Quick Links
In Grounded, the Haze is one of the most aggressive and dangerous areas on the map to explore, with a thick, yellow toxic shroud that is deadly to players unless switched off. However, players must find ways to navigate the Haze and to obtain the Haze Super Chip, one of the many BURG.L chips to discover in the game's Secret Labs that are essential to progress and help the main characters escape the backyard.
In Grounded, Secret Labs are often well hidden and tricky to navigate. They are discoverable in any order, but it's ideal to track down the Haze lab after completing the Pond Lab in the Koi Pond, as players need underwater equipment to discover all the secrets that the Haze lab holds. This guide details where the Haze lab is, how best to get there, how to complete it, and how to tackle its challenging boss to reach the BURG.L Chip.
Updated April 30th, 2024 by Russ Boswell: To progress through Grounded, players will need to get their hand on an array of special BURG.L chips that will help upgrade their robotic buddy and give them access to a new array of items. Some of these items are required to unlock better gear and unlock new paths, so BURG.L chips are vitally important for players that are attempting to progress through Grounded's robust storyline. Finding the Haze BURG.L Chip in Grounded can be rather difficult for those who don't know where to look. To better help players find the Haze BURG.L Chip in Grounded, the following guide now includes a companion video.
Where Is The Haze Lab Located?
The entrance to the Haze Lab is located to the south of the Haze, just in front of the missing BURG.L chip icon highlighted on the map after players first speak with BURG.L in the Great Oak Lab. The quickest route is to head past over the rake and use a dandelion tuft to float down to the opposite side and find the entrance in the shallow trenches just beyond the juice carton. Alternatively, players could build a bridge across the vast Haze gorges using grass floors to shorten the distance.
Players must survive the Haze to reach the entrance, so they either need to switch off the gas by plugging the canister hole with gum harvested with a Tier 2 shovel or, they can equip a gas mask for protection. Turning the haze off isn't necessary and is the player's choice, but it can make finding the Lab a bit easier.
How To Enter The Haze Lab
To open the Haze Lab, players need to use an explosive such as a Bratburst or Splatburst crafted from a mixture of ingredients, including a red ant egg at a workstation. It's best to prep this before heading to the Haze.
Throw the explosive and step back to safely blast open the Damaged Door and use the Biometric Scanner inside to open the Haze lab entrance, where inside players can find the Trudy Blues recording, a couple of Fiber Bandages, Marble Pieces, and Brittle Quartzite Shards.
How To Navigate The Haze Lab
Once collected all items in the lab entrance, descend the slope, and destroy the 2 TAYZ.T robots, using a shield such as the Weavil Shield to block their electric attacks. Instead of opening the door on the right, follow the main corridor around to pick up the Big Brain Time recording and head into the adjoining room, quickly running past the Strange Spores or destroying them with the Tier 2 Insect Axe to avoid their explosions and into the adjoining room. Once inside, switch on the console to unlock the door to the Haze lab boss guarding the Super Chip.
Follow the corridor back round to the main corridor and through the other door with more Strange Spores inside, letting the Infected Weavils explode from a safe distance and avoiding blasts from the spores. On the right, there's Raw Science to collect, plus the Defense Badge Trinket, Special Forces Journal, and Suspicious Snapshot 3 to loot from a skeleton corpse.
Finally, look for the watery tunnel with the red wiring on the ceiling and follow it around to a doorway that is now unlocked. This is an ideal time to save the game, and equip the Defense Badge Trinket, any healing and food consumables like Granola Bars found in the lab, and relevant mutations for strength and stamina. Once players press the button to open the door, the boss battle begins.
How To Beat The Infected Ladybug Mini-Boss
Before reaching the Haze Lab BURG.L chip players must fight an Infected Ladybug, one of the toughest bugs in Grounded. Its 2 main attacks include projectile explosives followed by a high-damage shunt movement, so players need to avoid both as much as possible. It's best to attack it up close using a high-damage weapon like the Red Ant Club and hit the ladybug when it's firing projectiles and from behind when stunned. Infected Mites may also join in the battle, but they can largely be ignored.
When players defeat the Infected Ladybug they unlock the Truffle Tussle mutation. It's time to carefully open the door leading to the Super Chip, watching out for the Strange Spore next to it and dealing with any Infected Mites through the door. Inside the door, the Haze Lab BURG.L Super Chip is located on the table to the left and there are also collectibles to pick up nearby like Bratburst explosives.
Before returning the Haze Lab Super Chip to BURG.L in the Great Oak Lab, players with an underwater Tier 2 Dagger can explore the broken pipe next to the unlocked door and use the dagger to chop down Soggy Roots underwater. The pipe leads a small network of underground tunnels full of Diving Bell Spiders and Water Fleas, as well as a secret entrance point to the Haze Lab, marked as an Exposed Pipe on the map that players can use to make a quick exit from the lab.
Grounded is available to play on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S, and is free to play on Xbox Game Pass.
