Should You Remove the Bodies or Respect the Dead in Frostpunk 2

Your goal in the first chapter of Frostpunk 2 is to look for a source of fuel that is viable but cannot be accessed within the city's premises. You will set your journey to Old Dreadnought, located in Frostland, where another critical decision will arise. This is before sending a colony out to the place. You will have to decide either to clear the bodies inside the Oil Tombs or pay respect to the dead. The details on both paths are discussed below.

While we'll provide a recommendation, this choice, for players on the lower difficulties especially, can be left to role-playing rather than an outright strategic decision.

Frostpunk 2: Remove the Bodies vs. Respect the Dead

One of the earliest and one of the most important choices made during Frostpunk 2 involves whether or not to remove or respect the dead in the Oil Tombs in terms of the major consequences of their implications for your city's development and resource management.

Oil Tile Availability

"Remove the Bodies": You reveal three Oil tiles to build Extraction Districts.

"Respect the Dead": You begin with only two Oil tiles but can build on the third tile later by taking a penalty.

Disease Consequences

On Building Third Tile: Those who have chosen to "respect the Dead" and have later decided to build on the third Oil Tile get Disease in your city.

Mitigation: To minimize Disease, place Frostbreak tiles around the area of diseased and put most of your Extraction District buildings on these safe tiles.

Wanderers Event

Resource Requirements: Wanderers require Oil or Guard Squads. Amount depends on the earlier choice you made.

"Remove the Bodies": You are going to need more Oil or Guard Squads than "Respect the dead".

"Respect the Dead": A more lax condition, which only demands using less Oil or Guard Squads.

Strategy Suggestion

"Respect the Dead": This usually comes recommended for those playing on the lower difficulties. This is a much friendlier option toward the Wanderers event; you can continue running your city with two Extraction Districts that give Oil.

Flexibility: If at a later stage in the game, more Oil is felt to be needed, then building on the third Oil tile is possible without immediately suffering through the consequence of body removal.

Taking everything into consideration, weigh the options with their implied consequences to decide which one will fit best in your long-run strategy and playstyle of Frostpunk 2. Keep in mind, this guide simply provides a recommendation; the final decision is yours.