Grounded has finally released the Fully Yoked update, which introduces a whole lot of new and exciting features. Some of these were actually correctly predicted by people, as noted in our previous article about Grounded’s upcoming 1.4 patch. In this guide, we will be showing you how to get the new Ant Queen gear!
How to Get Red Ant Queen Armor & Scepter – All 3 Food Recipes
The red ant queen is actually one of three different matriarchs that you can interact with in the game, and unlike the usual bosses, you can only engage with them in very specific ways.
More specifically, you will have the option to offer them a mushroom sandwich either as a way to befriend them or do other nefarious things that will affect the colony in different manners.
Before you can do any of this, however, you will need to go through the Haze Lab. This is the laboratory hidden within the Haze part of the backyard, which can be found near the southwest corner.
We actually have a fairly old but still helpful guide on where you can find each of the labs’ entrances in Grounded. Consider checking that article out first if you haven’t been to this place yet.
#1. Poison Mushroom Sandwich Recipe
At one point within the Haze Lab, you will eventually find yourself in the room where you have to flip a switch in order to gain access to the Infected Ladybug fight.
Inside this room, you will find various bits of loot scattered around. Most notably, however, is the addition of a new item called the Poison Mushroom Sandwich Recipe on the table in one corner to the right of the switch.
The recipe for this sandwich will require the following ingredients to be used in an oven:
- 2x Apple Bits
- 5x Mushroom Chunk
- 2x Spider Venom
Feeding the Poison Mushroom Sandwich to the red ant queen will, unsurprisingly, lead to its swift and (hopefully) painless death. When this happens, you can loot her for the following items:
- 10x Red Ant Queen Chunks
- 5x Red Ant Queen Pheromones
- 1x Red Ant Queen Head
This will cause every red worker ant to become hostile towards you, so be ready to fight them if you plan on going down this route.
Also, upon killing the queen, you can check the cave behind where she once stood to find some brittle quartzite shards.If you are on a New Game+ run, you will find chests with loot here instead.
#2. Infected Mushroom Sandwich
Another recipe for an offering you can find within the Haze regionis the one for the Infected Mushroom Sandwich. For this one, it is recommended that you have a light source with you.
Simply put, the recipe can be found in the exposed pipe that you have to go through as you make your way to the Haze Lab. You will need to look around in the dark, so make sure you have a torch with you to light the surrounding area.
While it is still too early to confirm anything, it is said that this is the only infected recipe that you can get in the base game. The infected offerings for the two other queens must be found in New Game+.
The Infected Mushroom Sandwich requires the following ingredients, also to be made using an oven:
- 2x Apple Bits
- 5x Mushroom Chunks
- 20x Fungal Growths
Similar to the Poison Mushroom Sandwich, offering this meal to the red ant queen will result in her immediately dying and dropping all of the same loot as the previous option.
However, one ominous and noticeable difference is that you will get a message stating that: “You sense a ripple in an alternate dimension.”
What this means is that, upon loading into a New Game+ run, the red ant queen will now be infected. As a result of your actions, some of the worker and soldier ants in the colony will also be infected, making them permanently hostile.
Take note that doing this will make it so that this particular queen will now only accept a Moldy Hoagie as an offering. Doing this will unlock multiple new recipes.
#3. Juicy Mushroom Sandwich
The Juicy Mushroom Sandwich is the only offering that will result in you befriending the red ant queen, which will also result in the corresponding soldier ants being a little more friendly towards you.
In order to unlock the recipe, you must complete the Haze Lab all the way to the end until you can get the Haze BURG.L Chip. After that, just unlock the Friendship Offering: Red Ant Queen chip for 2,500 Raw Science.
Once you have done all of the previous steps, you will still need the following ingredients to cook it:
- 2x Apple Bits
- 5x Mushroom Chunks
- 2x Aphid Honeydew
Giving this to the ant queen will actually result in you not getting any body parts from the matriarch herself, since, well, she doesn’t die and you cannot attack her.
Instead, you can gather Red Ant Queen Pheromones from the offerings nearby. You will also be granted a baby red ant as a new pet.
Acquiring the New Armor & Weapon
If you want to get the recipes for all the new gear related to this specific matriarch, you will need to either poison or infect her for the parts that she will drop.
Upon using the red ant queen head, pheromones, and chunks at a resource analyzer, you will discover a bunch of new recipes. These include the following objects and gear:
- Red Strategist Mask (new head armor) – 1x Red Ant Queen Head, 3x Red Ant Queen Chunks, 1x Red Ant Queen Pheromone.
- Red Strategist Coat (new upper body armor) – 3x Crude Rope, 4x Red Ant Queen Chunks, 1x Red Ant Queen Pheromone.
- Red Strategist Pads (new lower body armor) – 1x Mite Fuzz, 3x Red Ant Queen Chunks, 1x Red Ant Queen Pheromone
- Ant Queen Scepter (new weapon) – 5x Red Ant Parts, 2x Red Ant Mandibles, 1x Red Ant Queen Pheromone, 10x Sap
- Red Ant Queen Mount
- Stuffed Red Ant Queen
- Red Ant Queen Chaise
- Red Ant Queen Chandelier
Wearing the entire set will increase the health of your minions and also cause soldier ants to help you during a fight. This makes it a decent choice for people who prefer to let their summons do the work for them.
And that is everything you need to know in order to find and craft all the recipes for the offerings specifically for the red ant queen. While you’re here, check out our guide on all of the new weapons in Grounded’s latest update as well!
