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Title: Taming Every Bug: A Proposal for Functional Companions in Grounded 2 Hi Obsidian Team and fellow players! (Note: I apologize in advance for the bold formatting. I wrote this in Word and when pasting it here, something in the forum bugged out and made everything bold. And besides this part i'm writing direcly in here I can't seem to fix it by pressing the button or hitting ctrl+B, so please bear with me!) First of all, I want to say that I’m a huge fan of the franchise and many other Obsidian games. I’ve spent countless hours in the backyard, and now I'm absolutely loving the exploration of Brookhollow Park. However, seeing that Grounded 2 is in Early Access, I have a legitimate concern regarding the taming system. The "Fear" of Limitation: In the first game, we waited ages just to tame a Gnat. Now that we have amazing new creatures like ****roaches, Earwigs, and Scorpions, it would be heartbreaking if we couldn't tame them ALL. I don’t just want a zoo; I want functional companions. The Logic of Imprinting: I understand some bugs are "too aggressive" in the wild. But since Grounded uses the mechanic of stealing eggs and raising creatures from birth (imprinting), wild aggression shouldn't be a barrier! If I can raise an Orb Weaver from an egg to love me, I should be able to do the same with a Scorpion or a Black Widow. O.R.C. Tech: Alternative for Aggressive Species: If the developers feel that apex predators like Scorpions or Mantises are too naturally aggressive for simple imprinting, perhaps we could implement a player-crafted version of O.R.C. Technology. We’ve seen it used on bugs before; maybe now we could harness that tech to override their aggression. Although, given that we could tame Wolf Spiders and Soldier Ants without it in the past, I believe imprinting should still be the primary method. But having O.R.C. as a high-tier backup option would be a great lore-friendly compromise! My Proposal: Utility > Vanity Every creature should have a "Job". We already see this with the Ants, which help us cut roots. I want to see this utility philosophy applied to every single creature, starting with upgrading the classics we already know. Here are mechanical ideas for the New Grounded 2 Roster and our Wishlist for returning favorites: --- PART 1: The Classics 2.0 (Small but Mighty) Even the starter pets should have active roles beyond passive buffs. 1. Aphid (The Danger Radar) * Role: Early Game Scout. Mechanic (Exploration): Since they are naturally skittish, a tamed Aphid on your shoulder acts as a Perimeter Alarm, chirping/vibrating to warn you of nearby predators (like Spiders) before* you even see them or enter combat. * Mechanic (Base): Can be farmed in a pen to passively produce Honeydew, creating a sustainable sugar source at home. 2. Weevil (The Sniffer) * Role: Resource Detection. * Mechanic: Use its large snout as a Resource Detector. Let it smell a specific mushroom, mold, or other material, and it will lead you to the nearest source. Like a truffle pig for the backyard. 3. Gnat (The Annoyance & Cleaner) * Role: Distraction & Base Maintenance. * Mechanic (Combat - Sound Distraction): You can command it to "buzz" in an enemy's face. The enemy will become irritated and focus its attacks on the Gnat, often missing as the Gnat flies evasively. This pulls aggro away from the player. (Alternatively, for easier implementation, it could apply an Accuracy Debuff to the enemy due to the annoyance). * Mechanic (Base - Trash Can): If stationed at your base, it will automatically seek out and consume spoiled meat or other garbage you've dropped, transforming it into basic fertilizer or other low-tier resources, keeping your base clean. Mechanic (Utility - Fetch Drone): Perfect for retrieving light loot* (like item bags or small drops) that falls in unreachable places (e.g., high leaves, deep water). You point, and it flies to grab the item for you and brings it directly to your hand. --- PART 2: The New Blood (Brookhollow Natives) And Some Old Friends (Backyard Natives) 4. ****roach (The Hazmat Tank) * Role: Toxic Exploration. * Mechanic (Immunity): Just like in real life, they survive almost anything. A tamed ****roach is naturally immune to environmental gas and radiation zones where other pets would take damage or die. * Gear (Hazmat Saddle): To ride it safely, players must craft a sealed "Hazmat Saddle". This combo allows the player to traverse toxic or radioactive areas without constantly degrading their Gas Mask durability, using the roach as a mobile, sealed vehicle. 