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Grounded Spoiler! This article contains potential story spoilers for Grounded. |
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"Say your prayers, man!" |
| -Max |
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"The ranger took one step into the sanctum of the Blossoming Assassin. But even his careful treads were detected by the heightened senses of the master." |
| -Pete |
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"Why are the things that want to kill us so beautiful here?" |
| -Willow |
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"It's like some kind of insect karate master!" |
| -Hoops |
The Orchid Mantis is a large, optional boss creature found in the orchid pot on the shed's porch. The area is accessible via a broken hose leaning on the pot. The boss requires the Hedge Broodmother to be defeated, as its summoning item, the Orchid Mantis Kebab, requires Broodmother Chunks. The Orchid Mantis Kebab recipe is found in the Stump Lab Outpost. To unlock the stump outpost, you must first kill the Assistant Manager and use its key-card to unlock a door in the pond under the oak tree. When the fight starts, the hose entrance will be clogged with dirt, making escape impossible until either the player or Mantis dies.
Boss Fight[]
Phase 1[]
The fight will begin with some rustling in the upper leaves of the pot, and then the Mantis will lunge down from above. This lunge does no damage. When up close, it can do many attacks such as a single swipe from the left or right, a charged slam that will cause the player to Bleed (similar to Poison), and a vicious 3 combo slam that will lower the players perfect block window. It will also sometimes leap away from the player, then leap back dealing massive damage. When far away, it can send a straight a unblockable shockwave of rocks to the player that lowers attack damage, or simply lunge at them.
Phase 2[]
At about 80% health, it will unleash a massive scream that does damage and lowers the players exhaustion recovery time. The Mantis can repeat this scream at will, and now also has a devastating combo attack where it shreds the player with its claws, causing reducing the player's attack damage and leaving them bleeding. Its 3 slam attack now also has a larger shockwave.
Phase 3[]
Below 50% health, the Mantis gains 2 new attack. First, it can create 3 vertical shockwaves in a row, in a similar way to the attack it does when the player is far away, except it can now do this even if the player is close, making it very dangerous. Its second attack replaces the slam attack, instead slamming its claws into the ground, then ripping them out again, creating an extra shockwave the player must avoid.
New Game+ Changes[]
In New Game+2, when the Mantis enters phase 2, it will summon a Mini-Mantis in the back of the arena. This Mini-Mantis is near identical to the normal Mantis, except it spawns with phase 2 behavior only and does not change behavior based on HP. It has 1500 health, is always infused, and has a slightly smaller range to its attacks than the Mantis boss. It has the same weakness and resistances as the boss, and notably also has the same loot-table, though it cannot drop any of the new infused items added to the boss's drop table in New Game+. If it is not killed first, it will immediately die when the Mantis boss dies.
In New Game+4 and above, a second Mini-Mantis will spawn once the Mantis enters phase 3.
Advanced Loot Table[]
This is a more advanced covering of the loot-table of Mantis. Each item has an independent chance and count, in which the chance is the chance it can drop and the count is the amount of items that have that chance. If a count larger than 2 is in one section, then each item has an independent chance from one another (EX: Instead of getting say 1-2 of a resource, you can get 1 with a 70% chance and another with an additional 70% chance). In terms of Stealing, it can take one item from every section of the loot table, so even if a item count is say 5, the player will only steal one from that section.
Creature Loot Tables also tend to have large amounts of 1% items, which is intended to make stealing more rare items harder, as the player is more likely to steal the large amounts of 1% items than a singular 50% item.
| Item | Count | Percentage | Additional Info |
|---|---|---|---|
 Infused Axe
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1 | 25% | New Game+4 |
 Infused Axe
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1 | 25% | New Game+4 |
 Infused Axe
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1 | 25% | New Game+4 |
 Infused Scythe
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1 | 50% | New Game+4 |
 Mantis Chunk
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4 | 100% | - |
| Mantis Chunk
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1 | 40% | - |
| Mantis Chunk
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5 | 25% | - |
| Mantis Chunk
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1 | 20% | - |
| Mantis Chunk x18
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1 | 1% | - |
| Mantis Chunk x5
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1 | 0% | Only Obtainable From Stealing |
 Mantis Claw
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2 | 100% | Not Stealable |
 Mantis Head
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1 | 100% | Not Stealable |
 Mantis Infused Ooze
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1 | 100% | New Game+ |
| Mantis Infused Ooze
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1 | 50% | New Game+2 |
| Mantis Infused Ooze
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1 | 75% | New Game+3 |
| Mantis Infused Ooze
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1 | 100% | New Game+4 |
| Mantis Infused Ooze
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1 | 100% | New Game+5 |
| Mantis Infused Ooze
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1 | 100% | New Game+6 |
 Mantis Trinket
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1 | 1% | - |
 Science Cone
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1 | 5% | New Game+2 |
 Science Waffle
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1 | 5% | New Game+ |
Strategy[]
The Mantis is one of the hardest bosses in the game, but using some strategies can make it much easier:
- Use the Salt Morning Star to exploit its Salty weakness as well as not have it resistant to it.
- A unarmed build with phase 3 Lil Fist, Truffle Tussle, and the Power Droplet can quickly kill the Mantis, if the player can avoid taking any damage.
- Despite its slight resistance, a Poison build with Widow Armor/Mother Demon Armor and a Widow Dagger is extremely powerful in the fight.
- Bring many Beefy Smoothies for healing or Sticky Smoothies.
- Be sure to perfect block all of its attacks to avoid the very troubling debuffs it can inflict.
- Using Mutations like Parry Master can help you get some extra hits on it.
