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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00:00The 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.