Frostpunk 2: How Do Rallies And Riots Work?

Frostpunk 2 can be a brutal gameplay experience, managing survival as well as complex social and political issues. With this sequel (amidst far subzero temperatures and rare resources), you'll learn that the most dangerous thing you'll face in a post-apocalyptic world is your fellow mankind.

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Of course, mankind can be as much a boon as a threat in the right circumstances. Here, just one rally or one riot in New London could be just the thing to turn the tides of a very successful – or a very uphill – experience. Triggering them, however, is a bit more complicated than you'd think.

What Are Rallies And Riots?

Rallies and Riots are the direct result of fervor and relations between both you and the factions and the factions with each other.

• Rallies are caused by increased fervor and positive relations between you and a faction.
• Riots are caused by increased fervor and negative relations (either with you or with other factions).

In the main story, there are only two factions that can hold rallies and throw riots. These are the two groups placed in the middle of your relations bar, and these are the only groups whose fervor can be seen. For instance, if you play a faith route, these groups will be the Faithkeepers and the Evolvers; likewise, an Order route will have the Stalwarts and the Pilgrims.

You'll be able to determine the fervor of a group by looking at the red fists portrayed over the icon of a group. As fervor increases, so does their likelihood to do either a rally or a riot (depending on their relationships).

You can determine a group's favor toward you by the bar under their icon image.

• Short and red means unfavorable or hostile.
• White and halfway full indicates neutrality.
• Gold and full (a semicircle) indicates good relations.

You can affect relations by promises broken or fulfilled, by funding their research or asking for higher tax money, or by promoting or condemning them. Certain story events will always affect the fervor of a faction (e.g., choosing to Embrace or Defeat the Frost).

What Benefits Do Rallies Give?

When a faction likes you enough or has enough fervor, they may begin to rally. This rally can spread between districts (usually in housing districts at the start) as the rally continues or as fervor grows.

As a rally begins, depending on how much the group likes you, you could ask for the following benefits from a rally:

• Recruit more for that faction
• Additional Heat Token income
• Or a tertiary special action (group-dependant)

Be warned that sometimes rallies can increase tension with its opposing group. For instance, the Stalwarts fervent campaigning might cause negative relations with the Pilgrims. Certain protests may actively try to crash ongoing rallies and thus create further tension.

Long rallies are not always beneficial if tensions between your groups are rising to a breaking point or if you don't wish to increase the fervor of either the rallying faction or its opponent.

In addition to rising tension, longer rallies can start to skew the proportion of individuals in each group. Depending on how you want your game to play out, you may not want a rallying faction's numbers to increase to a point of potential radicalization and dominance.

However, if you're in need of a rally's benefits or can handle the tension of the opposing group, rallies can be extended if a faction's favor of you continues with strength. They'll end if their relationship leaves the Gold Zone for a more neutral white.

It appears that if a rally expands, you will still reap the benefits of the first choice you made while also enjoying the benefits of the expanded rally as an added bonus. So, if you chose Heatstamps as your first district rally, and you choose Recruit for the expanded rally, you will see both benefits; alternatively, if you choose Heatstamps for both, you enjoy a x2 benefit.

What Happens If A Faction Riots?

Faction Riots occur once the fervor of each organization increases in accordance with poor relations (in other words: they are triggered by high fervor, low relations). However, riots don't begin as full riots.

Rather, riots begin as milder protests first and will gradually grow into a full riot as poor relations continue. You'll see an indication for a preparing protest in the status bar of a faction, allowing you some time to shut it down before it becomes a problem.

In the Story Mode, riots and protests are a locked action that cannot occur until you reach the third chapter. Try as you might, you won't be able to trigger protests or riots under any condition until later (thank goodness!).

If you aren't able to quell a protest before it starts, you'll have the opportunity to stop a protest by fulfilling some of their demands. In general, you will typically have these options:

• Repeal laws that the faction disliked having passed
• Research multiple items of their choosing
• Come up with a strategy of your own to increase their trust (such as funding their projects)

If you have strong relations with a protesting faction's direct opposition, they may prematurely end a protest for you without having to take any action.

This can be a good way to stop protests early, but if fervor and bad relations continue with the opposing faction, the protest will begin anew elsewhere. It is still recommended to attempt assuaging the concerns of the protesting factions rather than allowing your allies to address them for you.

Should you not quell a protest in time, it will start to spread to other districts. Protests begin mild, but they include and can grow into the following concerns:

• Lack of workforce and decreased productivity
• The forced shut-down of entire districts
• Injured people (protests) or even murders (riots)
• Permanent destruction of districts
• Increased tension with rival factions, possibly creating another faction of protests

SPOILERS AHEAD!

During the third chapter, you will gain the ability to remove or reconcile a rioting faction.

This occurs as you are tasked with finding Winterhome once again. When the colony is established, you will be given a few choices. These choices will include forcibly removing the rioters to Winterhome, reconciling them with their opposing faction, or becoming an ironclad leader over New London. No matter your choice, you'll have the ability to either stamp out or reconcile your rioting faction.

If you have too many riots, understandably, your tension will peak to a breaking point. Spending too long in this state may cause the factions to vote for your removal from office and subsequent banishment (an automatic gameover).

Should you have issues with too many riots, consider taking the following actions:

1. Consider giving them Heatstamps as an allowance to fund their projects.
2. Promote a faction to increase their power in the parliament.
3. Install guard towers, prisons, and other law-enforcing methods to combat fervor and crime.
4. Sign (by any means) a "Rule" in the parliament laws, expanding your power to get a better hold over your citizens.

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