Master Frostpunk's Expert Mode: Controls & Tips

AntMag.NET

Hey there! So, you're diving into Frostpunk's Expert Mode, huh? It's a serious challenge, but totally doable with the right approach. This guide is going to walk you through some key strategies, especially for tackling 'The Rifts' scenario, to help you keep your city alive and kicking.

General Tips for Survival

Food Management is Key: A neat trick is to dismantle and pause your Cookhouse. This way, you can control exactly when your people eat, saving a ton of Food Rations. It's all about making sure they only eat when they're actually hungry.
Planning for a "No Deaths" Run: If your goal is to have zero casualties, consider this law order early on: Child Labour, Food Additives, Radical Treatment, Overcrowding, and then Emergency Shift and Extended Shift. It might take longer to get everyone comfortable, but it's a solid path to avoiding any deaths.
Escort Your Survivors: When you find new groups of survivors, make sure to escort them back to your city. They'll get there much faster, and crucially, no one will die on the journey. More people early on is a huge advantage.

How to Conquer 'The Rifts' - Expert Mode

This scenario demands a sharp start. Here's how to get a strong foothold:

Initial Setup: Sign the Emergency Shift law right away. Get everyone, or at least your Wood and Steel workers, on a 24-hour shift for the first day. Build one Gathering Post and two Medical Posts within the innermost heat circle so you don't have to worry about heating them initially.
Workshop First: Before you even unpause, build a Workshop. They get a +2 building insulation bonus, so place it outside the initial heat circle. As soon as possible, sign the Extended Shift law, followed by Food Additives. This is where the micromanagement really kicks in, focusing on controlling when people eat.
Dismantle the Cookhouse (Again): Remember that trick from the general tips? Use it here. Dismantling and pausing the Cookhouse ensures people only eat when truly hungry. This avoids the need for early Hunter's Huts and frees up people for other tasks.
Research and Scouting: Keep 10 Engineers free to build the Workshop quickly. Once it's up, research the Beacon immediately. Send your scouts out to find more Survivors and crucial resources.
Night Strategy: When people ask for shelter at night, you might have to reply with "some shelter" if you can't house everyone. Keep the generator running and use overdrive for the night. Activate Extended Shift everywhere you can. Use the night to build the Cookhouse and another Gathering Post, ideally near the second rift where resources are plentiful.
Second Research Priority: Aim for either the Sawmill or Heaters. A Sawmill is great for boosting Wood production, which you'll need for bridges and tech. Build that Beacon and get your scouts moving.
TIP: Scout for the Hamlet: Based on experience, the area to the bottom-left of your city has a good chance of revealing the Buried Hamlet site, which is a great source of Survivors.
Food and Wood Stockpiling: Prepare meals using Food Additives and carefully manage when your people eat by pausing the Cookhouse when the hungry icon disappears. Build one or two Sawmills to start stockpiling Wood for bridges and future tech.
Law Progression: Sign the Radical Treatment law next, as you'll soon need Overcrowding. For your next technology, consider Drawing Boards, Hothouse, or Steam Hub. Steam Hubs are good for heating as temperatures drop, but it won't be immediate. If you go with Drawing Boards, then Steam Hub, and finally Hothouse, your people will get very hungry, potentially starving before you can feed them. A safer path is Drawing Boards, Hothouse, then Steam Hub.
Child Labour and More Survivors: Sign the Child Labour law to get those kids working and boost resource gathering. Build a Hothouse and one or two Hunter's Huts when you get a new group of Survivors.
Bridges and Steelworks: When you build your first bridge, do it to access an Iron Ore deposit so you can build a Steelworks. Research the Steelworks and build bridges to any Iron Ore you find. After researching the Hothouse and Generator Power Upgrade, focus on Drafting Boards and then research the Steam Steelworks.
Surviving the First Storm: Your next goal is to build bridges to a Coal Deposit to establish a Coal Mine. This is crucial for surviving the first storm. After that, it's about snowballing your city's prosperity.