Out of all the treasures and resources available in the shrunken survival game Grounded, the Melted Moat Chest hosts perhaps the greatest tool for fighting off the numerous insects that plague players throughout their adventure in the vast backyard. Located near the hazardous Sandbox region, the Melted Moat Key lies buried in an oddly specific place within the sand. Players may have a hard time trying to pinpoint the location following the newest additions to the game after Grounded‘s departure from early access.
The Sandbox biome presents players with incredible adversity, with lethal Antlion insects occupying a majority of the section. Although Antlions provide resources to create powerful armor should players defeat them, the primary item needed in the Sandbox comes through the Black Ant Shovel. An upgrade to the normal Acorn Shovel, the Black Ant Shovel requires 4 Black Ant Parts to construct, and allows players to dig for rarer Buried Treasure in the Sandbox.
Another factor for players to consider when exploring the Sandbox comes from the environment and how it interacts negatively with the player. A special condition applies to players during the daytime in the Sandbox, Grounded‘s Sizzle debuff, which slows movement gradually before killing the survivor entirely. The aforementioned Antlion armor reduces the buildup of Sizzle, but the surefire way to avoid this malicious effect is to search for the Melted Moat Key at sunset or at night.
Unlocking the Melted Moat Chest in Grounded
Players can find the Melted Moat Key in the upper right corner of the Sandbox near the shadow of the Yellow Shovel, then the Melted Moat Chest in the surrounding water outside the castle. At around 15:30 on the in-game clock, the Yellow Shovel casts a heavy shadow, with a hole near its top that designates the Key’s position as Buried Treasure. Once players are notified of the presence of Buried Treasure such as the Sunken Bone in Grounded, the Melted Moat Key becomes available after four dig attempts with a Tier 2 Shovel in the spot marked by the shadow.
The southwest corner of the Sandbox hosts the castle and its perimeter moat, where underneath the water lies the Melted Moat Chest. Less dangerous to uncover than the Key, players simply need to swim for a short time around the water to find the chest before unlocking it. The water protects players from the Sizzle effect during brighter hours, so if their adventure to retrieve the Key was filled with strife from the Antlions, a base location against Grounded‘s foes may not be a disadvantageous idea.
The Melted Moat Chest contains a Water Logged Recipe and Milk Molar once opened, revealing a set of tools needed to construct the Salt Morning Star weapon. The Salt Morning Star happens to be one of the more powerful weapons Grounded has to offer, a Tier 3 tool for defending players against the native Antlions and even more aggressive enemies such as the Wolf Spider. Players need to collect five Gum Nuggets, two Salt Globs, and ten Tough Gunk at a Workbench to build this weapon. Certainly worth the expedition, players that unlock the Melted Moat Chest are able to take on even the tougher bosses, such as the Orchid Mantis in Grounded, using the treasures found from this obscure container.