Graveyard Keeper 2 PR Machine Guide: Unlock and Use It

Graveyard Keeper 2 PR machine problems usually come from treating it like a normal buildable workstation. The game introduces the system through Gunter, a quest, and a calendar day rather than a factory build menu. This guide separates official evidence from current-build reference data, then gives you the shortest route from the Congregation Trouble quest to a working zombie-capacity run.

The important answer is practical: you do not build a second PR machine beside a conveyor line. You unlock one machine, supply its temporary run, and use the extra zombie capacity to support production and Town work during the active window. The Graveyard Keeper 2 automation guide covers the wider factory and army systems, while this guide stays on the PR loop.

TL;DR: Finish Gunter's Congregation Trouble quest, charge the requested hypno-device, return it, and hold the sermon. Current-build references say Gunter then sets up one PR machine by his Port house. On Gluttony day, PR Machine I uses two charged hypno devices for a temporary zombie-limit increase. The official patch notes confirm the machine's name, but not the full recipe table.

Graveyard Keeper 2 PR machine: quick answer

The PR machine is a temporary zombie-capacity system tied to Gunter and the Town's public-relations problem. It is not a regular station you place wherever you want. Current-build references describe one machine near Gunter's Port house, an unlock through the Congregation Trouble quest, a Gluttony-day operating window, and charged hypno devices as the first input. The official Steam changelog confirms that the machine exists in the live game, but it does not publish all of those instructions.

Key Takeaways

• The official 1.007 changelog names the PR machine and fixes a bug that could make it stop working.
• Gunter's Congregation Trouble quest is the route to the machine, according to current quest references.
• The unlock asks for a hypno-device to be charged with Faith before you return it and hold a sermon.
• Current-build data reports that PR Machine I uses two charged hypno devices and temporarily adds 10 zombie capacity for one week.
• The machine is reported to operate on Gluttony day, so prepare its inputs before that calendar slot.
• PR Machine II is reported to unlock newspaper use, but later tier recipes, stacking, and early-ending behavior are not confirmed by official developer documentation.
• The PR machine supports the Town and business loop indirectly by giving an automated operation room for more zombie workers. It does not replace a Supply Station or directly create Town Gratitude.

Overview: what the PR machine actually does

The machine sits between the Town story and the factory economy. Graveyard Keeper 2's official store description pairs Town restoration, production automation, and undead workers. The PR system matters because a larger zombie workforce can support more semi-automatic production, but the machine's own run is temporary and consumes special inputs. The best indie automation and logistics games guide provides wider genre context, while this article stays with the verified PR loop.

The primary-source boundary

The strongest primary evidence is the official Steam Changelog 1.007. One of its bullets says, “Fixed the PR machine not working.” That short line verifies the proper in-game name and shows that the system was live enough to receive a bug fix. The official Steam store page independently confirms the game’s automation, Town, and zombie-worker loop.

Neither official page explains the unlock quest, the machine's location, the charged-device recipe, or the duration numbers. The step-by-step details below come from current-build game-data references that state they were checked against installed Steam PC files, plus player reports that corroborate the input behavior. I am labeling those claims as current-reference data rather than presenting them as a developer-published manual. If a later patch changes the machine, use the live quest text and machine panel over this launch-era table.

This distinction is useful for the rest of the sequel too. The Graveyard Keeper 2 review covers the overall Town and production experience, while the factory layout guide focuses on belts, stations, and placement. Neither article treats a guessed PR number as a permanent rule.

The official Astrologer's Tower screenshot shows the kind of ceremony and formulation context surrounding the unlock. It does not display the PR machine's recipe panel.

Step-by-Step: unlock and run the PR machine

1. Start Gunter's Congregation Trouble quest: Continue the Town and ceremony progression until Gunter asks for help with the congregation's loss of interest.

Current quest references place Gunter at the Astrologer's Tower and describe the objective chain as meeting him after a ceremony, asking the Astrologer why parishioners are losing interest, and returning with a charged hypno-device. The quest name matters because other Gunter conversations do not automatically unlock the machine.

2. Obtain the hypno-device: Buy a Hypno-device from the Astrologer's tier-three stock when the quest makes it available.

This is the first place the related search term matters. A hypno-device is not the finished PR input until it has been charged. Do not spend your only copy on a different formulation and assume the quest will advance. Current references identify the purchase as part of the quest path, not as a random factory drop.

3. Charge it with Faith: Put the hypno-device into the Formulation Bench and add 1 Faith using the quest's supplied recipe.

The current Gunter reference describes the charge step as a Formulation Bench action. Read the recipe shown by your own quest panel before committing Faith because exact station wording is the kind of detail that can move between builds. A charged hypno-device is the item the quest asks Gunter to receive.

