Upgrades - Grounded Database

Brittle material used to upgrade armors.

This item is a crucial part of upgrading armor to level 5 in the Smithing Station, which you can build for your base by going into the craft menu, clicking the Sorage and Utilities Option, and then searching for the Smithing Station in the Misc category.

You will need 15 Brittle Plating to upgrade a piece of armor to level 5, which is when you then upgrade a piece of armor to the next stage.

Players will also need to have purchased the Brittle Recipe by spending 100 Raw Science at a computer terminal.

There are two ways to get Brittle Plating in Grounded. Both of these ways require the use of a workbench, with players crafting it in the Material Resource section of the workbench. As for the two option, they are:

• Option 1: 1x Sap, 1x Grub Hide
• Option 2: 1x Brittle Marble Shard

Option one will require players to collect sap from either their base sap collector, or by going out to a woody area of the garden and looting the sap that naturally spawns on branches, twigs, trees and more. You will also need to kill Grubs, which are often found burrowed underground in the Oak Tree area of the map. You can also find them burrowing in caves and other areas you notice ground disturbances. Furthermore, you will need a Tier 1 shovel (such as the Acorn shovel) to uproot the grubs and collect their Grub Hide.

The second method for crafting Brittle Plating in Grounded is via the Brittle Marble Shards. These items are typically found in the world, either through the rocks, or through the odd shards around. The best places to get these in the early game are typically in the small cave areas, such as in the Old Anthill near the Acorn tree, on the outside of the Oak Tree Lab when you unlock it, and the Four Leaf Clover cave if you swim the distance. When you’re better geared, you can venture in the Red Anthill and find lots of shards and rocks to crack, and when you’re ready to take on spiders, you can find even more in the hamster cave and other more dangerous areas of the map as you naturally progress through the game.

Brittle material used to upgrade weapons.

This material is crucial for ugrading weapons up to level 5 where you’ll need mighty globs to upgrade them further.

Although the recipe is unlocked by purchasing the smithing station which is available at the beginning, it has finite uses. The recipe for this are as follows:

• 1x Brittle Quartzite Shard

The infinite use recipe can be obtained by beating the mini-boss at the end of Black Ant Lab, and unlocking the door. This will give you the Black Anthill BURG.L Chip which gives you access to various recipes including the “Advanced Smithing: Brittle Upgrades” for 1,500 Raw Science. The required materials for this are as follows:

• 1x Sap
• 1x Larva Spike

Each craft of either recipe will yield just the one Whetstone.

A melted collection of sturdy whetstones, shaped into a cubular glob. Perfect for imbuing equipment with special properties.

This crafting resource is useful for players who are looking to upgrade their weapon from level 5 and specialize it in the mighty weapon class, which increases the weapon durability and damage significantly.

Players who chose for a weapon to progress into a mighty weapon wil then require Mighty Globs to level up from 5-7, followed by Mighty Jewels for level 8 and 9.

To craft the Mighty Glob players wlll need to head to a workbench and use two Sturdy Whetstones. These Whetstones can be forged by using two Sturdy Qurtzite shards, which you can acquire by breaking Sturdy Quartzite rocks, finding their shards, or crafting them.

A fusion of supreme whetstones and twinkling shells. Further unlocks the special properties of equipment.

As a late-game material resource, Mighty Jewels are used for upgrading equipment at the Smithing Station to level 9. This specific material can only be used to upgrade equipment with the “Mighty” prefix or equipment with no prefix at all. To craft this crucial resource, you’ll need Supreme Whetstones, and Twinkling Shells which have a limited amount.

You won’t be able to craft this resource until you have unlocked it in your ASL Terminal. This can be achieved by obtaining the “Advanced Smithing: Mighty Jewel” recipe which can be acquired by finding the Stump BURG.L Chip. You’ll find this chip at the end of the Stump Lab Outpost which is in the Upper Grasslands area. When you have it unlocked in the terminal, you’ll need to pay the cost of 2,500 Raw Science to be able to craft it.

As mentioned above, you’ll need 2x Supreme Whetstones, and 1x Twinkling Shell for every Mighty Jewel that you craft. You’ll unlock the recipe for Supreme Whetstones in the same recipe for Mighty Jewels, so you won’t have to worry about unlocking it. To craft the whetstones you’ll need a Supreme Quartzite Shard which you can find in some locations in the links below.

For Twinkling Shells, you’ll need to find Scarabs which can be tough to find as they are on the rarer side of things. You can find one of these west of the Barbecue in the northwest of the map, north of the Picnic Table.