5. Earwig (The Shredder) * Role: Co-op Harvester & Debuffer. Harvesting: It doesn't skip tool tiers, but acts as a "second axe". You can order it to chop a grass blade or weed stem independently* while you chop another, effectively doubling your harvesting speed for these materials. * Combat (Armor Sunder): Its powerful pinchers can be commanded to "Sunder" the enemy's chitin armor, reducing their damage resistance and making them take significantly more damage from your team. 6. Butterfly (The Stealth Glider) * Role: Travel & Stealth. * Movement: A majestic, silent glider mount with high stamina for long-distance travel. * Passive (Stealth Mode): * If the in-game Butterfly has a camouflaged appearance (e.g., looks like a leaf), when landed and stationary, it folds its wings and blends into the environment, drastically reducing enemy visual detection range. * If the Butterfly is brightly colored, its "Stealth Mode" would instead focus on Silent Movement, making it incredibly difficult for enemies to detect you by sound while riding it. * Utility: Uses its proboscis (tongue) to extract Rare Mineral Liquids from specific mud patches or stones that players cannot harvest with standard tools. 7. Stinging Caterpillar & Snail (The All-Terrain Tanks) * Role: Defense & Verticality. * Combat: The Caterpillar's stinging hairs deal passive "Thorns" damage to any enemy that attacks it in melee. Requires a specific "Protective Saddle" to ride safely. * Traversal Mechanic (Wall Climb): Since both creatures naturally adhere to surfaces, they should be able to climb vertical surfaces (walls, tree bark, stones) directly. They are slow, but they ignore terrain obstacles, allowing players to scale cliffs without building stairs. 8. Bee (The Active Pollinator) * Role: Base Automation & Combat Support. * Base Work (Active Pollination): Actively leaves the base to find flowers, collects pollen, and returns to Pollinate your garden patches, significantly boosting their growth rate and yield. * Combat (Stinger & Pollen Blindness): Uses its stinger for direct damage. Can also launch collected pollen at enemies, temporarily blinding them and reducing their accuracy. 9. Stinkbug (The Chemical Warrior) * Role: Area Denial (AoE) & Ammo Factory. * Combat (Noxious Cloud): Can release a controlled gas cloud on command. This creates a "Forbidden Zone" that damages and slows enemies. Perfect for defending objectives (like MIX.Rs) from swarms. * Gear (Respirator Saddle): Requires a specific craftable saddle with built-in air filtration. This saddle protects the Player from the Stinkbug's own gas attacks, allowing you to fight inside your own smoke cloud safely. Important Note:* Unlike the ****roach, the Stinkbug is NOT immune to environmental toxic/radiation zones and will take damage if ridden into them. * Passive Resource: When stationed at base, it periodically produces "Gas Sacks" or can fill empty canisters provided by the player. This grants a sustainable source of ammo for Gas Arrows without needing to hunt wild Stinkbugs constantly. --- PART 3: The Predators 10. Orb Weaver (The Engineer) * Role: Architecture & Defense. * Mechanic: Can weave Permanent Web Bridges across gaps and use webs to create "Web Walls" in combat or for base defense. • Web Walls: Creates permanent web barriers. Unlike solid walls, enemies can still see the player through them (maintaining aggro). However, they physically block small insects entirely. Large enemies can push through, but suffer a "Sticky" Debuff that reduces their movement speed for a few seconds after exiting the web. 11. Scorpion (The Boss Killer) * Role: Crowd Control & Burst Damage. * Mechanic (Pincers - Crowd Control): Massive knockback attacks to push back groups of smaller enemies or interrupt larger ones. * Mechanic (Stinger - Single Target Nuke): A special grab attack where it holds a large enemy and injects venom. This applies a powerful "Neurotoxin" debuff—much stronger than normal poison—making it the ultimate 1v1 companion against tanky enemies. 12. Wolf Spider (The Bio-Tech Scout) * Role: Night Ops & Sensory Detection. * Mechanic (Vibration Sense): Even in total darkness, the spider senses movement. With a craftable "Neuro-Link Helmet/Saddle", this connects the spider's senses to the player's HUD, converting those vibrations into a clear visual outline (like thermal/sonar vision). * Resource (Venom Milking): Can be carefully "milked" at base to produce Venom for crafting. The risk of taking damage comes from the player's error (e.g., slipping during a minigame), not from the pet's aggression. 13. Black Widow (The Ambush Predator) * Role: High Single-Target Damage & Control. * Passive (Aura of Fear): Small enemies (Ants, Mites, Larvae, etc.) flee from it automatically, allowing for peaceful traversal through low-threat areas. * Combat (Ambush Web): Can spin a specialized, nearly invisible trap web between two objects (e.g., grass blades). If an enemy gets stuck in it, the Widow performs a Critical Strike with her potent anti-heal venom on the now vulnerable target. * Resource (Super Venom Milking): Can be carefully "milked" at base to produce Super Venom for crafting high-tier daggers and arrows. The risk of taking damage comes from the player's error (e.g., slipping during a minigame), not from the pet's aggression. 14. Mosquito (The Blood Farmer) * Role: Medic Resource. * Mechanic: Instead of just attacking, a tamed Mosquito can harvest Blood Sacks from enemies without killing them instantly. This creates a renewable source of healing items for the base. 15. Mites (The "Green" Energy Source) * Role: Automation. * Mechanic: We could build a "Mite Wheel". It generates energy slowly but requires NO fuel. It’s scalable: building 10 wheels with 10 tamed Mites creates a sustainable power grid for the base. • Battery Storage: This mechanic could also introduce Craftable Batteries to store excess energy, ensuring the power grid remains active even when the Mites aren't running on the wheel 24/7. 