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Grounded

How to Enable Creative Mode

By
Scott Peers

This page details how to enable the creative gameplay modes in Grounded. Aside from the default Mild, Medium, and Whoa! difficulty modes, there’s also a Creative mode without bugs, and a Creative With Bugs mode. In addition, you’ll find that there’s a Custom mode which will allow you to tweak almost any setting without having to commit to a specific default mode.

How to Enable the All Recipes Unlocked and Free Option

If you’ve already started a game without one of the Creative modes enabled, you’ll find that you won’t be able to select and enable the “All Recipes Unlocked and Free” option. This is because you can only enable this option after you’ve selected either the Creative or Creative With Bugs mode. The only way to enable this option is to start a new game and select one of these modes from the beginning, on the same screen where you select your character.

The creative modes are great for anyone who wants to get stuck into building incredible tiny structures in the yard with all of the building pieces that the game has to offer. However, they can take away from some of the most fun parts of the game such as fighting (and being terrified by!) various bugs, having to balance resource management with your own thirst and hunger, and the general feeling of a yard that can be both beautiful and horrifying as you explore it. We highly recommend playing through the game without creative modes at least once!

You should also keep in mind that you won’t be able to unlock achievements while creative game modes are enabled, since you’re effectively bypassing some of the most basic progression and gameplay mechanics.

Grounded Difficulty Modes

Difficulty / Mode Description
Mild The yard is a hostile environment, but stats are more forgiving and friendly fire is off. Recommended for first time visits to the yard.
Medium Moderate stress level. Manage thirst, hunger, health, and stamina while you fight to survive.
Whoa! The most punishing way to live the tiny life. Bugs are tougher, vitals are harder to keep filled, and everything breaks faster.
Creative Zero stress! Craft and explore with no resource management or existential threats.
Creative With Bugs Zero stress! Craft and explore with no resource management or existential threats. Insects will be present but not aggressive towards players.
Custom Play it your way and customize the settings to your liking. Tweak all the settings shown in the table below.

How to Enable Quests with Creative Modes

Another thing to keep in mind with the various game settings is that quests won’t be enabled by default in the creative modes, and once you’ve started a game save with one of the creative modes, you won’t be able to change this. If you want to enable quests while using creative mode, you’ll need to select the Custom setting at the very beginning of a new save.

(1 of 2) You can select a predefined mode at the beginning of a game, or choose custom to make your own mode.

You can select a predefined mode at the beginning of a game, or choose custom to make your own mode. (left), God mode can be enabled alongside all recipes unlocked while retaining quests if you choose custom mode. (right)

All Game Settings Options

In this way you don’t need to adhere to the default settings of each mode, and you can effectively create your own mode instead. This includes turning on or off any of the following options:

Option Description
All Recipes Unlocked and Free Unlocks all crafting and building recipes. All recipes will be free to make, giving you complete freedom to build what you want.
Bugs Spawn Bugs and insects will be present in the yard.
Bugs Ignore Players Hostile bugs and insects will ignore you.
Building Integrity Multi-level buildings will need to follow structural support rules to be able to be built into taller and larger bases.
Quests Quests and objectives will be enabled. Toggle this off for a less directed experience.
Player Damage Players take damage when getting attacked or falling from large heights. Toggle this off to enable God mode.
Friendly Fire All friendly damage will be enabled. Toggle this off if you don’t want to be able to murder your fellow teens (purposefully or not).
Pet invincibility All damage directed toward your pets will be ignored.
Hunger/Thirst Drain You will need to eat and drink to survive. Toggle this off if you want to ignore having to manage hunger and thirst.
Stamina Drain Stamina is required to run and attack. Toggle this off if you want to be able to run and attack without requiring stamina to regenerate. This can make combat and exploration more enjoyable.
Equipment Durability When durability drains, you will need to repair your equipment to continue to use it. Toggle this off if you don’t want equipment to degrade with use.
Food Spoiling Food can spoil over time. Toggle this off if you never want your food to spoil.
Menus Pause Game Opening menus will pause the game. This option is disabled in multiplayer.
Faction Reactivity When enabled, bugs in the yard will become annoyed with you over time and take the fight back to your base.
Backpack Items On Death Determines where backpack items go on death. Equipped items respawn with you unless “Lose Forever” is selected. Other options are “Drop Backpack” or “Respawn With You”
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Guide Information
  • Publisher
    Microsoft Game Studios
  • Platforms,
    PC, Steam, XB One, XB X|S
  • Genre
    Survival
  • Guide Release
    26 September 2022
  • Last Updated
    21 November 2023
    Version History
  • Guide Author

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Grounded is a survival game published by Oblivion Entertainment. It has been in early access since July 2020, and was fully released on September 27th, 2022.

In this guide, you’ll find information on all essential aspects of the game:

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