Survival Tips & Tricks
Obsidian’s new pet project Grounded is finally out in Game Preview for everyone to enjoy! This isn’t the full game yet, since, well, it’s in Game Preview. So we only have a small taste of what the game will end up being. For now, though, it’s still a rough go out there in survival mode for some people just starting out. Trying to manage your water and food levels while fighting off a horde of beetle larvae that are attacking your home and having no proper supplies can be exhausting. Knowing how to properly build, manage, and stockpile resources, as well as knowing how to properly combat enemies can make a big difference.
I’ve spent a good amount of time already in Grounded, pushing on 40 days cycles of in-game time. Not actual accumulated time… but 40 day and night cycles in the game. Here are some tips & tricks I learned during my time in Grounded. Hopefully, these will help you on your journey and make things a little easier!
Basic Survival
There are a few key things to keep in mind the next time you set foot outside that front door of your home in Grounded. Do you think you’re fully stocked up? Do you have a proper means of access to consistent resources? Let’s go over some of the tips & tricks you should keep in mind the next time you go hunting or anywhere in the game for that matter.
- As is with most survival games, you have to watch your water and food levels. These gauges will drain faster than you expect. Every action will take some tiny amount of food and water away from the gauge.
- Always keep a canteen filled with water, as well as extra food.
- Mushrooms are a great way to get food quickly. There are many locations scattered throughout the map. They don’t provide a huge amount, but they are plentiful and respawn fairly quickly. Keep an eye out for the large red and white spotted mushrooms!
- Do what you can to find clean drinking water. Dirty water will take down the same amount from your food gauge, as does your water gauge gains. The best place to find some on the go are dew drops on grass leaves or the ground.
- If you have to resort to drinking dirty water, make sure to counter it with food. You can drink dirty water as much as you want as long as the food is there.
- You don’t get poisoned from the water that causes damage over time. Just a little sick, which decreases the hunger gauge.
- You can cook “raw meat” from aphids, gnats, and weevils.
- Only kill and cook what you need, when you need it! Cooked food will spoil.
- It’s just as dangerous working during the day as it is at night. It really doesn’t matter if you stay up and not rest.
- If you do rest, it helps respawn materials. Grass and other items do eventually regrow after a period of time.
- Always make sure to have a hatchet, hammer, canteen, food, bandages, a bow, and at least one melee weapon on you at all times. Yes, this may seem a lot of items to take your inventory space but you will encounter more often than not, that you will need their use then and there.
- There’s never enough storage. Make a ton of it!
Advanced Survival
OK, this is where we kick tips & tricks for Grounded up a notch. Once you’ve got the basic survival skills down and are comfortable roaming around for long periods of time, it’s good to know how to avoid enemies, among other things.
- Bring. A. Bow. With lots of ammo. I can’t stress enough how many times I’ve used it to bring down spiders, stinkbugs, and bombardier beetles.
- You can re-use the arrows. Once you launch them you can go out and retrieve them. This is extremely useful for ammo conservation.
- Start thinking of Grounded as half survival, half platformer. Using clover leaves, blades of grass, and other objects as a height advantage will save your life. Most of the time.
- Using the same methods as the previous tip, use the objects to get to places where you thought you couldn’t reach originally.
- Learn to time your blocks in combat! This is an effective way to eliminate damage from blocking, and bring down some of the biggest monstrosities with ease!
- Dew collectors in your base are critical! Make sure to have at least two of them.
- This goes the same with mushroom farms. Build at least 4 to keep a constant supply of food.
- Level two tools such as the hatchet and hammer are invaluable. Obtain these quickly!
- If you want to avoid food spoiling, make sure to get a drying rack. You can cure raw meat and dry out other items. Cured meat does not spoil, but does drain a small amount of your water gauge when eaten.
- The sooner you start wearing armor and clothing items, the better. They all give some type of perk that is beneficial to helping you survive, move quickly, or haul materials.
- Carry a dandelion tuft with you just in case you have to get down from a high spot quickly, and safely.
- Juice boxes are great landmarks, and also a great way to get water and food. The droplets they produce fill both gauges!
- The sooner you can get that mint mallet, the better! The damage that the item does to creatures is insane and will make anything an easy kill.
- Ants will rob you of any aphid honeydew you have, and will eat meat being roasted off of your campfire.
- Be wary of larva, as they roam around in large, devastating packs.
As Grounded continues its development, and as more content is released, changes will be made. This article will be updated periodically as Grounded reaches completion. Hopefully, these tips & tricks will help provide an easier experience for you! Enjoy your time in the backyard! You can purchase the game on steam, the Xbox Store, or play it via Xbox Game Pass on both console and PC.