late game. The other law, Mass-Produced Goods, which increasesGoods productionefficiency, is also worth considering and may even be better in certain scenarios.
Durable Goods is particularly important for large cities with huge populations. Large populations demand large amounts of Goods, so anything you can do to lower that demand will be very helpful indeed. Failing to provide enough Goods for the city or its colonies will eventually cause Crime to rise as people will start resorting to stealing.
9Communal Parenthood
The Pros Outweigh the Cons
Communal Parenthood is a Society law found in the Family category. This one may seem like a strange pick at first glance, but there’s a good reason why we chose to include it. Communal Parenthood significantly increases the percentage of Active Workers while marginally decreasingPopulation growth. Generally speaking, it’s a good idea to avoid laws that come with negative effects, but this one can actually be seen as a benefit, since Population growth tends to get out of control in the later stages of the game.
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There are pros and cons to having a large Population in Frostpunk 2. Once you reach a certain number of people, it becomes detrimental to keep adding more as all they will do is drain your resources. But having a larger percentage of your Population be part of the Workforce is never a bad thing. Hence, why Communal Parenthood’s two effects perfectly complement each other. Dedicated Motherhood, the alternative law, does the exact opposite and should not be picked unless you’re struggling to maintain a large Population.
8Experimental Treatment
Test Subjects Wanted
Experimental Treatment is a Society law found in the Ethics category. The law marginally increases Research Speed while marginally decreasing Disease buildup. In addition, Experimental Treatment also unlocks a special ability in Districts that contain hospitals. Activating the ability will reduce Diseases even further. However, it may cause a few fatalities in the process as well. Use the ability at your own risk.
Disease is typically not something you should be worried about until you reach Chapter 4 of the campaign where your people will start getting sick left and right, especially in Winterhome. Before that, you’re unlikely to run into major issues unless you’re struggling to meetHeat demands. Still, having a quick solution to cure the sick is definitely important, and that’s exactly what this law provides. Granted, you do need a hospital to take full advantage of it.
7Paid Essentials
Universal Basic Income
Paid Essentials is a City law found in the Welfare category. you may unlock this law fairly early on and reap a couple of helpful bonuses that increase Production efficiency and Heatstamps income. The bonuses are minor, but you get two of them, and you can unlock Paid Essentials in the early game if you play your cards right.
The only alternative law in this category, Free Essentials, increases Trust, and while that’s not a bad bonus to have, there are other ways to achieve the same result without taking up a law slot. Trust won’t become a major concern anyway until at least Act 3 or 4, so there’s little point in focusing on it from the get-go.
6City-Run Alcohol Shops
All You Can Drink
City-Run Alcohol Shops is a City law found in the Welfare category. The law significantly increases Heatstamps Income per capita and is the only law in Frostpunk 2 that provides such a powerful bonus, with similar laws giving only slight or moderate bonuses. The alternative law, Privatized Alcohol Consumption, raises Trust slightly and is an objectively worse pick.
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City-Run Alcohol Shops is a fantastic money-making law that becomes stronger and stronger as the game progresses. Since the bonus applies per capita, the amount of extra Heatstamps you get will gradually increase in relation to your Population. Conversely, the income drops if you start losing Population, but that generally never happens unless something’s gone terribly wrong, in which case you probably have more important things to worry about than losing out on a few Heatstamps.
5Merit-Based Housing
Make Your People Earn Their Keep
Merit-Based Housing is a City law found in the Welfare category. Once passed, the law will increase your city’s Heatstamps Income per capita along with the amount of Shelter provided by Housing. Both of these are minor bonuses, but every little bit helps in the unforgiving world of Frostpunk 2. Besides, the alternative isn’t particularly amazing, so the game sort of makes the choice for you.
Mandatory Crowding, the alternative to Merit-Based Housing, provides a better Shelter bonus but no extra Heatstamps Income. Moreover, the law comes with a drawback that marginally increases Tension in the city. It’s sometimes worth picking up laws that come with negative effects when they also provide particularly good bonuses that compensate for them, but that’s not the case here.
4Unproductive Do Maintenance
Everybody Needs to Pitch In
Unproductive Do Maintenance is a City law found in the Citizenship category. The law slightly decreases Materials demand while slightly increasing Production efficiency. Materials can be found in ample supplies in Frostpunk 2, especially once you research Deep Melting Drills. The issue is that all your Districts require loads of them to function, which is why laws that decrease demand are so useful. The second bonus is just a little cherry on top.
All Do Maintenance, the alternative law, should not be overlooked either. This law decreases Materials demand even more and should be passed instead if you’re struggling to keep up with demand. However, there’s no secondary bonus here. Generally speaking, we recommend sticking with Unproductive Do Maintenance because the two bonuses granted by the law synergize really well with each other.
3Apex Workers
They Say Work Makes You Free
Apex Workers is a Survival law found in the New Work Model category. This is a late-game law that counts as a Radical Idea and locks you into a specific path upon researching it. The law grants two powerful bonuses in the form of significantly increased Production efficiency and decreased Heat demand for all Districts and Buildings. Machine Attendants, the alternative New Work Model law, only grants one bonus that significantly decreases Workforce requirements.
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While the increased Production efficiency is nice to have, the main highlight here is the decreased Heat demand. Heating is obviously very important in Frostpunk 2 and the other laws that decrease demand are more selective. Namely, they either decrease demand in Housing Districts or in all other Districts aside from Housing. Apex Workers is the only law that does both. The only drawback is that it takes a long time to unlock.
2Allow Productive Outsiders
No Slackers Around Here
Allow Productive Outsiders is a City law found in the Citizenship category. This is one of the few laws in Frostpunk 2 that grants not one, not two, but three bonuses, and without any negative side effects to boot. Passing this law slightly increases the percentage of active workers your city gains over time while also marginally increasing Population growth and Heatstamps income per capita. It’s pretty much like having two laws bundled together.
There’s a small caveat to this law in that it won’t become available until you progress the game to the point where people from the Frostlands start flocking to New London. Once that happens, you can choose to pass one of three laws – Allow Productive Outsiders, Accept All Outsiders, and Admit No Outsiders. Your choice will impact your standing with some of the factions, but you generally still want to pass that first law even if you risk upsetting a faction you want to side with just because it’s so much better than the alternatives.
1Bureau of Propaganda
Big Brother is Watching
Bureau of Propaganda is one of the few Rule laws available in Frostpunk 2. Rule is a special category of laws that provide powerful bonuses but are intentionally difficult to unlock. You can propose them to The Council at pretty much any time. However, they won’t be passed unless you get a majority vote. These laws are designed to give you, the Steward, more power, so don’t be surprised if most factions will end up voting against them.
Every Rule law is worth passing, but Bureau of Propaganda is particularly good. This law significantly decreases Tension in the city while also making factions (mostly) look the other way when people are dying in the city or when you abuse Guided Voting and initiate Emergency Council Sessions. Relations with factions will still decrease as a result of these events, but not nearly as much as they usually would. If you’re planning to achieve supreme power in New London, this law is a must-have.