4. Return the charged device to Gunter: Give him the charged hypno-device and continue the conversation.

After the handoff, the quest reference reports a reputation reward and a request to hold a sermon. This is not the PR machine run yet. It is the social unlock that changes Gunter's role and opens the next step.

5. Hold the required sermon: Run the next ceremony, then finish the quest conversation.

Current references say the sermon is the trigger after which Gunter sets up the machine beside his Port house. This is why searching the factory build menu for “PR machine” can waste time. The machine is quest-installed and improved in place, not a free-standing blueprint in the same category as a Smithy or conveyor chest.

6. Visit the Port machine on Gluttony day: Check the calendar and open the machine when its working day arrives.

The current reference marks Gluttony day as the PR machine's only working day. Open the interface rather than relying on memory, because the official patch notes do not publish a complete day-by-day schedule. If the machine does not respond, first check the calendar, the active quest state, and whether the game has installed it beside Gunter's house.

7. Select the available run and load its inputs: At PR Machine I, prepare two charged hypno-devices according to the current reference.

The first reported run adds 10 supported zombies for one week. That number is useful for planning, but it comes from current-build reference data, not the official changelog. Treat the machine panel's displayed capacity and duration as authoritative if they differ.

8. Spend the temporary capacity on a real bottleneck: Assign zombies to the production or Town work that is actually holding up your next objective.

Do not activate the run simply because the machine is ready. A temporary cap is most useful when you have stations waiting for workers, a Town order that needs a production chain, or a factory route that has already passed its one-batch test. The factory layout guide explains why a short, inspectable lane is easier to scale than a tangled room full of untested stations.

How the upgrade changes the inputs

Current references describe the first upgrade as the point where newspapers become part of the PR system. A file-based guide also reports a PR Machine I to II upgrade cost of 10 Oiled Plank and 8 Iron Detail. Keep that recipe in the “current reference” category. It is specific enough to verify in your own upgrade panel, but it is not printed in the official Steam changelog.

The practical change is more important than memorizing a tier table. Machine I is a hypno-device run. Machine II is reported to support a newspaper recipe as well, which gives you another input to plan around. Higher tiers exist in current database references, but I am not listing their exact capacity, duration, or material recipes here because I could not confirm those details in a primary developer source and patch-sensitive tables are easy to misstate.

This is also why the PR machine should be planned as its own supply loop. A newspaper is not a conveyor belt component, and a charged hypno-device is not a generic factory output. Keep the materials for the PR run separate from the raw resources feeding your Graveyard Keeper 2 factory layout, then decide which zombie assignment will repay the temporary capacity.

What the PR machine does for Town and business

The machine does not directly complete a Town order, increase a warehouse counter, or replace the porter. Its role is indirect. It temporarily raises the number of zombies the settlement can support, which gives your automated production loop more labor capacity during the run.

That matters because Town restoration and factory work compete for materials and worker attention. If the active cap is too low, adding another workstation or recovering a stalled line may not help. A PR run gives you a window in which the extra worker can staff a station, move an input, or keep a delivery chain supplied. The Romestead trading post logistics guide offers a useful comparison for thinking about production and delivery as separate stages.

The machine is therefore a capacity purchase, not a direct profit button. Its inputs cost preparation time and resources. Use it when the extra zombie lets a bottlenecked production chain produce a Town-facing result, not when your factory is still failing because a belt points the wrong way.

The Port Area screenshot identifies the Town-facing location associated with Gunter's machine. It is an environmental reference, not a close-up of the PR interface.

What happens when the run ends

Current zombie-limit references describe the PR bonus as temporary. When the run ends, the extra capacity is removed. If your assigned population is now above the effective limit, the game can apply an Excessive zombies debuff according to those references. The exact penalty wording and timing should be read from the live status panel rather than copied from an old table.

The safe planning rule is to keep a margin. Do not add every possible zombie just because a weekly run temporarily makes the number fit. If the run ends while the population is still above the normal limit, you may lose the production stability the machine was meant to create. The official 1.005 changelog also records that a missing zombie-limit hint was restored at the Resurrection Table on PlayStation, which is a useful reminder to check the in-game UI for the current cap.

PR machine troubleshooting

The machine is missing

Confirm that the Congregation Trouble quest is complete, the charged device was returned, and the sermon was held. Current references put the machine next to Gunter's Port house. If a quest step is still active, the installation may not have happened yet.

The machine will not activate

Check the calendar for Gluttony day, then inspect the machine panel for its accepted input. The official 1.007 patch specifically fixed the PR machine not working, so make sure your game is updated before assuming the save is permanently blocked.

The machine accepts the device but the run does not help

Check the supported zombie count after starting the run, then look for the active duration and any population debuff. The bonus is temporary, and a run does not make the machine's capacity permanent. Move the extra worker onto a known production bottleneck and observe one completed output before adding more stations.