Once you have the required materials, head over to your Smithing Station to craft the Jewel.

A collection of Ice Caps shards, baked and formed into a circular glob. Perfect for imbuing equipment with special properties.

This item is crucial fror upgreading mint themed weapons or upgrading neutral weapons into mint weapons from level 5 at the Smithing Station.

The Mint Glob is a craftable item that players can make in the oven. Players will need an over to make these resources, as they are part of the weapon upgrading chain for mint themed weapons from level 5-7.

The way yto make these requires a Sturdy Whetstone, along with two mint shards. Players can create Sturdy Whetstones either by collecting Sturdy Quartzite shards or making them through the workbench recipe. Moreso, players can get their hands on mint shards by breaking Ice Cap Mints you find in the mint tubs or caves, or by digging them up through buried treasure in the Sand box or the Charcoal Hot Springs.

A fusion of mint globs and twinkling shells. Further unlocks the special properties of equipment.

Mint Jewels are an upgrade material used to upgrade various equipment to level 9 when used in conjunction with the Smithing Station. This can only be used on equipment with the “Mint” enhancement like the Mint Staff.

This is a fairly late-game material as you’ll need to have the “Advanced Smithing: Flavored Jewels” recipe which can be obtained from the Stump BURG.L Chip that can be found at the end of the Stump Lab Outpost. This recipe will set you back 2,500 Raw Science.

Once you have access to the recipe. You’ll need to place for the following items into the oven:

2x Mint Shards
1x Twinkling Shell
1x Supreme Whetstone

Each recipe will yield one Mint Jewel.

A melted collection of salt shards, shaped into a cubular glob. Perfect for imbuing equipment with special properties.

This Tier II material resource allows you to enhance your tools to have the “Salty” enhancement. This will increase the damage you do to any creature that is weak to it, but will decrease the damage to any creature that isn’t.

This recipe can be unlocked by purchasing the “Advanced Smithing: Flavored Globs” recipe for 2,500 Raw Science. To access this recipe, you’ll need to get the Sandbox BURG.L Chip which can be found at the end of the Sandbox Lab Outpost after defeating the mini-boss there. You’ll find it hidden behind the shovel.

To craft a Salt Glob, you’ll need to place the following items into the Oven:

Icon	Name	Quantity
	Salt Shard	3
	Sturdy Whetstone	1

Each craft will yield one Salt Glob.

Salt Locations

Sturdy Quartzite Shard Locations

A fusion of salty globs and twinkling shells. Further unlocks the special properties of equipment.

Salty Jewels are an upgrade material used to upgrade various equipment to level 9 when used in conjunction with the Smithing Station. This can only be used on equipment with the “Salty” enhancement like the Salt Morning Star.

This is a fairly late-game material as you’ll need to have the “Advanced Smithing: Flavored Jewels” recipe which can be obtained from the Stump BURG.L Chip that can be found at the end of the Stump Lab Outpost. This recipe will set you back 2,500 Raw Science.

Once you have access to the recipe. You’ll need to place for the following items into the oven:

3x Salt Shards
1x Twinkling Shell
1x Supreme Whetstone

Each recipe will yield one Salty Jewel.

A collection of Wormhole shards, baked and formed into a cubular glob. Perfect for imbuing equipment with special properties.

Sour Glob is a craftable item, players will use using Sturdy Whetstones, and Sour Lumps. Sour Lumps are typically found in the very noth of the map, around wormholes. Examples include the Shed area, Mordoc, and other areas in the vacinity. Players will also need the Advanced Smithing: Flavored Globs, research, whic you can buy after finding the Sandbox Burgl chip.

A fusion of sour globs and twinkling shells. Further unlocks the special properties of equipment.

Sour Jewels are an upgrade material used to upgrade various equipment to level 9 when used in conjunction with the Smithing Station. This can only be used on equipment with the “Sour” enhancement like the Sour Staff.

This is a fairly late-game material as you’ll need to have the “Advanced Smithing: Flavored Jewels” recipe which can be obtained from the Stump BURG.L Chip that can be found at the end of the Stump Lab Outpost. This recipe will set you back 2,500 Raw Science.

Once you have access to the recipe. You’ll need to place for the following items into the oven:

• 2x Sour Lump
• 1x Twinkling Shell
• 1x Supreme Whetstone

Each recipe will yield one Sour Jewel.

