Brittle Marble and Brittle Quartzite are important resources for upgrading your weapons and armor in Grounded 2. Like in the first game, you will want to upgrade your gear set to improve the 3 Ds: durability, defense and damage. That way, it makes it easier to kill some of the big bad bugs of the map and progress through the game.

When you reach the Apprentice Smith quest, after progressing through the main story, you’ll unlock the smithing station, which will then allow you to make Brittle Platings and Whetstones. Here’s everything you need to know to progress through the quest by finding Brittle Marble and Quartzite locations in Grounded 2.

Where to find Brittle Marble and Quartzite¶

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A Brittle Marble boulder in Grounded 2, located inside an early game cave. Image via Gamer Guides / Obsidian

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An example of Brittle Quartzite in Grounded 2, found inside an early game cave. Image via Gamer Guides / Obsidian

For the most part, Brittle Marble and Brittle Quartzite are tier 1 items, which can often be found inside of early game cave systems. Here are the locations we are aware of so far, along with some higher level areas:

1. Scorpion Cave south of the Headless BURG.L landmark on the border between Snackbar and Ceremony
2. The cave near the Crushed Can, southeast of the Snackbar Ranger Outpost
3. Underneath the southern side of the Snackbar landmark, scattered around the dirt hills
4. Few deposits inside the first anthill next to the tutorial area
5. Inside the Anthill South Entrance, where you get the Red Solder Ant Egg from the Hatchery quest.
6. Next to the Lamp post along the border of Snackbar and Picnic Table
7. There’s one Brittle Quartz and Marble inside the O.R.C cave you go to in the early game quest line underneath the Snackbar landmark, right before you unlock the Smithing Station
8. Underneath the tunnel area along the brick road leading to the Statue in the Grass Games area.

There will be more around the area. Make sure to bring your Red Worker Ant Buggy with you, as that will help you open the Dead Root areas, which can lead to rewards like the Brittle Marble and Brittle Quartzite boulders.

What to use Brittle Marble and Brittle Quartzite on?¶

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Brittle Quartzite can be forged at the workbench into Brittle Whetstones, which are used to upgrade early game weapons. Image via Gamer Guides / Obsidian.

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Players can use their Brittle Marble to create Platings, which are used to upgrade low level gear. Image via Gamer Guides / Obsidian.

Brittle Marble and Quartzite are used as part of building the Smithing Station when you unlock the research for it. When unlocked, you can turn one Brittle Quartzite or Marble into their respective Whetstone or Plating.

• Typically upgrading armor will cost 2 Platings then 4, then 6.
• Meanwhile, weapons require 5 Whetstones, then 10 Whetstones.

So, Whetstones are going to be much more valuable if you’re sticking to a weapon. When you find them in the world, it is most certainly worth picking them up to upgrade your early game build. This concludes most of which you need to know. We’ll update this page with more information as we are currently building an Interactive Map. When we know more, we’ll be sure to link to that so you can find resources much easier.