1.5.4|Feb 18, 2026
View on Steam↗Patch 1.5.4
3/5 Moderate
Frostpunk 2 update 1.5.4 introduces the 'Test Plague Therapies' ability and significant balance buffs to the Plague Tale alongside major performance optimizations.
Key Changes
- 1New 'Test Plague Therapies' ability added to accelerate vaccine research
- 2Plague Tale balance: Increased vaccine production and reduced research costs
- 3Late-game performance optimized during temperature change events
- 4Survivalists’ Headquarters exploration threat reduction now stacks
- 5Fixed controller softblock when fulfilling the Algorithm promise
- 6Production districts no longer reset output mode upon expansion
- 7Major memory optimizations for UI widgets and shadow rendering
- 8Fixed sudden Plague infection spikes that caused unexpected failures
- 9Goods Emporium proximity effect now stacks with Heat Auctions
- 10Fixed RTX 50-series visual artifacts on UI elements
All Changes
⚙️Gameplay Systems(16)
- buffSurvivalists’ Headquarters: Survivalists’ Headquarters territory exploration threat decrease effect now stacks.
- buffOptimise Inputs: 'Optimise Inputs' ability no longer incorrectly lowers the Automaton Factory building output.
- changeCouncil: Researching Criminal Reparation, Guard Immunity, Crime Elimination, Treatment, and Housing Distribution policies now requires a built Council.
- buffAir Transport Hub: Air Transport Hub now correctly affects buildings located inside districts.
- fixStudy Mementos: Study Mementos community action can no longer be used to research a Cornerstone if no other research is available.
- changeMenders: Menders housing reindeer capacity is now influenced by the district’s efficiency level.
- fixEmergency Essentials: Fixed Emergency Essentials policy effect text to match actual gameplay effects.
- fixWine and Dine: Fixed 'Wine and Dine' Bohemians ability appearing available when no Troupes are available.
- buffMartial Law: Fixed Martial Law not decreasing the Guard Squad cost of the Organise Filtration Posts ability.
- fixBohemians: Fixed a possibility of duplicated negotiation options for Bohemians.
- fixStudy Mementos: Fixed 'Study Mementos' Community Action not reducing the Stockpile of Mementos.
- changeIEC sites: IEC sites can no longer be given to the Herders.
- removeUndying Outposts: Undying Outposts are no longer available for Beacon and IEC sites.
- fixLogistic District: Fixed warm output modifier not being applied to Logistic District if already affected by Proving Grounds.
- buffGoods Emporium: Goods Emporium proximity effect now stacks with Heat Auctions instead of overwriting it.
- buffPush district boundaries: Push district boundaries ability can now be used on deactivated districts.
☣️Plague Tale(10)
- fixPlague: Fixed the sudden huge spike of Plague infected citizens that caused unexpected Tale failure.
- newTest Plague Therapies: Added new 'Test Plague Therapies' ability, unlocked after searching Patient Zero Location.
- newTest Plague Therapies: Test Plague Therapies converts contaminated citizens into regular sick citizens (some will die) and speeds up Vaccine research.
- buffPharmaceutical Labs: Increased the amount of vaccines produced by Pharmaceutical Labs.
- buffPlague Vaccine: Plague research now costs fewer heatstamps.
- fixPlague: Contaminated and Vaccinated modifiers are now removed from communities after the Plague Tale is finished.
- nerfPlague: Slightly increased the number of contaminated citizens when an outbreak occurs.
- fixTrust: Trust increase modifier after using vaccines is now visible on the Trust tooltip.
- fixVaccinate Population: Fixed Vaccinate Population objective not updating immediately after a death event.
- fixBoost Research: Fixed ‘Boost Research’ ability not being available for the rest of Utopia Builder if ‘Accelerate Vaccine Production’ was active at Tale end.
🌑Doomsayers Tale(2)
- changeDoomsayers: Citizens leaving the city due to Doomsayers narrative events are no longer counted as deaths.
- changeDoomsayers: Limited the Doomsayers’ Council animation pool to better match their identity.
🖥️UI & UX(18)
- newKeybindings: Pause game keybinding can now be customized.
