Grounded 2 'Hairy and Scary' update brings the awaited Tarantula boss to the Xbox survival game — as well as limited-time Halloween treats

New Features

• Boss Fight against AXL
  • Offering recipe can be found in the world to summon the boss
  • New mutation
  • 2 new trinkets
  • AXL furniture : Candle, throne & chest
  • AXL stuffed and wall mount
  • AXL weapons : Spear & Great bow & arrows
  • AXL Armor set
• BUILD.M
  • Replaces the Construction radial
• Holiday update for Halloween - Only Available in October
  • Trick-or-Treatery Building can be bought in the Ranger Station
  • New spooky ambiances
  • Candy Corn replaces some resources in the world

New Content

• New Buildings
  • Wolf Spider Rug
  • Grass Quarter Triangle floor
  • Stem Quarter Triangle floor
  • Pine expansion: Pine Wall B, Pine Half Wall B, Pine Half Vertical Wall B, Pine Table, Pine Stool, Pine Lounger, Pine Skull Mount
  • Scorpion Bed, Scorpion Lamp
• New Weapon & Armor
  • Praying Mantis Armor set

Community Requested & QOL Features

• Community Requested
  • Set bonus information is now available via the "Explore" popup
  • Hotpouch is now available while riding a buggy
  • Hotpouch now permanent in the inventory screen
  • Orb Weaver now won’t receive fall damage
• QOL
  • Improvement on Orb Weaver navigation
  • Improvement on the Repair button for Buggies:
  • SCA.B now emits small light at night
  • Feedback for throw starts as soon as input is pressed
  • Improvement on feedback for the lean-to interaction

Other Changes & Tuning

• Audio
  • Improved translations
  • Added a VO line that was missing
  • Fixed volume of certain effects not affected by correct volume slider
  • Resolved several missing/incorrect sound effects
• Combat Balancing
• Preliminary Patch Notes for Fall Update. This is a pass on combat stats as we prepare for tier 3 content.
• This also reigns in some overpowered gear and mutations for the Axl boss fight.
• Global Combat Tweaks
  • Baseline critical hit damage multiplier has been reduced.
  • Baseline stun damage multiplier has been reduced.
  • Baseline parry stun reduced. (Light shields stun more)
  • Rogue armor critical hit chance is slightly reduced.
• Weapon Tweaks
  • Dual Wield finale damage multiplier slightly reduced.
  • The critical hit chance for following weapons have been adjusted.
    • Weaver Daggers
    • Wolfsbane Daggers
    • Ice Sickles
    • Mosquito Needle
    • Mitey Claws
    • Northern Shredders.
  • Fist Weapon attacks deal less stun. (Adjusted mutation as well see further down.)
  • Bow damage has been reversed from the PTB changes.
    • For Tier 1 and Tier 2 Arrows - Base Damage of both was increased by +5.
      • This is doubled for charge attacks
  • Pinch Whacker AOE stun was lowered from (15 → 5)
  • Pinch Whacker AOE Damage was slightly reduced
• Trinkets
  • Stabby Stinger deals bonus stabbing damage with finishers.
  • Blistering Boiler spicy damage and sizzle has been reduced.
  • Myrmecologist Badge attack damage downside reduced.
• Armor Adjustments
• Northern Armor
  • Crippling strike set bonus immobilizes the target for a short duration instead of stuns.
  • Ambush attacks only work on angry creatures like the mutation.
• Grub Armor
• Quickcharge bonus is no longer removed when switching weapons.
• Mutation Adjustments
• Ambush
  • Dagger Critical hit damage multiplier has been reduced.
  • Ambush only works on angry creatures.
  • Ambush unlock progression only counts against angry creatures.
• Assassin
  • Dash Stike Critical hit chance has been reduced.
  • Critical hit damage with daggers and sickles has been reduced.
• Smasher
  • The damage multiplier while creatures are stunned has been increased.
