00:00The Orchid Mantis is probably the toughest opponent in all of Grounded,
00:04specializing in fast strikes and a giant health bar that means killing it will
00:09require some serious strategy, not to mention advanced knowledge of the
00:13mantises weaknesses. In this video we'll show you everything you need to know to
00:20kill this apex insect, including its location, how to get the mantis kebab
00:25needed to summon it, the best strategies and even the rewards you'll get for
00:29killing Grounded's mantis once and for all.
00:38The Grounded mantis is located inside the potted flowers found on the porch
00:42of the shed. It's west of Wendell's scab location and to the north of the
00:47spilled barbecue. Though you can get there the moment you reach the upper
00:50yard, you won't be able to fight the mantis for a while and you really
00:53shouldn't want to either until you're much later into the game. To get inside
00:58the potted plant and the mantis arena, climb up the hose to the east. Along it
01:03you'll see a hole, meaning that you can actually get inside the hose and use it
01:06as a tunnel. Finally it will open up into a contained dome of flowers. The Orchid
01:11Mantis boss fight will happen here, though you can't fight it until you
01:15summon it with the Orchid Mantis kebab, much like the Grounded Broodmother BLT.
01:20To get the kebab needed to summon this endgame beastie, there's quite a few
01:24steps, so strap in. First go to the Black Ant Hill lab and kill the assistant
01:29manager for his key card. Next head to the pond. Underwater, set into the
01:34southern wall near the big dome, is a small contained lab that you can swim
01:39into. Inside the flooded outpost is a locked door. The assistant manager's key
01:46card will open this. Swim through and press the big old button in the room you
01:49just opened, and a little CCTV screen will show a door opening somewhere. That
01:54little door is the tree stump lab. Head to the stump in the northeast corner of
01:59the map, and in the center of the stump is an upright tube with a door set into
02:03the top of it. You can get in either by climbing up somewhere else high and
02:07floating down with a dandelion tuft, or building your way up to it. The lab
02:11inside is collapsed onto its side, requiring some parkour. However, all you
02:16need here is the recipe, and you'll find that just under the glass partition,
02:20showing the next room along with a computer terminal in it. Now you'll be
02:24trapped in this lab until you can parkour your way into that next room,
02:28flick the terminal on, and then parkour back to the first room and escape
02:32through the locked door. It's fiddly as hell, and our best advice is to have the
02:36patience of a saint. Good luck! Now you have the recipe you can make the
02:42orchid mantis kebab. You'll still need all the ingredients, however, and despite
02:47the kebab looking like it's made of common materials in the menu, it's
02:50actually a lot, lot harder to make than that. Sorry! Apron and armor on, let's get
02:57cooking. First up, you'll need a splinter. Once you have a tier 3 chopping axe, you
03:01can cut at any spiky piece of wood to get a splinter, so at least we're
03:05starting off easy. Next, you'll need to get yourself two fire ant heads. Fire ants
03:09crawl all over the upper yard, especially in the central and eastern
03:13regions, and they should be approached carefully. Both workers and soldiers have
03:17a small chance of dropping an intact head, though you might have to kill a few
03:21before you get what you need. Next, you'll need five broodmother chunks. Yeah, that's
03:27right, in order to summon the mantis, you'll have to kill the hedge broodmother,
03:31and rather than getting a proper reward for that hard work, you'll have to use
03:34those chunks in cooking up a treat for your next major foe. The deadly broodmother
03:39is found in the hedge, off the flying flingman disk, and is summoned using the
03:44aforementioned BLT. You can find a link in the card or video description to our
03:48guide on how to craft that if you need it. Once you have all of those ingredients,
03:52you can combine them in the oven. After waiting a little bit of time, it will
03:56create the orchid mantis kebab. Inedible for you, but take it to the arena in the
04:00flower pot and place it among the shattered eggs to summon your terrifying
04:05foe. Of course, before then, you'll need to gear up. The orchid mantis is basically
04:13resistant to everything except salty damage. Only one weapon in the game comes
04:17with this buff hard-coded into it, the salty morning star, whereas everything
04:22else has to be upgraded or modified to gain the buff. And with that in mind, the
04:26best weapon you can use can basically be anything. With no restrictions on weapon
04:30types, all that you have to do is pick your preferred killing tool, take it to a
04:34smithing station, and start upgrading it for salty damage. The fast speed and
04:38killing power of the mantis means that blocking is going to be important, so
04:42we'd suggest choosing a one-handed weapon so you can carry a shield in the
04:45other. You can and should also stock up on some salty arrows for some ranged
04:50damage. Also try equipping the mask of the mother demon for those longer
04:55lasting poison effects on everything you do. Yeah, I know, that will require you
05:00killing the broodmother again, but at this point, you're a pro. I believe in you.
