One of my favourite things about playing Grounded is the immense amount of versatility and customization that players will have access to in the game. Not only can players choose various Weapons and Tools in the game, each having utility even in the end game, players will also have access to a great amount of Armour Sets that each come with their own effects when worn as a full set, but can also get hidden bonuses when upgraded with Sleek.
As someone who has played a good amount of Survival Craft games, I have to say that it typically bothers me when Weapons become useless simply because they cannot be upgraded or brought into the late game. Terraria, for me, was one of these games as many of the early game weapons were awesome and had some cool passives, however, they weren’t useful in the late-game specifically because of their stats.
Now, even in Grounded there are a few moments where players wouldn’t want to use lower-tier Weapons simply because their stats are… well lower, but the awesome thing is that you can upgrade any Weapon to deal more damage meaning that if you like a passive from a Weapon, you can extend the usability of it.
The same can be said about Armour Sets, though I have to say the passives from Armour Sets are much more interesting as they can protect you from particular forms of damage or can even give you passives that help with things like basing or other menial tasks.
Honestly, something I keep saying while streaming Grounded is how important it is to get every single Armour Set in Grounded even if you choose not to upgrade them because they can come in very handy no matter where you are in the game.
Now Armour is quite a bit different than Weapons or Tools, especially when it comes to skilled players as technically a player can wear any Armour or no Armour and still get by as long as they understand the kiting mechanics of each mob they are up against.
While I wouldn’t recommend that players wear minimal Armour against bosses or extremely tough mobs, I would strongly recommend switching what you’re wearing based on what you’re doing.
The following guide will take you through everything you need to know about the various Armour Sets, including how much defence they provide you as well as whether or no you should upgrade them with Sleek or not.
WHAT IS A SLEEK UPGRADE
Before I jump into all of the Armour Sets I wanted to shortly cover what Sleek Armour Sets are. While I’ve covered the process of making Sleek Armour in my post about the Smithing Station, I would at least like to say that not every piece of Armour needs to be turned into a Sleek upgrade and some actually benefit from Generic/Bulky upgrades instead.
Essentially, when players upgrade to Sleek they will gain a second passive on their Armour Set, however, they will do this at the cost of their Armour being a bit less defensive and a bit less durable than it would be as Bulky.
In many cases the choice will be made based on what a player struggles with, so I’ll let you know my full thoughts on each type of upgrade and let you know how I combat the factors that I would be missing out on if I don’t upgrade to Sleek.
TIER I ARMOUR SETS
Tier I Armour are typically pieces of Armour that players have instantly or are quickly unlocked in the early game. While a lot of these Armours will not sustain the tests of time in defence, many of these will be great for tasks around your base or even smaller tasks like killing lesser mobs and such.
I would strongly recommend crafting one of each set and then placing them on the Armour Stand.
Quite frankly, you don’t need to spend the time upgrading these Amour Sets too far, if even at all, because you won’t be using them for protection for long, although there are a few you might want to give the Sleek Effect, depending on what it is you need to get done.
Admittedly, even if a player doesn’t choose to upgrade these with Sleek they will still be really useful, especially around the base.
Each piece of Tier I Armour will provide you with 2 Defence when wearing the Head & Lower Body as well as 3.5 Defence when wearing the Upper Body. Admittedly, this isn’t much Defence, especially for the mid-game and for sure for the late-game, so expect to switch these Armour Sets out very quickly.
ACORN ARMOUR
Acorn Armour tends to be the second type of Armour that players build and will be the heftiest to wear of all the Armours in this tier. This Armour should make it so any player can kill up to an Orb Weaver with no problem, though players may be able to kill a Wolf Spider if they are able to kite a good amount of damage and have enough healing in case they get poisoned.
The Acorn Armour actually provides a good amount of Defence to players providing them with 7.5% Resistance with the Head & Lower Body and 15% Resistance with the Upper Body.
It is the only Tier I set of Armour that is considered to be Heavy Armour, meaning that it will also provide 30% Damage Reduction for the cost of 25% extra Stamina consumption.
Now, there are some downfalls to wearing Acorn Armour, the main one being the fact that with each piece players will receive an effect of Major Threat which essentially makes it so mobs are more attracted to you no matter what they are (as long as they are not passive.)
This can be pretty annoying for new players, though if you’re the tank on your team, this can actually be a benefit as it will ensure that you’re the main focus of aggression.
With all pieces of the Acorn Armour players will really be ready to tank as it will give them the Set Bonus Uncrackable which makes it so it is harder for mobs to Stun you when you block. Essentially it increases how much gauge you get.
When it comes to upgrading to Bulky or Sleek, I honestly don’t recommend either unless you’re playing on WHOA! mode, but even then I would recommend against it as it’s not a great set of gear for very long.
Essentially Sleek will give you more Health. Nice, but not the most useful if you have better Armour.
HOW TO CRAFT THE ACORN FACE MASK (HEAD)
5 Mite Fuzz
3 Crude Rope
1 Acorn Shell
Repair: 1 Acorn Shell & 1 Crude Rope
HOW TO CRAFT THE ACORN CHESTPLATE (UPPER BODY)
6 Clover Leaf
4 Crude Rope
3 Acorn Shell
Repair: 2 Acorn Shell & 1 Crude Rope
HOW TO CRAFT THE ACORN LEG PLATES (LOWER BODY)
4 Crude Rope
4 Sap
2 Acorn Shell
Repair: 1 Acorn Shell & 1 Crude Rope
RED ANT ARMOUR
Red Ant Armour is by far my favourite piece of Armour in the whole game, not because of the protection, but because it’s the best piece of Armour to have if you’re someone who loves to build bases.