- Be wary of its 3-combo slam and intense combo shredding attacks as they cannot be blocked and the player has to quickly move out of the way of the attack.
- The telegraph for both attacks are very noticeable as it will fold its claws below its head and tilt its head before slamming the ground.
- If the player has critical health, use the large trunk for cover by running around it for a healing break.
- A good combo for this beast is Roly Poly armor with the Sour Staff and Spicy Staff since the Mantis isn't weak to sour and you can stun it.
- Use either a Baby Black Ant Pet for 50% damage resistance or a Baby Fire Ant Pet for 25% increased damage.
New Game+ Strategies[]
The following strategies are more advanced and specific, tailored to the changes made in New Game+.
- A highly upgraded salty weapon such as the Club of the Mother Demon or Termite Axe or a good sour weapon like the Acid Edge or Sour Katanga are highly effective against the Mantis.
- However, in New Game+4, the Infused Club or Infused Axe (After one Mantis kill) make for superior weapons.
- Preferably, the player should use whichever weapon they happen to get a good Science Waffle or Science Cone for.
- Do not use Natural Explorer to gain quick bursts of speed when running away from the Mantis, as this can remove speed after hitting an entity and triggering combat.
- As soon as the Mantis enters phase 2, it will use its shred attack, also including the Mini-Mantis spawned. Once this phase starts, it is highly recommended to bait out both of their shred attacks. With enough blocking strength; an infected ant shield and at least one piece of sleek Roly Poly armor, you can block the entire attack. The last hit in the flurry can easily be parried due to a predictable delay.
- It is possible to avoid the screams debuffs, though only if you are able to run to the opposite side of the arena once the Mantis does its scream.
- It is also possible to perfect block the screams to prevent the debuff.
- Once a Mini-Mantis spawns, it is highly recommended to run away and bait out attacks until one of the Mantises does an attack that separates them.
New Game+ Expert Strategies[]
These techniques have allowed speedrunners to beat the Mantis in under 30 and sometimes under 10 seconds so here is a detailed guideline to un-living the Mantis before it finishes its kebab (this time would start when the Mantis takes its initial damage not when the kebab is put in). Note: the earliest stage this can be accomplished is in New Game+ 4 and the latest before it becomes ineffective is New Game+ 8. This is because you never want the boss to have high defense as this will effectively reduce DPS by 40%. Sleep in a Petal Bed and make sure food and thirst are full for optimal DPS.
- Armor:
- For Armour, the player should utilise whatever best suits their playstyle. Some good options include:
- Roly Poly Armor (If utilising Melee)
- Wizard Hat (If utilising Staffs)
- Moth Armor (If utilising Ranged)
- Although all of these options are viable, it is recommended to have at least one Melee character as the Mantis leaping attacks can quickly close the distance on any ranged characters.
- For Armour, the player should utilise whatever best suits their playstyle. Some good options include:
- Mutations:
- Some viable mutations include
- Chopper, Smasher, Javelineer, Assassin, Sharpshooter, Blademaster or Whittle Wizard, depending on what weapon the player is utilising
- Coup De Grass
- Trapper PEEP.R (if the player has unlocked a sufficient number of Gold Cards)
- Cardio Fan (as the Mantis exhausts the player frequently)
- Spicy Safety
- Sour Sensation
- Mom Genes and/or Mantsterious Stranger (giving the Mantis or Mini Mantis other targets to focus on is invaluable)
- Apex Predator (if using one of the weapons this perk affects)
- Corporate Kickback
- Bardic Inspiration
- Some viable mutations include
- Weapons:
- The player should use an Infused Club down the salty path with an effect combination of Salt Damage Up Best and Implant Weakness: Salt. It is important to keep in mind that Implant Weakness: Salt will not stack with itself if the player has another on a different trinket. The Infused Club could also have Boss Damage, Mantis Damage, Crit Damage Up Best, Critical Hit Chance.
- Trinkets:
- Science Cone or Glowbasa Necklace with Salt Damage Up Best and at least one of the recommended Infused Club effects. Make sure the trinket and the club do not both have Implant Weakness: Salt, as it does not stack with each other.
- Food/Smoothies:
- For smoothies, the player should use Green Machine, Liquid Rage, and Boss Sauce to increase their combat capabilities during combat. Human Food, Fuzz on the Rocks, and Sticky Soothing Syrup can provide additional durability, if needed.
- Pets:
- One Pet good to use is the Baby Fire Ant as it gives a + Attack effect which increases all damage done by the player by 25%.
- Alternatively, the Baby Black Ant provides a powerful damage resist buff, increasing player defense by 50%.
- The player can activate an Orchid Mantis Mount for a 20% increase in damage against the Mantis. Using a speed build to quickly hit a Mant Gong built just outside and rush into the Mantis arena as quickly as possible will reward the player with a 50% damage increase, however this only lasts for 30 seconds.
Trivia[]
- The Mantis originally had a pollen cloud attack it would activate in its 2nd phase.
- This attack spawned in 3 pollen shots after its scream that would ricochet around the arena, making clouds that inflicted multiple debuffs.
- This attack was removed due to framerate issues with rendering in all the pollen clouds along with the Mantis attacks.
- The Mantis originally was weak to Chopping.
- In real life, the Orchid Mantis is native to the rain forests of Southeast Asia, including Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Philippines, and Indonesia. It is also found in the Western Ghats of India.
- The appearance of the Orchid Mantis in the game is a sub-adult, since it does not have its wings yet. It also appears to be a male, due to it having 7 segments on its abdomen.
Gallery[]
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