How to get Mounts in Grounded 2 and ride Buggies

A player gives a thumbs up in front of a Hatchery in Grounded 2, from which will spawn a Buggy mount

(Image credit: Xbox Game Studios)

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How to get a Buggy
All Buggies
Can Buggies die?

Grounded 2 Buggies are mounts you get from insect eggs you hatch and tame yourself, and right now there are two kinds of mount you can get: the Red Ant Soldier, and the Orb Weaver Spider, with more promised down the line as the game changes and develops. Grounded 2 has already revealed that there'll be other Buggy options down the line, such as the Ladybird, but right now you're limited to just the two.

The process of getting a Grounded 2 Buggy is simple in theory - it's just a matter of unlocking and building a hatcher and then slotting an egg in for the creature you want to ride. With all that in mind, I've detailed the process for hatching a Buggy for yourself in Grounded 2.

How to get a Buggy in Grounded 2

Grounded 2 Red Soldier Ant Buggy — (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. You can get one by finding the right insect egg 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!

An egg in a hatchery waiting to hatch into a Grounded 2 Buggy — (Image credit: Xbox Game Studios)

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

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

Progress the main plot until you obtain your first Optical Disc and start the Egg Hunt quest.
Spend 500 Science at the Ominent Science Shop to unlock the "Hatchery Bundle".
Use the blueprints to craft a Hatchery, which requires the following components, including a lot of Grounded 2 Acorns. The Ant Nest is somewhere for your new chitinous friends to hang out but you don't specifically need it to get a buggy.

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

With the Hatchery in place you now need to get 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.
Take the Egg back to the Hatchery and put it inside, along with the components needed for the saddle. For a Red Soldier Ant, you will need 2x Grub Hide, 3x Sprigs, and 1x Acorn Shell as well.
Wait for the countdown to finish. The time will vary depending on the Egg type.
When you come back, trigger the hatching manually to get your new Grounded 2 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, so you won't be able to bring one with you if you're out to solve the mystery of the Grounded 2 Frostbitten Key.

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 Grounded 2 Buggies

Right now there are two confirmed Bug Mounts in Grounded 2, and these buggies have different abilities.

Red Soldier Ant: This mount can bite through dead roots, can haul numerous objects, can turn nearby Worker Ants into allies, and make other Soldier Ants passive to the player.
Orb Weaver Spider: Can jump incredibly high, roar to drive away smaller creatures, fire webs that entangle foes and cross web bridges without slowing down.

Thanks to the Grounded 2 roadmap, we know that more Buggies and Buggy improvements will be coming in future updates. For example ladybugs will become eligible buggies in the Winter Update, and the Summer Update afterwards will feature "Watery Buggies"!

Can Buggies die in Grounded 2?

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 Nest and cannot be summoned again for several minutes while it physically recovers.

As well as having an insect pal, your real pals can join you in thanks to Grounded 2 crossplay and multiplayer. And, if you haven't already, once you've got a Buggy, it's a good idea to focus on any Grounded 2 Omni-Tool upgrades you haven't got yet, as getting transport will open up travel further a field where you'll find more exotic resources.