Now, not every player is going to be as obsessed with base building as I am, but I still strongly recommend that everyone gets themselves a piece of this Armour as everyone is going to need to construct at least one base for their survival.
Ant Armour also provides players with safety like no other Armour, though I will cover this shortly.
Shockingly, Red Ant Armour is considered Light Armour, providing 10% Damage Reduction for the cost of 5% extra Stamina use. For some reason I always suspected it to be Medium Armour and I don’t know why I got that in my head.
The Head and Lower Body provides 2.5% Resistance while the Upper Body provides players with 5% Resistance.
With each piece of Red Ant Armour players will gain a bit of Hauling Strength, providing players with the ability to carry an extra Grass Plank or Weed Stem per piece.
This comes in extremely handy throughout the game as players will probably want to make multiple bases all around the world so it becomes very easy to collect resources and will cut down the amount of time it takes to build these bases due to the time it cuts running around collecting Grass Planks as the running between base and chopping these resources tends to be the biggest time suck.
Now, in the late game, players will want to combine the Red Ant Armour with other pieces of Gear that also give this trait, being able to hold a maximum of 24 Grass Planks or Weed Stems, though I will cover this when we get closer to those pieces of Armour.
With all pieces of Red Ant Armour players will gain Humant which makes it so Red Soldier Ants ignore players, making it extremely easy to navigate the Red Ant Hill for resources. Players will have to note that attacking an Ant will make everything attack you and so will stealing eggs. Still, this should buy you enough time to go in and steal eggs, which are required for explosives.
Now when it comes to choosing whether or not to make this Bulky or Sleek I would honestly recommend Sleek unless you’re not a base builder. Admittedly players are going to want to chuck their Red Ant Armour as soon as they can.
For you, avid base builders, get excited, because Sleek effect provides you with Grass Harvest Speed. I wouldn’t go too deep into the Sleek upgrade, but I would at least take the Armour to level 6.
Red Ant Armour is the only Tier I set of Armour I use in the end game, to be honest.
HOW TO CRAFT THE RED ANT HELMET (HEAD)
5 Mite Fuzz
3 Red Ant Parts
1 Red Ant Head
Repair: 2 Ant Parts & 1 Mite Fuzz
HOW TO CRAFT THE RED ANT ARM GUARDS (UPPER BODY)
5 Red Ant Parts
2 Acid Glands
2 Mite Fuzz
Repair: 2 Red Ant Parts & 1 Mite Fuzz
HOW TO CRAFT THE RED ANT KNEE GUARDS (LOWER BODY)
6 Red Ant Part
4 Mite Fuzz
2 Crude Rope
Repair: 2 Red Ant Parts & 1 Mite Fuzz
GRUB ARMOUR
Grub Armour is actually a piece of Armour I looked past in every single one of my play-throughs, but my Husband made a really valid point about how good it is in the early game.
While players will want to trash the Grub Armour in the mid-game, it is a pretty great set of Armour to learn fighting mechanics on and quite frankly tends to be the piece of Armour most players recommend or will wear until they have Tier II Armour.
Though as a base Grub Armour doesn’t provide a whole lot of protection, providing 5% Resistance for the Head & Lower Body as well as 10% Resistance for the Upper Body it tends to be easier to use than the alternatives.
The main reason it’s easier to use is the fact that it is Medium Armour, providing only 20% Damage Reduction for the cost of 15% extra Stamina consumption. Many players hate the feeling of Heavy Armour, me being included and I will typically strive to only wear Medium or Light if possible, even when Tanking.
The biggest perk to Grub Armour is that with each piece players gain more Maximum Stamina, allowing them to run for longer or to attack enemies more times before they are exhausted.
As for wearing the full set, players will gain Optimized Offense which reduces the amount of Stamina required to attack.
As for whether a player should upgrade to Sleek or Bulky, I would advise against both. While Sleek will give you Hyperstamina, essentially making you recover Stamina faster, the upgrade materials you need to use are more important for better pieces of Gear.
HOW TO CRAFT GRUB GOGGLES (HEAD)
3 Grub Hide
1 Raw Weevil Meat
Repair: 1 Grub Hide
HOW TO CRAFT VEST (UPPER BODY)
5 Grub Hide
4 Dry Grass Chunk
2 Grub Sludge
Repair: 2 Grube Hide & 1 Grub Sludge
HOW TO CRAFT GRUB LEGGINGS (LOWER BODY)
4 Grub Hide
4 Dry Grass Chunk
2 Mite Fuzz
Repair: 2 Grub Hide & 1 Dry Grass Crunk
CLOVER ARMOUR
You don’t need Clover Armour I promise. Only use it for the mission you get, otherwise, just chuck it away because it’s worthless.
It’s pretty decent if you’re a very new player to Survival Craft Games, but it’s so worthless. Now, if you’re someone who is really struggling, these are some of the factors to look forward to.
Clover Armour is Light Armour that provides you with 10% Damage Reduction for the cost of 5% extra Stamina Usage.
Players will also receive 2.5% Resistance from the Head & Lower Body as well as 5% Resistance from the Upper Body.
