Grounded finally comes out of early access on September 27, 2022, and the 4 teenagers can take their first steps in the garden. But in addition to dust mites, one of the first threats to them is simply thirst. This will remain a constant problem throughout the game, including during long expeditions in hostile territory.
Tip : If you really don't want to deal with Thirst Drain (among other things), you can simply turn this setting off in the game's Difficulty Options, choosing a Custom Difficulty. But it's a bit of a shame, since it's an integral part of the experience offered by the game.
Find something to drink easily
The main drinking water source in Grounded is dew. These are the large drops of water that are mostly found on top of blades of grass. This is the advantage of being very small. There are 3 immediately available ways to drink dew:
- Pick up a piece of gravel on the ground, and throw it directly at the dew with " R " by default. It will then fall to the ground and remain drinkable.
- Craft an ax and kick the blade of grass, the vibration will knock down the dew.
- Climb on any object and drink the dew directly where it hangs.
Know that the dew reappears every morning. As long as you're in an area with grass, there's usually not too much to worry about being thirsty. Things get complicated in other environments.
If you are about to die of thirst, you can drink stagnant water from a puddle or the pond. However, this will seriously drain your hunger gauge. If you have enough to eat, this is a viable option.
The honeydew of aphids (the little yellow balls), slightly fill the gauge of hunger, thirst, and life. Collecting and storing them makes good emergency supplies.
There are many juice boxes and cans scattered around the garden. Finding them will add a marker to the map. It's a fantastic way to find something to drink, since they emit a few drops every day. It'll even reduce hunger a bit, as a bonus.
You can make yourself the clover armor very quickly. By wearing the complete set, thirst and hunger will be emptied much more slowly.
After crafting some basic equipment, like the hammer, then the acorn shovel, it's time to dig up some maggots to make a gourd! It can be filled with 2 scoops of liquid, such as water or soda. It will become your emergency reserve, as well as the solution to hold during long expeditions. Thereafter, you can improve it after giving the red anthill chip to BURG.L. You can then create a gourd with 4 charges.
You can also unlock a mutation and find Milk Molars to buy bonuses that reduce thirst. But these are more long-term solutions.
Securing a water supply
Thereafter, you will have to build several bases of operation with different facilities. This can include drink reserves, so you don't have to worry about that anymore, especially if you're playing on high difficulty.
There are several methods, which depend on the position of your base. If built near a juice box, you can build reservoirs under the straw to automatically collect the liquid and store it for later use.
The other method is to build spider web based dew collectors. With enough collectors, you can rehydrate the whole group and refill water bottles as you go.
