00:00The Orchid Mantis is probably the toughest opponent in all of Grounded, specialising
00:05in fast strikes and a giant health bar that means killing it will require some serious
00:10strategy, not to mention advanced knowledge of the Mantis' weaknesses.
00:18In this video we'll show you everything you need to know to kill this Apex Insect,
00:22including its location, how to get the Mantis Kebab needed to summon it, the best strategies
00:27and even the rewards you'll get for killing Grounded's Mantis once and for all.
00:39The Grounded Mantis is located inside the Potted Flowers found on the porch of the Shed, west
00:44of Wendell's Scab location and to the north of the Spilled BBQ.
00:48Though you can get there the moment you reach the upper yard, you won't be able to fight
00:51the Mantis for a while, and you really shouldn't want to either until you're much later into
00:56the game.
00:58To get inside the Potted Plant and the Mantis Arena, climb up the hose to the east.
01:03Along it you'll see a hole, meaning that you can actually get inside the hose and use
01:06it as a tunnel.
01:07Finally, it will open up into a contained dome of flowers.
01:11The Orchid Mantis boss fight will happen here, though you can't fight it until you summon
01:15it with the Orchid Mantis Kebab, much like the Grounded Broodmother BLT.
01:21To get the kebab needed to summon this endgame beastie, there's quite a few steps, so strap
01:26in.
01:27First go to the Black Ant Hill Lab and kill the Assistant Manager for his keycard.
01:31Next head to the pond.
01:33Underwater, set into the southern wall near the big dome, is a small contained lab that
01:38you can swim into.
01:42Inside the flooded outpost is a locked door.
01:44The Assistant Manager's keycard will open this.
01:46Swim through and press the big ol' button in the room you just opened, and a little
01:50CCTV screen will show a door opening somewhere.
01:54That little door is the Tree Stump Lab.
01:57Head to the stump in the northeast corner of the map, and in the center of the stump is
02:01an upright tube with a door set into the top of it.
02:04You can get in either by climbing up somewhere else high and floating down with a dandelion
02:08tuft, or building your way up to it.
02:11The lab inside has collapsed onto its side, requiring some parkour.
02:15However, all you need here is the recipe, and you'll find that just under the glass
02:20partition, showing the next room along with a computer terminal in it.
02:24Now you'll be trapped 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 through the locked
02:33door.
02:34It's fiddly as hell, and our best advice is to have the patience of a saint.
02:38Good luck.
02:40Now you have the recipe, you can make the Orchid Mantis Kebab.
02:43You'll still need all the ingredients however, and despite the kebab looking like it's made
02:48of common materials in the menu, it's actually a lot, lot harder to make than that.
02:54Sorry.
02:55Apron and armour on, let's get cooking.
02:58First up you'll need a splinter.
02:59Once you have a tier 3 chopping axe, you can cut at any spiky piece of wood to get a splinter,
03:04so at least we're starting off easy.
03:06Next you'll need to get yourself 2 fire ant heads.
03:09Fire ants crawl all over the upper yard, especially in the central and eastern regions, and they
03:14should be approached carefully.
03:16Both workers and soldiers have a small chance of dropping an intact head, though you might
03:20have to kill a few before you get what you need.
03:24Next you'll need 5 broodmother chunks.
03:25Yeah, that's right, 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 those
03:34chunks in cooking up a treat for your next major foe.
03:38The deadly broodmother is found in the hedge, off the flying flingman disc, and is summoned
03:43using the aforementioned BLT.
03:46You can find a link in the card or video description to our guide on how to craft that if you need
03:50it.
03:51Once you have all of those ingredients, you can combine them in the oven.
03:54After waiting a little bit of time, it will create the orchid mantis kebab.
03:58Inedible for you, but take it to the arena in the flower pot and place it among the shattered
04:03eggs to summon your terrifying foe.
04:07Of course, before then, you'll need to gear up.
04:12The orchid mantis is basically resistant to everything except salty damage.
