How to get Mounts in Grounded 2 and ride Buggies

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Rideable insects in Grounded 2 are called Buggies, and you need a Hatchery to get them

Grounded 2 Buggies
(Image credit: Xbox Game Studios)
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Grounded 2 Mounts are a new feature for the series. Bugs you can ride are appropriately called Buggies, and multiple kinds of bugs are planned accordingly, with different options for what kind of Buggy you want. That being said, right now in early access we've only found one option – the Red Soldier Ant – though it's possible that there are more hiding in Brookhollow Park that we've yet to uncover. Grounded 2 is a big game and we're still uncovering all its secrets, not to mention that the promotional material has shown Spiders being ridden!

With that in mind, we'll explain the process for obtaining insect mounts – aka Buggies – in Grounded 2. The process looks like it'll be the same no matter which bug you want to ride, it's just a matter of slotting the right egg into the process, as well as unlocking the knowledge from the Science Shop.

How to ride bugs in Grounded 2

Grounded 2 Buggies

(Image credit: Xbox Game Studios)

Bugs in Grounded 2 can be ridden and made into "Buggies", or mounts you can summon and use for combat, by finding one of those insects' eggs and placing it in a Hatchery that you've built, along with the components needed to make a Saddle. Then you wait for the egg to hatch, and it'll emerge as a rideable insect buggy that you can use!

This means that existing NPC insects can't be tamed like pets in the first game, at least if you want to make them into mounts. You have to breed them yourself to make them friendly and obedient, but it is worth the effort.

Getting a Buggy in Grounded 2 explained

Grounded 2 Buggies

(Image credit: Xbox Game Studios)

The specific process of obtaining a Buggy in Grounded 2 for you to mount and ride around goes as follows:

  1. Progress the main plot until you obtain your first Optical Disc and start the Egg Hunt quest.
  2. Spend 500 Science at the Ominent Science Shop to unlock the "Hatchery Bundle".
  3. Use the blueprints to craft a Hatchery and Ant Nest at your base. They will require the following components, including a lot of Grounded 2 Acorns:

Grounded 2 Buggies

(Image credit: Xbox Game Studios)
  • Ant Hill: 6x Weed Stem, 6x Clover Leaf, 3x Crude Rope, 1x Acorn Shell
  • Hatchery: 6x Weed Stem, 1x Acorn Top, 6x Acorn Shell, 5x Mite Fuzz
  1. Obtain an Egg of the Bug you want to ride. The first of these is found in the Hatchery Anthill, but we've put together a more comprehensive guide on how to find Grounded 2 Red Soldier Ant Eggs if you need it.
  2. Take the Egg back to the Hatchery and put it inside, along with the components needed to make a saddle. For a Red Soldier Ant, you will need 2x Grub Hide, 3x Sprigs, and 1x Acorn Shell, as well as the Soldier Ant Egg itself.
  3. Wait for 12 hours for the countdown to finish.
  4. When you come back, trigger the hatching manually to get your new insect Buggy! When dismissed, it will be stored in the Ant Hill.

Buggies are a massive advantage in Grounded 2. They're a huge speed boost, they're allied NPCs that can attack enemies along with you without needing instruction, they have special attacks and abilities, their own inventory space to store all those Grounded 2 Grass Seeds, and can carry more large objects like Weed Stems and Grass Planks. They can't follow or be ridden into certain terrain though, such as icy and chilled areas.

Buggies can be summoned by pressing Right on the D-Pad, though there's a time needed to actually summon it from Ant Hill storage (usually about 12 seconds). You can dismiss it by walking up to it and holding B.

All rideable bugs in Grounded 2

Grounded 2 Buggies

(Image credit: Xbox Game Studios)

Right now there are two confirmed Bug Mounts in Grounded 2: the Red Soldier Ant, which is in the game right now, and the Orb Weaver Spider, which we've seen in promotional material but have yet to find in-game. We're not sure yet whether it's very well-hidden in-game or just yet to be added, but we'll update this page when we find out more.

Can Buggies die in Grounded 2?

Grounded 2 Buggies

(Image credit: Xbox Game Studios)

No, buggies can't die in Grounded 2, but they do have limited health. When reduced to zero HP, a buggy is downed and a player will need to revive it by walking up to it and holding down the X button. If they don't get to it before the timer runs out, the mount is sent back to the Ant Hill and cannot be summoned again for several minutes while it physically recovers.

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Joel Franey
Joel Franey
Guides Writer

Joel Franey is a writer, journalist, podcaster and raconteur with a Masters from Sussex University, none of which has actually equipped him for anything in real life. As a result he chooses to spend most of his time playing video games, reading old books and ingesting chemically-risky levels of caffeine. He is a firm believer that the vast majority of games would be improved by adding a grappling hook, and if they already have one, they should probably add another just to be safe. You can find old work of his at USgamer, Gfinity, Eurogamer and more besides.

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