Learning to deal with resource scarcity is one of the hallmarks of Frostpunk 2. One of the ways you can overcome or at least mitigate the effects of resource scarcity is through understand which buildings and research ideas should be prioritized first.
While warmth, food and shelter come before everything in Frostpunk 2exploration and industrialization also become increasingly important as the game progresses. Whether you're playing the campaign or chasing an ambitious goal in the Utopia Builder mode, you'll know the best order for the early game to set your city on the right course to face new challenges right away. Here is the best early game build order to ensure growth and survival in Frostpunk 2.

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Frostpunk 2: Every Resource Explained
Frostpunk 2 is an incredibly dense city builder with a plethora of different resources, and it's easy for even the most efficient Stewards to forget.
Build one for coal, prefabs and materials
Whether you're playing the campaign or the Utopia Builder mode, always prioritize building some extraction districts to gather vital resources. Extraction District allows you to mining coal for fuel, prefabs to build additional buildings, and materials needed for other buildings to function.
However, avoid building too many extraction districts when you first establish your city, as you don't want to deplete your heat stamps and prefabs before production begins. Later you can research sawmill under the Resources section of the idea tree and install them in mining districts to increase material production.
Residential district
Each residential area provides shelter for 20 residents
Once the extraction districts are set up, you can shift your focus to providing your people with shelter to prevent them from freezing. Each housing district holds 20 people, and you can see how many people need shelter in the upper right part of your HUD.
Consider expanding a residential district to include a research institute. Build a research institute unlocks the ability to explore new ideassuch as advanced coal mining, greenhouses and hospitals, to name a few.
Food district
Safe food for your residents
After securing warmth and shelter for your residents, it's time to secure food for them. You can build one or two food districts to produce food. It is not necessary to aim for food surplus at the beginning of the game; Just make sure you produce enough to prevent food shortages from becoming a major problem. You can also consider passing Laws for feed additives or chemical additives to increase your city's total food production.
Think about it
Food districts can be upgraded with greenhouses
which is examined under the Resources section of the idea tree.
Logistics Bays
Explore the Frostlands for resources and people
Logistics Bays unlock your ability to launch expeditions and explore the Frostlands for resources, people and potential settlements to colonize. The earlier you start exploring the Frostlands, the easier it will be to deal with resource shortages. It's worth noting that expeditions are also the only way to acquire the extremely rare resources called cores, which are necessary to build some of the most advanced structures in Frostpunk 2.
Once you're done setting up your city properly, you can return to the Logistics Bay with Scouts Headquarters or Logistics Bay upgrades to increase the number of Frostlands teams, reduce exploration time and lower territory threat levels.
Industrial district
Make sure you never run with prefabs
The resources you acquire through Extraction Districts are finite and will definitely run out faster than you expect. One of the important resources in Frostpunk 2 is prefabas they allow you to build different structures in your city. Running out of Prefabs leads to stagnation or a potential game over. At no point in the game should you run out of these precious resources for weeks on end.
Although prefabs can be found and extracted in limited quantities, their source is not infinite, and they are prone to depletion. This is why you need to establish an industry that produces Prefabs. Building an industrial district automatically gives you 15 prefabs per week. The more industrial districts you have in your city, the higher the total prefab production. To begin with, consider building just one industrial district and equip it with one of the Prefabs Factory upgrades to increase Prefabs production. In addition, you can also consider passing Urban development effort team to acquire some Prefabs passively.
You can choose whether industrial districts should produce prefabs or goods by clicking on one of these districts and choosing the desired resource production.
Watchtower
Manage crime and reduce tension
Meeting demand for merchandise can be a challenge when you're just starting out Frostpunk 2. Since goods are produced in industrial districts, you may need to build several of these districts and make sure you have enough labor to staff them.
Not meeting the demand for goods leads to increased crime, which in turn, raises tensions in society. You can mitigate the increasing crime rate by investigating the Watchtowers and build them in extended residential areas. However, remember that like all structures in the game, Watchtowers require a workforce to operate. So once your city's commodity needs are met, consider disabling the Watchtowers to free up unnecessary manpower.
Filtration tower
Manage Squalor and keep the inhabitants healthy
As you begin to expand the industrialization of your city by building additional industrial districts and equipping them with powerful upgrades, you must also prepare to deal with the Squalor that arises as a byproduct. Think of Squalor as pollution. IN Frostpunk 2it not only harms the inhabitants by making them sick, but also damages other structures, rendering them inactive. Damaged districts require Prefabs for repairs.
In the early game, Filtration Towers are your primary means of dealing with rising Squalor. Later you can investigate Facility for recycling waste to help manage Squalor effectively. Like crime, increasing Squalor also leads to increased tension in society.
Bearing hubs
Store excess resources for rainy days
Frostpunk 2 offers a variety of storage hub options, allowing you to store fuel, food, and other resources. By default, your storage capacity is limited. This can become problematic once you pass 500 weeks of survival, especially as your town's population grows significantly and Whiteouts become a recurring problem.
It is important to note that even though mining and production districts stop providing resources when stocks are full, going weeks without producing a resource can result in lost opportunities to stockpile for the colder season. Therefore, take inventory of the resources you produce in excess and build a relevant warehouse hub to receive that resource. Later you can build additional layers for individual resources.