Grounded 2: AXL boss guide

The Hairy and Scary update in Grounded 2 introduced the new AXL boss fight. It’s a Colossal Tarantula that’ll make any other insect in the park look tiny. A fight with this spider won’t trigger unless you intentionally lure it out, but if you’re planning to complete your armor and weapon collection, fighting the big guy is necessary.

That said, the fight won’t be easy, and you’ll know after taking a look at its health bar. This guide will go over how to find, summon, and defeat the AXL Colossal Tarantula boss in Grounded 2.

---

How to summon the AXL Tarantula boss in Grounded 2?

Find the Poached Roast Roach recipe at the circle (Image via Xbox Game Studios)

First things first, you’ll need to challenge the AXL Tarantula to get the bait ready. Being the apex predator of the park, it doesn’t take orders from anyone, but you can lure the giant spider out using its favorite food, Poached Roast Roach.

The recipe is on a note stuck on the branch (Image via Xbox Game Studios)

To get the recipe, head to the Empty Terrarium in the Ceremony region. It’s a giant orange container that originally housed the AXL Tarantula. Inside it, you’ll find a note on a branch that contains details on how to cook Poached Roast Roach.

Here are the cooking ingredients:

• Roach Head x1
• Roach Chunks x4
• Garden Snail Slimes x3
• EverChar Coal Chunk x1

Make sure to have one ready in your inventory before you head out to challenge the AXL Tarantula in Grounded 2. Traveling all the way to the boss area will be a waste of time, especially if your base is far away. However, if you did use the number #2 spot from our recommended base locations in Grounded 2, the trip will be short.

---

How to find the AXL Tarantula boss in Grounded 2?

Break the roots and keep moving forward (Image via Xbox Game Studios)

Once you have the Poached Roast Roach, head to the upper left region on the map towards Pine Hill. On the left side of the outpost, you’ll find a path blocked by Dead Roots.

Swap buggy to spider, as it will also come in handy during the fight (Image via Xbox Game Studios)

Continue moving forward until you find a pine cone in an open area, along with multiple dead insects. While you don’t need to, it’s where you can swap Ant Buggy to Spider, as the path ahead will have you travel on webs.

Head inside the small gap in the hedge (Image via Xbox Game Studios)

After reaching the tree trunk, go left towards the hedge to find an opening near a Lizard skeleton guarded by a Praying Mantis. The path will take you into the AXL Tarantula’s lair. Deposit the Poached Roast Roach near the entrance on broken eggshells near the toy soldier to summon the boss.

---

How to defeat the AXL Tarantula boss in Grounded 2?

AXL is currently the most difficult boss fight in Grounded 2 (Image via Xbox Game Studios)

After you put the Poached Roast Roach on the shells, the boss will come out of hiding, and the fight will begin. It will be a multi-phased battle, and while the attacks are simple in the beginning, the spider has a lot of health and deals massive damage.

Phase one of the AXL boss fight in Grounded 2

Beware of the slam, the boss will do a lot of them (Image via Xbox Game Studios)

During phase one, AXL will roam around the arena and hit you with its front legs. Use a shield to try to parry the boss and reduce incoming damage. Before attacking, the boss will lift one of the legs, giving you ample time to react.

Hit the weak spot for giga damage (Image via Xbox Game Studios)

Use a weapon that can stun the boss down and climb on its back to damage its weak spot. Once you deal enough damage, AXL will let out a massive scream and run underground for the second phase. During this short window, heal yourself and your ally using Healbasa.

---

Phase two of the AXL boss fight in Grounded 2

Use a shield or get out of the poison dart AoE (Image via Xbox Game Studios)

After a few moments, AXL will emerge from the ground and shoot a rain of poison darts in your direction. Use a shield to defend yourself and mitigate damage. After this, the attack frequency will become more frequent and aggressive.

AXL will start attacking more frequently (Image via Xbox Game Studios)

The boss will use its fans as well as both front legs to attack you, giving you short windows to fight back. If the spider jumps into a corner, assume that it’s going to do the poison rain attack again and try to move out of the way.

---

Phase three of the AXL boss fight in Grounded 2

Prevent AXL from eating caterpillars (Image via Xbox Game Studios)

If AXL’s health goes down significantly, it will once again retreat underground, but this time, the arena will spawn caterpillars across four sides. If the boss eats them, it will recover health, so kill them as fast as you can.

AXL will only do the Charge attack during the third phase (Image via Xbox Game Studios)

Additionally, you’ll get with AXL’s minions from all directions. Defeat them to bring the boss back into the fight. This time, it will add a new attack to its moveset and charge towards you in a straight line. Move away to avoid any damage.

The rest of the fight remains the same, and so does the combat method. Your goal is to stun the boss as soon as possible to hit its weak spot and take it down fast.

---

AXL Tarantula boss loot in Grounded 2

Harvest AXL for its parts after the battle (Image via Xbox Game Studios)

After defeating the boss, you can harvest its remains for new crafting materials. Here’s everything you get after the fight:

• Tarantula Fang
• Tarantula Chunk
• Tarantula Talon
• Tarantula Venom

You can use them to craft new weapons and armor sets, although more fights may be required to have enough materials if you plan to craft everything. We recommend fighting the boss with friends to make the fight easy.

---

Check out other related guides:

• All classes in Grounded 2, and what they do
• Will Grounded 2 be on PS5?
• Do you need to play Grounded 1 before Grounded 2?

Edited by Mayank Singh Rathour