The sky turns crimson in Frostpunk 2, as a city that once stood as a proud bastion now devolves into civil war. The people turn to you as its Steward, leading to a pivotal decision that determines its future. Will you seek power or peace? The choice is up to you. Here’s our guide on whether you should banish, reconcile, or enforce order in Frostpunk 2.
First, we’ll discuss the roots of the conflict based on our playthrough, then we’ll look into general mechanics that you can expect moving forward. Finally, we’ll tackle all three branching paths that lead to endings.
The fateful decision in Chapter 5
The decision to banish, reconcile, or enforce order in Frostpunk 2 stems from an earlier incident in the campaign. In our playthrough, we primarily sided with the Stalwarts due to their focus on meritocracy and progress. This also meant stymieing the Pilgrims at every turn. However, in Chapter 4, we had to choose between the suggestions from both camps. In the end, we opted to trust in the Pilgrims, which caused our standing with the Stalwarts to take a nosedive.
After completing Chapter 4, we were treated to a cutscene where the Stalwarts assassinated a Pilgrim delegate at the Council. Given that the Stalwarts were the instigators of the civil war, certain choices meant that we had to put an end to the threat that they posed.
Civil war general mechanics
Regardless of the decision that you make, the Frostpunk 2 civil war does have some general mechanics that you should remember.
- Try to pass most of the Rule-type laws, since these will help you establish firm control of the city at the campaign’s conclusion.
- Several districts will be out of commission as the two rival factions vie for control. You can put an end to the fighting through various means, though you still need to repair these districts afterward.
- Guard Squads become integral at this point, since they can protect citizens and districts, as well as quell the fighting. Be sure to recruit radicals to your Guard Squad throughout the campaign so you have a lot to spare.
- In earlier chapters, try to build a couple of Prisons in different Housing Districts. These Housing Districts then gain the “Roundup” ability, which lets you detain hundreds of faction members. Detainees can be exiled, returned to the general population, or, even better, recruited as members of your Guard Squad.
- If you can stop the fighting in the districts, tension will drop significantly. This will momentarily end the civil war, though the conflict can trigger later once tensions rise again or through certain event chains.
The Path of Banishment
As we delve into the Frostpunk 2 banish, reconcile, and enforce order decisions, we take a look at the first option: banishment. The main goal here is to get rid of all members of the faction that started the civil war. That might seem like a tall task, but this is actually the easiest of the bunch.
You can get rid of all members of said faction through the following means.
- Killed — Those that get killed due to the infighting and actions of your Guard Squads.
- Detained — Those that get detained via the Roundup action from your Prisons.
- Emigrated — Those that are sent to a colony (more on this below).
- Abandoned cause — Those that voluntarily leave a faction.
We’ve already explained the “killing” and “detaining” parts earlier. As for “abandoning the cause,” this actually occurs if you click on a faction and select the “Denounce,” “De-radicalize,” and “Secret Police” options. A huge percentage of that faction’s membership will voluntarily leave the group, causing their numbers to drastically dwindle.
As for “emigration,” this requires you to set up a colony in a Frostlands region that will be marked on your map. There’s also a requirement to make sure that the colony can survive on its own, or hand over control to the emigrants. However, we’ve noticed that this function seems to be bugged, as we couldn’t build anything in the territory. So, we just relied on causing the group’s numbers to drop until there’s no one left.
The Path of Reconciliation
If you seek reconciliation in Frostpunk 2, then be ready for a challenge. The main goal here is to pass the Peace Accords as a law, but this is harder than it sounds. Here’s what you need to know.
- You must use the “Negotiate Peace Agreement” action when interacting with the two rival groups.
- Depending on how you progressed through the campaign, you may need to do the following:
- Pass new laws or repeal ones that are too radical for a group.
- Research new techs or their alternatives that a group is in favor of.
- Since you have to propose laws and research techs, you need to avoid dillydallying with the other main factions. This means you can’t grant agendas or promises since these will get in the way of your objectives.
Completing each group’s task lets you click on the “Negotiate Peace Agreement” option, but it doesn’t end there. You still have to pass the Peace Accords, which is found in the Rule tab/category. Here’s the kicker: Similar to other Rule-type laws, you need a two-thirds majority, or 67 delegates, to be in favor of this proposal. This is why you should avoid having any active promises for the two other organizations (i.e., Frostlanders and New Londoners), since this will prevent you from negotiating with them. Likewise, you should push for Guided Voting to ensure that the majority of delegates do as they’re told.
If a few weeks pass and you’re still unable to pass the Peace Accords, you’re given one last chance to do this. If you still fail, then you’ll get kicked to the curb and the game will end in failure. You’ll have no choice but to reload from a previous save.
The Path of Order
The Frostpunk 2 enforce order decision might be one of the coolest (pun intended) in the game. The goal is to pass the Captain’s Authority law, which means you get to become the Captain just like in the first game. The process is actually relatively simple and straightforward.
- Well before you reach Chapter 5, make sure that you’ve passed all other Rule-type laws, such as Guided Voting, Steward’s Militia, and the like. All of these are required to unlock the Captain’s Authority proposal.
- You need a two-thirds majority (67 delegates) to vote in favor of this law, so try to negotiate deals or toggle Guided Voting to help you out.
- Once this happens, you no longer need to worry about the trust mechanic. You don’t even need to bother with negotiations anymore since all 100 delegates will vote in favor of whatever you propose.
- There’s also an alternative if you’re unable to pass the Captain’s Authority law through the Council. If you have 120 Guard Squads, you can click on the city center and pick the “Stage Coup” ability. After a few days pass, you should assume the mantle of Captain.
Regardless of how you reached this point, you still have a few additional tasks where you have to construct an Enclave District.
- This is a special district that requires around 20 tiles. It has to be built in a location that’s not near Housing Districts or another faction’s enclave.
- Then, you need to build a Watchtower inside the district and click on the “Begin Enclave Relocation” ability to move the members of the instigating faction.
- Decide on how well the Enclave District is guarded and watch the game’s ending.
That does it for our guide on whether you should banish, reconcile, or enforce order in Frostpunk 2. We hope this article helps you decide on the path to take to reach the game’s conclusion. For other tips and tactics, we encourage you to check our best laws guide, best techs guide, and Frostland exploration guide.
