Enhancing and upgrading weapons is a key mechanic in Grounded. To survive the increasingly hostile insects and spiders that haunt the yard, it's important to keep one's gear up to date. However, enhancing weapons can be a costly process. Brittle Whetstones are required to bring weapons from levels one to five, and those can be a bit hard to come by, especially in the early game.

1:17

Related

Grounded: How To Get Acid Gland

The Acid Gland is helpful for crafting some useful items in Grounded. Here's where players can get their hands on it.

Not every weapon in Grounded is created equal. When it comes time to upgrade gear, it's important to know which tool will provide the best return on resource investment. To that end, here are weapons that probably shouldn't be enhanced when compared to their more valuable counterparts.

1 Larva Blade

A Solid Starter

• Unlock: Analyze Larva Spike or Rotten Larva Blade
• Recipe: 2 Larva Spike, 3 Grub Hide, 1 Acid Gland
• Damage: 20/20/25

The Larva Blade is a tier 1 blade. The decently common resources used to craft it mean it'll usually be one of the first weapons in a player's arsenal. This sword has a unique twist due to its insectoid origins, as it spreads a poison effect with each strike.

There's nothing inherently wrong with enhancing the Larva Blade, but as a measly tier 1 weapon, most players will be better off replacing it altogether as they advance through the game. Weapons like the Mosquito Needle and the Black Ant Sword offer higher damage outputs, while the vicious Spider Fang Dagger offers a much more potent poison effect.

2 Spiky Sprig

A Hefty Investment

• Unlock: Analyze Sprig or Thistle Needle or Reach Brainpower Level 2
• Recipe: 3 Sprig, 5 Thistle Needle, 2 Crude Rope
• Damage: 40/40/50

The Spiky Sprig is an early game powerhouse for Grounded players who are interested in pursuing a barbarian playstyle. Its per-hit damage effortlessly outclasses its fellow starter weapons, but in exchange, it's also rather slow. It also takes up two hands, which prevents players from holding torches, shields, or other useful tools in their offhand.

Like other starter weapons, the Spiky Sprig is simply too easily outclassed by later weapons. The tier 2 Red Ant Club is a much better choice for aspiring barbarians. The fact that the Spiky Sprig is two-handed is another downside as well. Investing Brittle Whetstones in the weapon could lock new players into a two-handed playstyle, preventing them from experimenting with the versatility of having a spare offhand.

3 Pebblet Hammer

Better At Busting Nodes Than Busting Heads

• Unlock: Analyze Crude Rope or Reach Brainpower Level 1
• Recipe: 3 Sprig, 4 Pebblet, 1 Crude Rope
• Damage: 26/26/33

The Pebblet Hammer is a decent enough weapon in the early game. It deals more damage per hit than other starting tools like the Larva Blade, though without the poison effect that makes that weapon so deadly. It's also about as slow as the Spiky Sprig, which outclasses it in damage, though the Pebblet Hammer does at least have the benefit of being one-handed.

At the end of the day, the Pebblet Hammer is less a weapon and more a tool for harvesting resources from the world. This function isn't improved at all by weapon upgrades, so those Brittle Whetstones should be saved for items that are designed primarily for combat.

4 Bone Dagger

Filling A Niche

• Unlock: Analyze Diving Bell Spider Chunk or Sunken Bone
• Recipe: 2 Sunken Bone, 2 Silk Rope, 2 Diving Bell Spider Chunk
• Damage: 25/25

The Bone Dagger is a tier 2 underwater tool primarily used for harvesting underwater flora and destroying soggy roots. Of course, this is a purpose that is not impacted at all by weapon enhancements, which only affect weapon damage and durability.

Related

Grounded: Every Shield, Ranked

Shields in Obsidian's survival game Grounded can absorb a ton of damage, but of the four shields in the game, some are more reliable than others.

While the Bone Dagger does perform better underwater than land-based weaponry, it's automatically outclassed by another underwater weapon, the Bone Trident. While this weapon can't harvest flora like the Bone Dagger, it's much better at dealing with aquatic threats. Players who are planning extended voyages should plan to pack both, rather than dumping too much whetstone on this small dagger.

5 Pebblet Spear

Just Fine As-Is

• Unlock: Analyze Pebble
• Recipe: 1 Pebblet, 3 Plant Fiber, 2 Sprig
• Damage: 20/20/25

The Pebblet Spear is one of the first weapons most players will unlock in Grounded. It's a one-handed weapon with decent damage output for the early game. Furthermore, it's versatile enough that if a player doesn't have any other ready candidates for weapon upgrades, putting a few levels into it isn't a terrible idea.

However, there are a few reasons why it might be better to hold on to those Whetstones. As an early-game weapon, the Pebblet Spear is swiftly outclassed by later weapons like the Stinger Spear. Furthermore, as a spear, the Pebblet Spear is ideal as a thrown weapon. While the weapon can theoretically be retrieved after it's thrown, fighting a ranged battle on a cliff or near a chasm carries a significant risk of seeing the Pebblet Spear, alongside any resources used to upgrade it, vanishing into the abyss.

