How to Build the Research Institute in Frostpunk 2

Your ultimate goal in Frostpunk 2 is survival. The world’s end is harsh as food crops falter, the encroaching weather worsens, and fuel for the generators and heaters continuously runs dangerously low. It’s a challenging game. But you can survive and prosper with the right ideas—technology in this world. Here’s to build the Research Institute in Frostpunk 2, which will allow you to thrive!

How to Construct a Research Institute

To build a Research Institute, you must first have a Residential District. The research center is a building—an enhancement for the district construction system designed to increase research speed within the Idea Tree. The more Research Institutes you construct—you’re allowed one per Residential District—the faster you can research additional technologies.

In any case, you’ll find the Research Institute within the Buildings building menu at the bottom right of the HUD. It’s the icon that looks like a building or a stack of boxes. It’s under Housing.

To construct the actual building, you require:

• 400 Workforce
• 100 Heatstamps
• 50 Prefabs

From there, you require 400 Workforce to keep the building running and an additional 40 Heat. As such, it’s often best to place the Research Institute in a Residential District near your Central District, where your generator sits.

Related: How to Get More Prefabs in Frostpunk 2

What to Research First in Frostpunk 2

The Idea Tree in Frostpunk 2 is massive, with six categories to work through: Heating, Resources, Frostland, City, Society, and Hubs. You must choose carefully because you can only research one project at a time. It can take days or weeks to finish an Idea, and in that time, much can change for your settlement. Here’s what I recommend you focus on first:

• Coal Mines (Heating)
• Housing Insulation (Heating)
• Factories (Resources)
• Charcoal Plants (Resources)
• Hothouses (Resources)
• Housing Block (City)
• Maintenance Duty (City)
• Hospitals (Society)
• Youth (Society)
• Maintenance Hub (Hubs)
• Emergency Medical Hub (Hubs)

Of course, you may wish to specialize your city, and that’s perfectly fine, so feel free to opt for a completely unique path when researching news Ideas in Frostpunk 2!

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If you want to construct additional Residential Districts, you’ll need more food in Frostpunk 2 to support a growing population! Don’t forget to stop by the official Insider Gaming forums to discuss the game and others like it!