With each piece of Clover Armour players will have a slower Hunger drain, meaning players can last a bit longer, though this isn’t very impactful admittedly.
With all pieces of Clover Armour players will gain Moist which will reduce the amount of Thirst drain you have, though again this isn’t very impactful.
As for whether or not to make this Bulky or Sleek… guess my answer… Neither! I will say, there’s a bit of a niche use for Clover Armour if you do choose to make it Sleek as it will gain Regenerate which heals you over time, so you could technically use it instead of a Fiber Bandage, though given how inexpensive healing items are, especially those which do the same amount as the Clover Armour, it would be more of a waste to use Clover Armour.
HOW DO YOU CRAFT CLOVER HOOD (HEAD)
4 Clover Leaves
1 Crude Rope
Repair: 2 Clover Leaves
HOW DO YOU CRAFT CLOVER PONCHO (UPPER BODY)
6 Clover Leaves
3 Crude Rope
Repair: 2 Clover Leaves
HOW DO YOU CRAFT CLOVER SHIN GUARDS (LOWER BODY)
3 Clover Leaves
2 Crude Rope
2 Sprigs
Repair: 2 Clover Leaves
TIER II ARMOUR SETS
Tier II Armour is one of the biggest improvements you will see in Grounded and quite frankly anytime my husband and I create a new world we always rush to get Tier II Armour as it will protect us a great amount up until the late-game, especially if players spend the time upgrading them.
I strongly recommend that players begin upgrading their Armour when they have Tier II Armour, especially if they are getting close to unlocking the recipes that make the Plating infinite from BURG.L.
I have to be honest, not all Tier II Armour is my favourite and I tend to ignore many of the pieces of it, especially the ones that tend to come later in the game. That being said, I would still recommend getting as many of these pieces as you can for completion and in case you want to rotate between them.
All Tier II Armour will provide players with the following stats:
Head & Lower Body will provide 3.5 Defense and Upper Body will provide 5.5 Defense.
LADYBUG ARMOUR
Ladybug Armour is by far my favourite Armour to have in the early game, especially if I haven’t gotten enough Milk Molars to give myself the stats that I want and need. Ladybug Armour is one of the most defensive early game pieces of Armour and will help you get through the Haze, Picnic Table as well as some areas of the Sandbox, meaning that it has a really good lifespan.
Though this Armour is recommended for players who are planning on Tanking, I strongly recommend that everyone on your Team has it at first until they have enough Mutations and stats as it will help ensure that you have no deaths.
The biggest issue with Ladybug Armour is that it is Heavy Armour and while that means 30% Damage Reduction it does mean that you will use 25% more Stamina. This can be pretty tricky for newer players, however, it’s worth learning how to mitigate this for the sheer amount of defence.
The Head & Lower Body will provide players with 7.5% Resistance while the Upper Body will provide players with 15% Resistance.
With each piece of Ladybug Armour players will gain some Blocking Strength. This will make it so a player can block more damage before they become stunned, which is depicted by the bar whenever a player blocks. When that bar is filled, you can’t block. I strongly recommend that any player use this passive when they can in order to learn the fight pattern of mobs they are up against and this will provide you with a bit more safety than when you don’t have the Ladybug Armour.
In my opinion, it’s important that players learn the game from multiple angles as there may come a time where you need to tank for a bit and there’s going to be plenty of opportunities where you are fighting alone.
The best aspect of wearing the full set of Ladybug Armour is that you will gain Scarlet Embrace which provides you the chance to regenerate Health when you block an attack against any mob. This is extremely useful for Tanks, especially in the early game as this combined with a perfect block will keep you up for a very long time.
Admittedly, I somewhat miss this perk with the better Armour, but they come with passives that make up for it.
When it comes to choosing whether to make Lady Bug Armour Sleek or Bulky, it’s going to depend on the player. I personally prefer Bulky, though Sleek is extremely useful for Tanks as it will give you the effect +Health Received which gives you a boost any time you use healing items. If you’re someone who is playing support and you have time to run away from an enemy or dodge, this won’t be as useful as you’ll have a good amount of time to Heal, however, if you are in the heat of a battle and are right up close to the mob, +Health Received is very beneficial.
It’s your call though, if you want to be a support with Sleek Armour, honestly power to you, because it’s still pretty awesome.
HOW TO CRAFT THE LADYBUG FACEPLATE (HEAD)
3 Berry Leather
2 Ladybug Parts
1 Ladybug Head
Repair: 1 Ladybug Part & 1 Berry Leather
HOW TO CRAFT THE LADYBUG CHESTPLATE (UPPER BODY)
4 Berry Leather
4 Ladybug Parts
2 Flower Petals
Repair: 1 Ladybug Part & 1 Berry Leather
HOW TO CRAFT THE LADYBUG SHIN GUARDS (LOWER BODY)
5 Ladybug Parts
4 Berry Leather
4 Flower Petals
Repair: 1 Ladybug Part & 1 Berry Leather
BEE ARMOUR
ARCHERS!!! GET YOUR BOWS READY!!
I can’t tell you how happy I am to have the Bee Armour and to see that it’s only gotten better since its initial release.
As soon as I get past the difficulty hump that happens from early to mid-game I completely switch over to Bee Armour until I have something better. Being that I… I am a humble Bard.
While in my first few playthroughs of Grounded I looked past the Bee Armour since I simply hated farming Bees, I have to say in the most recent playthrough it’s my favourite Armour to currently wear.
