Everything in Frostpunk 2 comes at a cost, and if things get too tense, you might have to deploy Guard Squads to bring order to the city’s streets.
During the story, there are multiple moments where you have to use Guard Squads to control the population and protests (spoiler alert!). Otherwise, the relations with Communities may worsen, and districts can get heavily damaged.
To contain the fights, you must form and deploy Guard Squads across districts, so here’s how to get and use Guard Squads in Frostpunk 2.
How to get Guard Squads in Frosptunk 2
The Central District comes with 12 Guard Squads, but that’s often not enough to perform any actions and deal with protests. To get more Guard Squads, you have to research and build Watchtowers in the Society tab of the Idea Tree.
As always, there are multiple Watchtower options proposed by different Factions, so here are all of them and what they do:
| Name | Output | Demand |
|---|---|---|
| Surveillance Watchtower | 12 Guard Squads Crime is slightly decreased | 100 Workforce 20 Heat |
| Patrol Watchtower | 16 Guard Squads Crime is slightly decreased | 200 Workforce |
| Watchtower | 12 Guard Squads Crime is slightly decreased | 200 Workforce 20 Heat |
All three Watchtowers unlock the Random Searches District Ability, which decreases Crime but increases Tension. If you have enough Workforce, I recommend building a Patrol Watchtower, as it provides more Guard Squads per building slot and doesn’t consume Heat.
How to use Guard Squads in Frostpunk 2
During peaceful times, you don’t need to manually use the Guard Squads unless a prompt or an event asks you to. You have to manage Crime by building Watchtowers and researching more ideas related to Crime.
Guard Squads become active during a protest in the district (red marker similar to rallies). To use the Guard Squads and settle the unrest, select a district with an ongoing protest and choose Protect to deploy the Guard Squads.
The game may then ask you to choose a priority for district protection. Protecting people always increases the relations with the Communities more than other options, so base your choice on what you need more. People also won’t die in fights when Guard Squads are focused on protecting them.
How to improve Guard Squads in Frostpunk 2
After researching the Watchtowers, you get access to more ideas and features that can improve Guard Squads and control Crime in the city.
Here’s how you can improve Guard Squads in Frostpunk 2:
- Research Guard Immunity and the following ideas in the Society tab
- Pass Rule laws
While researching ideas is straightforward, the Rule laws are trickier. Rule laws require a two-thirds majority to pass, unlike regular laws, and greatly increase your authority. Apart from giving Guard Squads new actions like Guard Enforcers, you can also skew the voting in your favor, have Steward’s Militia, and more.
Unfortunately, you can’t pass Rule laws whenever you want because the Factions are hesitant unless there’s a valid reason to give you power. I recommend focusing on Rule laws when the Tension is high and you have good relations with several Factions in the city.
