Beta Update 0.14 for Grounded is now available on the Game Preview for Xbox and PC players. Those interested in trying the new features out may want to read the FAQ for more details. This is also called the Home Stretch Update because it is the last major patch before the game fully launches in September.
Beta Update 0.14 introduces nice features that will surely make players happy. The first is that players can now tame gnats and turn them into friendly pets. The Gnat can be domesticated using Rotten Meat Slurry. Once tamed, it provides increased glide speed to players when using a Dandelion Tuft.
In addition, meals are now prepared at the new Cookery building instead of the Oven. This is a quality-of-life feature because the Cookery interface only shows meal recipes and nothing else. Players can choose up to five recipes, and the Cookery will process them one at a time. Speaking of meals, players can craft them much earlier in the game now.
Some fundamental changes to armor and weapon upgrading in Grounded have also been implemented. Now, armors can be upgraded using Fashion Nuggets while weapons can be improved using Tough Nuggets. Players who are keen on finding these non-respawning resources should pay attention. Tough nuggets can be found by harvesting Stones of Toughness, while Fashion Nuggets can be acquired by harvesting Rocks of Fashion. Although upgrading equipment can be challenging at first, players can unlock crafting recipes at some point in the game, making these resources more readily available when needed.
Here are the other interesting changes in Beta Update 0.14:
- Convert Non-Custom Games to Custom
- You can now convert any non-custom game into a custom game at any time while playing to be able to tune values on any game as you go.
- Rest Time-lapse
- Upon resting, you will see a quick time-lapse of the yard as the 8 hours pass.
- BURG.L Moves!
- BURG.L has acquired enough chips to remember he can roll his treads to inspect the Oak lab and fulfill his assistant duties.
- The amount of destruction that can be done to larger bases has been lowered.
- Each faction now has a different reputation value requirement before it becomes upset at the player.
- Players will no longer be attacked by lots of larger creatures at the same time.
- Larva has been added to Factional Reactivity and the Waft Emitter.
- Buildings destroyed by defense event creatures now drop a small amount of the resources it took to build it.
- Bows now do bonus damage when fully charging a shot as opposed to snapshotting.
- Spicy Coaltana can now trigger Burr Traps when thrown.
The full patch notes can be found here.
Grounded Beta Update 0.14 is available on Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
