00:00 The Orchid Mantis is probably the toughest opponent in all of Grounded, specialising in
00:05 fast strikes and a giant health bar that means killing it will require some serious strategy,
00:11 not to mention advanced knowledge of the Mantis' weaknesses.
00:14 In this video we'll show you everything you need to know to kill this apex insect,
00:22 including its location, how to get the Mantis Kebab needed to summon it, the best strategies
00:27 and even the rewards you'll get for killing Grounded's Mantis once and for all.
00:31 The Grounded Mantis is located inside the Potted Flowers, found on the porch of the Shed. It's west
00:44 of Wendell's Scab location and to the north of the Spilled Barbecue. Though you can get there
00:48 the moment you reach the Upper Yard, you won't be able to fight the Mantis for a while, and you
00:53 really shouldn't want to either until you're much later into the game. To get inside the Potted
00:59 Plant and the Mantis Arena, climb up the hose to the east. Along it you'll see a hole, meaning that
01:04 you can actually get inside the hose and use it as a tunnel. Finally it will open up into a contained
01:09 dome of flowers. The Orchid Mantis boss fight will happen here, though you can't fight it until you
01:15 summon it with the Orchid Mantis Kebab, much like the Grounded Broodmother BLT. To get the Kebab
01:21 needed to summon this endgame beastie, there's quite a few steps, so strap in. First go to the
01:27 Black Ant Hill Lab and kill the Assistant Manager for his keycard. Next head to the pond. Underwater,
01:33 set into the southern wall near the big dome, is a small contained lab that you can swim into.
01:39 Inside the flooded outpost is a locked door. The Assistant Manager's keycard will open this.
01:46 Swim through and press the big ol' button in the room you just opened, and a little CCTV
01:51 screen will show a door opening somewhere. That little door is the Tree Stump Lab. Head to the
01:57 stump in the northeast corner of the map, and in the center of the stump is an upright tube with a
02:02 door set into the top of it. You can get in either by climbing up somewhere else high and floating
02:07 down with a dandelion tuft, or building your way up to it. The lab inside has collapsed onto its
02:12 side, requiring some parkour. However, all you need here is the recipe, and you'll find that just
02:19 under the glass partition, showing the next room along with a computer terminal in it.
02:23 Now you'll be trapped in this lab until you can parkour your way into that next room,
02:27 flick the terminal on, and then parkour back to the first room and escape through the locked door.
02:33 It's fiddly as hell, and our best advice is to have the patience of a saint. Good luck!
02:38 Now you have the recipe, you can make the Orchid Mantis Kebab. You'll still need all the ingredients
02:45 however, and despite the kebab looking like it's made of common materials in the menu,
02:49 it's actually a lot, lot harder to make than that. Sorry! Apron and armor on, let's get cooking.
02:57 First up you'll need a splinter. Once you have a tier 3 chopping axe, you can cut at any spiky
03:02 piece of wood to get a splinter, so at least we're starting off easy. Next you'll need to get
03:07 yourself two fire ant heads. Fire ants crawl all over the upper yard, especially in the central
03:12 and eastern regions, and they should be approached carefully. Both workers and soldiers have a small
03:17 chance of dropping an intact head, though you might have to kill a few before you get what you need.
03:22 Next you'll need five broodmother chunks. Yeah, that's right, in order to summon the mantis,
03:28 you'll have to kill the hedge broodmother, and rather than getting a proper reward for that
03:33 hard work, you'll have to use those chunks in cooking up a treat for your next major foe.
03:38 The deadly broodmother is found in the hedge, off the flying flingman disc, and is summoned using
03:43 the aforementioned BLT. You can find a link in the card or video description to our guide on
03:48 how to craft that if you need it. Once you have all of those ingredients, you can combine them
03:53 in the oven. After waiting a little bit of time, it will create the orchid mantis kebab. Inedible
03:58 for you, but take it to the arena in the flower pot and place it among the shattered eggs to summon
04:03 your terrifying foe. Of course, before then, you'll need to gear up.