• Sharpshooter
  • Critical hit chance with charged shots has been reduced.
• Lil Fist
  • Mastery stun reduced slightly.
• Reliable Friend
  • Revive time has been adjusted.
• Acorn Turret
  • Turret damage against O.R.C. creatures has been reduced.
• Creatures
  • Bombardier Beetle resists stabbing instead of smashing damage. Weakness to fresh has been reduced.
  • Wolf Spider resists to stabbing has increased. Health increased.
  • Praying Mantis Health increased.
• UI
  • Adjusting existing translations to better fit UI
• Optimization
• This is our first major step towards Major Performance Improvements. We understand there's still more work to do and behind the scenes we have already started.
  • General Performance Improvements across the board
  • Added various Graphic Options and have changed the values of Low, Medium, High and Epic for 0.2
    • View Distance
    • Anti-Aliasing
    • Post Processing Quality
    • Shadow Quality
    • Global Illumination Quality (Lumen) - Can now be set to “On” or “Off”
      • If the setting is turned on you should now be able to pick from Low, Medium, High and Epic
    • Reflection Quality
    • Texture Quality
    • Effects Quality
    • Foliage Quality
    • Shading Quality

Bug Fixes

• Performance and Stability
  • Resolved an issue where alternating between Player’s and Buggy’s backpack in Resource Analyzer could result in game crash.
  • Fixed an issue where Grounded 2 did not launch properly on Steam Deck.
  • Tweaked flickering on distant environment on Xbox Series S.
  • Corrected an issue where Frame rate drops significantly when players are joining the game with teens in different locations.
  • Resolved an issue where freezes occurred when joining a multiplayer session.
  • Corrected an issue where FPS dropped below 20 when browsing Radial Menu.
• UI/UX
  • Addressed an issue with Omni-Tool showing “Throw” prompt.
  • Fixed a bug with Quick Chat radial menu showing wrong button prompt.
  • Resolved an issue with visible boxes inside the Radial Menus.
  • Resolved keyboard mapping so Handy Gnat and invert blueprint won’t share the same input.
  • Corrected a visual issue with the overlapping Whistle widget UI.
  • Fixed a bug where Player was able to see through map by using “Menu” in the lobby.
  • Fixed a bug where key mapping for the "Huck" wasn’t working as intended.
  • Resolved an issue where in building layout texts were appearing outside of the boxes.
  • Fixed a bug where Handy Gnat camera controls would be inverted when playing on controller.
  • Addressed an issue with arrows HUD being displayed after switching a weapon.
  • Fixed an issue with a “Text Block” showing up.
  • Resolved an issue where incorrect popup for survival text in death screen was present.
  • Resolved an issue where quick exiting Single Player New Game Menu switched Teens in the next loaded save.
  • Resolved an issue where dual-wield weapons would be separated from Character’s hands in inventory.
  • Fixed an issue where notification for Save Slots Used is overlapping with UI.
  • Addressed an issue with resource names extending beyond text boxes.
  • Fixed an issue where Science Shop text overflowed in German.
  • Fixed many UI issues on specific aspect ratios.
  • Resolved an issue with a Lean-To icon missing from the pop-up.
  • Fixed an issue where a hollow rectangle was visible in crafting menu.
  • Resolved an issue where item icons jittered in the recipes UI.
  • Resolved an issue with opening UI on mount showing inaccurate item descriptions.
  • Resolved an issue where new keyboard mapping reverted after rebooting.
  • Addressed the typo in the description of the Northern Scorpion Jr. creature card.
  • Corrected an issue where the O.R.C. Wave prompt appeared in low resolution.
  • Resolved an issue where damage type icons in the Stat Details menu were squeezed.
  • Updated Snail Shell Plastron’s description.
  • Resolved an issue where the aim reticle appeared low-resolution after increasing its size.
• Buggy
  • Resolved an issue where Red Soldier Ants were aggressive towards Players mounted on Red Soldier Ant Buggy.
