Best Trinkets in Grounded — Tier List & Effects

Grounded’s trinkets are single-slot passive items that each grant one fixed effect (or, for a few, a randomized one). With 49 of them spread across six sources — crafted, creature, resource, Ominent badges, unique finds, and a niche “other” group — the difference between a good and a bad loadout is almost entirely about which trinket you wear. This tier list ranks all 49 by the effect the wiki actually lists for them, so you can spend your single slot on something that pays off instead of a lucky-dip dud.

Tiers below are editorial; every effect and acquisition cost is taken directly from the Grounded wiki. If you are still learning the loop, start with the beginner guide and the combat guide before optimizing trinkets.

S-Tier — build-defining

These are the trinkets you build a run around. Most combine offense and defense or remove a core limitation.

• Sarah’s Charm — +Invincible Attack + +Invincible Shielding. Crafted from 1 Right Elf Charm, 1 Left Elf Charm, 2 Pond Moss, 10 Tough Gunk. The single best trinket in the game because it stacks both elite effects.
• Right Elf Charm — +Invincible Attack. Found in a chest in the Stump Lab Outpost.
• Left Elf Charm — +Invincible Shielding. In the outpost outside the Pond Dome; needs the Assistant Manager Keycard.
• Shield Solidifier — +Block Strength, making your block nearly unbreakable. Inside the Sour Wormhole rocket in the Brawny Boy Bin.
• Everlasting Hogstopper — +Food Generation, an infinite food source. Dropped by the Billy Hog.
• Compliance Badge — +Parry Heal and -Damage Resist. Under the power outlet at the edge of the Hedge.
• Health And Safety Badge — +Life Steal and -Damage Resist. In the Wasp Nest, right of the Wasp Queen spawn eggs.
• Biomedical Badge — +Trickle Regen Food Conversion. Buried treasure in the Sandbox footprint near the zipline.

If you only ever wear one trinket, make it Sarah’s Charm or one of the two Elf Charms. For boss fights, pair them with the boss guide routing.

A-Tier — strong, slot-efficient

High-value effects that fit almost any build.

• Mantis Trinket — Finale Crit Boost. From the Mantis.
• Wasp Queen Trinket — Arrow Refund. From the Wasp Queen.
• Astonishing Acid — +Finale Damage. Crafted from 5 Acid Gland, 2 Sap.
• Nifty Needle — +Charged Shot Damage. Crafted from 1 Thistle Needle, 2 Sap, 3 Gnat Fuzz.
• Sturdy Shell — +Friendly Fire Defense Up + +Major Threat. Crafted from 1 Acorn Shell, 2 Sap, 3 Grub Hide.
• Valentine’s Fortune — +Vampirism. From Chocolate Smoochies.
• Toxicology Badge — +Gas Resist + +Dust Guard - -Poison Resist. Near the breaker that opens the Pond Lab.
• Elemental attack charms — Pucker Charm (+Sour Attack, Sour Candy), Spectacular Spicy Shard (+Spicy Attack, Spicy Candy), Shiny Salt Crystal (+Salty Attack, Salt Cluster), Suspicious Mint (+Fresh Attack, Fresh Mint). Each is a clean damage boost for that element; match it to your weapon’s element.
• BURG.L Charms — Black Anthill (Dust Guard), Haze (Gas Guard), Hedge (Fall Immunity), Pond (Veteran Diver). Situational S-tier inside their specific lab/biome; all are NG+ locked at the end of each lab.

For elemental matching and mutation synergy, the mutations guide explains how bonuses stack.

B-Tier — useful, build-specific

Good effects that shine in the right situation but are not auto-includes.

• Speed Droplet — +The Quickness (run faster/longer). Stolen from Aphids.
• Volatile Fang — Explosive Perfect Block. From Infected Wolf Spiders.
• Unstable Capacitor — Short Circuit. From raiding TAYZ.T.
• Giddy Goop — Finale Goo. From Fireflies.
• Insulating Larva Spike — Sizzle Protection. From Ladybird Larva.
• Fancy Fletching — Effortless Arrows. From Crow Feather.
• Fungal Charm — +Explosive Resist. From Haze Fungus.
• Infected Broodmother Trinket — Blastwave. From the Infected Broodmother.
• Broodmother Trinket — Summon Poison. From the Hedge Broodmother.
• Power Droplet — Fury (unarmed damage). Behind the Brawny Boy Bin stone wall.
• Thor’s Pendant — Pendant. On the fallen Stump, near the tip.
• Sticky Fingers — Steal Item. From Chewed Gum in the Upper Grasslands toolbox (needs a Bomb Arrow and tier 3 bow).
• Wittle Widowling — Widowling Wrangler. From the Black Widow Web Sac in the Brawny Boy Bin.
• Rotten Berry Charm — Rotten Deluge. In the Berry Outpost.
• Deuces Sign — Deuces. Behind boulders under a Lean-To near Rake Rock Point.

These are the pieces you swap in for a specific fight or biome. The creatures guide lists which enemy drops what.

C-Tier — weak or random

Avoid these unless you have nothing better; they waste the slot.

• Glowbasa Necklace / Wristband / Link — Randomized Status Effect. Built from 12 / 8 / 4 DeDuper Jelly. The roll is usually minor.
• Science Cone / Science Waffle / Science Crinkle — Randomized Status Effect. From NG+ creatures. Same luck problem.
• Fluffy Dandelion Tuft — None. Pure flavor from Dandelion.
• Web Clippers — +Web Damage (only vs web harvestables). Niche from the tools guide.
• Defense Badge — +Damage Resist - -Attack Damage. A net tradeoff, rarely worth it.
• Entomologist Badge — +Attack Imperfect Block. situational.
• Intern Badge — +Hauling Strength - -Movement Speed. Only for hauling, and the speed loss hurts.

How acquisition splits by source

• Crafted (7): analyzed from creature drops (Acid Gland, Thistle Needle, Acorn Shell) or DeDuper Jelly. The Glowbasa set is the randomized trap here.
• Creature (12): dropped by bosses and NG+ enemies; the Mantis and Wasp Queen pieces are the standouts.
• Resource (9): made from elements (Sour/Spicy/Salt/Fresh Candy, Crow Feather, Haze Fungus, Billy Hog, Mint, Chocolate Smoochies).
• Ominent Badges (7): buried in fixed map locations — the resource guide helps you find each.
• Unique (13): one-off finds including the two Elf Charms, the BURG.L Charms, and Shield Solidifier.
• Other (1): Web Clippers, a niche harvestable boost.

Quick picking rules

1. Wear Sarah’s Charm (or a single Elf Charm) whenever you can — the invincibility effects are unreplicated.
2. Add an elemental charm that matches your weapon’s damage type for a flat attack bump.
3. Save a BURG.L Charm for its biome; Gas Guard in the Haze and Dust Guard in the Black Anthill trivialize those labs.
4. Skip every “Randomized Status Effect” trinket until your core slots are filled.
5. For survival pressure, the Everlasting Hogstopper plus a defensive badge removes food and chip-damage worries entirely — pair it with the survival guide loadout.

If you want the numbers behind the elements and resistances, the armor guide breaks down how trinket bonuses layer on top of your gear.