- changeUI: Improved Affinity emblems visibility on the construction radial.
- newResearch Topic panel: Area Effects for Hubs are now displayed in the Research Topic panel.
- fixUtopia Tree: Improved Utopia tree visuals on lower screen resolutions to prevent overlapping.
- fixProduction District: Production districts will no longer reset output mode upon district expansion.
- fixUI: Fixed Story Mode submenu chapter selection navigation issues on lower resolutions.
- fixController Support: Fixed camera position during negotiations and rotation on faction formation screen when using a controller.
- fixController Support: Fixed a softblock when attempting to fulfill the Algorithm promise when playing with a controller.
- fixCouncil: Fixed overlapping prompts in the Council when inspecting delegates.
- fixUI: Fixed city chat bubbles disappearing too quickly after Council voting.
- fixOld Waystation: Fixed Old Waystation deposit displaying Logistic units count on the tooltip.
- fixMac Version: Fixed missing DLC dialogue window when loading DLC saves without the DLC applied on Mac.
- fixHUD: Fixed overlapping resources on the top HUD when switching between Cities with Hides and Reindeer unlocked.
- newUtopia Tree: District construction cost is now visible in the Utopia Tree.
- changeUI: Improved readability of golden texts in main menus.
- fixUI: Opening Faction panel or Utopia Tree now cancels active Expand/Adjust placement inputs.
- fixUtopia Tree: Fixed Utopia Tree node connection lines not appearing or being misplaced on low resolutions.
- fixUI: Fixed persisting zoom story cursor when loading a save during Icebloods’ Cutthroat Frostbreaking.
🚀Performance & Stability(7)
- changePerformance: Optimized performance during temperature change events in the late game.
- changePerformance: Major memory and object count optimizations to UI widgets.
- changePerformance: Optimized shadow count to improve GPU and memory performance.
- changePerformance: Minor optimizations to texture compression.
- fixStability: Fixed crashes related to threading and general memory handling.
- fixStability: Fixed crashing Prologue save states created before the 1.5.x patch.
- fixStability: General memory optimizations and localization fixes.
🎨Visuals & Audio(10)
- changeVisuals: Various improvements and fixes to Hubs VFX and road generation logic.
- changeHeatmap: Increased the size of Insulated Districts outlines in the Heatmap overlay.
- fixRTX 50-series: Fixed visual artifacts on UI elements for RTX 50-series users.
- changeVisuals: Minor ability icon tweaks and improvements.
- newFaction Housing: Converted Faction Housing district panel now features faction-related 2D art.
- removeHubs: Secondary faction hubs (Overseers, Menders) and regular hubs no longer feature 2D art.
- changeTechnocrats’ Hub: Improved Technocrats’ Hub visuals on uneven terrain.
- fixTechnocrats: Technocrats’ exclusive buildings no longer lose cable connections after loading a save.
- fixImperial Academy: Fixed Imperial Academy being visible on the frostland map.
- changeVisuals: Numerous minor visual improvements to faction districts and SFX.
🏆Achievements(3)
- fixAchievements: ‘Art in Ruins’ achievement no longer resets progress if a worn-out district is disabled.
- fixAchievements: Fixed ‘We are not the same’ achievement not unlocking correctly for Utopia Builder.
- fixAchievements: Added safety checks to ‘Miracle Worker’ achievement to ensure only Plague deaths are counted.
Summary
Overview
Patch 1.5.4 focuses heavily on refining the Fractured Utopias DLC experience. The most notable addition is a new ability for the 'Plague' Tale, allowing players to convert contaminated citizens into regular sick ones to accelerate vaccine research.
Gameplay & Balance
Beyond the Plague Tale, several gameplay systems have been buffed. The Survivalists’ Headquarters exploration threat reduction now stacks, and the Goods Emporium proximity effect now stacks with Heat Auctions. Several critical bugs affecting district efficiency and ability costs (like Martial Law) have also been resolved.
Technical Improvements
This update addresses late-game performance issues, specifically during temperature change events. It also includes major memory optimizations for UI widgets and shadow rendering, alongside critical fixes for controller users who were experiencing softblocks during negotiations and promises.