Taking down Skritch in Grounded 2’s Rot and Ruin update was a challenging yet fun experience for me, as it’s one of the more intense optional boss fights the game has to offer. The encounter sits deep inside the termite-infested Woodpile section and mixes heavy melee pressure, status effects, and other damage. While it may take you a few tries, if you learn the basic pattern, you can take her down quickly.
In this guide, I will explain how you can find Skritch, summon her, and beat her in Grounded 2.
How to Find and Summon Skritch in Grounded 2: Rot and Ruin Update
Skritch can be found living in the Woodpile / Termite Rest region of the map. This is a newly added area, and the fastest route for most players will be through the burrow entrance near the Campfire area of the map. You must clear the part of the Termite nest first before you go in. Look for the explosive rock near the large glove in the central chamber. After that, the deeper path will open up.
Once you are inside the lower chamber, you will be able to see a sacrificial pit. This is where the fight begins. To summon Skritch, however, you will need the following:
- 3x Termite Parts
- 2x Termite Larva Skins
- 2x Nauseating Mushrooms
Place these items on the altar, and the boss will appear immediately.
Skritch’s Phase Breakdown
The Centipede boss in Grounded 2 comes with three distinct phases. You must learn them by heart, as each of them brings a new challenge to the table. Let’s go through them one-by-one:
- Phase 1: In this phase, she scuttles around using her 3-bite combo and a belly flop attack. I found it easy to parry the three bites and then deal massive damage when her belly is facing me.
- Phase 2: She upgrades her attack patterns to a more aggressive one, introducing a 5-hit combo, which can also be dealt with by parrying or dodging it entirely.
- Phase 3: In the final Phase, she moves at high speeds around the arena with erratic movement. In this phase, precise dodging becomes your best friend, and waiting for openings with patience will reward you with serious damage.
Remember, Skritch will also summon Termite workers in between phases alongside larvae, which she can eat to heal herself. The first wave of workers will arrive after phase 1, which can be dealt with swiftly, but the wave after the second phase can be a serious challenge.
These workers can explode after they are defeated, so maintain your distance from them. Otherwise, it will slow you down upon tanking the explosion, which can put you in a serious pickle once the boss arrives to fight back in the new phase.
Learning Skritch’s Attack Patterns and Weak Points in Grounded 2
While fighting the Centipede, I found a few signature moves to be the most challenging part of the boss fight. Here are the moves you need to be careful of when fighting Skritch:
- Stampede or charge: Skritch can barrel across the arena, and this move is hard to fully avoid at times. I found it easy to just have enough healing to tank it.
- Spore Clouds: Leave them alone and maintain your distance. Standing in them will chip away at your health bar at a significant speed.
- Burrow and emerge: During her final phase, you will often see her digging underground and bursting back out to attack. Stay defensive with your shield up the moment you see her about to surface.
- Termite adds: She regularly summons termites and can occasionally also call in an O.G.R.R. King. Clear these as quickly as possible, or the fight can get chaotic.
Her belly is the real weak point. Hitting it consistently is the best way to finish her quickly. If you are only landing hits on her armor, the fight will take considerably longer to finish. She is also resistant to Smashing, Stabbing, Fresh, Explosive, Spicy, Sour, and Venom.
Recommended Builds and Strategy for Beating Skritch in Grounded 2: Rot and Ruin
The type of build you make for the boss fight completely comes down to preference. However, for me, I found it easy to fight her with aggression, as dealing damage was a key factor throughout the fight. That said, you can also go for a more defensive build to play it safe.
Here are the two types of builds that can work for you when dealing with Skritch in Grounded 2:
Aggressive Melee Build
- Masked Stranger’s Pirate Claw Cleaver
- Elegant Water Bug armor
- King’s Shield
- Volatile Capacitor
This combination can offer you solid damage, good blocking, and some serious status pressure against the boss.
Tankier Defensive Build (Alternative)
- Complete Tarantula armor
- Night Stalker’s Prey Trinket
This build will help you stay mounted for a longer period and focus on sustaining damage while the armor soaks in all the hits.
General Fight Plan
With the builds, attack patterns, and phases learnt, you will now have to come up with a basic fighting strategy to win against the Centipede. Here’s what the fight will look like:
- Keep the belly as your primary target whenever it is exposed.
- When she starts to burrow, raise your shield and block the emergence.
- After she disappears, clear out any Termites she summons, especially if it is an O.G.R.R. King.
- Stay out of the spore clouds.
- Use the Perfect Dodge mechanic introduced in the new update whenever you can. It will cost you no stamina and allow you to counter-attack her right away.
Rewards of Beating Skritch in Grounded 2
Beating Skritch will unlock the following items for you:
- Complete Centipede Armor set
- Cane-tipede (Centipede Staff)
- New mutation
- New trinket
- Centipede furniture (Cauldron, Candle, Apothecary)
- Stuffed Centipede and wall mount
You will also get the usual boss parts required for the gear listed above. This is one of the new armor and weapons introduced in the Rot and Ruin update in Grounded 2.
That is everything you need to know about beating the Centipede boss, Skritch, in Grounded 2. The fight rewards patience and move mastery. Hence, gear alone won’t help if you aren’t paying attention.
