In Frostpunk, you'll have to micromanage a group of characters and help them survive under awful (and freezing!) conditions. From how much they work to what they'll eat, everything is up to you.

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To keep these people from dying, one of the first things you'll need to do is send them to gather valuable resources like Coal, Wood, or Steel. The problem? These guys are human, meaning they will get sick, get cold, and probably shouldn't work 24 hours shifts. To help you out with this human factor, the game lets you use Automatons, giant (and cool looking) robots that can work in most buildings and won't need your constant attention. Here's everything you need to know about Automatons in Frostpunk.

Why Use Automatons

automaton from frostpunk

Automatons look really cool. After all, who wouldn't want to have a giant spider-like cyberpunk robot? But it isn't all cosmetic; these machines are really useful once you know what they do. For example, unlike the human workers and engineers available in the game, Automatons can work continuously at all hours and won't be affected by the temperature. Still, they'll need to return from time to time to the nearest Generator or Steam Hub to refuel.

  • A good strategy is to use Automatons when you're low on resources and need to force emergency shifts. The machines won't raise discontent as humans would.

You should keep in mind that these machines can't work in all the buildings (at least at the beginning). And once you've assigned an Automaton to a building, it will run at only 60% efficiency. Don't worry as you can increase their efficiency and the type of work they can do by researching the following technologies:

  • Automaton Integrations
  • Medical Integrations
  • Engineer Automatons (with this upgrade, you can have Workshops working all day and night)
  • Medical Automatons

Some in-game events can also affect Automaton efficiency, for example:

  • The Automaton Project: Increases efficiency by 10% and decreases cost by 5%
  • The Automatons (Arc): A series of events that lead to the efficiency of Automatons falling by 10%

Finally, Automatons can work outside your city without needing proper heat in the area. However, you'll still need a road connection.

Cons Of Using Automatons

automaton from frostpunk

Using these robots looks like the perfect solution to avoid losing human life or raising discontent among the people. But the truth is that Automatons have a series of disadvantages you need to be aware of.

Lower efficiency

These machines will have lower efficiency in their workplace (only 60% without upgrades) than their human counterparts.

Won't be able to gain efficiency boost from certain buildings

Buildings that give an efficiency boost to workers, like Agitators or Shrines, won't have an effect on Automatons. However, you can sort through this by using a foreman or engineer helpers.

Costly To Make

Human workers or engineers can be hard to come by, but Automatons are a tad costly to make. You'll need Wood, Steel, Coal, and the most important of them all: a Steam Core.

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Steam Cores are a super valuable resource and one that you can't create, meaning that you'll only obtain these cores from scouting or by setting an Outpost in Tesla City. Either way, they're not that easy to come by, especially during the first stages of the game. So using Steam cores to build Automaton is something you should think through since you could also use the core to build more technologically advanced buildings.

How To Get An Automaton

automaton event in frostpunk

There are two ways to acquire Automatons in Frostpunk: via events or by building them. For example, in the 'A New Home' scenario, you'll be able to send an Automaton to your city after the Steel Bridge scouting mission (however, you will also get the option to dismantle the machine, so choose carefully).

If you're playing the "The Arks" scenario, then you'll already start the game with an Automaton; still, you can get an additional one after the Broken Automaton scouting mission.

Finally, if you want to take matters into your own hands and build the Automatons, then you'll need:

  • A Factory (a building that will be available after researching the Factory technology)
  • Available Engineers to work at the Factory
  • 100 Wood
  • 100 Steel
  • 50 Coal
  • 1 Steam Core

Available Upgrades For Automatons

Upgrades For Automatons in frostpunk

Making or finding an Automaton isn't the end of the story; there are certain upgrades you can get by researching the following technologies:

Automaton Integrations

  • Cost: Tier 1 (x40 Wood and x25 Steel), Tier 2 (x50 Wood and x30 Steel), Tier 3 (x120 Wood and x80 Steel)
  • Prerequisite: You'll need the first integration to get the second and go on

Each Automaton integration update increases the machine's efficiency by 10%.

Engineer Automatons

  • Cost: x50 Wood and x30 Steel
  • Prerequisite: Automaton Integration

With this upgrade, you can use Automaton in Workshops and Factories, meaning that these buildings will function without interruption. You will also be able to make Automatons create other Automatons or Prostheses in the factories.

Medical Automatons

  • Cost: x50 Wood and x30 Steel
  • Prerequisite: Automaton Integration

With this upgrade, Automatons will be able to work in Medical Posts and Infirmaries.

Medical Automaton Integration

  • Cost: x120 Wood and x80 Steel
  • Prerequisite: Medical Automatons

With this upgrade, all the Automatons that work at medical facilities will see their efficiency increased by 20%.

Streamlined Automatons

  • Cost: x40 Wood and x25 Steel
  • Prerequisite: Factory

With this upgrade, making Automatons will cost you fewer resources (-20 Wood and -20 Steel). However, as you can see, it costs more to research the upgrade than the bonus it gives you, so only use this if you're planning on building more than one Automaton.

Automaton Redesign

  • Cost: x120 Wood and x80 Steel
  • Prerequisite: Streamlined Automatons

Like the Streamlined Automatons tech, this one reduces the cost of building Automatons, this time by -30 Wood and -30 Steel.

NEXT: Frostpunk: Every Building That Needs Heat