Surviving in the small world of Grounded requires resources that should be protected at a safe Base, the right location can mean all the difference.
Shrunk into the ferocious wild grasses of danger outside their home, players in Grounded, the survival game published by Obsidian Entertainment, must build the best Base to establish themselves in a location that provides bountiful resources while being protected from formidable creatures. Unfortunately, resources such as clean drinkable water in Grounded are hard to find should players not consider where they want a Base constructed. Although players no doubt work towards having multiple bases in Grounded to organize their resources and reduce travel time, that first Base should serve as a primary rendezvous or a sanctuary for unpredicted chaos.
Elevation plays a key role when building a Base in Grounded since spiders and other insects are far more manageable when players can see them coming. Ants aren't able to steal food when the food stored sits far beyond their reach. Wolf spiders and other arachnids are a bit trickier, as their aggression toward the tiny characters often creates the biggest threats, chiefly represented by the Broodmother boss in Grounded. Flying enemies also added recently, including bees and mosquitos, make a high altitude Base risky anyway. Players that choose Base locations that steer clear of spider-infested zones and remain far enough away from the reach of flying insects are far more likely to preserve their earnings while exploring every region.
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Resources might be the de facto focus in Grounded, but the best Base locations are near areas within reach of supplies, not directly on top of them. Whether players are looking for an aesthetic appeal to their Base or strong environmental defenses to protect against the aforementioned enemy creatures, each Base location has its own set of pros and cons. New biomes like the Koi Pond in Grounded play a key role in decision-making; players should consider what function a Base serves before committing to building one.
Depending on what stage of exploration players have embarked on, the best Base locations in Grounded are the Baseball, the Mysterious Machine, the Pond, the Flat Stone, and the Hedge. Water, food, and analysis tents are by far the most desirable items near a Base, and the locations listed all have at least one of these in abundance. Throughout the wide variety of quests in Grounded, these locations also remain close to those objective points, allowing players to experience everything offered in Grounded's final update. Analysis Tents near these areas also grant identification to odd materials, giving a better foundation of knowledge to players who set up Bases near those locations.
Immediately when players spawn in Grounded, they find themselves near a lost Baseball, surrounded by tons of tools needed to establish a foothold at the beginning of the game. A stick next to the Baseball allows players to climb atop it, giving the safety of elevation from the creatures below. A great start to the game and an excellent place to store early resources and food, the only limit to the Baseball is space, as growth over time might force players to move as their inventories increase.
Perhaps one of the most bountiful areas for resources, the Mysterious Machine offers a larger building area than the Baseball through a rock with a flatter surface. Despite the colony of ants that persists in the area, players building a Base here are blessed with a rare resource more frequently, the crow's feathers. A particularly valuable Resource Node in Grounded, crow feathers drop periodically at the Mysterious Machine and are even more desirable through changes made to mechanics through Grounded's Hot and Hazy update.
The most beautiful location players can construct their Base would likely be the Pond, an aquatic biome that stands isolated from the dangers of the land. Obviously, spiders and ants might have a hard time getting to a Base located in the middle of the water. Players who take the arduous time to build a Base on top of the lily pads dotting the Pond can find an Analysis Tent close to a temple situated in the middle of the biome, called the Pagoda. The dangers of the water itself are worth considering, though, as the underwater depths of Grounded's Koi Pond host many extra threats that become constant upon building a Base here.
Among all the other Base locations listed, the Flat Stone hosts the most dangerous spot in exchange for an extremely large area for players to establish their Base. The exposed surface of the Flat Stone gives no cover from aggressive creatures. Still, it doesn't hide their presence either, so the war that inevitably happens as players build a Base little by little certainly takes more effort than other locations. Even the near adorable arachnophobia safe mode in Grounded does not protect players from the swarm of creatures they encounter at the Flat Stone. Yet, for players who tough out the constant battles, the Flat Stone is in the center of the map and nearby a plethora of resources at once.
Isolated from many other locations on the main map of Grounded, the Hedge has everything players need to thrive amidst the dangerous world they find themselves in. Extremely high elevation protects from grounded creatures, the natural biome has plenty of food in the form of berries, and an Analysis Tent also can be found close by. Unfortunately, the fixed bugs through past Grounded updates that improved the enemy AI still cannot reach players who place a Base in the Hedge's welcoming space. Players could settle down at the Hedge, lounging on the berries while building a tree house Base whose only flaw could be the distance it takes to reach other resources.
No matter what location players choose to build their Base in Grounded, the best areas for doing so always reflect an abundance of resources concerning protection from enemy creatures. Mastering that ratio when considering which location best establishes a Base's foothold in Grounded makes all the difference as players push further into the refreshing entry to the survival game genre.
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Matthew Danielson is a Senior Gaming Guides writer for Screen Rant with a major degree in Interactive Media Study and a minor degree in Rhetorical Writing. Able to write about many games, Matthew focuses primarily on guides with Screen Rant. A long history as a fighting game player manifests in a deep love for gaming communities fostered in his home state Ohio. This couples with nostalgia for first-person shooters like Halo and a newfound love for the Devil May Cry series. Matthew hopes that his skills in writing guides help people with unique problems in their favorite games so that they can enjoy their experience to the fullest.