05:06Before fighting the orchid mantis, make sure you're ready for the ultimate boss
05:10fight. Drink all the best smoothies you can make, stock up on healing items, and
05:14make sure your weapons and armor are as good as they can be, fully repaired and
05:18ready to go. Also, it's worth picking some smart combat mutations. Those that
05:22enhance weapon damage are good, but minion summoning perks will be the most
05:26helpful, allowing you to pull the mantis's aggro off you. You should also
05:31absolutely be playing this fight in multiplayer if you can. Yes, that will
05:36mean that the mantis gets more health for each person that's fighting it, but
05:39it's still easier overall, and the ability to revive each other will keep
05:43your party in the fight for longer. So you've done your homework and now
05:48you're ready for the final test. Here's what to expect from each phase of the
05:52orchid mantis fight. There'll be a tension-building pause before it
05:56suddenly comes crashing in, and then it's on. In phase one, the mantis uses melee
06:01attacks primarily, but also does have a ranged attack. It strikes the ground and
06:06makes a line of impact towards the target. Sidestep and jump to the right or
06:10left for the best chance of avoiding it, and play defensively throughout. The
06:14mantis strikes are quick and lethal, with little warning. At 75% health, the mantis
06:20will enter phase two. Leaping away, it will suddenly start summoning yellow
06:24flares of pollen. Standing in one of these obscures the player's vision, and
06:28there's no way to dispel them. Once they're there, they're sticking around.
06:31It'll also do a raw attack that can stun, similar to the broodmother. It keeps its
06:36melee focus and attack patterns the same as in phase one, but now they're longer
06:40and more elaborate, and can often break through blocks without much difficulty.
06:44Keep playing defensively, but try to dodge more than you block, and I know
06:48that's pretty difficult in grounded. At 50% health, the mantis will enter its
06:54final stage, phase three. Here the mantis starts taking reduced damage, again
06:59similar to the broodmother, and those pollen flares start coming constantly,
07:03making the whole area difficult to see through. The mantis will effectively be
07:07invisible if it's more than a few feet away from you, so if you're in a flare,
07:10find one of the few areas that's not concealed as a priority. If you don't,
07:15you'll risk getting caught out by a sudden attack. Make it through to the end,
07:22and you'll have effectively conquered the greatest foe in grounded, currently.
07:26It'll drop some components for you to scoop up, and you absolutely should,
07:30because this is how you get some of the best gear in the game. The orchid mantis
07:34drops one mantis head, two mantis claws, and eight mantis chunks when it's killed.
07:39This is enough to make at least part of a full set of armor and weaponry. But
07:44before you start crafting, make sure you put all of these rewards through your
07:47resource analyzer at a field station. This will give you the blueprint for the
07:53assassin's armor set, as well as the scythe of blossoms. Of course, to make a
07:57full set, you'll have to kill the mantis a second time. Although with its own
08:02weapons tuned against it, that should be at least a little easier this time around.
08:06You'll also have gotten the apex predator mutation, which boosts the
08:10damage of all weapons made from boss monsters. So I'm sure you'll have no
08:14trouble at all. Good luck, tiny teenagers, and remember to subscribe to Games Radar
08:19on YouTube for the latest on Grounded and the whole world of gaming.
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