Whiteout Survival is a brand new idle strategy game from the house of Century Games. Experience a glacial apocalypse in a world where increasingly low temperatures have wreaked havoc on human society. In this Whiteout Survival beginners guide, we take a look at all the different aspects of the game as well as some tips and tricks to kick-start your quest to re-establish civilization.
Along the way, players will encounter several weather hazards in addition to beast and bandit attacks on the civilization. Players are pitted as leaders of the last remaining hope of civilization and are tasked to expand a couple of crumbling homes to a vast city for survivors. Whiteout Survival combines strategic gameplay with idle elements to provide an interesting and in-depth experience for players. Don’t worry – we will explain all of these things later in our Whiteout Survival Beginners guide.
Introducing the Basics of Whiteout Survival
A core component of Whiteout Survival is building the civilization and expanding it as more survivors come looking for a place to live. To speed up development, the game offers several other ways to earn resources such as Exploration. The game tutorial guides new players through all the key features anyway, so it is quite easy to get into Whiteout Survival. Just continue following the prompts and soon, all the things to do in the game will open up.
Missions
Missions are a key part of the game and following these is the best way to progress in this game. Through Chapter Missions, the game guides city development, encouraging the player to upgrade certain buildings and complete certain milestones. After completing a set of chapter missions, the next chapter unlocks and a new set of missions is introduced.
There are also Growth Missions and Daily Missions which are further opportunities to unlock useful resources and progress through the game.
Expanding the Civilization
There are several different types of buildings to look after and develop. More buildings are unlocked progressively throughout the game but some of the key ones are described below.
- Furnace: The center of civilization. This is the building that cools down an otherwise freezing cold environment. The more this is upgraded, the larger its warming radius and the stronger its power. It is essential to upgrade the furnace in order to be able to expand the other buildings in the city.
- Shelters: These are the houses where survivors rest. It is important to keep the facilities updated here, as survivors may complain otherwise. Having more shelters allows more survivors in the city and this is the way to expand the civilization.
- Cookhouse: This is where survivors will go to eat their meals. At the end of the day, survivors will be working to earn resources for the civilization so of course, it is important to keep them happy when it comes to food. A higher-level cookhouse feeds more people and the quality of food is better too.
- Clinic: Occasionally, survivors may fall sick and the clinic is where they’ll find medical help. The better the facilities in the clinic, the higher the healing rate which means sick survivors may heal up quickly.
There are several other buildings such as sawmills, coal mines, iron mines, and hunter’s huts, to name a few. It’s important to keep leveling up buildings and facilities to maximize their benefits and ensure survivors are kept satisfied.
Managing the Survivors
Survivors are the little animate people that reside in the civilization. Like with any city simulation game, ensuring the citizens are safe and happy is crucial and it is no different in Whiteout Survival. The survivors have a few basic needs to fulfill:
Warmth
This is generally based on the level of the Furnace and the power it produces to heat the civilization. It’s possible to set the Furnace to max power and enjoy utmost warmth but this uses double the resources. It may be a good idea to wait until nighttime before switching on the maximum power setting especially considering how the temperatures drop at night.
Fullness
This need is based on how satisfied the survivors are with the food in the cookhouse. Increasing the level of the cookhouse and its facilities can help improve the fullness. Additionally, it’s possible to change what’s on the cookhouse menu by clicking on the cookhouse. A basic meal is resource-cheap but isn’t as filling whilst a nutritious meal or even a fancy meal can satisfy the needs of survivors better but require much more resources.
Sleep Quality
This is based on how satisfied the survivors are in their resting time. Upgrading the shelters and the facilities inside of them is the best way to improve the survivor’s sleep quality. Additionally, switching the Furnace on to maximum power during the night can also help improve sleep quality.
Comfort
This depends on the quality and the convenience provided by the facilities in each shelter. For example, washbasins in shelters are the first example of facilities that increase survivors’ comfort. Simply upgrading these is the way to improve the level of this need.
Mood
Similar to comfort, the mood depends on the quality of certain facilities in the shelters, such as the bookcase for example. Keeping these things upgraded keeps survivors entertained and in turn, improves their mood.
Looking after each of the survivor’s needs is important as otherwise, survivors may become unhappy and this will affect their work rate which will then reduce the city’s resource production. If the survivor’s health needs drop too low, they may fall ill, which means they are completely out and unable to work.
Heroes and Exploration
Exploration in Whiteout Survival sends players out to battle against enemies in idle battles with Heroes. Recruiting heroes works through gacha-like mechanics, and this requires keys although the game does provide a couple of free recruitments daily. Each hero has a unique appearance and set of skills and heroes can be upgraded using resources in a format similar to other games on mobile.
In Exploration, players field 5 of their heroes and watch as the heroes battle out with another team to be the last man standing. Each hero has a skill with a cooldown which can be activated in battle as well. Every few normal battles come to a boss fight which is a tougher challenge but more rewarding.
Whiteout Survival Beginners Guide: Tips and Tricks
1. Continue following the missions to progress
The best way to progress in Whiteout Survival, particularly for new players, is by following the missions. The Growth Missions and the Chapter Missions are structured so that the player can progressively develop their civilization. By working through these, the game helps players set up all the foundations meaning it is easier to build off of what is there later on. Additionally, these missions provide rewards and also introduce players to new parts of the game as well.
The daily missions are great for earning some extra rewards and are quite easy to complete. Just taking a few minutes to tick off these missions each day can be helpful, as the rewards build up over time and eventually become very worthwhile.
2. Prioritise Furnace upgrades
The Furnace is the center of civilization and this is the most important building in terms of progression. As soon as it is possible to upgrade the Furnace, it is advised to do so, as this will open up new rewards, missions, and opportunities. Upgrading the Furnace requires resources, alongside some other requirements such as upgrading a building to a certain level for example.
3. Keep an eye out for Build Spots
Whiteout Survival is different from other building games in that players can’t purchase new buildings and structures and place them however they like on the map. Instead, after each Furnace upgrade level, new build spots open up, and players can select these pre-placed spots and build new structures on these spots. Keep an eye out for these build spots since they can be easy to miss and the game itself won’t necessarily reveal them.
4. Ensure all Workstations are occupied
Each survivor can be assigned to a workstation such as at the coal mine or at the cookhouse. Whenever a new survivor joins the civilization, they are essentially unemployed so make sure to assign them to a workstation as soon as possible. Additionally, each time a new building is built or an existing one is upgraded, new workstations open up. Ensure workstations are always filled, or at least balanced such that there is at least one survivor in each building.
If there are still some empty workstations, consider focusing on upgrades for the shelter as this will create space