Stuck hauling around a giant ant egg with no idea what to do in Grounded 2? Been there.
Between blueprint confusion, material hunting, and getting mobbed by angry bugs, building your first Hatchery can feel like a survival game within a survival game. But don’t worry, I’ve done it all and lived to ride.
This guide breaks down how to unlock the Hatchery, build it, and hatch your first bug mount the right way. No wasted steps, no wasted materials.
How to build a Hatchery
To build a Hatchery, finish the Egg Hunt quest, buy the Hatchery blueprint for 500 Real Science, then build it with 6 Weed Stems, 1 Acorn Top, 5 Acorn Shells, and 5 Mite Fuzz.
Let’s break it down step by step:
Unlock the Hatchery
First, complete the Egg Hunt quest in the main story, as part of the Missed Connection questline.
Then visit any Ranger Station and buy the Hatchery Bundle from the Science Shop for 500 Real Science points. This unlocks the Hatchery blueprint.
Hatchery recipe
To craft the Hatchery, you’ll need:
- 6 Weed Stems: Chop down Dandelions or Husky Weeds using a Tier 1 axe or higher.
- 1 Acorn Top: Smash Acorns found near the Oak Tree area using a Pebblet Hammer.
- 5 Acorn Shells: Also from smashing Acorns near the Oak Tree with a Pebblet Hammer.
- 5 Mite Fuzz: Kill Lawn Mites, which spawn in shady or underground areas, especially near cables leading to the Mysterious Machine.
Open your build menu (B on keyboard), tab over to the green Hatchery section, place the blueprint, and build it by pressing your action key.
Red Soldier Ant Egg location
Red Soldier Ant Eggs are found in the following locations, all mostly near the Anthill.
- The Toxic Anthill east entrance near the Picnic Table
- The Snackbar Front zone to the north
- Spider Den Anthill’s north entrance, in the Pine Hill area.
Bring the egg back to your Hatchery to incubate it into a Red Ant buggy.
Orb Weaver Spider Egg location
The Orb Weaver Spider mount is only available after completing the Networking mission, near the end of the current story content.
Let’s go step by step:
- Head to the Snackbar Front / BURG.L’s Laboratory area.
- Inside, find the Headless BURG.L’s body.
- Enter the tunnel beneath it. Inside, you’ll find Orb Weaver Spider eggs.
Clear the tunnel of threats including other spiders and bring the Orb Weaver egg to your hatchery.
How to hatch eggs
With the Hatchery placed and built, you can begin incubating mount eggs.
To hatch a buggy mount, you’ll need:
- A valid egg (Red Soldier Ant or Orb Weaver Spider)
- Saddle crafting materials depending on mount type
- Roughly 12 in-game hours (about 25 real-time minutes) of wait time
Saddle recipe
You’ll need a saddle to mount either buggy in Grounded 2. Here’s the recipe:
- 3 Blueberry Leather: crafted with 3 Blueberry Chunks, which you can ger from the Picnic Table.
- 4 Red Ant Mandibles: from killing Red Soldier Ants
- 3 Acorn Shells: Smash acorns near Oak Tree areas using your Pebblet Hammer or Omni‑Axe.