Video Games

Frostpunk 2 Fire in the Shaft: Should you let the child workers die?

Look, they did volunteer for the job

Marco Wutz

11 bit Studios

Frostpunk 2 may have changed up its gameplay dramatically compared to the original, but fear not – it’s as grimdark and morally terrifying as ever. Oh, and another important aspect has not changed: Some children still yearn for the mines.

In Frostpunk 2, you can get an event allowing you to reinforce your current manpower by giving the green light to a bunch of child workers, who voluntarily step up to help out in your coal mine. Generally, that’s not a bad idea – you’ll want as much coal as possible and having more workers available for other projects is very beneficial as well, allowing you to crack more ice or construct an extra district.

However, choosing this option paves the way to another Frostpunk 2 event called Fire in the Shaft – and this is where things get even darker than child labor.

Should you let the child workers die in Frostpunk 2?

Fire in the Shaft describes the following scenario: A part of your coal mine is burning and the flames are spreading quickly, threatening to consume much of the precious fuel.

Your choices are:

  1. Suffocate the flames – the coal deposit is saved, but child workers die.
  2. Evacuate the workers – the child workers survive, but half the coal deposit is lost.

Which option to choose somewhat depends on your current situation: If you are still on your first coal mine and have other deposits at your disposal, you can usually afford to sacrifice some of the coal in order to save the children and preserve your manpower, since enough coal will be left over to support your switch to another energy source.

However, if you feel like you’re not going to make it to the next energy source without that coal, you’ll need to let those children sacrifice themselves. This will cut into your manpower a bit, but also reduce your food, shelter, and goods needs by a small margin for a while. You have to look at the bright side, right?

Frostpunk 2 screenshot of a story event.
You will face the consequences of your decision, regardless which choice you make. / 11 bit Studios

For more about the game, read our Frostpunk 2 review.

Published
Marco Wutz
MARCO WUTZ

Marco Wutz is a writer from Parkstetten, Germany. He has a degree in Ancient History and a particular love for real-time and turn-based strategy games like StarCraft, Age of Empires, Total War, Age of Wonders, Crusader Kings, and Civilization as well as a soft spot for Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail. He began covering StarCraft 2 as a writer in 2011 for the largest German community around the game and hosted a live tournament on a stage at gamescom 2014 before he went on to work for Bonjwa, one of the country's biggest Twitch channels. He branched out to write in English in 2015 by joining tl.net, the global center of the StarCraft scene run by Team Liquid, which was nominated as the Best Coverage Website of the Year at the Esports Industry Awards in 2017. He worked as a translator on The Crusader Stands Watch, a biography in memory of Dennis "INTERNETHULK" Hawelka, and provided live coverage of many StarCraft 2 events on the social channels of tl.net as well as DreamHack, the world's largest gaming festival. From there, he transitioned into writing about the games industry in general after his graduation, joining GLHF, a content agency specializing in video games coverage for media partners across the globe, in 2021. He has also written for NGL.ONE, kicker, ComputerBild, USA Today's ForTheWin, The Sun, Men's Journal, and Parade. Email: marco.wutz@glhf.gg

Home/Guides