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One of the biggest mechanical additionsFrostpunk 2has made to the first game is the Council. With the Captain’s death, part of your role as the Steward of New London is to propose laws to govern the city and its settlements, and every law is voted on by delegates from each Faction.
You’ll have to not just manage but preempt crises by setting the rules of society, while trying to balance the agendas of each Faction against each other and negotiating with your opposition for votes. It’s as hard as it sounds. But don’t worry, we’re here to break down how the Council works so that you have the best chance of holding the city together and making sure it survives.
How Do You Unlock The Council?
You’ll be prompted to unlock the Councilduring Chapter 1 of the Story Mode, which will walk you through the basics of using the Council to pass laws. First, though, you’ll have tobuild the Council Hall. Select the building from theBuildings menuand select the building from theCentral tab. Place it in theCentral District, and the Council is born.
How Do You Implement Laws?
In order for a law to be passed, ithas to get enough votes in the Council.
Amajority of delegates must vote For the law, and in special cases (like the Rule category of laws), two-thirds of the delegates must vote for it to be passed. Different Factions will fight for and against different laws, depending on their beliefs. Each Faction will have different numbers of delegates depending on their popularity in the city.
If you grant a Faction the opportunity to propose the next law on the agenda, the law you vote on may already be set for you. Otherwise, you’ll be able topropose a lawfrom four categories:Survival,City,Society, andRule.
You will be limited in which laws you can vote on at first, but more options will unlock with research and time.
When you hover over a law that you can change, you will see a pop-up indicating the policy you currently have in place, and what alternative laws will offer in terms of buffs and debuffs. Once you select a law, you canchange your proposalorchoose to hold a vote immediately.
If you don’t,voting will happen automaticallyevery ten weeks. Once a law is enacted, the Council goes into recess for ten weeks.
But what if you don’t have enough votes to secure your desired outcome? Well, you’ll have to negotiate with the different Factions in the Council.
How Do You Negotiate With Factions For Votes?
Tosecure enough votesto pass or repeal a law, you’ll have tonegotiate with different Factionsto sway them to your side. In the Council menu, choose theNegotiate option. You’ll see the different factions you can negotiate with.
Each Faction will indicate if they areopen to negotiationor not – if they’re not, it’s likely because you’ve already made them a promise that you haven’t yet fulfilled, or because the law goes against their beliefs.
You will also be able to see how many delegates each Faction has in the council and how they are voting. If a Faction withmany delegatesismostly hesitantandopen to negotiation, you should considerfocusing on that faction. Remember that youdon’t have to convince everybodyto vote how you want them to, you just need enough votes to pass or reject a law.
When you choose a Faction to negotiate with, they willoffer you terms to agree to– you only have tochoose one. They may ask you to do one of the following:
Whichever promise you make willsway hesitant delegatesin that Faction to your side, and delegates who are in opposition to you mayswitch sides.
Not following upwith that promise in the agreed time span willdamage your relationshipwith that group.
Generally, if you’re trying to sway a delegation without actually having to take any concrete action, you should agree toresearch new ideas. It willimprove your relationshipwith that Faction without you actually having to enact it into Law.
Be warned, though, that once you’ve researched it, you’re opening a door for them to leverage it becoming law as a negotiation term in the future.
