There are multiple weapon types for players to use against the bugs they'll find throughout the park in Grounded 2. One of the better early game weapon options is the bow, though it will require a lot of arrows to kill some of the bigger enemies you'll face.

The crucial crafting material in arrows is Thistle Needles, and it won't be immediately clear where to find them early into the game. Thistle Needles are pulled from Thistle plants, which are easy to spot from a distance if you know what they look like. Here's how to spot them and harvest the needles.

Where to Find Thistle Needles in Grounded 2

Thistle Needles are found on Thistles, which are very tall flowers with a purple flower at the top. Thistles grow taller than just about all the grass found in the park, and the purple flower makes them very easy to find. They can be found randomly throughout the park, but getting up high can make it easy to identify them and make your way over to where they are.

Once you reach a Thistle, you'll be able to harvest Thistle Needles all the way up the plant's stem, starting at the base of the stem. Even if you can't reach high places, you'll usually find between 8-12 Thistle Needles without really working for it. Thistle Needles also respawn every few days, making it one of the more abundant resources to find.

Some early game Thistles can easily be found by going to the first Ranger Station and heading directly south, towards the Entrance area of the park.

How to Craft Arrows in Grounded 2

Once you have some Thistle Needles, you'll also need to get some Mite Fuzz in order to craft some arrows. The recipe for simple arrows is:

Arrows in your inventory are automatically used by whatever bow you have equipped.

Making this recipe will result in 10 arrows, so it will be easy to fill your inventory with as many arrows as you want. After you shoot an arrow, it can be retrieved, and there will be an icon over where it lands, helping you locate all the ones you shot.. After killing a bug with arrows and whatever bow you use, you'll be able to pick up those arrows too, making it only important to craft arrows you lost, instead of always needing new ones after each fight.

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Action
Adventure
RPG
Sandbox
Exploration
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Released
July 29, 2025
ESRB
Teen / Violence, Blood
Developer(s)
Obsidian Entertainment
Publisher(s)
Xbox Game Studios
Engine
Unreal Engine 5
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SUBSCRIPTION
DIGITAL
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Genre(s)
Action, Adventure, RPG, Sandbox, Exploration