A collection of spicy shars, baked and shaped into a cubular glob. Perfect for imbuing equipment with special properties.

This Tier II material resource allows you to enhance your tools to have the “Spicy” enhancement. This will increase the damage you do to any creature that is weak to it, but will decrease the damage to any creature that isn’t.

This recipe can be unlocked by purchasing the “Advanced Smithing: Flavored Globs” recipe for 2,500 Raw Science. To access this recipe, you’ll need to get the Sandbox BURG.L Chip which can be found at the end of the Sandbox Lab Outpost after defeating the mini-boss there. You’ll find it hidden behind the shovel.

To craft a Spicy Glob, you’ll need to place the following items into the Oven:

Icon	Name	Quantity
	Spicy Shard	2
	Sturdy Whetstone	1

Each craft will yield one Spicy Glob. It’s worth noting that Spicy Shards can be obtained from Hot Chachas Candy.

Hot Chachas Candy Locations

Sturdy Quartzite Shard Locations

A fusion of spicy globs and twinkling shells. Further unlocks the special peroperties of equipment.

As a late-game material resource, Spicy Jewels are used for upgrading tools at the Smithing Station to level 9. This specific material can only be used to upgrade tools with the “Spicy” prefix or tools with no prefix at all. To craft this crucial resource, you’ll need some Spicy Shards, a Twinkling Shell, and a Supreme Whetstone.

You won’t be able to craft this resource until you have unlocked it in your ASL Terminal. This can be achieved by obtaining the “Advanced Smithing: Flavored Jewels” recipe which can be acquired by finding the Stump BURG.L Chip. You’ll find this chip at the end of the Stump Lab Outpost which is in the Upper Grasslands area. When you have it unlocked in the terminal, you’ll need to pay the cost of 2,500 Raw Science to be able to craft it.

As mentioned above, you’ll need some Spicy Shards, a Twinkling Shell, and a Supreme Whetstone for every Spicy Jewel that you craft. You’ll unlock the recipe for Supreme Whetstones in the Advanced Smithing: Mighty Jewel recipe, which’ll set you back another 2,500 Raw Science. To craft the whetstones you’ll need a Supreme Quartzite Shard which you can find in some locations in the links below.

You can find the Spicy Shards from numerous sources like Buried Treasure, but your best bet is to farm them in the Sandbox from the Antlion burrows.

For Twinkling Shells, you’ll need to find Scarabs which can be tough to find as they are on the rarer side of things. You can find one of these west of the Barbecue in the northwest of the map, north of the Picnic Table.

Once you have the required materials, head over to your Smithing Station to craft the Jewel.

Sturdy material used to upgrade armors even further.

This item is a crucial part of upgrading armor from level 5 to level 7 in the Smithing Station, which you can build for your base by going into the craft menu, clicking the Sorage and Utilities Option, and then searching for the Smithing Station in the Misc category.

You will need six Sturdy Platings to upgrade a piece of armor from level 5 to level 7.

You will also need to unlock this craft by unlocking the Advanced Smithing: Mighty Glob research for 2500 raw science after acquiring the Black Anthill BURGL chip.

Like with the Brittle Plating, there are two ways to get your hands on the Sturdy Plating. Both methods will require you to craft them at your base’s workbench. The two methods are:

• 1x Sap, 1x Ladybug Part
• 1x Sturdy Marble Shard

The first method requires the player to gather sap from woody areas of the grasslands, or by collecting sap from your base’s sap collector. You will also need to defeat Ladybug’s which are present throughout the grassy areas of the garden, marked with their red and black shells. From our experience, you can typically find Ladybugs near the Koi pond, along with the grassy area of the map. Feel free to climb ono higher ground so you can see these big beetles walking around.

The second method is via mining for Sturdy Marble Shards. These items are found in the cave areas or off the beaten path in Labs throughout the course of the game. You can typically find them in their bulky rock formations, or via being already broken into shards. There are three sturdy Marbles rocks avaialble early on, with players able to grab a few easily in the Old Anthill via the big rock near the Milk Molar and the SCA.B. You can also easily get one from The Broken Lazer cave as part of the Mysterious Machine quest, where you fight the red mites attacking the cable. There’s also some in the Hamster cave found near the rake. However, this is guarded by a Wolf and Orb Weavber spider, and a few Spiderlings, so players will need to be more prepared for that location.

Sturdy material used to upgrade weapons even further.