  • Resolved an issue where mounting a buggy in first-person view resulted in a reduced pickup range for the player.
  • Resolved an issue where buggy could become permanently unavailable.
  • Resolved an issue where thrown bandage behaved identically as Healbasa when mounting a Buggy.
  • Resolved an issue where Dismounting a Buggy and “Snap To Grid” function were bound to the same key by default.
  • Resolved an issue where forced dismount dealt damage after falling on a Buggy.
  • Addressed an issue with items disappearing when moving items to Buggy inventory.
  • Fixed a bug where POIs were not updated in Data tab after Player discovers POI on Buggy.
  • Fixed a bug where buggy becomes unresponsive for Players after leaving Multiplayer Session.
  • Resolved an issue where Orb Weaver Buggy could collide with clovers.
  • Fixed an issue where neutral creatures were losing aggro when player mounts a buggy.
  • Resolved an issue where a Client could duplicate any haulable item like Grass Planks, Buggy Eggs, by leaving the multiplayer session and rejoining.
  • Resolved an issue where standing below a web bridge was creating a web texture around the Player on Orb Weaver buggy.
  • Fixed a bug where Players were able to avoid fall damage by dismounting the Buggy right before the impact.
  • Resolved an issue where the Player was forcibly dismounted from their buggy, while blocking and having 1 stamina bar left.
  • Addressed that caused lack of animations, visual, and audio effects for clients, while being on a buggy and in gathering mode.
  • Fixed an issue where “Your Buggy will return once it is safe” message wouldn’t appear when respawning in a restricted area.
  • Resolved an issue where a buggy could hatch as hostile.
  • Corrected an issue where soil near a pipe leading to the Statue had no collision for the Red Soldier Ant Buggy.
  • Fixed a bug with white frames around Buggy stamina bars.
• Audio
  • Resolved an issue where the anthill sounds could be heard on the surface.
  • Fixed a bug where sound effects of Bows were unaffected by audio volume settings.
  • Resolved an issue with no Biometric scanner SFX near the Mysterious Stranger fight.
  • Addressed an issue with Broken Gear SFX.
  • Resolved an issue with Omni-Tool Upgrade SFX not being affected by Volume sliders.
  • Resolved an issue where Outdoor Living quest Voice Line was interrupting Sloane’s call.
  • Resolved an issue with a specific line playing even with Audio set to 0.
  • Resolved an issue where the sound of hitting and breaking Acorn was disproportionately quiet.
  • Resolved an issue where the Briefcase’s sound effect could be heard globally.
  • Resolved an issue where specific bucket lacked SFX on being shot.
  • Resolved an issue with Music in Anthills stopping when title ran in the background.
  • Corrected an issue where MIX.R repair SFX played after repairing the Ice Sickles.
  • Corrected an issue where SCA.B device SFX could be heard with Audio set to 0.
  • Corrected an issue where Unburrowing Scorpling was audible with Effects Volume set to 0%.
  • Corrected an issue where Arrow impact SFX were bound to UI volume.
• Localization
  • Resolved the improperly localized “KEEP THE CHANGE, YA FILTHY ARACHNID!” quest’s name.
  • Resolved an issue where Greatbow and Great Arrows were not localized in other languages.
  • Corrected an issue where names of craftables scaled incorrectly in some languages.
  • Corrected an issue where some buildings were not translated into languages other than English.
  • Resolved an issue where some UI prompts weren’t fully translated.
• Quests/Progression
  • Resolved an issue where MIX.R could not be activated after Client did all the antennas and stashes.
  • Tweaked an exploit where Player could grind mutations on disengaging O.R.C. Creatures.
  • Fixed an issue where Players were not able to get back up the tutorial PTS machine.
  • Resolved an issue where “Wait, There’s More” questline would not trigger correctly.
  • Fixed a bug where O.R.C. Transmitter entry in Survival Guide was blank.
