Once you’ve completed Story Mode inFrostpunk 2, it’s time to check out Utopia Builder, which offers much more freedom and unexpected challenges. You’ll need to start making decisions before the campaign even begins - namely, which map you’ll want to play on.
Each of the seven maps available in the base game offers different advantages and drawbacks, from the amount of building space to the available resources. We’ve ranked them all based on their overall viability and how much fun they are to play - assuming, of course, that you like a challenge. Then again, would you be playing Frostpunk 2 if you didn’t?
The resource deposits in Utopia Builder are semi-randomized, so while resources may or may not be available on a given map, their location and quantity can change between playthroughs.
7Dreadnought
Something’s Missing
Dreadnought has a lot going for it -plentiful Oil, a divided landscape that poses some fun gameplay challenges, and even a canyone that’sgreat for Housing Districts.Normally, all that would be enough to make up for the fact that it’s one of the maps you’ve already played in Story Mode - frankly, I had been hoping for more opportunities to see what the map was really capable of.
Zooming out, though, you’ll probably notice that even though there’s a lot of Oil to be had on Dreadnought,there’s no Food!That means you need to get Frostland Teams out into the wilderness and foraging as soon as possible, and your colony will be on the brink of starvation if anything disrupts your food supply. For that reason, you shouldonly attempt Dreadnought if you’re confident in your abilities… and you should probably pick Adaptation.
6Horizon
Wasn’t This How Wrath Of Khan Started?
If you’ve finished Story Mode, you might recognize Horizon asWindswept Heath, the colony where you can send the banished faction after they stir up trouble in New London. It’s an inhospitable place, with no protection from the biting winds. Thisessentially negates the Heating bonus for grouping Districts togetherunless you can stack it two or more times, meaning that you need to be extra careful when planning your construction on this map.
While Horizon does haveenough resources to create a successful city, it’s otherwise a pretty boring map consisting of a flat, open plain. Play it for the extra challenge of keeping people warm against the wind chill; otherwise, it’s a bog-standard experience.
5Windswept Peaks
At Least It’s Not A Story Mode Map
I predict that if 11bit Studios releases player data from Frostpunk 2,Windswept Peakswill be either the first- or second-most played Utopia Builder Map. Effectively the default map by virtue of being first on the selection screen, it offers amiddle-of-the-road experiencewith no particular challenges outside of standard gameplay.
The rugged terrain means that youmay need to plan your zoning along the edges, particularly in the late game. It’s a fine map to play on, but nothing to write home about either.
4Crater
New London Unchained
At first, I hated the idea of playing on Crater in Utopia Builder - after all, I’d already spent hours on the map in Story Mode. After giving it a try, though, I think it’sworth revisiting New London in sandbox modeafter all. For one thing, you’llalready know the map inside and out, and you can prepare for the inevitable coal shortage.
Speaking of which, thecoal deposits are much largerin Utopia Builder, and you won’t have to resort to painful event decisions like sending children into the mines this time around. you may alsofully research the Idea Tree, giving you full control over the city’s destiny in a way that Story Mode doesn’t allow. Add in the fact that all of the game’s Communities and Factions are available, and playing on Crater isalmost like New Game Plus.
As a big fan of randomization, I do wish that the Frostland Map wasn’t identical to the one from Story Mode.
3Hanging Rock
If At First You Don’t Succeed…
Hanging Rock is thesite of Winterhomethe colony that famously did not survive in the first game. The map is thesame as Winterhome Ruinsin Story Mode, but without the nightmarish Disease penalties and constant sabotage by dissidents. You could think of this map as a “what-if” scenario where Winterhome survived.
Hanging Rock is amore challenging map, since many of its key resources arefar from the Generator.If you’re bored with the more standard layouts, though, it’s hard to beat the unique terrain… and it actually has enough resources to be viable in the short term, unlike Dreadnought.
2Fractured Gorge
Watch Your Step
Fractured Gorge has it all - enough resources for nearly any build, and spacious land to build on. The catch is that all that land isone one side of the Central District.You can’t build to the north because of the map’s namesake gorge.
If you’re a longtime player ofthe original Frostpunk, it’s amazing how a little thing like building on a semicircle instead of a circle changes things up. There’s just one small thing that Fractured Gorge doesn’t have, so if you really want a map that does everything, you should try…
1Broken Shore
Beachfront Property, Climate Apocalypse Edition
Now this is a map. Broken Shore has plentiful resources - albeitfurther from the Generatorthan on most maps - and a craggy landscape that encourages long-term planning as you build out from the Central District. Best of all, it’s theonly map besides Dreadnoughtthat includes oil, making this frozen beach some prime real estate.
Overall, Broken Shore ismore challenging than Fractured Gorge, but it offers by far the most satisfying gameplay out of all the Utopia Builder maps. This is one that you’ll want to keep coming back to again and again.
Frostpunk 2
WHERE TO PLAY
11 bit studios' Frostpunk 2 blends city-building, survival, and strategy mechanics as it challenges players to survive on a post-apocalyptic Earth with power-hungry humans.
