Grounded 2 Patch 0.6.0.4 Goes Live: 51% Smaller PC File Size on Unreal 5.7, Centipede Boss, and Survival Fixes
Eight days after rolling out the major 0.6.0 "Rot and Ruin" fall update across all platforms on October 20, Obsidian Entertainment and Xbox Game Studios have released Patch 0.6.0.4 for Grounded 2 on October 28 for PC (Steam), Xbox Series X|S (included with Xbox Game Pass), and PlayStation 5. The hotfix targets the most frustrating camp resource bugs introduced last week, unlocks stalled quests on older save files, and polishes a landmark 0.6.0 branch that cut the PC install size in half while introducing the Woodpile region.
Patch 0.6.0.4 Notes: Vanishing Dew Drops Fixed, Quests Unblocked, and Xbox Series X Stability
Since the arrival of the 0.6.0 update, survivalists had been dealing with a disruptive base-management bug: Dew Drops and Sap would routinely vanish from the Dew Collector and Sap Catcher structures whenever a world was saved and reloaded. Patch 0.6.0.4 permanently stops those resources from disappearing across save cycles and fixes a related issue where the Water Container failed to collect water when a Dew Drop fell straight down into it.
Base builders also get two immediate quality-of-life fixes. Structure paint no longer disappears when viewed from a long distance after saving and loading, and the brief loading screen stutter that popped up while turning the camera with specific building pieces in hand has been removed. On the questing, combat, and stability fronts, Obsidian Entertainment addressed several key issues:
- Save File & Quest Progression Fixes: The hatch at the Skunk Pond Ranger Outpost, which had become inaccessible on older version 0.4 save files, can now be opened properly. The Forgotten Report quest item is no longer erroneously replaced by a washball, and the Advanced Bushcraft quest is once again completable on affected saves.
- Ranged Reload Exploit Patched & O.G.G.R. Workaround: Players can no longer bypass projectile weapon reload animations by repeatedly mashing the interact button. For survivors still encountering O.G.G.R. creature spawning issues, Obsidian notes an official workaround while the team investigates further: sleep in-game, save your progress, and reload the save file.
- Playgrounds Mode & Console Crash Fixes: Unintended heavy fog has been stripped from custom Playground maps, and a crash triggered by stacking an Everchar Diffuser directly on top of a Bubble Diffuser has been resolved. Crucially for console players, game hangs on Xbox Series X when putting the system into a suspended state have been fixed, alongside stability patches covering creature AI, pets, buggies, survival status effects, base paint, and the map UI.
Inside the 0.6.0 "Rot and Ruin" Update: Unreal Engine 5.7 Cuts PC File Size by 51%
Beyond today's targeted fixes, Patch 0.6.0.4 rounds out the Rot and Ruin update, which first entered Public Test Build (PTB) on October 6 before launching globally on October 20. Under the hood, Obsidian Entertainment delivered a major technical milestone by upgrading Grounded 2 to Unreal Engine 5.7. That engine migration and archive overhaul reduced the game's storage footprint on PC by 51%, shrinking the install size from 37 GB down to 18 GB (and trimming 200 to 300 MB on consoles) while eliminating numerous instances of client rubber-banding and lag during multiplayer sessions.
On the content side, the centerpiece of version 0.6.0 is the new Woodpile adventure zone inside Brookhollow Park. Its towering timber tunnels house the return of the Termite family (Workers, Soldiers, the Termite Queen, and new O.G.R.R. King variants with altered attack patterns) as well as one of the community's most requested threats: the Centipede boss fight. Defeating the multi-legged predator unlocks materials to craft the Cane-tipede staff, the Centi-Cultist armor set (Mask, Robe, and Leggings), the Howl of the Centipede mutation, a dedicated trinket, and themed base furniture (Cauldron, Candle, Apothecary, Stuffed trophy, and Wall Mount). Exploring the Woodpile also opens up the Splinter Canon and the Termite armor set (Termite Tricorne, Half-Plate, and Termite Boots).
Potato Beetle Buggy, Base Painting With the Splotcher, and Bismuth Gear Tiers
At a time when the miniature survival genre is heating up with recent reveals like Smalland 2: Lost Realms and its 10-player co-op mounts, Grounded 2 deepens its own mount roster, combat mechanics, and base customization with several core systems in the 0.6.0 branch:
- Potato Beetle Buggy: Larger than the Ladybug Buggy and built for frontline brawling, this new mount features a shotgun-like spread turret and a charged projectile shot designed to clear insect swarms. When ammunition runs dry, players can pulverize defeated enemy corpses to refill ammo on the spot, trigger a Healing Roar to keep teammates alive, and haul construction materials directly to active blueprints.
- Bismuth Resource & The Yoking Press: The underwater Abyss region now features harvestable Bismuth nodes, new diggable treasure chests, and thermal geysers that emit a warming volume. Processed at the new Yoking Press station, Bismuth lets players upgrade their favorite weapons and armor sets into higher tiers.
- Perfect Dodge Mechanic & Mutation Loadouts: Executing a timed Perfect Dodge now negates all incoming damage and consumes zero stamina, creating an instant opening for a counter-attack. Four new mutations (Royal Termissary, Howl of the Centipede, Rascal Rogue, and Dodge Master) join the pool, and players can now quick-swap their saved mutation loadouts directly from the Hotpouch radial menu.
- Base Painting (The Splotcher) & Park Collectibles: Using the new Splotch Mixer and the Splotcher paintball gun, builders can paint walls, floors, roofs, stairs, and doors across six color palettes, while collectors can hunt down 8 new SCA.B 2K color schemes and 5 collectible figurines that can be erected as statues back at camp.
My Take
What stands out most about Obsidian Entertainment's handling of the 0.6.0 branch is how tangibly it improves everyday play. Reclaiming 19 GB of SSD space on PC through the Unreal Engine 5.7 upgrade while watching co-op rubber-banding disappear is an achievement many live-service studios could learn from. Just as importantly, Patch 0.6.0.4 swiftly squashes the exact camp bugs that were testing players' patience over the past week: losing every drop of Dew and Sap whenever you reloaded a save or dealing with Xbox Series X suspend freezes was the last thing anyone wanted before marching into the Woodpile to face the Centipede. Between the corpse-pulverizing Potato Beetle Buggy and the stamina-free Perfect Dodge, Grounded 2 is hitting its stride at the right time.
Based on the outskirts of New York City, Chaya 'Chayane' spent five years studying software engineering in Montreal before returning to her home state. A Full-Stack developer and Deep Learning AI architecture researcher, she explores neural networks and algorithmic optimization while engineering data pipelines for Retrocharting and Gamescharting alongside Grimtag. A gamer for over 20 years and an avid collector of Nintendo history and The Legend of Zelda, she explored World of Warcraft's Azeroth before bringing her deep technical background to video game analysis.
