One of the biggest additions in Grounded 2 is bug mounts, known as buggies (get it?), and the first one you’ll unlock is the soldier ant during the Egg Hunt mission. While the quest guides you to investigate the nearby anthill, actually finding the red soldier ant egg location is much harder than it looks.
The Hatchery Anthill is dark and full of ants hellbent on stopping you from stealing their eggs, so it’s hard to get a good look around. Plus, do you know what an ant egg looks like? Because I certainly didn’t know what to look for. Below, I’ll go over exactly where you need to look to get your first soldier ant egg to complete the Egg Hunt mission.
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Red soldier ant egg location in Grounded 2
To find the red soldier ant egg and complete the Egg Hunt quest in Grounded 2:
- Enter the Hatchery Anthill: South Entrance, as directed by the quest.
- Pick the left path and head down, following the colourful cables on the ceiling and the thick grey tube on the ground (which will lead you northwards if you open your map).
- Turn left when you find a ladder next to a light.
- When you reach an Ominent checkpoint at a fork in the tunnel, where all these cables meet, go left (the right will be blocked by roots anyway) and follow the cables to the red light.
- Enter the Ominent facility at the bottom of the anthill and go through the doorway behind the projection of the soldier ant egg. If you turn right before entering the Ominent facility, you’ll instead run into a terrifying robotic spider, so…don’t.
- Pick up one of the red soldier ant eggs on the small metal trolley at the back of the cave.
- Carry it out the way you came, returning through the Ominent lab and up the tunnels until you exit the Hatchery Anthill. You can’t attack while carrying an egg, so be careful.
- Bring the egg to your hatchery, where you’ll be able to incubate it for 12 in-game hours.
To incubate the egg, you’ll not only need the right egg, but you’ll also need the following saddle ingredients before you can start the process:
- 2x grub hide: Use your shovel on the moving patches of dirt to dig up a grub, then kill it and loot it.
- 3x sprigs: Collect these small twin-leaf plants from grassy areas, like outside the Ranger Outpost: Snackbar.
- 1x acorn shell: Break an acorn and grab the shells. You can find two acorns just north of the Ranger Outpost: Snackbar.
Once the egg has hatched, you’ll have your very first buggy. The red soldier ant is a great all-rounder, competent enough in harvesting, hauling, and building, with a little bit of combat potential.
You can return to the Hatchery Anthill to get more red soldier ant eggs if you need them, such as if you’re playing with friends. I’ve also found some in the Toxic Anthill under the Picnic Table area, though these are no different from the ones you’re prompted to hatch in the Egg Hunt mission.