04:16Only one weapon in the game comes with this buff hardcoded into it, the salty morning star,
04:21whereas everything else has to be upgraded or modified to gain the buff.
04:25And with that in mind, the best weapon you can use can basically be anything.
04:29With no restrictions on weapon types, all that you have to do is pick your preferred killing
04:33tool, take it to a smithing station, and start upgrading it for salty damage.
04:37The fast speed and killing power of the mantis means that blocking is going to be important,
04:42so we'd suggest choosing a one-handed weapon so you can carry a shield in the other.
04:46You can and should also stock up on some salty arrows for some ranged damage.
04:52Also try equipping the mask of the mother demon for those longer lasting poison effects on
04:57everything you do, yeah I know that will require you killing the broodmother again, but at
05:02this point you're a pro, I believe in you.
05:07Before fighting the orchid mantis, make sure you're ready for the ultimate boss fight.
05:11Drink all the best smoothies you can make, stock up on healing items and make sure your
05:15weapons and armour are as good as they can be, fully repaired and ready to go.
05:19Also it's worth picking some smart combat mutations.
05:22Those that enhance weapon damage are good, but minions summoning perks will be the most
05:26helpful, allowing you to pull the mantis' aggro off you.
05:31You should also absolutely be playing this fight in multiplayer if you can.
05:35Yes, that will mean that the mantis gets more health for each person that's fighting it,
05:39but it's still easier overall, and the ability to revive each other will keep your party in
05:44the fight for longer.
05:46So you've done your homework, now you're ready for the final test.
05:50Here's what to expect from each phase of the orchid mantis fight.
05:53There'll be a tension building pause before it suddenly comes crashing in, and then it's
05:58on.
05:59In phase 1, the mantis uses melee attacks primarily, but also does have a ranged attack.
06:05It strikes the ground and makes a line of impact towards the target, sidestep and jump
06:09to the right or left for the best chance of avoiding it, and play defensively throughout.
06:14The mantis strikes are quick and lethal, with little warning.
06:18At 75% health, the mantis will enter phase 2.
06:21Leaping away, it will suddenly start summoning yellow flares of pollen.
06:25Standing in one of these obscures the player's vision, and there's no way to dispel them,
06:29once they're there, they're sticking around.
06:32It'll also do a raw attack that can stun, similar to the broodmother.
06:35It keeps its melee focus and attack patterns the same as in phase 1, 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 that's
06:49pretty difficult in Grounded.
06:52At 50% health, the mantis will enter its final stage, phase 3.
06:56Here the mantis starts taking reduced damage, again similar to the broodmother, and those
07:00pollen flares start coming constantly, making the whole area difficult to see through.
07:06The mantis will effectively be invisible if it's more than a few feet away from you,
07:09so if you're in a flare, find one of the few areas that's not concealed as a priority.
07:15If you don't, you'll risk getting caught out by a sudden attack.
07:22Make it through to the end, and you'll have effectively conquered the greatest foe in Grounded,
07:26currently.
07:27It'll drop some components for you to scoop up, and you absolutely should, because this
07:30is how you get some of the best gear in the game.
07:33The Orchid Mantis drops one mantis head, two mantis claws, and eight mantis chunks when
07:38it's killed.
07:39This is enough to make at least part of a full set of armor and weaponry.
07:44But before you start crafting, make sure you put all of these rewards through your resource
07:47analyzer at a field station.
07:52This will give you the blueprint for the assassin's armor set, as well as the scythe of blossoms.
07:57Of course, to make a full set, you'll have to kill the mantis a second time.
08:01Although with its own weapons turned against it, that should be at least a little easier
08:05this time around.
08:06You'll also have gotten the Apex Predator mutation, which boosts the damage of all weapons
08:12made from boss monsters.
08:13So I'm sure you'll have no trouble at all.
08:16Good luck, tiny teenagers, and remember to subscribe to GamesRadar on YouTube for the
08:20latest on Grounded and the whole world of gaming.
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