04:10 The orchid mantis is basically resistant to everything except salty damage. Only one weapon
04:16 in the game comes with this buff hardcoded into it, the salty morning star, whereas everything
04:22 else has to be upgraded or modified to gain the buff. And with that in mind, the best weapon you
04:26 can use can basically be anything. With no restrictions on weapon types, all that you
04:31 have to do is pick your preferred killing tool, take it to a smithing station, and start upgrading
04:36 it for salty damage. The fast speed and killing power of the mantis means that blocking is going
04:40 to be important, so we'd suggest choosing a one-handed weapon so you can carry a shield in
04:45 the other. You can and should also stock up on some salty arrows for some ranged damage. Also,
04:52 try equipping the mask of the mother demon for those longer-lasting poison effects on everything
04:57 you do. Yeah, I know, that will require you killing the broodmother again, but at this point,
05:02 you're a pro. I believe in you. Before fighting the orchid mantis, make sure you're ready for
05:09 the ultimate boss fight. Drink all the best smoothies you can make, stock up on healing
05:13 items, and make sure your weapons and armor are as good as they can be, fully repaired and ready
05:18 to go. Also, it's worth picking some smart combat mutations. Those that enhance weapon damage are
05:23 good, but minion summoning perks will be the most helpful, allowing you to pull the mantis' aggro
05:29 off you. You should also absolutely be playing this fight in multiplayer if you can. Yes,
05:35 that will mean that the mantis gets more health for each person that's fighting it, but it's still
05:40 easier overall, and the ability to revive each other will keep your party in the fight for longer.
05:45 So, you've done your homework, and now you're ready for the final test. Here's what to expect
05:51 from each phase of the orchid mantis fight. There'll be a tension-building pause before it
05:55 suddenly comes crashing in, and then it's on. In phase one, the mantis uses melee attacks
06:01 primarily, but also does have a ranged attack. It strikes the ground and makes a line of impact
06:07 towards the target. Sidestep and jump to the right or left for the best chance of avoiding it,
06:12 and play defensively throughout. The mantis strikes are quick and lethal, with little warning.
06:17 At 75% health, the mantis will enter phase two. Leaping away, it will suddenly start
06:22 summoning yellow flares of pollen. Standing in one of these obscures the player's vision,
06:27 and there's no way to dispel them. Once they're there, they're sticking around. It'll also do a
06:32 raw attack that can stun, similar to the broodmother. It keeps its melee focus and
06:36 attack patterns the same as in phase one, but now they're longer and more elaborate,
06:41 and can often break through blocks without much difficulty. Keep playing defensively,
06:45 but try to dodge more than you block, and I know that's pretty difficult in grounded.
06:50 At 50% health, the mantis will enter its final stage, phase three. Here the mantis starts taking
06:57 reduced damage, again similar to the broodmother, and those pollen flares start coming constantly,
07:03 making the whole area difficult to see through. The mantis will effectively be invisible if it's
07:07 more than a few feet away from you, so if you're in a flare, find one of the few areas that's not
07:13 concealed as a priority. If you don't, you'll risk getting caught out by a sudden attack.
07:18 Make it through to the end, and you'll have effectively conquered the greatest foe in
07:25 grounded, currently. It'll drop some components for you to scoop up, and you absolutely should,
07:30 because this is how you get some of the best gear in the game. The orchid mantis drops one mantis
07:35 head, two mantis claws, and eight mantis chunks when it's killed. This is enough to make at least
07:40 part of a full set of armor and weaponry, but before you start crafting, make sure you put
07:45 all of these rewards through your resource analyzer at a field station. This will give
07:52 you the blueprint for the assassin's armor set, as well as the scythe of blossoms. Of course,
07:57 to make a full set, you'll have to kill the mantis a second time, although with its own weapons
08:02 turned against it, that should be at least a little easier this time around. You'll also have
08:07 gotten the apex predator mutation, which boosts the damage of all weapons made from boss monsters,
08:13 so I'm sure you'll have no trouble at all. Good luck, tiny teenagers, and remember to
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