Frostpunk 2 has eight factions in Utopia Builder, and in our tier list the Overseers come out on top: their Overdrive Output ability raises production across the city, and keeping them happy also lowers crime. The Venturers (Heatstamp income) and Icebloods (food and fast exploration) follow, while the Bohemians, whose tools only fix Trust and relations, come last. Below are the Frostpunk 2 factions ranked, with each one’s ideology, ability, perk and natural rival, plus how the Fractured Utopias faction trees work in 2026.
How we ranked them: we don’t score games we haven’t played, so this tier list is our opinion, built from what each faction’s ability and good-relations perk does according to the PC Gamer faction list, the Frostpunk Wiki faction pages and GameRant’s Utopia Builder ranking. We ranked them on one question: how often does this faction fix a problem that can end a run (hunger, money, unrest, sickness)?
Table of Contents
Frostpunk 2 factions tier list: quick answer
- S tier: Overseers. Overdrive Output boosts production across the whole city, and good relations reduce crime.
- A tier: Venturers, Icebloods. More Heatstamps and paid guard squads, or food and faster scouting.
- B tier: Proteans, Technocrats. Disease control or faster research. Both are strong, but only in the right situation.
- C tier: Menders, Legionnaires. +500 population or a burst of Prefabs. Great in the first years, less useful later.
- D tier: Bohemians. Trust and relations boosts. Nice to have, but rarely the thing that saves a city.
- Opposites: each faction has one rival that holds the exact opposite three values: Overseers vs Bohemians, Venturers vs Menders, Technocrats vs Icebloods, Legionnaires vs Proteans.
Frostpunk 2 Utopia Builder factions ranked
Each faction holds three of the six Zeitgeist values, one from each axis: Progress or Adaptation, Merit or Equality, Tradition or Reason. You can only use a faction’s community action (its ability) when your relations with it are at least Favourable, and each one has a long cooldown, per PC Gamer and the Frostpunk Wiki.
| Tier | Faction | Values | Ability (community action) | Good-relations perk | Rival |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S | Overseers | Progress, Merit, Tradition | Overdrive Output: production efficiency up for a while | Voluntary Patrols: crime down | Bohemians |
| A | Venturers | Progress, Merit, Reason | Finance Mercenaries: more guard squads (100 Heatstamps) | City Investment: Heatstamp income up | Menders |
| A | Icebloods | Adaptation, Merit, Tradition | Lead Volunteer Expeditions: faster exploration | Hunting Trips: extra food | Technocrats |
| B | Proteans | Adaptation, Merit, Reason | Coordinate Patient Care: sick people go back to work | Disease down | Legionnaires |
| B | Technocrats | Progress, Equality, Reason | Optimise Research: research speed greatly up | Materials demand down | Icebloods |
| C | Menders | Adaptation, Equality, Tradition | Organise Rescue Operations: +500 population | Exploration Support: faster exploration | Venturers |
| C | Legionnaires | Progress, Equality, Tradition | Raise Prefabs: a batch of Prefabs | Extra guard squads | Proteans |
| D | Bohemians | Adaptation, Equality, Reason | Hold Mindshaping Sessions: Trust up | Relations with communities up from time to time | Overseers |
Ability and perk names come from the Frostpunk Wiki and PC Gamer. The perks for the Proteans, Technocrats, Legionnaires and Bohemians come from GameRant’s 2024 guide, which predates the DLCs. The +500 population and 100 Heatstamp figures are flagged on the wiki as untested on other difficulties. Patches can change the numbers, so the in-game tooltip is the final word.
Communities vote on laws in the Council; factions never vote against their three values. Image: 11 bit studios
Why each faction lands where it does
S tier: Overseers
The Overseers are elite engineers who want technological power to stay in the hands of a chosen few, in the style of the old empire (Frostpunk Wiki). Their Overdrive Output ability has the faction take over industry for a while to push output to the maximum. GameRant points out that it affects everything, from food and fuel to goods and Prefabs, which is why it ranks the Overseers first too. The crime reduction from good relations helps before you have built enough Watchtowers. The downside: their rivals, the Bohemians, hold every value they don’t.
A tier: Venturers
Heatstamps pay for almost everything you do, so a faction whose good-relations perk raises Heatstamp income works in every situation. Finance Mercenaries costs 100 Heatstamps (per the wiki) and gives you more guard squads to calm protests. The Venturers are profit-driven individualists who believe in Progress, so pass laws in that direction and they stay on side.
