There’s so much to consider in a game like Frostpunk 2, from food, housing, relations, the cold, and of course a way to heat your civilization. However, to do this, you’ll eventually need Cores, which aren’t simple to find.
Cores are a vital resource to help you unlock new advanced buildings and most importantly upgrade your City’s generator. As such, any sort of progression or increase in relations and warmth requires Cores. Though, since it’s so important, there’s only a finite amount of this resource, so you’ll need to plan carefully.
So, with that in mind, here’s all you need to know about how to get Cores in Frostpunk, as well as a few handy tricks and the best places to grab the item.
How to get Cores
To get Cores in Frostpunk 2, you need to explore the Frostland and uncover the resource, which is found in certain regions.
Unfortunately, you can’t get them by mining or extraction in any of your Colonies or Cities, aside from Winterhome which has a few deposits during the game’s storyline. However, you’ll only have a short time to mine as much as you can, thanks to the toxic gases.
How to get cores back from buildings
While you can only get new Cores through exploration, there is a way for players to get their previously used Cores back, by dismantling buildings.
If you’ve built something that required a Core (aside from the generators, that’s not recommended), like the Deep Melting Drill, or the Pressurized Coal Liquefactor you can dismantle them for that same Core back. Naturally, it’s not an ideal solution, as you’ll be giving up something for the Core, but if you’ve run out of places to explore or desperately need one, then it’s always an option.
Best locations
As previously mentioned, Cores are found through exploration in Frostpunk 2, but only a few locations have them:
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- Mountains
- Valleys
- High Pass
- Howling Shore
- Frozen Ocean*
- Whispering Valley
- Hills
- Ridgeline
- Plains
- Highlands
To start, we recommend launching exhibitions to the Highlands and then expanding out to the Frozen Ocean. The Highlands is the closest location you’ll be able to get to at the beginning of the Storyline and the Frozen Ocean has a plethora of other resources on top, making it a pretty fruitful venture.
How to launch expeditions
Before setting off to the above locations, you’ll need to launch an expedition.
To do this, head over to New London and press ALT, which highlights a compass-like icon on the edges of the City borders. Frostbreak over to one of those and build a Logistics District. This enables you to explore.
Then, zoom out of the city to see the Frostlands surrounding New London. Each location has a varying degree of difficulty and resources, so be sure to choose carefully before setting off.
You may find that the regions are labeled dangerous, or that you don’t have enough scouts to explore. In this case, you’ll need to improve your expeditions.
This is best done by expanding your Logistics District or by building more of them around New London, following the same instructions as before. Dealing with dangerous locations, however, is a little tougher. For that, you’ll need to build the Scouts Headquarters or pass the Scouts’ Law. This instantly makes the dangerous locations safe, as long as you place the Scouts Headquarters on your Logistics Districts.
For more information on the best place to find permanent fuel in Frostpunk 2, check out our guide to ensure you make the most out of that upgraded Generator.