6 Insect Axe

Potent But Not Powerful

• Unlock: Analyze Bombardier Part, Ladybug Head, or Silk Rope
• Recipe: 1 Ladybug Head, 3 Bombardier Part, 4 Silk Rope
• Damage: 35/35/44

The Insect Axe is a very useful tier 2 chopping tool. It can cut through thick, sizable plants, including ones that are too much for the tier 1 Pebblet Axe. It does also deal a decent amount of damage, just a bit lower than the Black Ant Sword, another tier 2 weapon.

But while its damage isn't bad for a utility tool, there are other reasons why the Insect Axe shouldn't receive too many resources. While it can theoretically hold its own against tier 2 weapons, those tools usually come with additional perks that give it a considerable edge in combat. The aforementioned Black Ant Sword is also a much faster weapon, making it and its counterparts much more worthwhile for upgrading.

7 Pebblet Dagger

All Wet

• Unlock: Analyze Lilypad Wax or reach Brainpower Level 4
• Recipe: 2 Pebblet, 2 Crude Rope, 2 Lilypad Wax
• Damage: 14/14

The Pebblet Dagger is unique among basic Pebblet gear in that it's designed to function primarily underwater. Its main use is for harvesting aquatic resources like Eelgrass. In a pinch, however, it will handle much better underwater than slower weapons like the Spiky Sprig.

Related

Grounded: Best Builds You Should Try

Fans who want to spice things up in Grounded should try these interesting builds.

Unfortunately, this specialized function makes the Pebblet Dagger even worse for enhancement. On land, it's outclassed for damage even by other starting weapons like the Larva Blade. And underwater, it can't compete with tier 2 gear like the Bone Dagger or the Bone Trident. While the Pebblet Dagger can be a vital tool for early diving trips, it's not worth a heavy resource commitment.

8 Pebblet Axe

Staying In Its Lane

• Unlock: Analyze Crude Rope or Pebblet, or reach Brainpower Level 1
• Recipe: 3 Sprig, 2 Pebblet, 1 Crude Rope
• Damage: 20/20/25

The Pebblet Axe is only technically a weapon. Its main purpose is chopping down grass, dandelions, and other plants. While this tool is all but necessary for players just starting out, it's also basically destined to be replaced by more advanced axes that can chop down tougher plants which yield more valuable materials.

In a fight, the Pebblet Axe has a damage output roughly comparable to the Pebblet Spear, but it swings much slower. With a combat potential outclassed by other starting weapons, there's really no reason to enhance the Pebblet Axe.

9 Sprig Bow

An Easy Shot

• Unlock: Analyze Crude Rope or Gnat Fuzz, or reach Brainpower Level 2
• Recipe: 3 Sprig, 4 Gnat Fuzz, 2 Crude Rope
• Damage: Varies; 25 with basic Tier 1 arrow

The Sprig Bow is a tier 1 ranged weapon that can fire every variety of arrow in the game. Bows in Grounded are very versatile and useful weapons. Not only do they enable ranged combat with airborne pests, but they can even knock down berries and other useful resources that are out of reach.

Unfortunately, there are a few qualities that prevent the Sprig Bow from being worthwhile in weapon enhancement. As a tier 1 weapon, it is of course outclassed by later weapons in its category. Furthermore, bows can only take the Mighty upgrade path when they reach level 6 since the elemental damage types that melee weapons get from upgrade paths are provided by different arrow types instead. This means that by committing to upgrading a bow, especially a low-tier one like this, players are effectively limiting their customization options later.

10 Ant Queen Scepter

A Symbol, Not A Weapon

• Unlock: Analyze Red Ant Queen Pheromone
• Recipe: 5 Red Ant Queen Part, 1 Red Ant Queen Pheromone, 10 Sap, 2 Red Ant Mandibles
• Damage: 15/15/19

The Ant Queen Scepter is a unique and valuable tier 2 tool. While it technically counts as a one-handed mace, its damage output is terrible. Most basic pebblet weapons will perform better in a fight than the scepter. Its true function comes from its unique perk, which buffs the HP of summoned allies on a hit.

While the Ant Queen Scepter does need to be used in combat to function, it will never work as well as a different tier 2 weapon, no matter how many times it's upgraded. It would be better to hit with it once to activate the perk then swiftly switch to a better weapon to continue the fight. Like a harvesting tool, the Ant Queen Scepter's value is not tied to how many times it's been enhanced.

Grounded

Platform(s)

PS5 , Xbox Series X|S , Nintendo Switch , PS4 , Xbox One , PC

Released

September 27, 2022

Developer(s)

Obsidian Entertainment

Genre(s)

Survival Horror , RPG