A tier: Icebloods
The Icebloods are the strongest pick when food is short. Their Hunting Trips perk provides food, and Lead Volunteer Expeditions cuts exploration time. Older 2024 guides (PC Gamer, GameRant) list the ability as “+80 Food output”; the wiki now describes faster exploration, with the food coming from the perk. Their traits are double-edged, according to the wiki. Frostland naturals doubles research speed on Frostland topics. Quick tempered raises their fervour and amplifies anything that worsens relations. Sick averse means they like it when you use Triage. They are the best choice for strong players and a risky one for beginners.
B tier: Proteans
The Proteans pursue what 11 bit studios calls a “New Humankind” (Xbox Wire, December 2025). Both of their tools fight disease: Coordinate Patient Care sends the sick back to work, and good relations lower disease. That matters most during whiteouts, when a lack of heat sends disease soaring. They’re situational, but the problem they solve keeps coming back.
B tier: Technocrats
The Technocrats (Progress, Equality, Reason) believe that everything can be calculated, and their Utopia is a “Machine City” built on compute, per Xbox Wire. Optimise Research greatly speeds up research, and GameRant lists lower Materials demand as their perk. Research speed only pays off if you have the Heatstamps to start the next topic straight away, which keeps them out of A tier.
C tier: Menders and Legionnaires
The Menders send rescue teams into the frostland (+500 population on the wiki’s tested difficulty) and speed up exploration. That’s strong in the early years and after a whiteout or civil war, and especially useful for a Colonise the Frostland ambition. The Legionnaires’ Raise Prefabs eases the classic early squeeze: industrial districts make either Prefabs or Goods, and you need both. Their perk adds guard squads. Both factions matter less once your industry is running smoothly.
D tier: Bohemians
Mindshaping Sessions raise Trust, and good relations occasionally improve relations with your communities. Trust can end a run if it falls too far, but GameRant makes a fair point: if you need a faction to fix Trust, your city usually has bigger problems that another faction would solve better. They’re also the Overseers’ exact opposite, so backing them costs you our S-tier pick.
Which faction to back for each problem
| Your problem | Back this faction | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Hunger / food districts failing | Icebloods | Hunting Trips perk provides food |
| Not enough Heatstamps | Venturers | City Investment raises Heatstamp income |
| Low output everywhere | Overseers | Overdrive Output raises production efficiency |
| Disease during a whiteout | Proteans | Sick return to work; disease reduced |
| Short on Prefabs | Legionnaires | Raise Prefabs |
| Short on workers / population | Menders | Rescue Operations: +500 population |
| Research is stuck | Technocrats | Optimise Research |
| Protests and riots | Venturers or Legionnaires | Extra guard squads |
| Trust falling | Bohemians | Mindshaping Sessions raise Trust |
Where factions come from (communities)
Utopia Builder starts with three communities and no factions: two communities with opposite values plus a third picked at random, according to TheGamer’s faction guide. Each community holds one value: Machinists (Progress), Foragers (Adaptation), Merchants (Merit), Labourers (Equality), Lords (Tradition) and Thinkers (Reason). A faction takes its members from the communities that share its values. GameRant, for example, describes the Overseers as machinists, merchants and lords. Unlike communities, factions never vote against their values in the Council and can’t be negotiated with, but they hold rallies when they like you and protests when they don’t.
In practice, the laws you pass push the Zeitgeist, and the factions that match it grow. If you want the Overseers, pass Progress, Merit and Tradition laws. Expect the Bohemians to form or grow in opposition.
Ignore a faction for too long and it takes to the streets; keep it happy and it rallies for you instead. Image: 11 bit studios
Frostpunk 2 Fractured Utopias: faction Utopia trees
Fractured Utopias ($12.99 on Steam, out since December 8, 2025) gives each of the eight Utopia Builder factions its own Utopia. According to Patch 1.5.0’s notes and Xbox Wire, it works like this:
- Pick your faction at the start. The redesigned menu lets you force your starting faction.
- Earn points by steering the city their way. Moving the Zeitgeist in the direction a faction wants gives you points to spend in its Utopia Tree.
- 12 unique unlocks per faction: laws, a faction hub, abilities and perks, plus a faction version of the housing district. The Icebloods’ hub is the Proving Grounds, and the Legionnaires’ hub is a deployment base (named in Hotfix 1.6.1).
- Enact the Utopia. Unlock every node, convert enough housing districts and build enough faction hubs, and the city unites behind that faction’s vision for good, permanently resolving Tension.