Bee Armour is great for Bowmen as it is a piece of Light Armour that provides10% Damage Reduction for the cost of 5% extra Stamina usage. While it’s not the most protective piece of Armour, Bows use a significant amount of Stamina so you’re going to want to make sure that you have as much of it as possible.
As for Resistance, the Head & Lower Body will provide 2.5% Resistance while the Upper Body will provide 5% Resistance.
Each piece of Bee Armour will raise the amount of Stun that is capable by Bows, making this a really great piece of Armour to have especially to help relieve the tank on your team in tough battles. Not only that, but when you’re on your own you will have a much higher chance at surviving due to all those rad stuns you inflict on enemies.
When players wear a full set of Bee Armour they will gain Pollen Shot which gives arrows a chance to release a cloud of pollen that slows targets. I’m so happy to see this implemented as when you’re up against Bees it’s quite frustrating to get trapped in their pollen, so to be able to give them and other speedy creatures a taste of that medicine is extremely helpful.
As for whether to make Bee Armour Bulky or Sleek, I typically recommend Sleek as it will raise the amount of use it has for your team. Players will gain Slow Shot which will give players the chance to slow the enemy struck.
As the Bee Armour requires a good amount of RNG it’s best to have as many things attached to it as you can in order to ensure that you snare or slow an enemy. Also, as the Bee Armour is considered a support/damage focussed piece of Armour you’re not going to need as much protection from mobs as you would with other pieces of Armour.
HOW TO CRAFT THE BEE FACE MASK (HEAD)
5 Bee Fuzz
2 Web Fiber
1 Berry Leather
Repair: 2 Bee Fuzz & 1 Berry Leather
HOW TO CRAFT THE BEE SHOULDER PADS (UPPER BODY)
4 Bee Fuzz
4 Bee Leather
1 Bee Stinger
Repair: 2 Bee Fuzz & 1 Berry Leather
HOW TO CRAFT THE BEE SHIN GUARDS (LOWER BODY)
4 Bee Fuzz
4 Web Fiber
4 Berry Leather
Repair: 2 Bee Fuzz & Berry Leather
SPIDER ARMOUR
Spider Armour is an interesting piece of Armour that I typically don’t use as I don’t find its passives to necessarily be the most useful.
Spider Armour is probably better in solo play where a player is dealing the majority of the damage against mobs. I typically recommend that players who are focussing on melee damage use the Spider Armour as being ranged with it doesn’t really make sense.
The Spider Armour is considered to be Medium Armour so when players wear all of it’s Armour they will gain 20% Damage Reduction for the cost of 15% extra Stamina usage.
The Head & Lower Body will provide 5% Resistance and the Upper Body will provide 10% Resistance.
For each piece of Spider Armour players will gain a bit of Hasty Regen which will lower the amount of Stamina used when players are nearing being exhausted. This will allow a player to attack a bit more before their stamina is depleted.
With all pieces of Spider Armour players will gain Hunter’s Prowess which increases the speed at which Stamina is regenerated.
This will make it so a melee player has the opportunity to spank an enemy repeatedly and then slip away for a quick breather.
Now when it comes to choosing between Sleek and Bulky Armour I would honestly recommend Bulky. My main qualm with the Sleek version of Spider Armour is that it provides you with increased Poison Damage, meaning not only will a player need to wield a Weapon with Poison Damage, but will also need to ensure that the Mob they are up against can be poisoned as some bugs are immune to poison.
Due to this factor, I personally feel like the Spider Armour is not as useful as other pieces of Armour, though I do feel like it’s a decent piece of midgame Tank Armour, especially for players who do not want to wear Heavy Amour especially if they hate the amount of Stamina it requires to upkeep attacks using it.
HOW TO CRAFT THE SPIDER HOOD (HEAD)
3 Spider Chunks
2 Spider Frangs
2 Berry Leather
Repair: 1 Spider Chunk & 1 Berry Leather
HOW TO CRAFT THE SPIDER SHOULDER GUARD (UPPER BODY)
5 Spider Chunks
4 Silk Rope
3 Berry Leather
Repair: 1 Spider Chunk & 1 Berry Leather
HOW TO CRAFT THE SPIDER KNEE PADS (LOWER BODY)
4 Spider Chunks
4 Silk Rope
2 Berry Leather
Repair: 1 Spider Chunk & 1 Berry Leather
KOI SCALE ARMOUR
Koi Scale Armour is something you would never actually see me wear as it is so far against my play style, while it’s extremely useful.
Essentially Koi Scale Armour is the best mid-game armour for any Melee attacker who is going to be tanking quite a bit, even though it doesn’t provide you with a whole lot of protection.
As Koi Scale Armour is LIght Armour it will only provide you with 10% Damage Reduction for the cost of 5% extra Stamina usage.
Players will receive 2.5% Resistance from their Head and Lower Body as well as 5% Resistance for the Upper Body.
With each piece of Koi Scale Armour players will get a bit of Perfect Block which will make it a bit easier to actually get a Perfect Block as it extends the window a player can actually get a Perfect Block.
For anyone who is still trying to get the mutation for Perfect Block this is a great piece of Armour to use to ensure you get it.
