The Oak Lab is a major flag in the early game for Grounded - but where do you go after? After finding BURG.L under the oak tree, you need to go and find Super Chips, and the first of those is in the Hedge Lab - unsurprisingly, in a large hedge to the Southeast side of the garden. However, knowing where to look and knowing how to reach it are two very different things, so I'll show you where to go after the Oak Lab below, and how to get to the Hedge Lab.
What to do after the Oak Lab in Grounded
After the Oak Lab, players need to head to the Hedge, the giant shrubbery in the lower right hand corner of the map, and find their way up to the Hedge lab. This is not easily done - the interlocking network of branches, ziplines and hidden rooms up there basically serves as a vertical maze, where you have to work out how to get up through the hedge. If you're still new to the game make sure you've read our Grounded tips to prepare.
The specific place you need to go is the lower left (West) side of the Hedge, which hugs the back corner of the yard. As you approach, look for the giant electrical plug socket embedded in the house wall - there's a plug with a wire leading under the hedge. Follow the wire until you find a green paper clip - the "Hedge Ascent" landmark. This isn't the Hedge Lab though - it's just the beginning of your trek there.
How to reach the Hedge Lab in Grounded
Above I've laid out a basic map to take you through the Hedge, from the Hedge Ascent all the way to the Hedge Lab and the Super Chip you're here to get. Keep in mind that if you fall off the branches at any point in this process - you're screwed. Even if you survive the drop, you'll have to start again from the paperclip. Consider bringing the ingredients for a Lean-To to set your respawn point around stage 5 or 6 on the map above, just in case you're killed, and a Dandelion Tuft to help manage any falling along the way.
Now I'll take you through the map and the phases laid out above. The red circles mark key locations, while red lines represent walking paths, and blue lines represent ziplines. Here's the route in more detail:
- Hedge Ascent/Paperclip. Start by working your way up the paperclip and into the branches. You'll be going up as much as you go forward in this maze, as the Hedge Lab is someway above the ground. Make your way past the Field Station and hook around the branches towards the next marker.
- Apricop Punch-O/Juice Box. This carton of juice caught in the branches is your goal. When you reach it, feel free to drink some juice to restore hunger and thirst, then take the zipwire next to it across to the East.
- Crossroads. This isn't a major landmark or anything, but once you come off the zipwire, turn back and through the Raw Science towards the lab on the North side. No, this isn't the lab you want either - there's a fair few in the Hedge that you'll need to pass through first.
- Surveyor Scanner Station: Inside the lab station are several RUZ.T droids you'll have to kill, but there's also some basic resources. Cut through them and at the dead end is a wall lever with "Pull…?" on it. Do that - it'll activate the Surveyor Scanners in every single Field Station, a vital resource. Afterwards, head back to 3 and start climbing upwards, through the Spiderlings, and take a zipwire (very short, there's barely space for it) on the map to a small, higher lab.
- Raw Science Lab. This area is basically a single room with some Raw Science in the middle. Use it to orient yourself, gather some resources, then head North and down towards the next zipwire - this is the only time you'll have to drop through the branches rather than climb them. Zipline over to the North.
- Flingman Flying Disc. This is a huge frisbee stuck in the hedge, there'll be more spiderlings around here. Cross the frisbee to the other side, head up and to the left, and finally take the last zipline over towards the Hedge Lab.
- Hedge Lab. Annoyingly the lab isn't a single building, but a complex of small structures linked by branches and smaller ziplines. Your goal here is to find all four pieces of the password, which will allow you to open the main door near the beginning. They're very obvious - huge pieces of paper with writing on - but the area has lots of Spiderlings and even a dangerous Orb Weaver Jr. to contend with. Use our Grounded weapons page to find some good gear to prepare yourself.
Now that you're there, you can get the Superchip for BURG.L and go for the next phase of the game. Make sure to head back to base and stock up on resources and weapons first - you've earned it, and you'll need it.
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