Mastering The Perfect Block in Grounded

The boss fights against fearsome spiders and other insects in Groundedare as challenging as they are terrifying, and players can be loath to get too close to the six- and eight-legged beasts. However, spiders and insects also tend to drop some valuable resources players will need to survive the backyard for as long as possible. As players progress, spiders and other insects can hit hard in the game, and they can take several hits before they also perish. As long as players manage to stay alive long enough, they’ll likely kill the creature first.

A key to fighting spiders and other insects in Grounded is getting up close and personal with them. Thanks to the accessible Arachnophobia Safe Mode, this can be less terrifying for players who fear spiders, but no less dangerous. When a character is close to a creature’s legs, the player is open to taking damage. Good armor can help mitigate some of this, but players should also learn the Perfect Block. This is a move in the game that prevents the character from taking as much damage. The Perfect Block in Grounded is all about mastering timing.

How to Block in Grounded

The control for blocking in Grounded for PC is the right mouse button. On Xbox One, it is the LT button. In either case, players will notice a blue indicator pop up whenever they use the block control to let them know how much longer they can block before they begin taking full damage again.

How to Do a Perfect Block in Grounded

To master the Perfect Block, players will want to memorize the attack pattern of each creature. This can take time, and players will likely take some damage while they work on perfecting this move. Each creature has two kinds of attack, each of which deals a different level of damage.

For spiders like the Orb Weaver, players can expect to see it lift its front legs before rearing back and lunging forward. The Soldier Ant will usually rear back, move its mandibles wildly, then lunge forward. Knowing these attack styles is crucial to timing the block right.

To perform the Perfect Block, players will need to block the moment the creature goes in for the attack and is about to hit the player. A Perfect Block only registers if the block lands in sync with the second the creature’s attack would have landed. In the previous two examples, the player would need to hit the button to block the moment the Orb Weaver lunged forward. For the Soldier Ant, the player will need to time it by watching the mandibles move.

After enough blocks, the creature will become dazed, leaving it momentarily vulnerable. Players will want to strike in these moments to defeat the creature before it gets its second wind.

It may help to use first-person camera mode during fights to better see the more subtle indicators of an incoming attack, especially when still trying to learn each creature’s attack pattern.

Groundedis in early access and is available for PC and Xbox One. The full version is set to launch in 2021.

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