Grounded 2 Into the Abyss: How to Unlock the Zip.R

The Zip.R is the tool that lets you actually ride ziplines in Grounded 2’s Into the Abyss update. Building zipline anchors is one thing, but you cannot latch onto a line and travel it until this device is in your pack. It is tucked away inside a dead tree in the Gnarly Bark region, at the top of a long vertical climb full of spiders and other insects.

Quick answer: Head to the Gnarly Bark region and start at the southwest side of the dead tree (map coordinates -40° N / -13° E). Ride a buggy inside the trunk, climb to the high outer branches, cross the web bridge to the pair of suspended shoes labeled “Stinky Shoes,” beat the wolf spider and the spider inside, then loot the Ominent employee’s corpse to collect the Zip.R.

What the Zip.R does

The Zip.R is a traversal tool, not a building piece. Once you own it, you can jump onto any placed zipline and press E (on PC) to attach yourself and glide along the cable at high speed. Unlike a plain drop, the Zip.R lets you travel upward and change direction partway through a run, so you can chain multiple zipline anchors into a full circuit around your base or across the park.

Note: the Zip.R is separate from the zipline blueprint itself. You still need the zipline anchor recipe unlocked to build the lines, but without the Zip.R in hand those lines cannot be used.

What to bring before you climb

The climb inside the dead tree mixes bark walls, spiderwebs, and narrow branches, so having the right buggies makes the trip far smoother. Two mounts cover almost every surface you meet on the way up.

Requirement	Why you need it
Orb Weaver Buggy	Climbs the spiderwebs and vertical branches near the top without penalty.
Black Soldier Ant Buggy	Scales the bark walls inside the rotten trunk.
A torch	Lights the dark cavities inside the tree.
Start point	Southwest side of the dead tree, -40° N / -13° E.

Route to the Zip.R in Gnarly Bark

Travel to the Gnarly Bark region and go to the southwest side of the dead tree, marked at -40° N / -13° E. Ride your buggy across the outer tree roots and mushroom ledges until you find an opening that leads into the hollow interior.

Character mounted on a buggy approaching the rocky base of the dead tree in Gnarly Bark — Ride your buggy across the roots and mushroom ledges to reach the opening into the trunk. Image credit: Obsidian Entertainment / via @TinyPirateGaming

Inside the dark cavity, dismount and start climbing. Jump across the ledges, ride up the mushrooms and path ramps, and watch for earwigs that can knock you off as you ascend.

Player navigating a narrow ledge inside the tree that the buggy cannot reach — Some ledges inside the trunk are too tight for the buggy, so you climb them on foot. Image credit: Obsidian Entertainment / via @TinyPirateGaming

The path briefly exits the tree. Cross the burnt match, the melted candle, and the shelf mushrooms outside, then head back into a cave entrance set higher up the trunk.

Player climbing debris along the outside of the dead tree toward a higher cave entrance — The outer candle pathway links the lower hollow to a higher cave opening. Image credit: Obsidian Entertainment / via @TinyPirateGaming

Follow the tunnel past the fighting insects, moving up the slanted ledges and mushroom steps until you emerge onto the high outer branches of the dead tree. Keep your torch out here, since parts of this stretch are very dark.

Player holding a lit torch inside a dim cavern while climbing toward the upper exit — A torch keeps the dark upper tunnel readable as you climb to the outer branches. Image credit: Obsidian Entertainment / via @TinyPirateGaming

Mount your spider buggy and pick your way along the narrow branches. Keep going until you reach the spot overlooking a pair of suspended shoes labeled Stinky Shoes, which is your target.

Character on the high branches approaching a labeled structure while heading toward the suspended shoes — The spider buggy handles the narrow high branches leading toward the hanging shoes. Image credit: Obsidian Entertainment / via @TinyPirateGaming

Fight and defeat the wolf spider guarding the main branch. Once it is down, move onto the web bridge that connects the branch to the dangling sneaker.

Player climbing the branch toward a large wolf spider blocking the route to the shoe — Clear the wolf spider on the main branch before crossing the web bridge. Image credit: Obsidian Entertainment / via @TinyPirateGaming

Cross into the shoe and defeat the spider waiting inside. Then rummage the corpse of the Ominent employee to collect the Zip.R. The pickup point shows on the map at -34° N / 8° E.

Confirm the pickup and start using it

You know it worked when the Zip.R lands in your inventory after looting the Ominent employee’s corpse inside Stinky Shoes. There is no separate crafting or research step for the tool itself, so once it is in your pack you are ready to use ziplines.

To ride a line, jump onto a placed zipline and press E to latch on. From there you can travel along the cable quickly, move upward, and shift direction mid-run. Link several zipline anchors together and the Zip.R turns them into a fast transit loop around your base and the wider park.