Sturdy Whetstones are an item that players will craft as part of their weapon upgrading process. Players will use Sturdy Whetstones in their craft of any of the Glob elemental items, which are used to upgrade various elemental weapon types.

Players will need to collect around 15 Sturdy Quartzite Sahrds to upgrade a weapon from level 5 to level 7. Players may neeed 30 if they opt to progress through the mighty weapon upgrade path instead.

Players will unlock this recipe after acquigin the Black Hill BURGL chip, and buying the Advanced Smithing: Mighty Glob research for 2500 raw science.

There are two ways to craft Sturdy Whetstones in Grounded. Both methods requiore players to visit a workbench and craft them using one of the following recipes:

• 1x Sap, 1x Ladybird Shell.
• 1x Sturdy Quartzite Shard.

The first method will require players to get sap. This is a commonly found material, which you can passively get via your Sap collecter players can build in their bases. The other material they require is the Ladybird shell. These enemies are typically found in the trenches around the BBQ spill site, along with the shed surroundings. It is easier to beat these enemies by using mint weapons or weapons embued with the fresh elemental type.

The other method is by finding Sturdy Quartzite shards. These are fairly common in the later stages of the game, and can be reliably found via the mid to late game labs, in caves, and the dungeon areas. Players can expect to find some in the early game dungeon areas, like the Red Anthill, along with the Hamster cave, Broken Lazer cave, the Larva/ Acorn cave, all of which are in the grasslands area, albeit in limited supply. Other great areas for higher geared players are in the Sandbox caves, Termite cave, and other end game locations.

Supreme material used to upgrade armors to near perfection.

Players will need to use this material to upgrade pieces of their armor from level 7 to level 9 at the Smithing Station. Players can create Smithing Stations at their base by going into the craft menu, opening storage and utilites, and then selecting the Smithing Station in the misc category.

Players should expect to gather atleast 6 Supreme Platings to upgrade a piece of armour from level 7-9.

You will also need to get the Stump Lab Burgl chip, and unlock the Advanced Smithing: Mighty Jewel research for the raw science.

There are two ways to craft the Suprmee Plating, which both require the Workbench in ordeer to do so. The two methods are:

• 1x Sap, 1x Ladybird Shell
• 1x Supreme Marble Shard.

The first method requires players to get Sap, which is a commonly found natural resource that players will find from their Sap Collector in their base, along with finding along wooden areas of the map. As for the Ladbird Shell, this is an item players will find from defeating Ladybirds, which is the more agressive variation of the Ladybug species. You can typically find these Ladybird enemies around teh shed area the very top part of the map. They tend to patrol the shed, alongside being in the ground trenches and near the BBQ spill area. Note you will likely need a Mint Mace, as Ladybirds are weak to fresh damage.

As for the second option, players will find Supreme Marble Shards as they explore the world. These items are very rare to find, and are typically in the more harder to reach areas of the map. One of the easiest to find is in the four leaf clover cave, which is an underwater cave players find in the grasslands area. There’s also some T3 Marble in the trench beside the stepping stones to the house in the haze area, underneath the yellow brick and the salt mine in the sandbox. There’s also some in the Koi pond cave with the Anthead totems. One of the hardest places but the most rewards in the bike basket near the shed. It’s hard to climb up there but you can either build up, or stack big items you can drop and use them as a jump boost, such as Grass Planks, Acron Shells, or any other item you can drop and physically climb on.

Supreme material used to upgrade weapons to near perfection.

This item is crucial to upgrading your weapons from level 7 to level 9 by using them to craft the elemental, and/or mighty jewels.

There are two ways to obtain Supreme Whetstones, and both require the use of a workbench.

The first option is to purchase the “Advanced Smithing: Mighty Jewel” recipe for 2,500 Raw Science which is obtained by acquiring the Stump BURG.L Chip from the end of the Stump Lab Outpost. This option will give you the finite version of the recipe which requires the following materials:

• 1x Supreme Quartzite Shard

The Second option is obtained by defeating the final boss at Castle Moldorc in the Mysterious Lab. This recipe has infinite uses, and can be crafted with the following materials:

• 1x Sap
• 1x Black Ox Horn

Each craft of either recipe will yield just the one whetstone.

Players can get their hands on the Supreme Quartzite Shards through a variety of locations. There are some early game areas, including the 4 leaf clover cave, and the Koi pond cave with the ant head totems. Both of these will require underwater light and diving gear to access. Players can also find more shards in the sandbox cave areas, the termite mound, and in the bike basket.