With the full set of Koi Scale Armour players will receive Dazzling Riposte which allows players to deal more damage after a Perfect Block. This is why it’s very important that the Koi Scale Armour is worn on a melee player as they will be able to get those Perfect Blocks up more frequently and will probably have a fast enough Weapon to get multiple higher damage attacks up due to the speed of their Weapon.
When you think that’s all there is to know, players will have to choose between Sleek and Bulky, and shockingly I recommend you get Sleek Armour with Koi Scale Armour as it will add Parry Stun to your roster. With this, any time a player Perfect Blocks they will be able to raise the amount of stun you deal with your Weapon essentially raising the chance that you will stun an enemy and be able to just spank them.
While I wouldn’t recommend a tank on your team using this as your Armour, I would say that it’s really good for solo play as it provides you the chance to run away when necessary at the same time as being able to attack rapidly.
HOW TO CRAFT THE KOI SCALE HELMET (HEAD)
3 Silk Rope
2 Koi Fish Scale
2 Eelgrass Strand
2 Lilypad Wax
Repair: 1 Eelgrass Strand & 1 Koi Fish Scale
HOW TO CRAFT THE KOI SCALE CHESTPLATE (UPPER BODY)
5 Koi Fish Scale
3 Eelgrass Strand
3 Lilypad Wax
2 Sunken Bone
Repair: 1 Eelgrass Strand & 1 Koi Fish Scale
HOW TO CRAFT THE KOI SCALE GREAVES (LOWER BODY)
3 Koi Fish Scale
3 Sunken Bones
2 Eelgrass Strand
2 Lilypad Wax
Repair: 1 Eelgrass Strand & 1 Koi Fish Scale
BLACK ANT ARMOUR
Black Ant Armour is a very interesting piece of Armour to have in the midgame though it will typically require a player on melee in order to utilize it to the best of its ability.
The Black Ant Armour is considered Medium Armour and will provide players with 20% Damage Reduction for the cost of 15% Extra Stamina Usage, making it one of the better solo player mid-game armours for players who need a bit more defence.
The Head & Lower Body will provide 5% Resistance while the Upper Body will provide 10% Resistance.
Each pieces of Black Ant Armour will provide a bit of Crit After Block which will increase the chance of a player landing a Critical Attack after they block.
When players wear all the pieces of Black Ant Armour they will gain Pincushion which will provide a chance for players to reflect a portion of the damage they take back to the attacker. Now, this isn’t the most useful for players who are good at blocking, however, if not every one of your blocks is Perfect Blocks, it is pretty good.
That being said, players will need to remember the biggest perk to the Black Ant Armour versus the Koi Scale Armour is the fact that players will not need to rely on Perfect Blocks to make the best use of it, really solidifying that this is for less skilled players (or at least players who want a bit more cushion.)
As for whether to make this Armour Sleek or Bulky, I would say the choice will come down to the player. I personally prefer Sleek as it provides you with Crit Hyperstamina, meaning that whenever a player lands a Critical Hit, even if it is not from one of the passives from the Armour, they will get an increase in Stamina Regen.
This comes in super helpful in solo play as it will make sure you can keep attacking when you’re spamming attacks.
HOW TO CRAFT THE BLACK ANT HELMET (HEAD)
5 Bee Fuzz
3 Black Ant Parts
1 Black Ant Head
Repair: 4 Black Ant Parts & 1 Black Ant Head
HOW TO CRAFT THE BLACK ANT CHESTPLATE (UPPER BODY)
5 Black Ant Parts
3 Black Ant Mandibles
2 Bee Fuzz
Repair: 4 Black Ant Parts & 1 Black Ant Mandible
HOW TO CRAFT THE BLACK ANT LEGPLATES (LOWER BODY)
6 Black Ant Part
4 Bee Fuzz
2 Silk Rope
Repair: 4 Black Ant Part & 1 Bee Fuzz
TIER III ARMOUR SETS
Tier III Armour is the best in all of Grounded and is obtained closer to the mid-game of Grounded. Though some Armour is obtained closer to the end-game this is the Armour players will want to focus on the most.
All Tier III Armour provides players with the same Defence, being:
Head & Lower Body of 4 Defense
Upper Boddy of 7 Defense
I strongly recommend that players only use Tier III Armour when against bosses or tough mobs, unless they are very good at kiting the damage from the mob.
ANTLION ARMOUR
Antlion Armour is one of my favourite pieces of Armour and is actually one of the most protective pieces in the mid-game. Admittedly, the Antlion Armour is going to be best for adventures in the Sandbox, players will be able to continue wearing it until the very end-game.
Now, the Antlion Armour may be hard for some players to continue to farm out and repair, it ended up being relatively easy for my husband and I as we both actually enjoyed fighting Antlions.
When players have a full set of Antlion Armour they will receive the Medium Armour bonus, which provides 20% Damage Reduction for the cost of 15% more Stamina Consumption.
The Head & Lower Body provide players with 5% Resistance and the Upper Body provides players with 10% Resistance.
Each piece will provide players with Sizzle Protection, meaning that players may want to wear a few pieces in the Sandbox until they have a full set.
When players have a full set of Antlion Armour they will gain the Status Effect Quickdraw which will allow them to reload their Bow and Crossbow faster in Combat.
If you’re playing a Support on your team, this is extremely useful and quite frankly, should be your main piece of Armour.
The Sleek addition to Antlion Armour isn’t something I really recommend as it’s something that is so easily remedied. I would strongly recommend you upgrade the Antlion Armour with Bulky instead for extra durability and defence. With Sleek, all you’d get is a reduced Thirst Rate.
