How To Gather Wood In Frostpunk

Wood is a critical resource in Frostpunk, especially as you progress into the mid and late game. While early game wood gathering is straightforward using gathering posts at trees, more advanced methods become available as you unlock new technologies. This guide will walk you through the most efficient ways to gather wood using sawmills and wall drills.

Early Game Wood Gathering

In the early stages of Frostpunk, wood gathering is simple and straightforward. You can place gathering posts directly at trees scattered around your settlement and collect wood passively. However, this method becomes less efficient as your resource demands increase.

Technology Tree Resources

To unlock advanced wood gathering methods, you’ll need to access your technology tree and explore the Resources section. Here you’ll find several powerful options for scaling up your wood production significantly.

The Sawmill

The sawmill is one of the primary technologies for gathering wood in the mid to late game. According to the technology description, the sawmill “turns frozen trees into useful material, producing up to 80 wood per standard workday.”

To place a sawmill effectively, navigate to your resources and select the sawmill option. When hovering over potential locations, the game will highlight areas where frozen trees are available in green. Position your sawmill in an area surrounded by these green-marked frozen trees to maximize efficiency.

The Wall Drill

The wall drill is an even more advanced wood gathering technology that unlocks further down the technology tree. This structure “drills into the walls of our crater, uncovering trees that once formed a forest before the ice and gulf them, providing up to 160 wood per standard day.”

There are multiple versions of the wall drill available:

Standard Wall Drill

The basic wall drill model that produces 160 wood per standard day.

Steam Wall Drill

An upgraded version that provides more wood output than the standard model.

Advanced Wall Drill

The most advanced version available, providing even greater wood production than the steam variant.

When placing wall drills, position them directly into the crater walls where they can access the buried trees. Since these structures are located far outside your main settlement, it’s recommended to place a heater nearby to keep the area warm. Your workers can then transport the gathered wood back into the city.

Summary

There are two main methods to gather wood efficiently in Frostpunk’s mid to late game: the sawmill and the wall drill. The sawmill produces up to 80 wood per workday and works well in areas with frozen trees, while the wall drill produces up to 160 wood per day and taps into buried forest resources within your crater walls. Both technologies represent significant upgrades over early game gathering posts and should be prioritized as your settlement grows.

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