Grounded 2: How to Get Salt Shard Without a Tier 4 Hammer

Salt Clusters in Grounded 2 normally sit behind a Tier 4 hammer, which puts them well out of reach for anyone still working through the early part of the Into the Abyss update. There is a way around that gate. A Tier 3 underwater explosive called Croakwurst does enough damage to shatter the clusters outright, and the ones tucked inside a cave near the Gnarly Bark tree respawn, so the same spot can be farmed again and again.

Quick answer: Craft a Croakwurst at a Workbench, throw it at a Salt Cluster while the cluster is submerged or touching water, then hit the Croakwurst with a spear to detonate it and collect the Salt Shards.

Croakwurst crafting recipe and required materials

Croakwurst is a Tier 3 throwable built at a Workbench. Everything it needs comes from the pond and the areas around it, and one Croakwurst is enough to break a single cluster, so craft a few before heading out.

Material	Quantity
Raw Tadpole Meat	2
O.R.C. Receiver	1
Unstable Goo	1
Sunken Bone	1

Recipes menu showing the Croakwurst projectile and its four workbench ingredients — The Recipes menu entry for Croakwurst lists its Workbench requirements. Image: Obsidian Entertainment

Bring a spear as well. The explosive does not go off on impact, and the spear is what sets it off once it is stuck to the cluster.

Salt Cluster location near the Gnarly Bark tree

The clusters worth farming sit inside a cave underneath the Gnarly Bark tree, on the Skunk Pond side of the map. The marker to aim for is roughly -27° N / -2° E. It is a swim and a squeeze, so a mount makes the trip faster — a spider mount handles the entrance without trouble.

Three paper boats sit in this stretch of water, coloured cyan, purple, and white. The white boat is the one that matters. It is the one sitting inside the cave, and the Salt Clusters are inside it.

Player character swimming beside a giant paper boat in the pond while looking for the cave entrance — The paper boats sitting in the pond mark the route toward the cave under Gnarly Bark. Image: Obsidian Entertainment

How to break a Salt Cluster with Croakwurst

Craft at least one Croakwurst at a Workbench and put it on your hotbar. Carry a spare or two if you plan to clear every cluster in the cave.

Travel to the cave beneath the Gnarly Bark tree and swim inside until you reach the white paper boat. Look inside the hull for the Salt Clusters.

Salt Clusters visible inside the paper boat at the water line in the cave — The Salt Clusters sit inside the paper boat, where a Tier 4 hammer would normally be needed. Image: Obsidian Entertainment

Equip the Croakwurst and throw it at a cluster. The cluster has to be underwater or in contact with water for the explosive to work as intended, so line up your throw before releasing it.

Switch to your spear and strike the Croakwurst where it landed. That hit triggers the detonation and shatters the cluster.

Swim through the debris and pick up the Salt Shards that drop. Repeat on the remaining clusters, then come back later once they have respawned.

How to confirm it worked and what can drop

A successful detonation removes the cluster entirely and scatters loose Salt Shards in the water. If the cluster is still standing, the Croakwurst either did not connect or was not touching water when it went off — retrieve or recraft, and try again with the throw placed lower on the cluster.

Breaking these clusters also has a chance to drop the Crystal Trident trinket, which adds salt damage to your weapon attacks. It is not guaranteed on any single cluster, which is another reason the respawn timer on this spot is useful.

What Salt Shard is used for in Grounded 2

Salt Shard is a Tier 2 material described in-game as a clean, sharp piece of salt that should not be eaten on its own but works well as a flavour ingredient in meals. On the crafting side it feeds into Sappy Rounds.

Note: the Salt Glob recipe does not appear in the Oven yet, even with shards in hand. Mighty Glob, Mint Glob, Spicy Glob, and Sour Glob are all listed there, but the salt version is still locked, and unlocking it appears to depend on an optical disc from a Tier 4 biome.

None of this replaces the Tier 4 hammer long term, but it does let you bank a stack of Salt Shards well before you would normally be able to touch a cluster. Keep a few Croakwurst in reserve and the cave under Gnarly Bark turns into a repeatable stop rather than a one-time detour.