Grounded 2 introduces a significant new mechanic allowing players to craft and ride certain bugs, greatly enhancing traversal speed and convenience across the map. While buggies aren`t available from the start, understanding how to unlock these useful mounts early on is highly beneficial. This guide will walk you through the process of obtaining and building a Red Soldier Ant Buggy in Grounded 2.
How to Unlock the Red Soldier Ant Buggy
Note on Progression: To unlock the Red Soldier Ant buggy, you must advance through the main storyline until you finish the Missed Connection quest. This mission involves venturing into an anthill to locate an Ominent employee and retrieve items from their remains. Successfully completing this quest grants you access to the blueprints required for constructing a Hatchery.
Building Your Hatchery
The Hatchery blueprint is available for purchase at the Ranger Station`s Science Shop for 500 Science Points. If you`re short on points, prioritize completing challenges listed in your challenge tab, as this is typically quicker than actively seeking out the pink glowing orbs that provide Science Points. However, always collect these orbs whenever you encounter them.
Acquiring the Hatchery blueprint unlocks the ability to craft three new items:
- The Hatchery itself
- The Red Soldier Ant Buggy
- An Ant Nest
To construct the Hatchery at your base, you will need the following materials:
- 6 Weed Stems
- 1 Acorn Top
- 5 Acorn Shells
- 5 Mite Fuzz
Acorns are commonly found near the base of trees, such as those in the Entrance region of your map, though they can appear in other locations as well. Early on, Weed Stems are primarily obtained from dandelions; simply look for towering grass and chop down any dandelions you spot.
The Red Soldier Ant Buggy requires a specific ant egg in addition to other crafting materials for the saddle. In total, you`ll need:
- 2 Grub Hides
- 3 Sprigs
- 1 Acorn Shell
- 1 Red Soldier Ant Egg
Acquiring a Red Soldier Ant Egg
Obtaining a Red Soldier Ant egg necessitates entering another ant hill. Be prepared to face numerous Red Soldier Ants, which are considerably larger and more formidable than the common red worker ants encountered outside.
Deep within the ant hill, you will eventually find a lab chamber containing a reddish-brown egg in a test setup, which is a Red Soldier Ant egg, but it`s initially inaccessible. Proceed further, and you`ll discover another area where you can actually pick up these eggs. Remember, you can only carry one egg at a time, and it cannot be stored in your inventory. This limitation means you`ll need to drop the egg temporarily if you encounter combat and need to defend yourself.
Ensure you are well-equipped with a good weapon, adequate armor, and a sufficient supply of bandages before embarking on this journey.
Hatching the Egg
Transport the egg back to your base and place it inside your newly constructed Hatchery. The Red Soldier Ant egg requires 12 hours of in-game time to hatch, which translates to approximately 25 minutes of real-world waiting.
Once the egg is ready, interact with the Hatchery. Congratulations! You now possess your very own friendly ant mount, which will significantly speed up travel across the world. This loyal companion also offers storage capacity, can assist in gathering materials, aid in combat against other insects, and, of course, you can pet it!