HOW TO CRAFT THE ANTLION WIDE BRIM (HEAD)
5 Antlion Parts
3 Silk Rope
Boiling Bland
Repair: 3 Antlion Parts & 2 Silk Rope
HOW TO CRAFT THE ANTLION PONCHO (UPPER BODY)
3 Antlion Parts
2 Antlion Pincer
2 Silk Rope
Repair: 3 Antlion Parts & 1 Antlion Pincer
HOW TO CRAFT THE ANTLION SPURS (LOWER BODY)
6 Antlion Parts
3 Bee Fuzz
1 Antlion Pincer
Repair: 3 Antlion Part & Silk Rope
ROLY POLY ARMOUR
Roly Poly Armour is one of the best pieces of Armour for tanks in the end game. Not only is it one of the bulkiest pieces of Armour, but it provides players with some of the best passives one would need if they are the main team member taking damage.
It will take players a good amount of time for them to get as players will need to be in the final few areas of the game.
When players have a full set of Roly Poly Armour they will receive the Heavy Armour bonus, which provides 30% Damage Reduction for the cost of 25% more Stamina Consumption.
The Head & Lower Body provide players with 7.5% Resistance and the Upper Body provides players with 15% Resistance.
Each piece will provide players with Block Stun, meaning that each piece will raise the amount that a player’s blocks fill up the mob’s stun gauge. When filled that mob will become stunned allowing teammates to completely wreck that mob.
When players have a full set of Roly Poly Armour they will gain the Status Effect Invincible Shielding which will allow to repair their shield by blocking attacks. This is RNG, so not every block will repair a shield, but it’s still very effective, especially for someone playing Melee or acting as a Tank for their Team.
The Sleek addition to Roly Poly Armour is extremely useful to players tanking and while you would think that the Bulky version is better, depending on what content you’re completing Sleek is going to be more resourceful.
Essentially players will get Blocking Strength as their passive which will increase the amount of damage that can be blocked before the player is stunned. There’s nothing worse than your tank getting stunning, leaving the rest of your team susceptible.
If you are not a primary tank, are an off-tank or are simply using this piece of Gear for casual mob farming, I would recommend not upgrading it or upgrading it simply with Bulky.
HOW TO CRAFT THE ROLY POLY HELMET (HEAD)
5 Lint Rope
5 Pupa Leather
3 Roly Poly Shell
Boiling Bland
Repair: 2 Roly Poly Part, 2 Tough Gunk & 1 Pupa Leather
HOW TO CRAFT THE ROLY POLY BREASTPLATE (UPPER BODY)
7 Pupa Leather
4 Roly Poly Shell
2 Roly Poly Parts
Repair: 2 Roly Poly Part, 2 Tough Gunk & 1 Pupa Leather
HOW TO CRAFT THE ROLY POLY LEGPLATES (LOWER BODY)
8 Roly Poly Part
6 Lint Rope
3 Roly Poly Shell
Repair: 2 Roly Poly Part, 2 Tough Gunk & 1 Pupa Leather
FIRE ANT ARMOUR
Fire Ant Armour is by far my favourite Armour Set when it comes to support Armour, especially if you’re a Melee Support with very fast attack speed. Fire Ant Armour has a good amount of Defense and will also be able to deal some extra damage to enemies passively, simply by having the player attack an enemy.
Admittedly, I wouldn’t use this Armour Set if you’re using a Staff or a Bow and here’s why.
Each piece of Fire Ant Armour will provide players with a bit of a chance to give an enemy the Corrosion Status Effect. Corrosion will reduce the defense of the enemy if places are actually able to get this Status Effect to activate on the mob in question.
If players wear a full set of Fire Ant Armour they will have a chance to launch an acidic splash attack that deals extra damage to that mob. The cool thing about this attack is that it can be dealt from anywhere meaning that ranged players will still benefit from it.
Although this is true, I would still recommend that players only use the Fire Ant Armour if they are going to stick to rapid Melee damage as you’re going to be battling RNG, meaning your highest chance of dealing that extra damage and getting that status effect are if you are damaging quickly.
Now, when it comes to choosing whether or not this Armour should be Sleek or Bulky, players will typically want to choose Sleek. As this Armour is probably going to be worn by a support player, the amount of defense and durability on the Armour is not going to be the most important, though Sleek comes with an extra form of damage as it will allow players to deal Acid Damage with any Weapon they use while wearing the Sleek Fire Ant Armour.
I can’t deny, this is probably the most enticing part of wearing Fire Ant Armour, so take it while you can. If you are playing Grounded on your own and just really like this Armour you may want to go Bulky as it counts as a Medium Armour, so it doesn’t provide as much resistance as a Heavy Set.
The Head & Lower Body provide players with 5% Resistance and the Upper Body provides players with 10% Resistance.
HOW TO CRAFT THE FIRE ANT HELMET (HEAD)
3 Fire Ant Parts
2 Lint Rope
1 Fire Ant Head
Repair: 2 Fiire Ant Parts & 1 FIre Ant Head
HOW TO CRAFT THE FIRE ANT CHESTPLATE (UPPER BODY)
5 Fire Ant Parts
2 Fire Ant Mandibles
2 Lint Rope
Repair: 2 Fire Ant Part & 1 Fire Ant Mandibles
HOW TO CRAFT THE FIRE ANT LEGGINGS (LOWER BODY)
6 Antlion Parts
4 Dust Mite Fuzz
2 Lint Rope
Repair: 2 Fire Ant Part & 1 Dust Mite Fuzz
ASSASSIN’S ARMOUR
Alright Bowmen, the time has come for you to be covered in late-game Armour and I’m sure some players are going to be surprised by me saying that this is a piece of Armour for players who main the Bow as well… it has nothing to do with a Bow.
