Planet Zoo 2 Beginner Guide: Tips From Frontier's Own Explanations

These tips come from how Frontier describes Planet Zoo 2’s systems, mainly its Managing a Zoo feature and its post-launch notes, not from our own play.

What should you set up first?

A starting checklist built from Frontier’s explanations:

• Turn on the Essentials filter in the item browser. Frontier added it so new players can quickly find functional items such as Donation Bins and shop blueprints.
• Build your first habitat around the animal’s needs: food and water, enough space, suitable terrain and plants, and social and enrichment needs.
• Hire the core staff: Keepers to feed animals, Vets to treat them and run research, Caretakers to keep the zoo clean.
• Cover guest basics: toilets, food and drink, and places to rest.
• Keep the utilities running: depending on what you build, facilities need power and habitats need water from filters and pumps.

Frontier’s Opening Your First Zoo video from October 8 walks through the basics too.

How do you keep animals healthy and Thriving?

Every species has its own welfare requirements: food and water, room to move, suitable terrain and plants, and a rich social and enrichment environment. Meeting them gives animals a high standard of welfare. Planet Zoo 2 adds a level above that, the Thriving state, for animals living in a truly natural, enriching environment. Frontier says thriving animals live longer and make guests donate more.

There is a catch: an animal can only reach Thriving after you’ve researched its species. Research is done by your Vets, and Frontier says it also unlocks new items, better welfare options and the chance to release animals into a Wildlife Reserve.

Two design rules from Frontier:

• Give guests a good view of each habitat, but leave animals places to hide away from guests so they don’t get stressed.
• Aviaries are built from barriers, support poles and mesh covers so birds can fly freely and safely, and aquariums can be freshwater or saltwater. Since update 1.0.4, shoal info panels show social group welfare.

How do you keep guests happy?

Guests expect toilets, somewhere to eat and drink, and seats to rest on. Unhappy guests may walk out early or even ask for their money back. They also want to learn about your animals, so hire Educators for Animal Talks, place speakers, boards and web cams, or set up tours.

Animal welfare matters to guests too. If welfare drops too low, protesters can set up outside your habitats and upset other guests enough to leave. You don’t need to hide staff buildings: Frontier says guests enjoy watching Vets and Keepers at work. Scenery pieces placed around facilities raise both guest and staff happiness.

How do you manage staff?

Role	Job
Caretakers	Keep the zoo clean and tidy
Keepers	Feed and care for animals
Mechanics	Maintain facilities and habitats
Vendors	Serve guests at shops and restaurants
Vets	Treat sick animals and conduct research
Educators	Give talks and educate guests

You can split the zoo into Work Zones and assign staff to each. Unhappy staff quit, so Frontier recommends training them, paying a high enough salary and keeping workloads manageable.

How do you make money in Planet Zoo 2?

Money goes out when you expand, adopt animals and hire staff, plus running costs such as salaries and energy bills. Frontier says positive cash flow is the key to keeping the zoo open, and lists these tools:

• Ticket prices: adjust them.
• Shops and souvenirs: facilities can be a source of income.
• Donations: Thriving animals encourage guests to give more.
• Marketing campaigns: each animal can get its own campaign to draw more visitors, but campaigns cost money.
• Loans: an immediate cash injection with interest attached. Update 1.0.4 reduced interest rates on low-level loans.

The Steam store page sums up the loop: appealing animals in good habitats bring in guests, which raises your zoo’s rating and earns money for expansion.

How is your zoo rated?

Zoo Reputation scores your zoo out of 5 stars across four areas:

Area	What counts
Animal Husbandry	Animal welfare and whether animals are thriving
Sustainability	How sustainable your infrastructure is, such as recycling bins and renewable power
Guest Education	Guests’ average education and use of education topics about your animals
Guest Experience	Guest happiness, zoo decoration and the diversity of your animals

How does accreditation work?

Accreditation is separate for each game mode. In Career, your Accreditation Tier rises as you earn medals in scenario zoos and Wildlife Reserves. In Franchise, it rises when your zoos score a strong Zoo Reputation and your Wildlife Reserves a strong Biodiversity Rating. Career progress does not advance Franchise accreditation. Frontier says it is investigating feedback on the rating requirements.

What are the Planet Hub and Wildlife Reserves?

The Planet Hub, which you can open at any time without leaving your save, is where you view, visit and set up zoos and Wildlife Reserves, and manage trading, storage and research across every location in the current game mode. Wildlife Reserves are where you release animals by completing conservation projects with specific requirements. Frontier stresses that caring for animals matters in reserves as much as in the zoo, and a Research Vehicle lets you drive around them.

Which settings help?

• Edge scrolling is an option in Keyboard and Mouse settings since update 1.0.5.
• Angle snapping now defaults to 1 degree instead of 15, from update 1.0.4.
• Franchise Mode: Frontier says using a VPN may cause connection problems.

Where can you find more help?

Frontier points players to the in-game help section and its player guides. Its July 17 Creature Feature explains the new animal brain system and the behaviors it produces. Report bugs on Frontier’s issue tracker.

What hasn’t Frontier explained yet?

• Exact numbers: the posts give no welfare thresholds, salary levels or ticket price ranges.
• Research needed for Thriving: how much research each species needs isn’t stated.
• Accreditation changes: under investigation, with no changes announced yet.

Next, browse the animal list, check the patch notes and known issues, or return to the game hub.