  • Fixed a bug where progression bar for Ambush mutation was not working properly.
  • Resolved an issue where Headless BURG.L POI had low quality textures.
  • Resolved an issue with a specific O.R.C. Weaver Jr. unlocking the regular Orb Weaver Jr. card.
  • Fixed a bug where the first tutorial for Milk Molars could appear before leaving the Onboarding Facility.
  • Corrected an issue where the Respawn tutorial was hidden behind the respawn timer screen for Host and Client.
• Gameplay
  • Fixed an issue that caused the resource finder to show items incorrectly
  • Resolved an issue where Frenzy mutation did not trigger while using Ice Sickles.
  • Resolved an issue with visible Out Of the World hole in Ceremony region.
  • Resolved an issue with visible Out Of the World hole in Entrance region.
  • Resolved an issue with visible Out Of the World hole in Ceremony region.
  • Resolved an issue with OOW gap in the Picnic Table area.
  • Corrected an issue with visible gaps in the geometry.
  • Resolved an issue with visible Out Of the World hole.
  • Resolved an issue where the O.R.C. Creatures were not despawning after failing the MIX.R event.
  • Resolved an issue where Player clipped through teleport.
  • Fixed a bug where turrets dealt significantly more damage to O.R.C. Creatures.
  • Fixed a bug where Clients were not able to Repair in Multiplayer sessions.
  • Fixed a bug where Player could be permanently stuck inside the PTS after using Photo Mode.
  • Fixed an issue with O.R.C. creatures continuing to spawn after failing the MIX.R.
  • Resolved an issue where Milkweed Pods were spawning too rarely.
  • Resolved an issue where O.R.C. Mosquito was not present on the branch leading to the Statue.
  • Resolved an issue where Red Ants could gather around a single spot in Toxic Anthill.
  • Fixed a bug with Player clipping through a floor.
  • Corrected an issue where selecting the Healbasa would show Combat Stats.
  • Resolved an issue where getting damaged would not cancel action with progress bar.
  • Resolved an issue where the players could fall into a pit and get stuck under the Statue hedge.
  • Resolved an issue where foliage was growing through buildings.
  • Fixed a bug that made some enemies spawn buried in the ground.
  • Resolved an issue where there was a gap in terrain near the border of the Grass Games and the Snackbar Front.
  • Resolved an issue where O.R.C. Cockroach Nymph couldn’t freely move in specific Statue room.
  • Fixed a bug with flying creatures animation being broken.
  • Resolved an issue where Client could fall OOW while standing in a cave.
  • Balanced difficulty of Statue’s route.
  • Resolved an issue where Omni-Tool was invisible during pickup animation on Xbox Series X.
  • Resolved an issue where Bombardier Beetle would spawn inside geometry.
  • Fixed a bug causing navigation issues around the Old Root barrier blocking the entrance to the Frisbee Hedge.
  • Corrected an issue where the Red Ants could spawn inside the ground nearby the entry to the "Hatchery Anthill: South Entrance".
  • Resolved an issue where Ladybugs could be noticed roaming inside the Ant Hill.
  • Fixed a bug where Mantis could lose aggro on the Player mid-combat.
  • Resolved an issue where Praying Mantis Nymph was not attacking the Player when it was pinned to the wall.
  • Fixed a bug where recycling building while mounted would not refund all materials.
  • Fixed the OOW gap near Yoked Girth Magazine Ad.
  • Fixed a bug where Player could get stuck in a hole behind Soda Can.
  • Fixed a bug where certain armors were not synced with the Character in Photo Mode.
  • Resolved an issue where snails didn’t collide with Player buildings.
  • Fixed a bug where Player could fall OOW near the entrance to the Pine Hill Outpost.
  • Fixed an issue with parts of skateboard lacking collision.
  • Fixed an issue where creatures killed by sizzle status effect did not yield roasted meat.
  • Fixed issue with visible gaps in the geometry.
