This page offers a guide on how to find the Black Anthill Lab in Grounded. At this lab, you’ll be able to find the Anthill Super Chip, and it’s likely the last Super Chip you’ll be collecting for BURG.L!

Where is Black Antill Lab?¶

There are two ways to get into Black Anthill Lab. You can either head there via the Trash Heap path or the Sandbox route. The Sandbox is a real nasty place but once you’ve entered the hole into the Anthill you’ve only got to walk a short way to the lab, whereas the Trash Heap route means you avoid the Sandbox but you have to go quite far underground and deal with a lot more Black Ant enemies in the process.

But before you head out for the lab, you’ll need to adequately gear up and also bring some Bratburst bombs! If you’re only looking to get through the lab and leave asap, bring a couple of bombs. But if you want to explore all the Anthill has to offer, you’ll want to bring at least 6 bombs! Head to our guide for how to make bratburst explosives.

How to Get to the Black Anthill Lab via the Trash Heap¶

In order to get into the Black Anthill Lab via the Trash Heap, you’ll need to make your way into the Haze area and head all the way to the southwest corner in search of the stinky pile of garbage. Near the trash, you’ll find an entryway into the Anthill (map marker). It’s quite stinky around here so a Gas Mask will be required but don’t stay in the stink clouds too long as they damage your mask really quickly! Just equip it to pass through any stink clouds then remove it once you’ve found the anthill entrance.

You’ll want a light source of some sort when traversing through the Anthill. Obviously a torch will do nicely but you may also want to consider making a Firefly Head Lamp if you use a two-handed weapon or a bow! Once you’ve headed into the Anthill tunnels, you’re going to be fighting off a bunch of Black Ants. As with Red Ants, the normal worker ants are docile until you get attacked by a Black Soldier Ant and then it’s chaos! If you really don’t want to have to deal with lots of ants, then just run away from the soldier ants!

So now that you’re inside the Anthill, follow the tunnel all the way until you come to an open room with a hole to the outside world shining light down into the tunnel. Continue taking the path straight ahead until you come to another large open space. This time it’s gonna be filled with ants and a couple of Soldier Ants that will attack on sight. Unless you’ve got some pals with you, you’ll want to avoid engaging in combat as this will cause the worker ants to pile on you and there’s a load of them so it’ll definitely become overwhelming very quickly. Run through this room until you come to a slope heading down. Follow this path and you’ll come to a crossroad. Take the left path (you’ll go to the other area later on once you’re inside the lab) and follow it all the way to the main lab area!

There are a whole bunch of ants in this room too, as well as several different doors. For now, you’ll need to ignore the doors and head up the slope and to the left to find a big boulder stuck in the lab tunnels. Use a bratburst bomb to explode the rock and you can then make your way into the lab where you can start turning on the power and opening doors!

How to Get to the Black Anthill Lab via Sandbox¶

If you’ve not been to the Sandbox before, you’ll need to get there via the Picnic Table zipline. There’s two zipline points between the Sandbox and the Zipline but there’s not actually a wire to zip on! You’ll need to make your way all the way to the top of picnic bench and use x12 Silk Rope to make the wire. You can use a Spinning Wheel to make Silk Rope using Web Fiber.

How to Move the Leaning Shovel¶

There are a number of steps that you’ll need to take before you can reach the Sandbox, and the first of these is moving the Leaning Shovel, which is located in the western part of the map, just southeast from the Picnic Table as shown in the screenshot below.

Once you reach the Leaning Shovel, you’ll notice that there’s a rock beneath it which can be destroyed using an explosive. You’ll need to use a Bratburst or Splatburst bomb to do this. You can craft a Bratburst using 2 Fungal Growth, 1 Red Ant Egg, and 4 Dry Grass Chunks. The Splatburst requires 5 Web Fiber, 1 Bratburst, and 5 Sap. Either of these explosives will be sufficient to destroy the rock and move the Leaning Shovel so that it moves to a position where it’s leaning against the Picnic Table.

Now that the shovel is in place, climb up it to the Picnic Table. From here you’ll need to turn left and go around the yellow lunch box, before turning right again and jumping down onto the lower part of the bench support, just beneath the white plastic fork. Follow this north until you reach some nails, which you can then jump onto to reach the other side of the Picnic Table seat.

How to Climb the Cooler Box¶

On this side of the Picnic Table you’ll notice some books in front of you and to the right. You’ll need to run up this to reach a Cooler Box. You’ll see a large red button which you can hit using a busting weapon, causing the handle to fall and allowing you to climb it to the top of the Picnic Table, as shown in the gif below.

How to Make the Zipline From the Picnic Table to the Sandbox¶

Now that you’re on top of the Picnic Table, make your way south, being careful to avoid the holes in the table structure, towards the Field Station under the orange journal as shown in the screenshot below. Just beyond the Field Station you’ll see a Zipline Anchor. This is where the 12 Silk Rope mentioned earlier is required, since you’ll need to construct a zipline which can take you from the top of the Picnic Table here, down into the Sandbox below.

With the zipline constructed, you can use it to travel to the edge of the Sandbox. This area can be particularly dangerous if you’re not prepared, so be sure to bring some powerful weapons and armor with you before you venture into the sands. There are deadly Antlions, Wolf Spiders, and Black Worker Ants and Black Soldier Ants which roam the entire pit.

Once you’re at the Sandbox, you’ll need to head over to the big blue sandcastle bucket. Near the blue bucket, you’ll find a hole that’ll take you down into the Black Anthill.
Follow the path downwards and then follow the red and black wire all the way to where you’ll find the Black Anthill Lab area! To get into the Lab you’ll need to explode the stone blocking the broken lab tunnel. Use your bratburst to clear the obstruction and make your way in!

Video Guide: How to Reach the Black Anthill Lab via the Sandbox¶