The core gameplay of Grounded centers around exploration. While the Backyard might look small from a bird’s eye view, when you’ve been shrunk down to the size of an insect, it feels as big as a planet.
One of the players’ end goals in terms of exploration in Grounded is to reach the Sandbox, which is considered a high-level area that shouldn’t be ventured into by the faint of heart.
However, if you feel your gear is strong enough and you have the guts, then the Sandbox can be one of the most rewarding locations in the entire game. Of course, you’ll need to know how to get to the Sandbox before you can even think about the loot there.
Getting to the Sandbox in Grounded
Unlike many other locations in the game, the Sandbox is only reachable after players complete a series of puzzles out in the surrounding areas of the location. The first spot players will need to reach is the Picnic Table, which is difficult to reach in and of itself. To do so, players must find and go up the Leaning Shovel landmark using a Bratburst or Splatburst. Throw either one of those onto the rock that’s propping up the shovel. This will make the rock explode, knocking the shovel down to the Picnic Table and giving players an easy way up.
On the Picnic Table, find the orange book that’s lying on it. Go underneath it and you’ll stumble across a zipline that leads to the Sandbox.
But, in order to ride on the zipline, you will need 12 silk ropes. You can acquire silk ropes by farming spiders. If you have that material in that quantity, then use it to power the zipline and ride over to the Sandbox.
The zipline will bring you into the starting area of the Sandbox. But, there’s no real safe spot in this location, as it’s filled with dangerous enemies at every turn. Most notably, there are Antlions roaming around that can be difficult to defeat. If players decide to farm those enemies, they can actually unlock some new armor from their drops.
In addition to the Antlions, players can also run into the Wolf Spider, which resides underneath the sand and is considered a top-tier boss in Grounded.
Aside from all these enemies, the Sandbox is also home to a plethora of buried rare treasure. Grounded players can use a Black Ant Shovel to dig up the treasure.