Wondering how to pass laws in Frostpunk 2? You may not be the only one. While 11 Bit Studios has made plenty of changes and updates with their second title in the franchise, few mechanics have seen as great an overhaul as lawmaking.
So here, we’re going to give you a full breakdown of how to pass laws in Frostpunk 2, what’s changed about Frostpunk lawmaking, and how you can best sway the Council of Delegates to support your agendas. There’s plenty more to catch up on in this game though. If you’re looking for a general overview, check out our Frostpunk 2 preview, or if you’re in search of something more specific like how to build districts in Frostpunk 2, we can help you out.
How Do I Pass a Law in Frostpunk 2?
Here are the basic steps you’ll need to enact in order to pass a law in The City Frostpunk 2.
- Build the Council Chamber building in your City Center District. This will unlock the ability to propose, vote on, and pass or rescind laws.
- Once unlocked, select the gavel sigil in the bottom right of the UI, or use the shortcut button.
- Choose which type of law you want to pass. You can choose from Survival, Economic, Social, or Rule laws.
- Once you have selected your category, choose a specific topic you want to pass a law on, e.g. Consumer Goods, Food, Worker Shifts, etc. You’ll usually have at least two options to pick between. It’s up to you which you want to try and pass as a bill.
- Hover over your chosen bill, and on the right hand side, a button will appear labelled “Propose”. Clicking on this button will send your bill to the voting floor for the Council of Delegates to vote on. You’ll need at least 51 votes in favour for the bill to pass and become an enacted law.
- A bar at the top of the voting screen will show how many guaranteed votes for (in blue) and against (in red) a bill has, but it’ll rarely if ever be full. The empty space within is up to chance, so voting without securing a clear advantage for or against puts your bill at risk. If you feel you’ve got enough support to get the bill through, you can hit the “Vote” button. If not, you can try the “Negotiate” button. It’s up to you to gauge the odds and make the decision.
A couple of key things to note about lawmaking is that even if a bill fails to pass, it can be voted on again. However, under usual circumstances, a bill can only be voted on once every nine weeks, limiting the speed at which you can enact legislation.
If you’re playing on the Frostpunk 2 beta, be aware that you won’t have access to all the laws yet. All laws under the Rule category, for example, aren’t a part of the beta, so can’t be accessed. This also means that our guide may be subject to some change once the full release comes out and adjustments to gameplay mechanics come into effect.
Can I Pass Laws Faster in Frostpunk 2?
You do have an option to call an emergency session of the Council of Delegates, allowing you to skip the usual recess and vote on a bill immediately. To do this, click on your City Center District and go to the Council Chamber building. At the top, you’ll have an option to call an emergency session.
We recommend that you use this wisely, however. Each time you call an emergency session, you’ll damage relations with all factions in the city. This can risk antagonising factions and can make it much harder to gain Trust in Frostpunk 2. Try to only use it when the situation really is an emergency.
How to Gain Support to Pass a Law in Frostpunk 2
To pass bills reliably, you’re going to want as much support as possible. Fortunately, the game offers you a way: Negotiating. Once you’re on the voting screen for a bill, you’ve got the option to call for a vote or to negotiate. Selecting the latter option will bring you to a new screen which outlines the various standing of existing factions concerning the bill.
Some may not be willing to negotiate, and this is usually for two reasons. Either they are already supporting the bill because it aligns with their interests or because you allowed that faction to choose the proposal for the current session, or they are firmly opposed to the bill, in which case there’s little you can do to convince them.
For factions not in one of these two camps though, you’ll be in luck. Click on the faction you want to negotiate with and select whether you’re seeking for them to support or oppose the bill. From here, you’ll receive a list of demands on the right side of the screen. These can vary significantly depending on the faction’s goals, but some examples include:
- Asking you to promise to repeal another bill.
- Asking you to promise to pass a law on a different topic.
- Asking you to use the Fund Projects action for their faction, exchanging Heat Stamps for support.
- Asking you to support a particular research option.
You’ll only need to select one of their demands, but keep in mind that whichever you choose, you should be prepared to commit to. Failing to meet a promise to a faction can severely damage relations with them, leading to lasting consequences.
Also, keep in mind that you may only be able to negotiate with one faction at a time due to limits on how many promises you can hold at once. For this reason, you should also carefully consider a given faction’s power before negotiating with them. As each faction holds a certain percentage of support within The City, some will have a greater impact on a vote than others.
Is Passing Laws Worthwhile in Frostpunk 2?
With a lot more sophistication to the system this time around, you might be wondering if it’s really worth the effort. We’d argue that it is, but that there’s also sound strategy in taking your time when trying to pass laws in Frostpunk 2.
Firstly, any law provides certain benefits and costs, but the former will usually outweigh the latter. As the challenge of survival grows, you’ll find it more and more necessary to build up bonuses where you can. Passing easy laws early is a great way to do this and reap rewards in the long term.
Secondly, different factions will always have different ideas on how to succeed, and passing a law that one faction wants is a great way to gain favour with them. If you’re careful about which laws you choose, you can even balance the favour you gain and lose with different factions, allowing you to keep everyone at least somewhat satisfied and avoid any political turmoil until you can strengthen your own position in The City.
That covers just about everything you should need to know on how to pass laws in Frostpunk 2, how to gain support for your bills, and why the effort is worth the reward. If you’re still not done with getting to grips with the game, why not have a look at the best Frostpunk 2 graphics settings so you can get your game looking its sharpest?
