How to get a toe biter buggy in Grounded 2

Getting Grounded 2‘s toe biter buggy is a lengthy process that takes you into the depths of Into the Abyss’ giant oak tree. There’s quite a bit of prep work to do before nabbing a toe biter egg, and you need upgraded tools — or several thousand Raw Science points to upgrade them with — before you can finally craft the nest and hatch your new buggy.

Below, we explain how to get a toe biter buggy in Grounded 2, including where to find toe biter eggs and what you need to craft your nest.

How to get a toe biter buggy in Grounded 2

Getting a toe biter buggy involves Grounded 2‘s usual buggy steps. You need:

• The toe biter nest crafting recipe
• The actual nest
• A toe biter egg

There’s absolutely no in-game guidance about where to get the toe biter nest recipe, but you unlock it after finding an optical disk in the Gnarly Bark region.

Crafting the toe biter nest requires:

• 8 horsetail stems
• 4 sunken bones
• 6 cattail fluff
• 4 lint rope
• 5 algae

You need a tier 3 axe to chop up cattail ends and a tier 2 clipper tool to snip horsetail stems. Those upgrades will cost several thousand Raw Science, so if you don’t have that, make sure to complete any story missions you’ve left undone and use the resource finder to track down O.R.C. enemies. Defeating enough of them will cause the Stranger to send enemy waves after you, and clearing those earns you quite a lot of Raw Science.

If you don’t have these upgrades, we recommend you either get them first before acquiring a toe biter egg or build an egg storage device to keep the egg from spoiling while you upgrade.

How to unlock the toe biter nest crafting recipe in Grounded 2

Graphic: Josh Broadwell/Polygon | Source images: Obsidian Entertainment/Xbox Game Studios via Polygon

The disk is pretty high up in the tree, and you’ll run into several strong enemies here. We recommend having high-defense tier 2 or tier 3 armor equipped and access to spicy and slashing weapons. If it gets too much, remember you can adjust the difficulty down to give yourself a less stressful time.

The path to the disk starts at the memorial point of interest, near all the candles. Look to the left of the memorial, and you’ll see a tree root leading up to some mushrooms. Follow that path up — mind the wasp floating near the root — and then you’ll come across an entrance to the tree trunk. Enter it, and work your way up and out. There’s a little family of roaches on the way, but if you don’t attack them, they’ll ignore you. There’s also a set of two earwigs, who will attack you, though you can outrun them if you don’t want a fight.

Image: Obsidian Entertainment/Xbox Game Studios via Polygon

The end of the path dumps you back outside the tree. Follow the mushroom path up again to another entrance. A scuffle is unfolding inside. Several tang-soaked beetles are fighting a tang-powered ant, and as you’d expect, there’s tang all over the floor too. You can hop your way around it, but if the tang starts to contaminate you, make sure to bring potato bug armor or a tang-reducing smoothie along to reduce its effects.

Graphic: Josh Broadwell/Polygon | Source images: Obsidian Entertainment/Xbox Game Studios via Polygon

The disk is in the center of the room next to a dead Ominent worker. Grab it, and flee to the nearest ranger station. Once you pop the disc into a terminal, you’ll learn the toe biter nest recipe and one for crafting diving boots. Now you need an egg.

Where to find a toe biter egg in Grounded 2

Image: Obsidian Entertainment/Xbox Game Studios via Polygon

Gnarly Bark’s memorial is also where you’ll find toe biter eggs, or more specifically, the boss that spawns them. This time, you’re looking for a cave behind the memorial photo. A toe biter nymph guards it, and there’s a papa toe biter (the actual name, not a cute designation) inside. These, like the smaller toe biters, are only weak to spicy, so we recommend having a spicy orb weapon or spicy arrows on hand before entering the cave.

They also apply venom and chill effects. Chill is dangerous, but venom is the real killer here, though, as it builds quickly and saps a lot of your health. Craft and bring some scorpidote smoothies to reduce venom buildup. It’s also a good idea to bring your ant buggy or ladybuggy along to haul the egg once you get it. It’s a long trek back.

Papa toe biters have a few attacks.

• Cold gust: It launches an orb of pressurized air at you, and getting hit builds chill
• Spin attack: If you get too close, it’ll pause for a second and then spin, dealing damage and applying venom and chill
• Bite: The toe biter bites you, increasing your venom and chill buildup

It also periodically spawns two toe biter nymphs.

Once you defeat the papa toe biter, it’ll drop multiple toe biter eggs. Grab it, and follow the only exit from this chamber. It takes you to a dangerous cave with spiders and other foes below you, but if you turn left, there’s a safe exit out of the tree. Pop the egg in the toe biter nest, wait for it to hatch, and you’re good to go.