00:00 The Orchid Mantis is probably the toughest opponent in all of Grounded,
00:04 specializing in fast strikes and a giant health bar that means killing it will require some serious
00:10 strategy, 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 and even the rewards you'll get for killing
00:29 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.
00:43 It's west of Wendel's Scab location and to the north of the Spilled Barbecue.
00:47 Though you can get there the moment you reach the upper yard,
00:50 you won't be able to fight the Mantis for a while and you really shouldn't want to either until you're much later into the game.
00:57 To get inside the Potted Plant and the Mantis Arena, climb up the hose to the east. Along it,
01:03 you'll see a hole, meaning that you can actually get inside the hose and use it as a tunnel.
01:07 Finally, it will open up into a contained dome of flowers. The Orchid Mantis boss fight will happen here,
01:13 though you can't fight it until you summon it with the Orchid Mantis Kebab, much like the Grounded Broodmother BLT.
01:20 To get the Kebab needed to summon this endgame beastie, there's quite a few steps, so strap in.
01:26 First, go to the Black Ant Hill Lab and kill the Assistant Manager for his keycard. Next, head to the pond.
01:32 Underwater, 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.
01:44 The Assistant Manager's keycard will open this. Swim through and press the big ol' button in the room
01:49 you just opened and a little CCTV screen will show a door opening somewhere.
01:54 That little door is the Tree Stump Lab. Head to the stump in the northeast corner of the map and in the center of the stump
02:00 is an upright tube with a door set into the top of it.
02:04 You can get in either by climbing up somewhere else high and floating down with a dandelion tuft or
02:09 building your way up to it. The lab inside is collapsed onto its side, requiring some parkour.
02:15 However, all you need here is the recipe and you'll find that just under the glass partition,
02:20 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.
02:43 You'll still need all the ingredients, 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!
02:54 Apron and armor on, let's get cooking. First up, you'll need a splinter.
02:59 Once you have a tier 3 chopping axe, you can cut at any spiky piece of wood to get a splinter.
03:04 So at least we're starting off easy.
03:06 Next, you'll need to get yourself two fire ant heads. Fire ants crawl all over the upper yard,
03:11 especially in the central and eastern regions, and they should be approached carefully.
03:15 Both workers and soldiers have a small chance of dropping an intact head,
03:20 though you might have to kill a few before you get what you need.
03:23 Next, you'll need five broodmother chunks. Yeah, that's right.
03:27 In order to summon the mantis, you'll have to kill the hedge broodmother.
03:31 And rather than getting a proper reward for that hard work,
03:33 you'll have to use those chunks in cooking up a treat for your next major foe.
03:37 The deadly broodmother is found in the hedge, off the flying flingman disc, and is summoned using the aforementioned BLT.
03:45 You can find a link in the card or video description to our guide on how to craft that if you need it.
03:50 Once you have all of those ingredients, you can combine them in the oven.
03:54 After waiting a little bit of time, it will create the orchid mantis kebab.
03:57 Inedible for you, but take it to the arena in the flower pot,
04:01 and place it among the shattered eggs to summon your terrifying foe.
04:05 Of course, before then, you'll need to gear up.
04:11 The orchid mantis is basically resistant to everything except salty damage.
04:16 Only one weapon in the game comes with this buff hard-coded into it, the salty morning star.
04:21 Whereas everything else has to be upgraded or modified to gain the buff.
04:24 And with that in mind, the best weapon you can use can basically be anything.
04:29 With no restrictions on weapon types, all that you have to do is pick your preferred killing tool,
04:33 take it to a smithing station, and start upgrading it for salty damage.
04:37 The fast speed and killing power of the mantis means that blocking is going to be important.
04:42 So we'd suggest choosing a one-handed weapon so you can carry a shield in the other.
04:46 You can and should also stock up on some salty arrows for some ranged damage.
04:51 Also try equipping the mask of the mother demon for those longer-lasting poison effects on everything you do.
04:58 Yeah, I know, that will require you killing the broodmother again,
05:02 but at this point, you're a pro. I believe in you.
05:06 Before fighting the Orcid Mantis, make sure you're ready for the ultimate boss fight.
05:10 Drink all the best smoothies you can make, stock up on healing items,
05:14 and make sure your weapons and armor are as good as they can be, fully repaired and ready to go.
05:19 Also, it's worth picking some smart combat mutations.
05:22 Those that enhance weapon damage are good, but minion-summoning perks will be the most helpful,
05:27 allowing you to pull the mantis' aggro off you.
05:29 You should also absolutely be playing this fight in multiplayer if you can.
05:35 Yes, that will mean that the mantis gets more health for each person that's fighting it,
05:39 but it's still easier overall,
05:41 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.
05:50 Here's what to expect from each phase of the Orcid Mantis fight.
05:53 There'll be a tension-building pause before it suddenly comes crashing in, and then it's on.
05:58 In phase one, the mantis uses melee attacks primarily, but also does have a ranged attack.
06:04 It strikes the ground and makes a line of impact towards the target.
06:08 Sidestep and jump to the right or left for the best chance of avoiding it,
06:12 and play defensively throughout.
06:14 The mantis strikes are quick and lethal, with little warning.
06:17 At 75% health, the mantis will enter phase two.
06:21 Leaping away, it will suddenly start summoning yellow flares of pollen.
06:25 Standing in one of these obscures the player's vision, and there's no way to dispel them.
06:29 Once they're there, they're sticking around.
06:31 It'll also do a raw attack that can stun, similar to the broodmother.
06:35 It keeps its melee focus and attack patterns the same as in phase one.
06:39 But now, they're longer and more elaborate, and can often break through blocks without much
06:43 difficulty.
06:44 Keep playing defensively, but try to dodge more than you block,
06:48 and I know that's pretty difficult in grounded.
06:50 At 50% health, the mantis will enter its final stage, phase three.
06:56 Here, the mantis starts taking reduced damage, again, similar to the broodmother.
07:00 And those pollen flares start coming constantly, making the whole area difficult to see through.
07:05 The mantis will effectively be invisible if it's more than a few feet away from you.
07:09 So if you're in a flare, find one of the few areas that's not concealed as a priority.
07:15 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.
07:27 It'll drop some components for you to scoop up, and you absolutely should, because this
07:30 is how you get some of the best gear in the game.
07:33 The orchid mantis drops one mantis head, two mantis claws, and eight mantis chunks when
07:38 it's killed.
07:39 This is enough to make at least part of a full set of armor and weaponry.
07:43 But before you start crafting, make sure you put all of these rewards through your resource
07:47 analyzer at a field station.
07:49 This will give you the blueprint for the assassin's armor set, as well as the scythe of blossoms.
07:56 Of course, to make a full set, you'll have to kill the mantis a second time.
08:00 Although with its own weapons turned against it, that should be at least a little easier
08:05 this time around.
08:07 You'll also have gotten the apex predator mutation, which boosts the damage of all weapons
08:11 made from boss monsters.
08:13 So I'm sure you'll have no trouble at all.
08:15 Good luck, tiny teenagers, and remember to subscribe to GamesRadar on YouTube for the
08:20 latest on grounded and the whole world of gaming.
08:23 [outro]
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