In Grounded, players begin their shrunken journey in the lower areas of the backyard setting, but there is a whole new world to discover in the Upper Yard. In Grounded, the Upper Yard is a dangerous place with tough bugs to battle, so players should be well-equipped when exploring its many landmarks, including the Shed, Grill, and more.
One of the joys of playing Grounded is the freedom it gives players to build and craft preferred routes, and decide what path to take. Building up is often the most reliable way of getting somewhere, but players may find shortcuts with a bit of exploration. This guide describes the quickest and easiest ways to get to the Upper Yard, including navigating its surrounding walls to reach the Shed.
How To Get To The Upper Yard
To reach the Upper Yard, players need to head to the Upper Yard Ascent marked on the northwest corner of the map, and players will need to overcome 2 walls to reach the Shed. The quickest and safest route is to swim across the Koi Pond and climb out its western slope. This path avoids the hostile environment of the Haze that is littered with infected bugs and shrouded in deadly poisonous gases if players haven't yet plugged the canister with gum harvested with a tier 2 shovel.
The Upper Yard Ascent is partially blocked by a large rock that requires explosives to destroy, but players have a couple of options, beginning with the quickest:
Option 1 - Parkour
The quickest and easiest route to climb up the Upper Yard Ascent is to climb up the large slab of rock opposite the wall by running up the fallen twig. Players can then jump across the gap to reach the small ledge on the wall, climb up the roots in the gap, jump up the large rock, and jump on the large fallen leaves parkour-style to reach the top.
Players can destroy the large rock with a Bratburst or Splatburst explosive, but this isn't necessary. Don't forget to mine the Milk Molar at the bottom of the gap before ascending.
Option 2 - Build To The Top
Alternatively, players that don't have explosives to hand but who enjoy building can build up and jump on the rock to climb up. Building using grass stairs and grass floors takes a little longer and isn't a necessity, but it does make it a little easier to reach the top. There's also plenty of grass and weed stems nearby to speed up the process.
Players should ideally attempt this during daylight as there is a ferocious Wolf Spider that patrols the surrounding rocky area at night. Players may even find it inconveniently seated on their newly built staircase.
Whichever option players choose, this gets them up to the first level of the Upper Yard, where players can access landmarks like the Grill. There's a 2nd wall that surrounds the Shed and the rest of the Upper Yard, so players may need to strategize their chosen route with care.
How To Reach The Shed
Option 1: Build Up The Wall
To climb the 2nd wall that surrounds the Shed and the rest of the Upper Yard, players can build another set of grass stairs using the surrounding dandelion and grass for grass planks and weed stems to the far East section of the 1st wall.
It takes around 6 sets of stairs to reach the top, but it's a safe place to build, so it's not likely to get toppled by bugs anytime soon. If players build a base around the Oak Tree, it's a handy spot to make a zipline for easy and quick access to the Upper Yard.
Option 2: Climb The Grill
A riskier option is to run up the Grill, avoiding bugs that patrol the area and deadly hot coals that sizzle players' tiny feet. Players can equip items that help reduce the sizzle's damage, such as Antlion armor, and seek moments of respite in pools of water.
Once at the top, to reach theShed, players can climb the red dirt bike propped up on the porch by running up its wheel and avoiding Orb Weaver Spiders lurking underneath. Alternatively, head round to the East side of the Shed to ascend a muddy slope to locate a handy Field Station. Black Ants and Fire Ants patrol the area and attack on sight, so players best be on their guard.
In the Shed surroundings, there are tough bugs to defeat but many goodies to find, including harvesting lint from dust mites and even toenails in an ashtray. It's also a handy place to farm Black Ants for better equipment like the Black Ant Shovel, which is needed to mine gum.
Grounded is available to play on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S and is free to play on Xbox Game Pass.