The upgrade does not show newspapers

Verify that the machine has been upgraded to the tier that current references associate with newspaper use. Do not infer a newspaper recipe from the general crafting tree. Use the machine's own interface, and remember that the full tier table is not published in official developer notes.

Is a bioreactor part of the PR loop?

No. A bioreactor is a separate factory object associated with power or production infrastructure. It does not replace the PR machine, charge hypno-devices, or increase the zombie limit. The advanced automation guide for All Hail the Orb is a useful comparison for why similarly named machines still need separate input and output plans.

Tips for using the PR machine efficiently

Keep two charged hypno-devices ready before Gluttony day. That advice follows the current reference for PR Machine I, but the live panel remains the final check if a patch changes the input.

Run the machine after the factory lane is proven. The Shapez 2 advanced belt-routing guide is about another game, but its debugging lesson applies here: extra capacity does not repair a bad route. The Valheim base-building guide offers a separate example of why a little planned room makes a management loop easier to recover.

Reserve a job for the extra zombie. A worker limit increase that leaves every station idle is not doing business work. The Graveyard Keeper 2 automation guide covers the broader choice between factory labor and army preparation.

Watch the normal cap before the bonus expires. If the current population will not fit afterward, finish a batch, remove an unneeded assignment, or wait to add the next zombie. Do not treat a weekly PR run as permission to overfill the settlement forever.

Do not confuse a search-term match with an in-game system. “Hypno device” is directly relevant to the unlock. “Bioreactor” is a different factory object. I found no primary-source reason to force carrier, honeycomb, or firefly into this guide, so they are not presented as PR inputs.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Graveyard Keeper 2 PR machine?

It is a quest-installed machine associated with Gunter that gives a temporary increase to supported zombie capacity. Official patch notes confirm the in-game name, while current-build references supply the unlock and input details.

How do I unlock the PR machine?

Complete Gunter's Congregation Trouble sequence, obtain and charge the requested hypno-device, return it, and hold the required sermon. Current references say the machine appears beside Gunter's Port house afterward.

Can I craft the PR machine at a build desk?

Current references say no. There is one machine, installed near Gunter's Port house after the quest, and it is upgraded in place. Check the live quest and station panels if a later patch changes that behavior.

How many charged hypno-devices does PR Machine I use?

Current-build references report two charged hypno-devices for PR Machine I. The same reference reports a temporary 10-zombie increase for one week, but the official changelog does not publish those numbers.

What day does the PR machine work?

Current references mark Gluttony day as the working day. Open the calendar and machine interface in your save because the official documentation does not include a complete PR schedule table.

Does PR Machine II use newspapers?

Yes, current file-based references report newspaper support after the first upgrade. The exact later-tier recipes and durations should be checked in the live upgrade panel because they are not documented in the official Steam notes.

Does the PR machine increase Town Gratitude directly?

No direct Town Gratitude reward is documented. The machine's reported benefit is temporary zombie capacity, which can support factory production and Town delivery indirectly when those systems are already connected.

Related Reading

• Graveyard Keeper 2 factory layout guide: Plan the conveyor, station, storage, and Town handoff that the extra worker will support.
• Graveyard Keeper 2 automation guide: Read the sequel's wider production and zombie-army overview.
• Graveyard Keeper 2 review: See how Town restoration, automation, and combat fit into the complete game.
• Best base-building colony sim games: Compare the value of reserving expansion room in a solo management game.
• Winter Burrow crafting recipes guide: Follow another source-bounded resource and unlock loop.
• Graveyard Keeper 2 Complete Guide: the hub linking every Graveyard Keeper 2 guide, from release facts to battles and Town reputation.

References

• Official Graveyard Keeper 2 Steam store page confirms the Town, automation, machinery, and zombie-worker premise.
• Official Steam Changelog 1.007 is the primary source that names the PR machine and records its bug fix.
• Gunter NPC reference describes Congregation Trouble, the charged hypno-device handoff, sermon trigger, and Port installation in current-build data.
• PR Machine I reference describes the one-machine setup, Gluttony-day use, and first-run input. It is an unofficial fan database, not a developer manual.
• PR machine guide checked against PC game files provides current-reference duration, capacity, and upgrade notes while flagging later behavior that remains unverified.
• Congregation Trouble quest reference corroborates the Gunter, hypno-device, and sermon objectives.
• Zombie-limit reference describes the temporary-capacity and over-limit behavior in the current data reference.
• Steam discussion about the PR machine corroborates the early hypno-device input and the confusion around the first upgrade.
• Steam discussion about the zombie-limit UI records player reports about the Resurrection Table limit display.
• Factory mechanics reference separates the bioreactor from the PR machine and lists the current factory object vocabulary.