How to get and use the Sizzling Key in Grounded 2

Grounded 2 Sizzling Key: A character wearing heavy armour crouched down next to a blue and gold chest, with their hands hanging off their knees.
(Image credit: Obsidian Entertainment)

If you've managed to overcome the difficult final boss (at least at the launch of early access), you'll likely have come across the Sizzling Key in Grounded 2. Or, perhaps you've stumbled upon the locked chest in Pine Hill that requires it. Either way, it's not immediately clear what you actually need to do with either. In fact, it's even more complicated than the Frostbitten Key in the Ice Cream Cart.

Not only do you need to beat all the content in the early access version of the game, but then you need to trounce more wolf spiders and explore the scorching Fire Pit area. Before you can complete this puzzle, you'll need to have Omni-Shovel II, since it's a level two buried treasure. Once you've got that, here's what you need to do.

Grounded 2 Sizzling Key location and where to use it

You'll find the Sizzling Key on the desk next to BURG.L's head and the optical disk after beating the final boss of the Networking mission, the Stranger and her terrifying wolf spider. At the launch of early access, this is the end of the main story missions.

Once you have the Sizzling Key, here's where you need to go to use it:

  1. Head to the southwest corner of Pine Hill, directly west of the corner of the Picnic Table. (If you fancy the scenic route, you can also go all the way around to the northeast corner by the missing optical disk and loop back, as shown by route two on the map above.)
  2. Using your red soldier ant Buggy, climb up the tree roots, and chomp through the barricade to reach the upper level of the hill at the base of the large trees.
  3. Follow the tree root northwards until you reach a bunch of spider eggs and three red mushrooms near some rocks.
  4. Climb up the rocks and you'll see some pop-caps where two roots converge at the base of the tree.
  5. Head down into the small nook between the roots, and you'll see a glowing patch amongst some pine needles. This is the Sizzling Key chest, which requires Omni-Shovel II to dig up.

Opening this chest will get you two spicy globs, which are a unique resource you can use to craft the legendary Spicy Coaltana, so hang on to them. The other resources you'll need to make the Spicy Coaltana are unrelated to the Sizzling Key, so you might already have them, but I'll go over them just in case:

  • 5x EverChar Coal chunks: Found around the Fire Pit in the north of the map. It's hot, so I recommend bringing a Sticky Mintito to cool off.
  • 4x wolf spider chunks: Kill a wolf spider, like the one in the Networking mission, in the northeast corner of Pine Hill, or in the overturned spider tank in the southeast of Ceremony.

With these resources in hand, as well as the spicy globs from the Sizzling Key chest, you'll be able to craft the Spicy Coaltana. As you've probably already guessed, this legendary tier three weapon deals sizzling damage, so it'll burn enemies, particularly those weak to fire like spiders.

Grounded 2 tipsBest Grounded 2 base locationsBest Grounded 2 weapons and armourGrounded 2 BuggiesGrounded 2 Milk MolarsGrounded 2 briefcase code

Grounded 2 tips: Make life easier in Brookhollow
Best Grounded 2 base locations: Home sweet home
Best Grounded 2 weapons and armour: Gear up
Grounded 2 Buggies: All bug mounts
Grounded 2 Milk Molars: Find these tasty upgrades
Grounded 2 briefcase code: Solve the Picnic Table puzzle

Guides Writer

Rory has made the fatal error of playing way too many live service games at once, and somehow still finding time for everything in between. Sure, he’s an expert at Destiny 2, Call of Duty, and more, but at what cost? He’s even sunk 1,000 hours into The Elder Scrolls Online over the years. At least he put all those hours spent grinding challenges to good use over the years as a freelancer and guides editor. In his spare time, he’s also an avid video creator, often breaking down the environmental design of his favourite games. If you can’t track him down, he’s probably lost in a cave with a bunch of dwarves shouting “rock and stone” to no end.

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