A guide to gnats in Grounded

Grounded is a first and third-person cooperative survival game in which the player character has been mysteriously shrunk to the size of an ant. Players are tasked with surviving in this new micro-world of a suburban backyard while facing many adversaries, such as the various creatures, bugs, and insects that are now gigantic in size and are formidable foes.

One of these creatures is the gnat, but rather than being formidable and threatening, it tends to be a round, fluffy little goofball that continuously boops you without really causing damage to your character. Well, most of the gnats behave this way, at least.

Gnats in Grounded have three different variants, and one of these types of gnats can actually harm you. Regardless of whether the gnat you come across is harmless or not, you can do a lot of things with these creatures, such as taming or killing them. Killing a gnat will provide you with valuable loot containing materials needed to craft important armor, weapons, decorations, and food in the game, whereas taming them will let you have the cutest pet you could ask for.

In this guide, we will talk all about gnats, their different variants, how to effectively tame and kill gnats, and a whole lot more. Continue reading our guide to be illuminated in the ways of the gnat in Grounded. 

What are gnats in Grounded? What are the variants of gnats?

As we have touched upon briefly, In Grounded, there are three variants of gnats. They are:

• Normal gnats
• Infected gnats
• Meaty gnats

Since every variant of the gnat in Grounded has one characteristic in common—their slow flying speed—avoiding and running away from the little buggers should be no problem for you. 

But since these gnats have extremely erratic and unpredictable movement patterns, it gets really tough to hit them with long-range weapons. Gnats will not disturb other creatures or insects but will go out of their way to annoy you, even though they are mostly harmless.

You will often see gnats flying chaotically and bumping into nearby players, distracting them and even knocking them over while they could be in the thick of a battle.

Here is a little more specific information on each of the gnat variants:

Normal gnats

These are the gnats that are considered mostly harmless. Normal gnats may crash into you a couple of times here and there, and while this does not cause any damage, it can quite easily throw you off your feet and leave you in a nerve-wracking situation. The normal gnat will soon get bored after annoying you for a bit and fly away. You can also make it escape by actively attacking it.

If you witness gnats staying near flowers, you can even watch how they transport pollen from one place to another. They will drop the pollen they were carrying if injured or killed during the transportation process, however.

Infected gnats

Similar to the other variants, infected gnats will bump and crash into you, but are more proactive in their pursuit of giving you a hard time. In addition to this, you will drop whatever you are holding in your hand when an infected gnat bumps into you.

This can get increasingly annoying since infected gnats will not go away after bumping into you a few times like normal gnats do, and will relentlessly follow you. The bright side is, you still don’t take damage from this gnat variant.

Meaty gnats

Meaty gnats are larger in size than their other variants while flying much slower, but higher. Since they are large in stature, they have greater force and are able to carry large quantities of spoiled food. They are also the only gnats that are able to damage you.

In terms of behavior, the meaty gnat resembles the normal gnat, not being very hyperactive and intrusive. That being said, meaty gnats possess a cloud of gas around them, which is what causes damage to you when it comes in contact with you. Make sure you have a gas mask equipped when around these little buggers.

Where to find each gnat variant in Grounded

Every gnat variant can be found in different locations in Grounded. They are as follows:

• Normal gnat: Can be found near flowers in Central Grasslands, Flooded Zone, and Oak Hills.
• Infected gnat: Usually found in the weed killer’s haze up until it is sealed. After that, you will find it in Central Grasslands, Moldorc Highlands, and Flower Bed.
• Meaty Gnat: Can be found in Trash Heap.

How to hunt for gnats in Grounded

As we’ve said, gnats can be troublesome to take down due to their unpredictable flight patterns. That being said, there are a couple of methods you can use to take down these pesky flying troublemakers.

Since gnats fly high above the ground, you will need to catch their attention so that they fly toward you in close proximity. Once they are near you, you can use your melee weapon to attack them. 

While fighting meat gnats, however, make sure you have a Gask Mask equipped, or alternatively, drink some Gastro Goo to turn temporarily immune to their toxic gas cloud.

Using a long-range weapon will let you cut out the first step above, but it’s quite difficult to aim and hit a gnat several times. If you really want to use a long-range weapon to kill a gnat, you are better off using a Sprig Bow, since it can take care of them in one to two hits.

Lastly, the most effective method would be to use Spoiled Meat Slurries. You can use these slurries to distract the gnats with it and have them nestle on the ground to begin eating it, which is when you should sneakily approach them and kill them.

Making spoiled meat slurry is as simple as blending spoiled meat in a blender, so you don’t have to worry about that.

How to tame gnats in Grounded

Took one look at the cute, rotund, fluffy versions of flies in Grounded known as gnats and couldn’t think of killing these adorable creatures? Or maybe you’ve killed one too many to farm for materials and you want to repent for your sins? Then yes, you can make a pesky little gnat your pet as well. 

But since gnats are so wild and erratic, you would first need to pacify them. This can easily be done by feeding gnats enough Spoiled Meat Slurries. Unlike for killing the gnats, you do not want to use a single Spoiled Meat Slurry just so you can approach and kill them.

Instead, you will need to drop a Spoiled Meat Slurry onto the ground, after which a nearby gnat will automatically descend and land on the ground nearby to eat the slurry. Continue feeding the gnat enough slurry until it gets friendly enough to be tamed by the player. Keep in mind that the gnats will ignore slurries if they are currently being attracted by any surrounding garden lamps at night.

When tamed by the player, gnats apply the Gnat Friend bonus that increases glide resistance with a Dandelion Tuft. This is quite helpful if you are currently traversing through an area with a lot of trees or a spot with extreme heights.

What materials do gnats drop in Grounded? And what can you craft with these materials?

After you kill a gnat in Grounded, you will have to make your way to their corpses and loot them. The dead gnats will drop two possible materials: Gnat Fuzz and Raw Gnat Meat.

Gnat Fuzz—described as “dull gray hairs taken from a gnat”—is a material used in the making of the Sprig Bow, an item that is itself useful for killing gnats, as we’ve discussed previously. It is also used in making the Gas Mask—an item useful for protecting yourself against Meaty Gnats—and the Stuffed Bombardier.

The description for Raw Gnat Meat in the game says that it is greasy meat from a gnat, and that “eating it raw isn’t a good idea, but this fatty cut suggests it will crisp up nice over a flame.”

Raw Gnat Meat can be used in cooking to make a Gnat Roast or even dried to make Gnat Jerky, which are both useful food items.

Below, we will talk about all the materials needed to craft the items that use Gnat Fuzz and Raw Gnat Meat:

Gnat Fuzz

Weapons

Sprig Bow

• Materials needed: Sprig x3; Crude Rope x2; Gnat Fuzz x4
• Tier: 1
• Stun: 0
• Speed: 3.5
• Damage: 1.5
• Type: Stabbing

Gear

Gas Mask

• Materials: Stinkbug Part x1; Weevil Nose x1; Crude Rope x2; Gnat Fuzz x4
• Tier: 2
• Resistance: 2.5
• Effect: + Gas guard
• Defense: 2
• Sleek upgrade effect: Explosive resist

Decorations

Stuffed Bombardier

• Materials: Bombardier Part x5; Boiling Gland 1; Gnat Fuzz x10

Stuffed Gnat

• Materials: Raw Gnat Meat x2; Gnat Fuzz x5

Raw Gnat Meat

Dishes

Gnat Jerky

• Ingredients: Raw Gnat meat x1
• Where to cook: Jerky Rack

Gnat Roast

• Ingredients: Raw gnat meat x1
• Where to cook: Roasting Spit