16. Praying Mantis (The Duelist) * Role: High Damage & Precision Harvesting. * Combat (Life-Steal Grab): Fast, dual-wield attacks. Special move: grabs enemies with low HP (<20%), performs a quick execution, and heals itself/recovers stamina. * Harvesting (Precision Shred): Instead of dropping stems, it surgically shreds grass directly into Plant Fiber, making late-game fiber farming instant and efficient. Larva (The Excavator) Role: “Terraforming” & Buried Loot. Mechanic (Living Shovel): Functions as a specialized digging tool. You can command it to excavate Clay and Roots instantly, speeding up resource gathering for building. Passive (Treasure Hunter): It automatically senses and digs up "glimmering" buried items (like sunken bones, scales, or chests) as you walk over them, saving you the trouble of equipping a shovel every time. --- PART 4: The Wishlist (Bring them Back!) Please bring back these fan favorites with new roles, and consider these new additions! 17. Black Ox Beetle (The Juggernaut) * Role: Heavy Combat & Demolition. * Combat (Siege Ram): A powerful charge attack that, if it connects, guarantees a Stun on any enemy (even Bosses), effectively interrupting their most dangerous attacks. * Combat (Rock Throw): The player can command it to dig up and hurl boulders at distant or flying enemies (like Wasps), acting as mobile anti-air artillery. * Passive (Living Armor): While riding it, the player receives a significant defense buff, as the beetle's massive, horned carapace provides additional protection against incoming attacks. 18. Bombardier Beetle (The Mobile Artillery) * Role: Ranged Support & Area Denial. * Combat (Acid Mortar): Launches boiling acid in a high arc towards distant targets. The acid remains on the ground for a few seconds, creating a "Burning Zone" that deals continuous damage to any enemy standing in it. Perfect for bombarding large targets (like Spiders) from a safe distance. Combat (Acid Trail): While the player is running away (kiting), the beetle can spray acid directly on the ground behind* its path, leaving a hazardous trail. It doesn't auto-aim at pursuers; instead, it punishes enemies that chase blindly in a straight line. * Combat (Panic Burst): Just like in the first game, if enemies get too close or surround the player, it can release 3 acid bombs simultaneously around itself (a 360-degree burst). This covers a huge radius in acid, perfect for clearing swarms of small bugs instantly. 19. Roly Poly (The Living Bunker) * Role: Ultimate Defense & Healing. * Combat (PVE Crowd Control): Can perform a "Bowling Ball" attack, rolling through hordes of larvae or smaller enemies, knocking them down and dealing damage. * Ultimate Defense (The Bunker): The player can command it to uncurl slightly. During this brief window, the player can hop inside, and the Roly Poly will curl back up. Requirement:* To survive the immense pressure inside, the player must be wearing Roly Poly Armor (or specific high-tier heavy armor). Effect:* While inside, the player is fully protected from all external damage, and both the Roly Poly and the player passively regenerate health. 20. Firefly (The Floodlight) * Role: Exploration & Tactical Blindness. * Mechanic (Dynamic Lighting): Flies ahead of the player to illuminate the path, providing superior visibility compared to a handheld torch. * Combat (Flashbang): Can release a burst of intense light. This applies a "Disoriented" Debuff to enemies in an area, drastically reducing their Attack Speed and Block proficiency for a few seconds. * Trade-off: The bright, constant light attracts aggro from enemies, making it a high-risk, high-reward mount for dark areas. --- Conclusion: I want to help build this game in a way that maximizes immersion, freedom, and fun for everyone. That’s why I’m sharing these suggestions. A Request to the Community, to my fellow players reading this: if this post gets approved, please share your thoughts! Tell me what you think could work, what wouldn't, and add your own ideas. I have ADHD (and possibly other conditions I’m still figuring out, like dyslexia), so writing all of this is genuinely exhausting and sometimes painful for me. I might have made mistakes or overlooked things simply because I’m tired from putting this all together. So please, feel free to correct me, agree, disagree, or improve upon these ideas in the comments. Let's work together to help make this game the best it can be. Disclaimer: I also want to add that I’m not sure if these ideas have already been proposed by others or if the developers have already stated they won't go down this path. If I am repeating known topics or suggesting things that have already been ruled out, I sincerely apologize for the redundancy. I am simply providing this feedback because I know you value our input to make the game better, and I wanted to do my part. Sorry for any inconvenience! Let's see if we can tame the WHOLE PARK. Thanks for listening, have a great day!