For those that played the original Grounded, the Hatchery in Grounded 2 is a new feature that lets players incubate certain eggs, allowing them to create a buggy. This allows players to get mounts and combat pets, similar to the first game. Here’s how to build and work a Hatchery in Grounded 2.

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Here is everything you need to know to complete the Hatchery quest line in Grounded 2, and unlock your Buggy ant mount. Image via Gamer Guides / Obsidian

Building a Hatchery¶

To build a Hatchery, open up your build menu, and select the Hatchery. Now place it wherever you wish. Once placed, you need to the following items

• Weed Stem X6
• Acorn Top x1
• Acorn Shell x5
• Mite Fuzz x5

Weed Stems can be found by cutting down Dandelion stems and picking up what falls down. There’s a few located around the first Hunter’s station area. Check for the Dandelion flower heads bending down and you easily find them in the skyline. As for the Mite Fuzz, simply kill Red Mites.

Acorn Tops and Shells come from being able to smash Acorn seeds lying around. They are kind of hard to find. You can find a few located west and south of the initial Hunter’s Station after the tutorial. Be warned, they are often guarded by Orb Weavers and Spiderlings. Check out or Interactive map for help finding the resource. Or the image below for rough ideas where to find Acorns in the Grasslands.

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Here is a rough location of Acorns in Grounded 2’s Garden region. Image via Gamer Guides / Obsidian.

Hatching an Egg from the Hatchery¶

Once you build a Hatchery, you now need to retrieve Eggs. The Hatchery quest will take you to the Southern Anthill in the region, which will let you eventually find the Red Soldier Ant Egg. Be warned,that the quest is somewhat difficult. Make sure to craft some new weapons, armor, and bring a few bandages with you. You’ll fight a Red Soldier Ants in there, and when you take the Soldier egg, the workers will become hostile. Feel free to craft Ant Bait at your workbench using Weevil Meat to assist with any awkward fights you may have.

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Explore the Southern Anthill and grab the Red Soldier Ant Egg. Image via Gamer Guides / Obsidian.

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Return it your your Hatchery in Grounded 2, and then wait 12 hours for it to hatch into your new friend. Image via Gamer Guides / Obsidian.

Once you have successfully retrieved the Red Soldier Ant Egg, you can place it in your hatchery. You will need the following to create the nest for the egg:

• 2x Grub Hides
• 3x Sprig
• 1x Acorn Shell

You can get Grub Hides from digging up grubs using your Shovel. They are located amongst most first paths, and should be easy to find. Refer to our Scorn image above if you still need more acorns.

It will take 12 hours to hatch. Feel free to sleep the night away to speed things up. Otherwise, work on some base building as you’ll need to build some perimeter for the upcoming quests.

Once the egg has hatched, you can now find your newly found friend as a mount. It also comes with the ability to store items, gather items, chop through the dead roots you’ve seen and even fight enemies with you. Though don’t let it fight too hard enemies, otherwise it can die. When you don’t need to use it, feel free to place it in an Ant Hill building placement, as that will allow you to withdraw it or stockpile other buggies when needed.

What to place in the Hatchery?¶

As it stands there are a few eggs you can place in an Hatchery. The current known list is as follows:

Hatchery Egg	How To Get
Red Soldier Ant	Southern Anthill Entrance
Orb Weaver	Purchase for 5000 Raw Science after getting the Network Center Turbo Optical Disk from the main storyline.
Ladybug	Coming in the Winter patch - method unknown
Water Buggies	Coming in the Summer Update - method currently unknown

• Other buggies may come in other patches per Obsidian’s changing plans or other content updates per its roadmap.

This concludes how to complete the Hatchery quest in Grounded 2 and unlock more buggys for the hatchery.