The Grounded Mantis - specifically the Orchid Mantis - is a late-game boss fight found inside the potted plant on the Shed porch, North of the BBQ. The Orchid Mantis is probably the toughest opponent in all of Grounded, specialising in fast strikes, obfuscation, and a giant health bar that means killing it will require some serious strategy, not to mention advance knowledge of the Mantis' weaknesses. We'll show you everything you need to know to tackle this apex insect below, 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 the Grounded Mantis once and for all - not that you'll really need them if you're powerful enough to squash this bug.
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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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