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,
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.