You’re deep in the upper yard, dodging a Broodmother or maybe just trying to survive a random encounter with a Tick, and suddenly your armor breaks. It’s the worst feeling. You feel naked. Vulnerable. In the original game, repairing was a bit of a chore, but honestly, understanding how to repair stuff in Grounded 2—or rather, the massive "Fully Yoked" 1.4 update that many players treat as the definitive sequel experience—has changed the math entirely.
If you’re looking for a literal "Grounded 2" game box, stop. It doesn't exist yet. But the 1.4 update and the New Game Plus (NG+) mechanics are so transformative that the community effectively treats it as a sequel. Repairing your gear isn't just about slapping some glue on a chest plate anymore. It’s about managing resources, understanding the transition from repair tool logic to the smithing station, and realizing that once you hit a certain tier, the rules of the backyard change completely.
The Basic Loop: Why Your Gear Keeps Breaking
Every time you take a hit or swing an axe, durability drops. It’s a simple system. Early on, you’ll notice that things like clover armor or a pebblet spear seem to fall apart if you even look at them funny. This is the game’s way of forcing you to engage with the environment. You can’t just craft one item and win.
Basically, you’ve got two phases of repair life in the backyard.
First, there’s the "Material Phase." In the early game, you use the actual components that made the item. If you have a Red Ant Club, you need Red Ant parts to fix it. It’s straightforward but gets annoying when you’re carrying around beetle heads just in case your hammer snaps.
Then comes the "Glue Phase." This is where the game actually starts. Once you upgrade a piece of gear to Level 6 at the Smithing Station, it stops requiring specific insect parts. Instead, it requires Repair Glue.
Mastering the Glue Factory
Repair Glue is the lifeblood of mid-to-late game survival. To get it, you need a Glue Masher. You unlock this by finding the Burg.L chip in the Black Ant Lab. If you haven’t done that lab yet, you’re stuck in the dark ages of carrying around spider chunks.
The Glue Masher is a hungry beast. It takes "gross" parts and turns them into a universal repair substance. But here's the nuance: not all parts are created equal.
You’ll find that parts from tougher insects yield more glue. A Roly Poly part or a Termite King part is worth way more than a handful of Mite Fuzz. Honestly, once you start hunting larger prey, you’ll have more glue than you know what to do with. I usually set up a couple of mashers near my main base and just dump all my excess Tier 2 and Tier 3 parts in there after a long scouting run. It beats having chests full of junk.
The Upgrade Trap
One thing many players get wrong is repairing gear right before they upgrade it. Don't do that.
When you upgrade a weapon or armor piece at the Smithing Station using Quartzite or Marble (or the later-game whetstones), the durability is fully restored for free. If your Mint Mace is at 10% health and you’re about to take it to Level 7, just do the upgrade. You save a Repair Glue. Over the course of a 100-hour save file, that adds up to a massive amount of saved resources.
How Repairing Evolves in New Game Plus
This is where the "Grounded 2" vibe really kicks in. Once you step through the REMIX.R and enter the alternate dimensions, the repair economy shifts again. You aren't just worried about durability; you're worried about Infused Materials.
In NG+, you encounter Infused insects. These are glowing, terrifying versions of standard bugs that drop Pure Bling and other high-level resources. Repairing the new, high-tier "infused" weapons often requires these rare drops.
It makes the stakes higher.
If you’re rocking a weapon with a random elemental burst effect that you found in a chest in NG+1, you can’t just rely on standard Repair Glue anymore. You have to be strategic. You have to choose which fights are worth the durability loss.
The Tools of the Trade
Don't forget the Repair Tool. A lot of people ignore it because they focus on gear, but your base needs love too.
The Repair Tool is a separate craftable item. It’s basically a hammer made of silk rope and crude rope. If a stray mosquito attacks your walls or a raid goes south, you use this to "hit" your walls back to health.
Pro tip: If you're building a massive castle, the repair tool is slow. It’s better to build "defensive" layers—think stem walls in front of grass walls—so you aren't constantly fixing your actual living quarters.
