The Black Ant Lab is a fantastic Quest in Grounded which can be found in the Black Anthill area. We had an absolute blast playing through this and was pleasantly surprised how well created it was. The Black Ant Lab is split into two parts, although it may feel like one, you will find yourself adventuring between Sector A and Sector B while at the end, you will fight the Assistant Manager. It is Located in the Crab Sandbox where you will come across new and tough bugs! The Quest through the Lab is a extremely fun, but also challenging, so you will want to be prepared.
Preparation for the Black Ant Lab
The Black Ant Lab is one of the more challenging Labs you will encounter during your time in the backyard. Being prepared is very important as you will come across a range of dangerous enemies during this quest.
Armour – We suggest you have at least the Ladybug Armor for this. It would be great if you could get Tier 2, but this should also be fine. Ladybug Faceplate, Ladybug Chestplate, Ladybug Shin Guards.
Weapons – Our chosen weapon for this was a Tier Two Red Ant Club & The Pinch Whacker, but any Tier 2 weapon should suffice.
Bratburst – An incendiary sausage stuffed with reactive fungus and dry grass. Lays waste to everything in a small radius. You need at least 2 of these, but we recommend you taking 6 as there are some secret rooms you can access for all the achievements.
Bandages – It is likely you will take some damage during the Haze Lab quest so equip yourself with some Fiber Bandages. You hold onto your Granola Bars for any fights as they give instant health.
Gas Mask – The Gas Mask. You need this to filter out the hazardous haze. There isn’t as much toxic air here compared to The Haze Lab, but you should bring one with you. However, you can avoid using the Gas Mask by locating and equipping the Toxicology Badge!
It is also worth making sure you have enough Food and Water for the journey too!
Where is the Black Ant Lab Located?
There are multiple entrances to the Black Ant Lab, most people will recommend you enter via the Trash Heap, but we will show you both entrances.
Trash Heap Entrance
This entrance may require the Gas Mask or the Toxicology Badge due to the rotten food and it may have some Black Soldier Ants guarding it. Once you are there, the Tunnel is relatively straight forward and simple to navigate. Once you reach the intersection with the wires on the ceiling, take the route to the left and this will lead you to the start of the lab.
Sandbox Entrance
This entrance is a little more challenging but also a bit more fun, so we opted for this route which you will see in our walkthrough video. The first you need to do is prepare a few materials for this one: A Tier 2 Hammer, 12 Silk Rope.
When you are ready, make your way to the Picnic Table, you need to make your way to the top. We would advise you coming back to the Picnic Table after the Black Ant Lab as there is a few things to do up here, but if you want to be prepared you can bring the Minotaur Key with you as there is a huge chest waiting for you at the top.
To start the ascent up the Picnic Table you must visit the Leaning Shovel with a Bratburst! Behind the Leaning Shovel is a rock you can blow up. You can then walk up the Shovel to the Picnic Table.
Once you’ve made your way to the top of the Picnic Table and had a look around, you will find a Research Station near the Southern Edge and next to the Research Station you will see a Zip Line which you need to connect.
Once connected, make your way down to the Crab Sandbox where you can make your way into The Black Ant Lab Descent – be careful though, the sand can be hot and the creatures dangerous!
Sector A
When you are ready, make your way into the Black Anthill Sandbox Descent. Here you may come across some Black Ants, you can kill them or just keep running past them. Keep going until you come across the Lab! When you see the Lab for the first time, enter the room and take a right turn. This is where you are going to need to use your first Bratburst, you need to destroy the cracked rock blocking the entrance.
Use the Biometric Scanner to enter the room and Override the Computer which will open the A door for you and grant you access into Sector A. You can see the door from inside the room so its easy to navigate to.
Progressing through Sector A is relatively straight forward. You will come across 4 Bunk Beds, depending on your level of confidence, we would recommend you setting your respawn point here!
Soon after the bed room you will find an access terminal to open the door to Sector B.
Sector B
Make your way to Sector B by following the black and red cables on the roof of the tunnels. It will lead you right to the Sector B entrance door.
As you make your way down through the first room of Sector B, you are met by yet another Tunnel system, but before you move forward, take a look to your left where you will see another cracked Rock. This is a little secret area which you can access by blowing up the rocks with the Bratburst – in this room you will find some resources and a Mega Milk Molar!
Once you are ready, continue to make your way down through the tunnel system until you come across a big metal wall, this is where you will find the Assistant Manager!
Finding the Assistant Manager
The Assistant Manager was an extremely fun but pretty difficult boss fight! To enter, fight your way through remaining Black Ants and head up to the cliff at the back of the room where you can press the button.
This will reveal the glass window where you will need to use one last Bratburst to gain entry. As soon as people are in the room, the door closes behind until the fight is over!
Meet the Assistant Manager! There are 3 Phases to this boss fight.
Phase 1
The Assistant Manager will spawn two TAYZ.Ts and join the arena. It only has 2 attacks, a quick shot and a long charged shot. Kill the ads first and then focus on the Manager.
Phase 2
Keep attacking the manager and at around 75% health it will enter Phase 2. 1 ARC.R and 2 TAYZ.Ts will spawn from above. It will also gain access to its lazer attack. The middle pylon will light up orange and lazers will shoot across the length of the room. You will need to duck and dodge these while still doing damage to the Assistant Manager.
Phase 3
Once you’ve made it through the initial lazers, killed the ads and continued to damage the Assistant Manager down to around 50% health, it enters Phase 3. Here, the last ARC.R and 2 TAYZ.Ts will spawn from above. In this phase, it gains access to shock pillars, there are 4 of them and they are located in each corner of the arena. We found the safest areas to be between the pillars and close to the centre rotating lazers. This fight gets very hectic, very quickly but it is great fun!
A few tips that may help should you get stuck:
- Make sure you have Granola Bars, they are an instant health boost and can keep you going if you get low on health
- Staggering the Assistant Manager while he is about to activate the lasers or the towers with the Coup de Grass or Chopper Mutations can prove extremely useful due to how it will cancel the attack and will go into a cooldown before it can use it again
- Health and Stamina potions such as the Boost Juice or Fuzz on the Rocks will greatly help you in the fight!
Once you’re done, grab the Managers Keycard from its body and head into the final room where you will find the Black Ant SUPER Chip. Congratulations, you’ve made it through the Black Ant Lab in Grounded.