The biggest reality of the Assassin’s Armour is that it provides players with very little protection, but will actually boost the amount of damage the player deals by quite a bit.
If you’re someone who can kite quite a bit and not take any damage I would recommend this Armour for you, even if you’re on a Melee Weapon. Admittedly, it is much better on a rapid melee weapon as the passives do have to do with RNG.
The Head & Lower Body provide players with 2.5% Resistance and the Upper Body provides players with 5% Resistance.
If players are wearing the full set of Assassins Armour you will get the buffs of a Light Armour which provides 10% Damage Reduction & 5% Extra Stamina Usage.
Each piece of Assassin’s Armour will provide players with a bit of a chance to cause Cutman. Cutman essentially makes Critical hits have a chance to inflict the Bleed effect.
If players wear a full set of Assassin’s Armour they will get Critical Chain which raises the chance that the player will deal multiple Critical Hits in a row. This is the real reason that rapid Melee Weapons are very effective with the Assassin’s Armour.
Now, when it comes to choosing whether or not this Armour should be Sleek or Bulky, players will typically want to choose Sleek. As this Armour is probably going to be worn by a support player, the amount of defence and durability on the Armour is not going to be the most important, though Sleek comes with an extra form of crowd control as if players deal Critical Hit on an enemy they will immediately stun that enemy.
The stun is the main reason I recommend this piece of Gear for any Support as it can heavily relieve a tank, even if you’re going to use a Bow.
The one bad thing about the Assassin’s Armour is that it is a very late-game gear set when you’ve completed most of the content. So, if you’re hoping to get this early, you’re not going to be lucky.
HOW TO CRAFT THE ASSASSIN’S MASK (HEAD)
10 Pond Moss
2 Mantis Chunk
1 Mantis Head
Repair: 1 Mantis Chunk & 1 Berry Leather
HOW TO CRAFT THE ASSASSIN’S CHESTPLATE (UPPER BODY)
10 Pupa Leather
2 Mantis Chunk
1 Mantis Claw
Repair: 1 Mantis Chunk & 1 Berry Leather
HOW TO CRAFT THE ASSASSIN’S GREAVES (LOWER BODY)
10 Lint Rope
2 Mantis Chunk
1 Mantis Claw
Repair: 1 Mantis Chunk & 1 Berry Leather
BLACK OX ARMOUR
Black Ox Armour is one of the more annoying pieces of Armour to make because the drops on this creature are pretty rare and somewhat overwhelming to farm.
Admittedly, the rarest drop on the Black Ox Beetle is one that you will need in order to upgrade all of your Weapons and Tools, so I tend to avoid even thinking about using them on the Black Ox Armour. To me, the damage from my Weapons and Tools are much more important than any Armour I’m going to make.
Although the passives on the Black Ox Armour are pretty good, that’s all I would say they are. For such an annoying mob to kill I would have expected more from them, but I tend to focus my energy on different Armour, especially as a Support.
That being said, the Black Ox Armour, shockingly is more of a Support piece of Armour than a Tank or Damage dealing one, which surprised me as I’m fairly certain the last rendition of the game had it be more Tank focussed.
The Head & Lower Body will provide a player with 5% Resistance while the Upper Body will provide 10% Resistance.
With all pieces of the Black Ox Armour players will get Medium Armour which provides you 20% Damage Reduction for the cost of spending 15% extra Stamina.
With each piece of Black Ox Armour players will gain a bit of Overbearing which means that each charged attack has a chance to lower the damage of enemy attacks. This is a very good trait to have if you are a support player.
With all pieces of Black Ox Armour players will gain Stunning Charger which provides players better stuns on charged attacks.
When it comes to choosing between Sleek and Bulky, players will often want to choose Sleek. Sleek will provide players with Quickcharge which is a skill that let’s players charge their attacks faster, thus providing them with more chance to actually stun an enemy for long periods of time with their other passives.
As players will typically be wearing this as a support, it doesn’t matter how bulky they are as long as they know how to kite most mobs.
I would strongly suggest that players use Clubs or other high damage Weapons that are a bit slower as this will give them the chance to charge and really take advantage of both the high damage and stuns that they can implement.
HOW TO MAKE THE BLACK OX HELM (HEAD)
3 Black Ox Parts
2 Black Ox Horns
2 Pupa Leather
Repair: 1 Black Ox Part & 1 Pupa Leather
HOW TO MAKE THE BLACK OX HARNESS (UPPER BODY)
4 Black Ox Parts
4 Lint Rope
1 Pupa Leather
Repair: 1 Black Ox Part, 1 Tough Gunk & 1 Pupa Leather
HOW TO MAKE THE BLACK OX LEGWRAPS (LOWER BODY)
5 Dust Mite Fuzz
2 Black Ox Part
2 Lint Rope
Repair: 1 Black Ox Part & 1 Tough Gunk
WIDOW ARMOUR
Are you ready for a fantastic addition to the Grounded world? Well look no further than the Widow Armour.