  • Resolved an issue where camera clipped with Player’s head while opening storage buildings.
  • Fixed a bug with falling inside KLBB11 Camera’s Lens.
  • Addressed an issue with O.R.C. Larva eye color.
  • Corrected an issue with visible gaps in the geometry.
  • Fixed a visual bug with gaps in terrain’s textures.
  • Corrected an issue where the OOW was visible near the Ominent onboarding facility exit.
  • Corrected an issue where Cockroaches were trying to interact with Buried Candy.
  • Corrected an issue where Crow Feather would get stuck in the air.
  • Fixed an issue where specific Orb Weaver Jr. bodies were exploding in all directions.
  • Tweaked O.R.C. Mantis’ eyes coloring.
  • Adjusted O.R.C. Orb Weaver and O.R.C. Orb Weaver Jr’s eyes coloring.
  • Fixed O.R.C. Weevils’ eyes coloring.
  • Fixed a bug where plants were clipping with stones.
  • Adjusted with specific Dead Roots not properly attached to the environment.
  • Corrected a hole in terrain of the Toxic Anthill.
  • Resolved an issue where the mushroom obstacle could be bypassed without a proper Omni-Tool upgrade.
  • Fixed an issue with visible OOW gap next to the entrance of the Ranger Outpost.
  • Resolved an issue where characters could clip in Milkweed Pods.
  • Corrected an issue where Crabgrass was slightly floating above ground.
  • Resolved an issue with moss not being attached to the root.
  • Fixed a bug that caused the chopping animation to function incorrectly.
  • Corrected an issue with visible gaps in the geometry.
  • Resolved an issue where big plants were visibly floating near the Statue Maze.
  • Addressed a bug where Player lost momentum when jump-attacking with Dual Wield weapons.
  • Fixed a bug where Cockroach could spawn inside roots.
  • Corrected an issue where contrast between terrain and water in Toxic Anthill was too high.
  • Fixed a bug that made it impossible to build on certain objects.
  • Fixed a bug that enabled building anywhere by zooming.
  • Resolved an issue where Aphid Honeydew was not found by Resource Finder.
  • Fixed the issue where Player could get stuck between trash bags.
  • Corrected an issue where heavy post process was visible on specific resource.
  • Corrected an issue where Handy Gnat movement swapped with the Player’s.
  • Resolved an issue where Player was unable to place floor on top of Foundations.
  • Corrected an issue where the Player could spawn a mount inside the Ice Cream Cart area.
  • Addressed an issue with shaking camera in Photo Mode.
  • Resolved an issue where Ants could lose their track while carrying loot.
  • Fixed an issue with one-sided texture near the border of Grass Game.
  • Fixed a bug where Omni-Tool animation did not appear right after an attack.
  • Resolved an issue where Player could equip Omni-Tool while frozen.
  • Resolved an issue with levitating character in Photo Mode while crouched.
  • Fixed a bug where Teens were clipping through the ground in a specific spot in the Pine Hill area.
  • Resolved an issue where a certain pinecone was clipping with a stone.
  • Resolved an issue where there was a small gap in the Statue Lab wall.
  • Fixed a bug that could make a Player stuck next to the news camera.
  • Corrected an issue where Teen hands clipped with the camera in first-person (FPP) while drinking nasty water from a puddle with FOV 120 and aiming downward.
  • Fixed in the Snackbar Front wooden deck where the Player could get stuck.
  • Resolved an issue where an OOW gap was present near the Ceremony Pamphlet.
  • Resolved an issue where a small OOW gap was present in the Onboarding Facility.
  • Resolved an issue with an OOW gap inside the Cable Tunnels in the Network Center.
  • Resolved an issue where OOW gaps were visible in the Hatchery Anthill.
  • Corrected a visual issue with gaps in terrain textures.
  • Resolved an issue where a leaf clipped into a mushroom in the Snackbar region.
  • Resolved an issue with visible OOW gaps in the Mite Cave.
