Building
Base Building Guide
A good Grounded base is close to water, off the spider highways, and easy to expand. Build for storage and sleep first. Style can wait.
Where to put the first house
The oak lawn near the Mysterious Machine is still the best first plot. Field stations, BURG.L, and early fiber sit close. Raise the floor. Mites and wolf spiders punish houses that sit on dirt with no stairs.
Pond-edge builds are pretty and dangerous. Hedge builds are rich and vertical. Upper-yard builds come later when fire ants and heat are solved. One main base plus tiny outposts beats three half-finished mansions.
In shared worlds, other player bases can hide loot and ambush lines. Player base ESP on Features outlines those structures so you do not walk into someone’s palisade blind.
What to build before you decorate
Lean-to or bed, storage baskets, workbench, dew collectors on the roof, and a palisade or raised walkway. Add a smoothie station and an oven when clay is easy. Stairs beat parkour when you are carrying quartzite.
Weed stems make taller frames. Grass planks do the walls. Clay reinforces later pieces. Do not spend mushroom bricks on a balcony you will tear down in two nights.
Ziplines turn the backyard into a city. Run one toward the pond and one toward the hedge once you have silk. Our backyard survival tips cover what to pack for those rides.
Keep the yard from eating the house
Light the perimeter. Repair walls after bombardier or ant raids. Do not store your only mint mace in an unlocked chest by the door if you play with friends who “borrow.”
Building pieces follow the live Grounded recipe list. If a wall type vanished after a patch, check Obsidian Entertainment notes before you farm a dead material.
Need the full overlay set for insects, resources, and player bases? Compare Pricing after you finish the build plan.