Comprehensive Guide to Thermal Towers in Once Human’s Way of Winter
Survive the Frost: A Comprehensive Guide to Thermal Towers in Once Human's The Way of Winter
The icy wilderness of Once Human’s The Way of Winter tests your resilience and strategy at every turn. The Way of Winter, or WoW heavily emphasizes player hives and working together to beat the freeze and heat. One way hive teamwork is important is by building and maintaining a Thermal Tower. The thermal tower offers protection, resources, and more for an advantage in surviving The Way of Winter’s extreme weather.
What is a Thermal Tower
In WoW, the Thermal Tower will be an important part of your survival. As the name suggests, the thermal tower is designed to regulate area temperature and boost productivity. When its features are activated, it turns your territory into a better prepared haven for survivors. Fueled by Chaosium, the tower provides strategic buffs that span a wide radius, enhancing territories within its influence.
How to Unlock the Thermal Tower
The Thermal Tower unlocks during Phase II—Scattered Ash. When the Scattered Ash phase begins, unlock the Thermal Tower Memetic in the Building category. You will need the following materials to build the tower:
35 Aluminum Ingots
50 Steel Ingots
30 Metal Scraps
30 Electronic Parts
10 Storage Batteries
In addition to the materials you will need to build the tower, you should also farm Chaosium from Vultures and elemental rocks (hot rocks and cold rocks) to unlock the different tower buffs. Have at least 2100 Chaosium to unlock the first five buffs of the tower. Every three tower levels unlocks a new tier, and the cost of each buff goes up in Chaosium. So, the buffs in Tier 1 cost 500 Chaosium each in addition to other materials.
How to Place Thermal Tower
The thermal tower occupies a single territory as if it were a player’s territory. Meaning, you cannot place the tower inside your territory. You want to find an area that is unoccupied by others, ideal for you and your hivemates, and place your tower. Plan to build your territories around the tower. You can only place one tower per player. However, players cannot place a tower within the coverage of another tower. This is to prevent overlapping and fair territory usage.
Two Thermal Towers well distanced
Advantages of the Thermal Tower
The Thermal Tower gives players and their hive mates in the tower’s radiation area a lot of benefits after unlocking them. Some of those benefits include:
Thermal Range
Thermal range controls the temperature across the territories within the tower’s range. You can adjust the temperature at a cost of 3 Chaosium per minute.Heat Spread and Artificial Sun
With the Heat Spread buff, the thermal tower will boost the fuel generator energy output in surrounding territories by 10 watts. And with the Artificial Sun buff, it boosts solar-powered generator output by 10 watts.Oil Exploration
The tower will allow the land in its territories to generate oil fields, allowing you to pump oil.Interlaced Frost and Interlaced Fire
Players within the tower’s range gain frost damage increase from Interlaced Frost and fire damage from Interlaced Fire.Stardust Control
The thermal tower turns the waste from consuming Chaosium into Stardust, turning the area within its radius into a polluted zone.
Upgrading the Thermal Tower
To unlock buffs, you have to upgrade your tower’s technology. And each technology upgrade or tier has eight buffs to choose from. Here are the available technologies:
Reactor – Extends the tower’s coverage by boosting power output.
Thermostatic Cover – Fine-tunes temperature regulation for greater efficiency.
Outer Defense – Adds defensive advantages, making territories harder to attack.
Radiator – Improves the overall range and effectiveness of the Thermal Tower.
Managing and Optimizing the Thermal Tower
The thermal tower has three tabs that allow you to manage your tower:
Technology Tab
Unlock and manage technologies here. Each upgrade amplifies player and territory buffs. The tower’s level depends on the number of active technologies and the tier. If you have unlocked five buffs under one technology, then your tower will be Lvl. 6.Manage Tab
The Manage Tabe allows you to adjust the tower’s temperature control, manage permissions, recruit, and purify your tower, similar to the Stardust reactor. Higher tiers have greater effects but require more Chaosium.Depot Tab
Store and manage resources such as Chaosium, the tower’s energy source, in this section.
Fueling the Thermal Tower: Chaosium
Fuel the Thermal Tower with Chaosium. The greater the temperature impact and radiation range, the faster the tower consumes Chaosium. If the supplies are depleted, the tower shuts down. You can acquire Chaosium by hunting Vultures, crafting it with acid and gold ore using Smelter Memetics, or smelting hot rocks and cold rocks in the furnace.
Keep in Mind
The Way of Winter scenario was designed to emphasize teamwork. While it is possible to upgrade a Thermal Tower solo, the time it takes to gather all of the resources will take up the majority of your playtime. Having a team to deposit resources and help purify the tower will make the tower upgrading go more smoothly so you can focus on other aspects of the game, like running Silos, monoliths, exploring, and taking down Chaosweaver.
When setting up your Thermal Tower keep in mind:
Location of Tower Placement
Place your tower to benefit the most territories while avoiding overlap with others.Keep Your Tower Fed with Resources
Keep a steady supply of Chaosium in the Depot to avoid interruptions in functionality.Choose the Most Needed Upgrades First
Prioritize upgrades that provide the most immediate value, such as increased defenses or resource yields. And remember, with each of the four technologies you unlock, the cost of Chaosium goes up. So, be strategic in choosing which upgrades you want or need first.Work as a Team
Coordinate with your hivemates to find the best position for tower placement. Remember, there are some spots on the map that may seem highly desirable, but Chaosweaver may spawn there in later phases and affect the weather. Coordinate resource acquisition and the best upgrades for everyone in the Hive.
