Grounded: Where to find the Black Ant Lab in the Trash Pile
Time to dig up a big subterranean secret
You've overcome so many trials and tribulations in Grounded so far, that you might think you're starting to make a tiny life for yourself among the giant bugs.
But if you want to complete the final lab and fully rebuild BURGL's memory, you have to take on the subterranean maze that is the Black Ant Lab.
Not only is it a winding labyrinth, but also features one of the game's toughest boss fights - so come prepared with plenty of food, healing and weapons!
You will also need a few explosives, so be sure to bring at least three!
Where do you find the 4th Lab in Grounded?
Go to the most south westerly point of the map, the trash heap and you will find an old CRT monitor in the middle of the stacked trash bags at the center of the area.
In front of the monitor is the Black Ant Descent, full of non-aggressive black ants. Follow the tunnel down until you reach a lit up chamber and you will be attacked by a black ant soldier.
They’re tougher than their red brethren, especially in the damage department, but you should have good enough weapons and armor by now to deal with this one in isolation.
Your destination is straight on, further into the tunnel, and you will be attacked by more ants on your way. Either take them on or run past and you will reach a large chamber at the bottom.
Look over the edge of the drop of you will see a lower area lit by slime mold stalks. Drop down and continue forward until you reach the tunnel with overhead lighting wired into the ceiling of the shaft. Follow the lights on the left-hand fork.
After a while you reach a large, relatively well-lit room with the remnants of a lab. Walk up to the door labelled “B”.
On the level above it there’s a blocked entrance to a lab section that you can blow open with explosives.
Inside, on the left is a biometric scanner. Use it, defeat the robot inside, then approach the terminal labelled “A” and mash the keys.
This opens all of the doors marked “A”. Before going through the one you can see just opened, turn around and go down the corridor past the biometric scanner you used on the way in. This leads to a different part of the lab which eventually leads to a glob of raw science and some study upgrade materialis, as well as a resource analyser and a workbench.
When you’re done with that area, go back the way you came and go through the A door you opened with the terminal.
Inside there’s a dark room with a hole you need to drop down. At the bottom, slip through the hatch. You emerge in a new part of the lab full of beds and supplies. Grab what you like then continue through the door.
At the bottom of the tunnel you find another room with the B access terminal and some robots to beat up. When they’re scrapped, mash the keys on the terminal to open the B doors.
Go through the now open door behind the terminal and into the tunnel directly in front of you. Follow the ceiling lights around to the right and you’re in the same room as you found before, except now you can go through the B door in front of you as you enter.
Go through the two layers of doors and you’re in a new tunnel. Follow it down and you reach another large cavern filled with black soldier ants.
They can be a bit much to handle all at once, but either take them on or run over to the other side of the room, bear left and run up the bank, then press the button at the top.
This opens the shutter on the final part of the lab which you then need to use an explosive on the cracked glass to enter.
Assistant Manager Boss Fight
You’ve triggered an intruder alert so go inside and prepare for a robot boss battle against the Assistant Manager.
He’s a strong foe with a powerful shield and strong ranged attacks - but you can use the pillars around the room to hide.
Periodically throughout the fight he will summon more robots and turn on beams from the pillars which you need to jump or duck under.
You really need to hide from the beams because they will kill you very quickly compared to everything else.
When he looks as if he’s firing down into the floor, his gun glows orange or blue. When it's orange, he's starting up the rotating beams from the middle of the room. Eventually when it starts to go blue as well, he's starting up electric pylons in the corners of the room that affect your mobility.
Focus on dodging the orange beams and deal damage where you can and he will eventually go down, although it's a tough fight and will take a while even on mild difficulty.
When he’s defeated, take the assistant manager keycard and use it to unlock the door in his boss arena.
Follow the corridor around and across the walkway, then use the keycard again on the door to your right. Inside you will find the final Super Chip!
To return to BURGL, take a left then spiral up the corridors until you reach the door leading out.
You come out on the eastern edge of the trash pile on the surface, ready to make the trek back to the oak lab and BURGL.
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