  • Fixed a bug where a one-sided dirt texture was present on the door leading to Ranger Outpost: Statue.
  • Fixed an issue with multiple one-sided textures in the Statue.
  • Fixed an issue where SAP was floating above assets.
  • Fixed issues with multiple misaligned collisions on the Shlapz Amplifier.
  • Resolved an issue where a few branches were floating in the air.
  • Resolved an issue where Milkweed Pods required being attacked before chopping.
  • Resolved an issue where a leaf was floating next to the maze.
  • Corrected an issue where branches were floating.
  • Resolved an issue where Players could see an OOW gap through doors.
  • Addressed misplaced Acorns in the Entrance area.
  • Resolved an issue where pure grass objects were placed in the Grass Games area.
  • Fixed an issue with the camera clipping through a tree trunk.
  • Resolved an issue where the Character slid unnaturally when dodging during emote animations.
  • Resolved an issue where bow aim focused on the wrong spot on a Snail hidden in its shell.
  • Fixed a bug where scorpions clipped with the ground.
• Other Fixes:
  • Resolved an issue where pallets could not be placed on a single floor piece.
  • Resolved an issue where Player could duplicate items by using chest.
  • Resolved an issue where light emitted by SCA.B2K was excessively bright.
  • Fixed a bug where armor lost its buff upon switching weapons.
  • Resolved an issue where the player could jump out of the playable area.
  • Resolved an issue where the Host was able to see notifications instead of Client.
  • Changed light visibility in Mite Cave.
  • Resolved an issue where some ground textures would not load from a distance.
  • Corrected an issue where the Water Containers are visually empty after performing Save and Load cycle.
  • Fixed a bug where Steam invites would not show up.
  • Fixed a bug where EverChar Flares were replaced with regular Flares.
  • Resolved an issue where a specific Brittle Marble could not be looted.
  • Fixed an issue with visible one-sided texture in the “Snackbar Front” region.
  • Resolved an issue where Players were able to see through rocks.
  • Resolved an issue where textures in the terrarium were misplaced.
  • Resolved an issue with one-sided dirt texture near Empty Terrarium.
  • Resolved an issue where parts of Teens’ backpacks weren’t affected by VFX.
  • Corrected an issue where Lingonberry Fast Descend Setup had an obstacle that could kill the Player.
  • Resolved an issue where a stripe was visible while using a comms array.
  • Addressed a bug where incorrect VFX would appear while holding the Glacial Sting in first person.
  • Balanced difficulty of obtaining the Stolen Optical Disc.
  • Fixed a bug where Ladyguard texture in item preview wasn’t correct.
  • Resolved an issue where game user settings were not saving on disk.
  • Fixed an issue with objectives and story dialogs reappearing in Creative Mode.
  • Fixed a bug that caused a wolf spider to become unresponsive.
  • Resolved an issue with inconsistency between G1 and G2 blueprint canceling.
  • Fixed an issue where eating Bait VFX stayed after killing the creature.
  • Resolved an issue with blueprints not aligning in Entrance region.
  • Fixed an issue with visible unnatural shadow inside the Ranger Station.
  • Corrected an issue where Save option wasn’t greyed out for the Host during Comms Array dialogues.
  • Fixed an issue with Donuts appearing with proximity.
  • Corrected an issue where Ladder was present in an incorrect subcategory.
  • Fixed misaligned dirt under the picnic table.
  • Fixed a bug where the Stuffed Wolf Spider used an old model.
  • Corrected an issue where assigned keys exceeded their box.
• Public Test Fixes:
  • AXL now counts towards Mithridatism progression
  • AXL should now no longer get caught in a loop of not attacking the player
  • Fixed a bug where infinite sounds were made when shooting Arrows at AXL
  • Updated Global Illumination Description
  • Various Handheld Improvements
  • Tweaked Steam Deck Settings with the updated Graphics Options in the settings
  • Teens face should no longer be distorted on low settings