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Misconceptions About the "Repair" Skill
There is no "Repair" stat you level up by fixing things. Instead, you should look at Mutations.
Mutations like Sharpshooter or Barbarian don't directly fix your gear, but they change how you interact with it. However, the most important "repair" adjacent mechanic is the Armor Scraps system. Sometimes, it is actually cheaper to let a low-tier item break and just craft a new one rather than hunting for a specific rare component in the early game.
But once you hit Tier 3 (the Mantis, the Wasp Queen, the Broodmother), that logic goes out the window. You fix. You don't replace.
Managing Your Inventory for On-the-Go Repairs
Nothing kills the mood like being at the top of the Upper Yard and realizing you forgot your Repair Glue.
I always keep a stack of 20 Repair Glue in my "essential" pouch. It takes up one slot. It’s worth it.
If you’re playing on "Whoa!" difficulty, durability loss is significantly higher. You’ll find yourself repairing after every two or three major fights. If you’re on "Mild," you can practically ignore it for days. The game doesn't explicitly tell you how much the difficulty spikes the maintenance cost, but it's roughly a 25% increase in wear-and-tear for the highest difficulty.
The Role of the Smithing Station
The Smithing Station isn't just for making things stronger. It's the hub for your gear's soul.
When you look at the UI in the station, you'll see a small bar for durability. If that bar is red, your item's stats are actually slightly penalized. A broken item provides zero defense and zero attack power. It’s a paperweight.
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In the late game, you'll be using Supreme Whetstones and Supreme Plating. These are non-renewable resources (mostly) until you find the recipes to craft them using insect parts and Acid Glands. Once you can craft your own upgrade materials, repairing becomes a secondary thought because you'll be swimming in materials.
Strategic Maintenance
Think of your gear like a car.
You wouldn't drive a car until the engine falls out on the highway. Don't go into a boss fight with "yellow" durability items. The game features a "Repair All" function when you are at a Smithing Station, provided you have the materials in your inventory or nearby chests. Use it.
It’s also worth noting that shields—like the Fire Ant Shield or the Ladybird Shield—have their own durability. These are often the first things to break if you’re a parry-heavy player. Keep an eye on that small icon in the bottom left of your HUD. When it flashes, you're one hit away from losing your block efficiency.
What Really Matters in the End
Repairing is a tax on your time. To minimize that tax:
- Reach Level 6 on your gear as fast as possible to unlock the Glue requirement.
- Build multiple Glue Mashers.
- Use the "Repair All" button at stations to avoid manual clicking.
- Keep a dedicated "Repair" chest near your most-used Smithing Station.
Actionable Next Steps for Survival
If you’re currently staring at a "Broken" notification on your screen, here is exactly what you need to do to get back into the fight:
- Check your Tier: If your item is below Level 6, look at the "Ingredients" tab in your inventory. You need the specific insect parts listed there. Go kill those bugs.
- Locate a Glue Masher: If your item is Level 6 or higher, head to your nearest Glue Masher. Toss in Tier 2 parts (like Ladybug or Bombadier parts) to generate Repair Glue quickly.
- Audit your Smithing Station: Before you spend glue, check if you have enough Whetstones or Plating to upgrade the item to the next level. If you do, upgrade instead of repairing. You'll get a 100% durability refill for the cost of the upgrade materials, which is usually more efficient.
- Equip the Right Trinkets: In the late game/NG+, some trinkets can actually affect how quickly your gear degrades. Check your "Pulp" or "Ominous" accessory drops to see if any have durability-related buffs.
- Farm the Black Ant Lab: If you don't have the Glue Masher recipe yet, stop everything. Navigate to the southwest of the map, enter the trash heap, find the Black Ant Lab, and defeat the Assistant Manager. The chip he drops is the only way to make repairing sustainable for the long haul.
Stay sharp. The backyard doesn't care if your armor is broken, but the Spiders certainly do.