With the latest release of Grounded we saw a variety of updates that completely changed the way that the game functions. As most people know by this point, I have been playing Grounded since its initial Early Access Launch and have kept revisiting it whenever there was a significant update.
This year my husband and I even decided to stream it on Twitch, streaming it to completion for a number of months, though with the latest update we think we’re going to stream it again soon.
Admittedly, Grounded is one of the only games I’ve ever bought in early access that I thought actually felt was worth it, even though the storyline wasn’t completed.
I have to say, I have always been a fan of Survival games, playing games like Minecraft and Don’t Starve Together for hours without any sense of boredom. While I can’t say that Survival games are my ultimate favourite, simply because there are a lot that are too repetitive and boring, there’s really something about Grounded that keeps me captivated and has me even watching other content creators play it in my time off.
Well, I have to say, I was really blindsided by the amount of updates for launch as I didn’t think that many of the core elements were going to be changed. While the game is still pretty structurally the same, we’ve probably seen the most changes with launch in comparison to previous updates.
One of the most surprising changes for me was the way players use the Smithing Station. I honestly shouldn’t have been surprised as we’ve seen updates on the Smithing Station in multiple patches and multiple players have been upset with the updates.
Even looking over the new updates, I feel like players are going to be very happy with the way things changed as players will have a few ways to actually upgrade their Tools, Weapons and Armour. What I mean by this is that players will no longer only have to farm resources from nodes and will actually be able to craft them by using mob drops instead.
So let’s get started talking about one of the most important resources that will be used for powering up your Gear, Whetstone.
WHAT IS WHETSTONE?
In previous versions of Grounded players simply used Quartzite or elemental resources to upgrade their equipment, however, in the full release of Grounded we see the introduction of Whetstone which can be created by using Quartzite or Sap and another Mob Drop.
I feel like most players can agree with me when I say, you get a shocking amount of mob drops by the mid-to-late game of Grounded, so having something to use them on makes the game a lot more pleasant.
As someone who would rather go out killing mobs than farm out rocks, I personally love this update and see it as a major pro as I think it’s going to allow people to explore more play styles rather than get swamped doing a particular task for too long.
Unlike previous versions of Grounded players will need Whetstone to create all upgrades including Elemental upgrades and while this might seem like a con, it’s actually a pro as you will need less of the Elemental resources which are harder to locate and gather.
There are three different tiers of Whetstone, though I will deep dive into what each tier is for when I get into each sub-section.
HOW DO YOU MAKE BRITTLE WHETSTONE & WHAT IS IT USED FOR IN GROUNDED?
Brittle Whetstone is the first tier of Whetstone and is used to upgrade Weapons from Level 1-5. Players will be able to craft it at the start of the game, though they will have a finite recipe for this at first.
What this means is that players will only be able to craft a certain amount of them before they must locate the infinite recipe that will allow them to indefinitely craft them.
There are two ways to craft Brittle Whetstone and they include the following recipes:
1 Brittle Quartzite
1 Sap and 1 Larva Spike
Players can collect Brittle Quartzite from any of the Anthills in the early game or even in the overworld randomly. Players will need an Insect Hammer or a Black Ox Hammer in order to break the Brittle Quartzite.
If players ever want to make an infinite amount of Brittle Whetstone they will need to locate the recipe inside of the Black Anthill, which is located right behind the Black Anthill Chip.
Players will want to collect this recipe as early as possible as it will be extremely helpful to be able to upgrade multiple Weapons to level 5. Players will especially want this if they are paying attention to the various types of damage (not referring to elemental.)
Although the Black Anthill is a bit of a mid-game difficulty, players will want to try to rush it as soon as they get an opportunity to, as the faster you get the recipe for Brittle Whetstone, the easier it will be to play around with different Weapons and switch when necessary.
Before you get the infinite recipe, I would strongly recommend that you focus on a single Weapon with your finite resources so you can get it as high as possible. Don’t use it on weak Weapons or it will feel like a waste in the long-run, meaning that I would avoid upgrading Tier-I Weapons in most cases and begin upgrading Tier-II.
Players craft Brittle Whetstone in the Workbench.
HOW DO YOU MAKE STURDY WHETSTONE & WHAT IS IT USED IN GROUNDED?
Sturdy Whetstone is the second tier of Whetstone as is utilized for making Globs. Although Mighty Globs use the most amount of Sturdy Whetstone, all types of Globs including the Elemental ones will require Sturdy Whetstones.
Globs are used for level 6 and 7 Weapons and this is the first time players will be able to place an Element on their Weapon whether or not there is already an elemental attribute on the Weapon.
Players can purchase a recipe from BURG.L that will provide them with a finite amount of Sturdy Whetstones, though players will have to locate the renewable recipe in the late-game behind the Stump Chip.
Players will have two ways to craft Sturdy Whetstones being:
1 Sturdy Quartzite Shard
1 Sap and 1 Spider Fang
Players will want to really think about what they would like to do with the Sturdy Whetstones in advance as it will take them a long time before they are able to unlock the infinite recipe. I personally will upgrade one of my best Weapons or my most used Weapon with Mighty since it provides players with the biggest general stat boost. I personally do not recommend upgrading an elemental Weapon at first as there are a good amount of Weapons that already have Elements attached to them that you can use in the meantime.
If you have the ability to rush the Stump Chip, do it up, but this will be relatively hard to do if you are newer to the game. Admittedly, it is much easier to do this if you have a number of players on your team, but it will be tough getting everyone’s Weapons upgraded due to the finite aspect of Whetstones that was introduced.
Players craft Sturdy Whetstone in the Workbench.
HOW DO YOU MAKE SUPREME WHETSTONE & WHAT IS IT USED IN GROUNDED?
Supreme Whetstone allows players to upgrade their Weapons and Tools to the final two tiers, allowing them to make Jewels. These tiers are level 8-9.
Similar to the Sturdy Whetstone, players will need this resource even if they are planning on giving their Weapon or Tool an elemental attribute.
Players will be able to purchase the finite recipe after finding the Stump BURG.L Chip, though players will have to kill the Director Schmector in order to do this. The Director Schmector is a pretty late-game boss, but quite a fun one. Players will unlock this recipe if they have obtained the Ominent Dada Disk from him.
In order to craft Supreme Whetstones players will need the following items:
1 Supreme Quartzite Shard
1 Sap and 1 Black Ox Horn
Admittedly, this is going to be the toughest resource to craft, even when players have unlocked the infinite recipe as Black Ox Beetles are really hard to kill. Still, I like the fact that this recipe encourages people to fight the Black Ox Beetle more often than they would otherwise.
If players would like to utilize Supreme Quartzite Shards they must locate them from Supreme Quartzite and will need to utilize a Black Ox Hammer, which is a very late-game Tool.
At this point, I still recommend a Mighty upgrade until you get the infinite recipe, but you will have a better grasp of what your favourite Weapon or Tool is, so you may have a favourite elemental type of damage.
Players craft Supreme Whetstone in the Workbench.
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