Widow Armour is a very great support piece of Armour that is best used against mobs that can be affected by Poison. The sad reality is that there are a few mobs out there that cannot be affected by Poison and thus I don’t typically use this piece of Armour, but if you’re someone who wants to apply a DoT (damage over time) on your enemy and then recess into the background, this is for you.
Admittedly, the Widow Armour is one of those that I farm up and then switch away from when I get the resources for Assassin’s Armour, but I can see many players making this their primary support armour because how nice it is.
The Widow Armour is considered Light Armour, meaning that it will only provide 10% Damage Reduction for the cost of 5% extra Stamina usage.
The Head & Lower Body provide 2.5% Resistance and the Upper Body provides 5% Resistance.
With each piece players will gain a bit of Poison Damage which increases the amount of Poison Damage a player deals with their Weapon. That being said, this means that if a player doesn’t have a Weapon that deals Poison Damage they will not be benefitting from the Widow Armour, so be careful.
While I do personally use a good amount of Poison Damage Weapons, I can’t say that I always wield them, which was one of the bigger turn-offs for me and this Weapon.
Quite interesting players will gain a movement speed buff whenever they kill an enemy with a full set of Widow Armour due to Death’s Impetus.
While this is interesting, I have to be honest, I’m not a mega fan of the bonus movement speed. It does come in handy for bouncing between little mobs, but in boss battles, it’s not necessarily the most useful.
Oddly, I’d say the Willow Armour is best for farming mobs rather than tough battles.
As for whether to make the Widow Armour Bulky or Sleek I would say this is up to you. I personally would just stick to Bulky, but with Sleek you’ll gain Parry Poison which gives players the ability Poison enemies whenever they perfect block. As useful as this can be for fighting groups of mobs, I’m not much for a perfect block so… eh.
HOW TO MAKE THE WIDOW HOOD (HEAD)
5 Lint Rope
3 Super Spider Venom
2 Black Widow Fang
Repair: 5 Spider Chunks & 1 Black Widow Fang
HOW TO MAKE THE WIDOW SPAULDER (UPPER BODY)
5 Lint Rope
4 Rust
2 Black Widow Fang
Repair: 5 Spider Chunk & 1 Super Spider Venom
HOW TO MAKE THE WIDOW LEGGINGS (LOWER BODY)
5 Pond Moss
4 Rust
2 Widow Fang
Repair: 10 Spider Chunk
MOTH ARMOUR
If players are ranged players they have to look no further than Moth Armour. Though I’ve already said which Armour I prefer as a ranged support player, this is a great alternative that is focused solely on ranged players.
Admittedly, Moth Armour doesn’t provide as much “team spirit” and is more for selfish playing, so if you’re on your own playing Grounded as a ranged player, this is for you. Think of it as playing something like a Black Mage in FFXIV, where your main purpose is to just deal as much damage as you can, because that’s how you contribute.
Moth Armour is considered Light Armour, so with all pieces players will receive damage reduction for the cost of 5% extra stamina usage.
The head and Lower Body provide 2.5% Resistance while the Upper Body provides 5% Resistance.
Each piece will provide players with a bit of Ranged Cut which makes each attack from a ranged weapon gain a chance to force a bleed from the enemy. This alone is quite alluring.
If players have all the pieces of Moth Armour on they will gain Wind Run which provides you with movement speed each time you land a hit on an enemy with a ranged attack.
This is by far one of the most helpful passives to have on a ranged Weapon as it will allow you to actually kite enemies better and stay safe. I strongly recommend switching to this if you’re ever going to farm enemies solo as it will raise your survivability exponentially. This is especially true when an enemy has a charge attack that requires them to back up before hitting as you can typically get away from the damage in time.
As for whether to upgrade this to Sleek or Bulky, I strongly recommend you choose to make it Sleek as doing so will unlock Jumpstart. Jumpstart is great for ranged players as there’s nothing worse than running out of Stamina from sprinting, leading you to be unable to use your Weapon. Although this is less of a problem with the Crossbow, it tends to be pretty bad on your regular bows.
Jumpstart gives you a chance to refund some of your Stamina when landing a hit using a ranged Weapon.
I personally use the Moth Armour when I’m on my own, though I prefer other Amour in team fights.
HOW TO CRAFT THE MOTH WRAP (HEAD)
5 Lint Rope
3 Moth Fuzz
2 Moth Scale
Repair:1 Moth Scale & Moth Fuzz
HOW TO CRAFT THE MOTH ROBE (UPPER BODY)
5 Moth Fuzz
4 Lint Rope
3 Pupa Leather
Repair: 2 Moth Fuzz & 1 Pond Moss
HOW TO CRAFT THE MOTH LEGGINGS (LOWER BODY)
4 Pond Moss
4 Moth Fuzz
2 Pupa Leather
Repair: 2 Moth Fuzz & 1 Pond Moss
SINGLE PIECE/UTILITY PIECES
One of the coolest things about Grounded is that there are a bunch of utility pieces that are meant to be put on and taken off as a player needs them and are not tied to other pieces of Armour. Players will need to note if they use any of these they will break the full Armour set, but it is important to use many of these in specific situations and not using them can prove to be detrimental to a player.
The following portion will let you know which ones to focus on and when to use them.
Cloud says
Thank you for the guide it was very helpful and perfectly done, I look forward to the next part about the single part armours.