After a two-year wait following the early access version in 2020, gamers everywhere have been rejoicing over the release of Grounded 1.0 on Sept. 27, 2022. The amusing co-op survival game shrinks players to insect size as they battle a horde of creatures in a backyard battle for ultimate supremacy.
Grounded's creatures are divided into three categories: harmless, neutral and angry, with the game's five ruthless bosses belonging to the angry group. Gamers looking to blast their way through Grounded efficiently would be wise to heed the angriest and most formidable creatures.
Antlions
The most dangerous threat dwelling in the sandbox, Antlions are hyper-aggressive angry creatures in Grounded that require a tier 3 weapon and tier 2 armor to fend off successfully. While they are vulnerable to slashing and salinity damage, Antlions are resistant to all other forms of damage in the game, which make them very hard to extinguish.
Extremely aggressive toward humans and creatures alike, Antlions also have two types of biting attacks. The walking attack allows Antlions to burrow beneath players who fight back and ambush them from below ground. The Blocking attacks enable Antlions to one-shot players by throwing ant corpses at them.
Black Ox Beetles
With five distinct attacks and an impenetrable tank-like shell on par with most bosses, Black Ox Beetles are highly deadly and hard to kill in the popular Switch co-op game. Roaming near the shed, the hyper-aggressive bugs will attack players on sight and never back down. They'll headbutt, throw rocks, charge like a bull, jump and kick dust, or vitiate players with a lethal lunge.
Black Ox Beetles are so hard to kill in the game that most players will need to bolster their attacks with Tier-3 weaponry and at least Tier-2 armor like a Salt Morning Star and a Black Ant Shield. However, unless players have a Busting type of weapon, Black Ox Beetles will resist slashing, stabbing, and chopping damage.
Infected Wolf Spiders
Wolf Spiders were the deadliest angry creatures in the early access version of Grounded, and their Infected counterparts in 1.0 are even more lethal. Immune to poison, salt, stabbing, and explosion damage, Infected Wolf Spiders never sleep and use a 5-hit combo attack that is stronger and faster than the standard Wolf Spider variant.
Moreover, Infected Wolf Spiders boast a unique explosive-jumping attack that requires Tier-3 armor to survive and can shoot a lethal fungal spore at rivals from a great distance. Luckily, they are vulnerable to Freshness and Spicy Safety as well as Busting and Slashing weapons. Even so, most Grounded gamers agree that the Infected Wolf Spider is on par with the mighty Broodmother in terms of their difficulty to dispatch.
Green Shield Bugs
A vicious stink bug variant, Green Shield Bugs boasts a protective shell to go with the highest in-game health level of any non-boss creature, which makes it very hard to beat in the acclaimed couch co-op video game. Throw in its relentless attacks using a highly-lethal poisonous gas, and it's easy to see why defeating Green Shield Bugs typically requires Tier-3 weapons and Tie-3 Armor.
Even with a Gas Mask and Mint Mace to fend off the angry creature, Green Shield Bugs employ a special backward leap move while dispensing toxic gas at its enemies, making it very hard to hit even with the proper weaponry. And because their only real weakness is stabbing damage, it's hard to find a long enough weapon to stab them from long range.
Black Widow Spiders
As one might expect, Black Widows are the deadliest and hardest-to-kill angry creatures in Grounded that aren't official bosses. Immune to poison and resistant to all elemental and weapon types, Black Widow Spiders have no vulnerability whatsoever. Scarier yet, they never sleep and constantly monitor their offspring, Black Widow Spiderlings, to eventually replace themselves.
With attacks slightly deadlier than Wolf Spiders, Black Widows emit deadly venom that will end a player's game instantly. As such, loading up on Tier-3 items to fight the aggressive arachnids is an absolute must. They leap and lunge, trap prey using strong webs, and aggressively feast on their quarry with no mercy.
Assistant Manager
The Assistant Manager is a mini-boss variant of ARC.R, an angry robotic security chief that is very difficult to beat in Grounded. Immune to gas hazards, and resistant to Fresh elements and all weapon types except Busting, players will need to strategize wisely to defeat the mini-boss.
During the Assistant Manager boss fight, the angry and hyper-aggressive creature will increase its overall potency through three distinct health phases. By Phase 2, the creature will shoot deadly lasers at enemies. By Phase 3, its four-pillar shockwave attack deals even greater AoE damage, making it one of the hardest creatures to outlast in the game.
Mant
Created in a lab by Dr. Tully, Mant is a massive and monstrous Minotaur-like angry boss creature that nobody wants to face in Grounded. With the head of a Fire Worker Ant, the webbing abilities of an Orb Weaver, a toxic fungal backside, the ability to call for backup like the Broodmother, and resistance to salt, spice, and explosive damage, Mant's 3-phase boss fight is no joke.
Mant uses three attacks in phase 1, two more in phase 2, and a sixth in phase 3 that allows it to shoot balls of spider webs that slow foes and slowly reel them back into his lethal clutch. Players should use heavy shielding and Slashing or Stabbing weapons to take Mant down.
Mantis
A predatory orchid lurking in flower pots, Mantis is an assassin-like angry creature boss that cannot be killed with any weapon type in Grounded, one of the best video games to play in September 2022. Therefore, players will need to rethink their approach to eliminate Mantis. For instance, Mantis does have vulnerabilities to Salt and Spice Safety, so keep that in mind when taking on the big bad boss.
In Phase 1 of the boss battle, Mantis charges, swipes and uses a ferocious 3-combo slam that cannot be blocked. In Phase 2, Mantis unleashes a hellish scream that deals massive damage on its own before launching deadly pollen shots that ricochet off of a cloud surrounding its target. By Phase 3, Mantis' claw-induced shock waves hike lethal damage to a whole new stratosphere that requires the right combo of weapons, shields, mutations, and health potions to overcome.
Hedge Broodmother
Most Grounded fans agree that the almighty Hedge Broodmother is the hardest angry creature to beat in the game for even survivor video game pros. Once the boss fight against the queen of all spiders begins, players cannot leave Broodmother's lair until either she is dead of the player is.
Resistant to all weapons and elements except for Spice and Slashing, Broodmother is immune to poison and engages in gnarly a 4-phase boss battle that most will fail during their first playthrough, especially in solo missions. In addition to wielding deadlier attacks of Orb Weaver's 3-hit combo and Wolf Spider's 5-hit combo, Broodmother will summon seven lethal spiderlings and 4 Orb Weavers, all of which can bite foes with deadly venom.
Director Schmector
The final (optional) boss in the game, Director Schmector is also one of the hardest to get rid of. Resistant to everything except for Busting weapons and Sour elements, Schmector shoots balls of lightning to decrease enemy stamina and regen, uses blaster cannons to activate four cornered turrets, spawns unlimited O.R.C. Weavers from its back, shoots deadly green lasers, and more.
The phase-5 final boss battle is not only longer and more difficult to endure, Director Schmector must be defeated in order to unlock the game's good ending in which Dr. Tully is rescued from harm. As such, it's easy to see why he's such a difficult angry creature to outwit in Grounded.
NEXT: 10 Best Co-Op Games Like Grounded, Ranked
