8 You Can Choose Any Teen

All Teens Play the Same Way

When you start Grounded 2, you’ll get to pick one of four kids to play as: Max, Hoops, Pete, or Willow. They each have their own personality, voice lines, and style, but you don’t get any special powers or advantages depending on who you choose. Every character runs the same, fights the same, builds the same, and takes damage the same way.

This means you’re totally free to go with the one you like most. Want a confident, tough-sounding teen? Go with Max. Prefer someone a bit more brainy and careful? Pete’s your guy. Maybe you want someone with more attitude like Willow or the energetic Hoops. It’s your call. The only time this choice matters a little is in multiplayer. Everyone has to pick a different character, so you can’t have a team of four Hoops running around. But again, it’s just for looks and personality. You’re all equally strong and skilled.

7 Build a Base Early

So You Don’t Keep Getting Stuck

Right after you drop into the backyard in Grounded 2, one of the smartest things you can do is set up a base. Don’t wait until you’ve explored half the map or collected tons of stuff. A good base gives you a safe place to sleep, store items, craft gear and most importantly, set your respawn point.

Without a base, every time you die, you’ll pop back at your original starting spot. That can be a huge pain, especially if you’ve wandered deep into enemy territory or far from the first mission. Having a base nearby means you won’t waste time running across the whole map just to get back to where you were.

6 Always Analyze New Items You Pick Up

To Easily Unlock Upgrades

Whenever you find a new item or material, don’t just throw it in storage or use it right away. Head to a Resource Analyzer and scan it. Doing this helps you in two big ways: you farm Raw Science (which is used to unlock upgrades), and you get new crafting recipes. Think of the Analyzer like a scanner. You place something inside, and it tells you what that item can be used for. It’s how you learn to craft better weapons, gear, and tools. For example, the first time you find sap or bug parts, scanning them unlocks things like bandages or armor pieces.

You only get a few scans before the Analyzer needs time to recharge. That’s why it’s smart to scan the newest or rarest stuff first. Prioritize things you’ve never seen before. This way, you’ll keep unlocking new gear and not get stuck using weak tools.

5 Watch the Teal Healing Bar When Using Bandages

Disruptions Can Stop Healing

Healing doesn’t happen instantly when you use a fiber bandage. Instead, you’ll notice a small teal bar appears on your health bar. That teal section means healing is on the way, but it hasn’t actually happened yet. If you get hit before the teal bar finishes filling, the bandage effect will stop its progress. That means you’ve wasted it.

The trick is to use bandages only when you’re sure it’s safe. Try stepping behind cover or climbing up somewhere bugs can’t reach you. If you’re in a fight, run away and heal behind a rock or wall. Wait until things calm down before using a bandage, or the healing won’t stick.

4 Complete the Egg Hunt Mission Quickly

To Get a Red Soldier Ant Buggy

One of the coolest features in Grounded 2 is riding bugs, and the Red Soldier Ant is one of the first ones you’ll get. To tame it, you need to complete the Egg Hunt mission. This unlocks the ability to find and hatch Red Soldier Ant eggs. Once the egg hatches, the ant becomes your Buggy. It follows you, lets you ride it and can help with clearing certain obstacles. You don’t need to train it or feed it after that.

Riding a Buggy makes exploring way easier. You move faster, get around tougher areas, and even avoid some enemy fights just by outrunning them. You’ll start finding more Red Soldier Ant eggs as you explore deeper into the tunnels. Hatching more gives you backup mounts, which is useful if one goes down during a mission. Don’t forget to mark egg locations, as you’ll want to come back for more.

3 Use Red Soldier Ant Buggy to Remove Dead Roots and Clear the Way

To Avoid Backtracking or Searching for New Routes

Some parts of Grounded 2 are blocked off by thick, creepy-looking vines called Dead Roots. You can’t chop them, smash them, or blow them up. Your only option is to ride a Red Soldier Ant Buggy and command it to bite through them. Once you’ve hatched your first Red Soldier Ant and started using it as a mount, you’ll run into these roots inside the ant tunnels. They block off hidden passages, shortcuts, or places with useful loot. If you’re not on your ant when you get there, you won’t be able to do anything about them.

To break the roots, get on your Buggy and walk it right up to the blockage. A prompt will appear, letting you command the ant to chomp it down. It’ll take a few seconds, but once it’s done, the path is clear. This isn’t just a one-time trick. Throughout the game, you’ll find Dead Roots in lots of places, especially when you go after new ant eggs or explore deeper tunnel systems. Having your Red Soldier Ant ready means you can keep moving forward without backtracking or searching for another way around.

2 Hunger Can Kill You If You Ignore It

You Can Eat Bugs, Mushrooms or Even Cooked Food to Quench Your Hunger

In some survival games, hunger just makes you a little weaker. In Grounded 2, it’s way more serious. If you let your hunger meter hit zero and leave it there, you’ll start losing health. Stay hungry for too long, and you’ll die. That’s why watching your hunger is just as important as watching your health bar. The moment it starts turning red, that’s your warning. You need to eat something soon.

You can find food in all sorts of places. Mushrooms grow near logs and trees and are the easiest early-game snack. You can also kill bugs like weevils or aphids and cook their meat at a roasting spit. Cooked food fills you up more than raw food, and it usually restores a bit of health too.

1 You Can Ride a New Buggy While Your Dead One Is Still Respawning

So You Don’t Have to Waste Time

Your Buggy is super useful, but it’s not invincible. Sometimes your Red Soldier Ant or other mount might die in a fight or get stuck somewhere. When that happens, you don’t lose it forever. There’s a timer, and after a while, your Buggy will come back to you. But you don’t have to just stand around and wait.

If you’ve unlocked another Buggy, like a different Red Soldier Ant or even another bug mount, you can call it instead. That way, you don’t waste time and can keep going with your mission. This is especially helpful during long journeys. If your first Buggy dies halfway through, just summon a backup and keep moving. Later in the game, you’ll unlock access to multiple Buggy types, so it’s smart to keep a few ready just in case. So, when one Buggy goes down, just open your menu and switch to another.