The Frostpunk Wiki lists the Icebloods’ Utopia, Triumph of the Fittest, as an example of the endgame requirements:
| Icebloods Utopia requirement | Target |
|---|---|
| Active Tales | Complete all |
| Icebloods Utopia Tree nodes | Unlock all |
| Housing Districts adapted to Icebloods | At least 10 |
| Laws | Heroic Funerals and Honour Scars passed |
| Proving Grounds hubs | 8 built |
| Whiteouts or Civil War | None ongoing |
| Frostland Teams | At least 250 |
A free update released alongside the DLC added 13 centrist (“moderate”) policies for players who don’t want to side with anyone, per the patch notes.
Story mode factions (New London)
The campaign uses four different factions. Which pair you face depends on your prologue choice: Order brings the Stalwarts, opposed later by the Pilgrims, and Faith brings the Faithkeepers, opposed by the Evolvers (TheGamer).
| Faction | Values | Ability | Good-relations perk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stalwarts | Progress, Merit, Reason | Mobilise Enforcers: 5 guard squads | Extra Prefab income |
| Faithkeepers | Progress, Equality, Tradition | Hold Evening Prayers: Trust up | Serenity Sermons: Tension down |
| Pilgrims | Adaptation, Equality, Tradition | Deploy Guides: exploration time extremely decreased | Scout Volunteers: Frostland Teams |
| Evolvers | Adaptation, Merit, Reason | Train Workers: productivity up | Treatment Assistance: heals sick and injured |
Laws can upgrade abilities. PC Gamer’s example: after an automaton guards law, Mobilise Enforcers gives 10 guard squads instead of 5.
Breach of Trust ($12.99, June 23, 2026) adds a separate New Edinburgh scenario with five new communities and factions. The wiki’s pages so far cover the Fourfingers (Adaptation, Equality, Reason: the workers who rebelled against the old Captain) and the Brokers (traders who backed that rebellion). The free update that came with it added the Aurora map and a Fishing Hub to Utopia Builder.
Menders, Icebloods and Pilgrims all speed up frostland exploration, which matters most for colony goals. Image: 11 bit studios
Is Frostpunk 2 still getting faction content?
Yes. The Steam page roadmap says a “third and final DLC” is planned for later in 2026, after Fractured Utopias and Breach of Trust. The Deluxe Edition graphic on the same page calls it “Surge” (a working title). The base game was $44.99 on Steam when we checked on November 2, 2026, and it has been on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S since September 18, 2025, when it was announced as a day-one Game Pass Ultimate game. Earlier this year, 11 bit’s seven-week Faction Wars community contest (from February 20) scored factions by the Utopia Tree milestones and Utopias players enacted.
New to the series? Our Frostpunk survival guide covers the first game. For more city builders, see our Anno 117 production chains and layouts, the Manor Lords beginner’s guide and where Prison Architect 2’s release date stands.
FAQ
What is the best faction in Frostpunk 2?
For Utopia Builder, we pick the Overseers. Overdrive Output raises production across the city and their perk reduces crime. GameRant ranks them first too. If food is your main problem, back the Icebloods instead.
How many factions are in Frostpunk 2?
Eight in Utopia Builder (Overseers, Venturers, Icebloods, Proteans, Technocrats, Menders, Legionnaires and Bohemians) and four in the New London campaign (Stalwarts, Faithkeepers, Pilgrims and Evolvers). The Breach of Trust DLC adds five more communities and factions for its New Edinburgh scenario.
Can you choose your starting faction in Frostpunk 2?
Yes, if you own Fractured Utopias. Its redesigned Utopia Builder menu lets you force your starting faction, and that choice sets which Utopia you work toward.
Which Frostpunk 2 factions are opposites?
Overseers vs Bohemians, Venturers vs Menders, Technocrats vs Icebloods and Legionnaires vs Proteans. In each pair, the two factions hold opposite values on all three Zeitgeist axes.
Sources: Frostpunk 2 on Steam (price and roadmap checked November 2, 2026 05:15 UTC), 11 bit studios’ Steam posts (Fractured Utopias launch, Patch 1.5.0, Breach of Trust launch, Hotfix 1.6.1, Faction Wars), Xbox Wire, the Frostpunk Wiki (Fandom) faction pages (revisions of October 19, 2026), PC Gamer, GameRant, TheGamer and Windows Central. Tier placements are GamingRoute’s opinion.
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Featured image: AI-generated illustration
