Ant Life Guide: Choosing a colony and spawning in
About
OverviewAnt Life is a Roblox colony-simulation game where you hatch as a larva, grow through ant castes, dig a nest, hunt for food, and fight rival colonies alongside your teammates. This guide covers how to get started, how to progress through castes, how to fight and raid effectively, and what to watch out for along the way.
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Contents
Choosing a colony and spawning in
Step
When you first join, a menu shows three colonies — Carpenter Ants, Yellow Crazy Ants, and Fire Ants. Click a colony icon, then wait for its queen to lay eggs before the Spawn button becomes available. You will hatch as a larva and need to be fed before you can advance.
- Pick a colony tap or click its icon in the spawn menu.
- Wait for the queen the Spawn button only activates after she lays eggs.
- Hatch as a larva you start helpless and must receive food from worker ants.
- Speed things up type 'food' in chat so nearby workers know to feed you.
- Advance to worker once your food bar reaches the worker threshold, tap the Worker button to hatch.
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Ant castes and what they cost
TableAll caste purchases are permanent — once unlocked, you can hatch as that role in that colony whenever you want. The Super Major exists only for Carpenter Ants.
| Caste | Species | Protein cost |
|---|---|---|
| Worker | All three | Free |
| Soldier / Major | Fire Ant, Yellow Crazy Ant, Carpenter Ant | Costs Protein (less than Alate) |
| Super Major | Carpenter Ant only | Same as Alate — 100 Protein |
| Alate | Carpenter Ant, Fire Ant | 100 Protein |
| Alate | Yellow Crazy Ant | 50 Protein |
Earning Protein
TipsProtein is the currency for unlocking castes. You gain one Protein per kill.
- Kill beetle larvae near queens for safe, low-risk Protein gains.
- Raid enemy colonies with your queen and Alates — larvae inside enemy nests are easy targets.
- Never raid alone as a worker; the PvP penalty for dying wipes out your progress.
- Once you have an Alate, solo raiding becomes much safer because you can fly in, bite, and escape.
- Say 'alate' in chat as a larva if you want workers to prioritize feeding you toward an Alate hatch.
Basic controls
CheckMobile support covers the essentials but leaves out several PC-only actions. Queens on mobile cannot open the queen menu, which means auto-lay cannot be turned off — eggs will be laid continuously.
- Light bite single tap or click with your head near the target.
- Heavy bite hold, then release; watch for the wide-open jaw animation before releasing.
- Dig PC: press F aimed at dirt; mobile: hold the blank button with one finger and tap dirt with the other.
- Feed (Trophallaxis) PC: press T; mobile: press the Troph button to toggle on or off.
- Lay egg (queen only) PC: press E; mobile: tap the Egg button.
- Fly (Alate only) press Spacebar twice to take off.
Fighting and raiding
Tips
Combat in Ant Life rewards patience and positioning over rushing in. Group attacks hit random targets in a cluster, so a large clump of ants together is a powerful offensive and defensive tool.
- Always open with a heavy bite — it deals twice the normal damage and can one-shot weaker ants.
- Stick with your queen or Alates during raids; dying alone costs Protein and leaves the colony short-handed.
- Use Shift Lock to land bites more reliably, especially while playing as an Alate.
- Use a hit-and-run approach as an Alate: dive in for one bite, then gain altitude before the enemy can retaliate.
- If raiders reach your nest and you are outnumbered, block the entrance with dug soil — spiders cannot dig through it.
Building and defending a nest
TipsDigging with F moves in the direction of your cursor. G picks up and relocates soil, which is useful for shaping structures. Mobile players cannot use G at all in V2.
- Dig your nest close to a water source so workers can hydrate larvae without travelling far.
- Block your nest entrance if a spider appears — spiders cannot dig, so a sealed tunnel stops them cold.
- Queens should keep auto-lay managed on PC via the queen menu (Q) to control egg output and colony size.
Playing as an Alate
StepAlates cost 100 Protein for Carpenter and Fire Ants, and 50 for Yellow Crazy Ants. They deal the same damage as a Super Major and can fly, making them the best scouts and raiders. A larva must be fed 30 times with a full food bar to hatch as an Alate.
- Reach 100 Protein (50 for Yellow Crazy Ant) farm beetle larvae and raid with your colony before spending.
- Ask workers to feed you as a larva you need 30 full-bar feeds to metamorphose into an Alate.
- Take off double-tap Spacebar and gain altitude before moving across the map.
- Scout first locate enemy colonies or food sources before committing your colony to a raid.
- Become queen heir if the queen is absent, be the first Alate to spam E to take the throne and begin laying eggs.
Rules and account safety
WarnThe game's own rules are clear and enforced strictly. Data wipes can also happen during development.
Community strategy ideas
CommunityThese ideas and tips come from people playing the game. Share your discoveries too!
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Ant Life [MOBILE CONTROLS]
Glossary
Glossary- Protein
- The currency used to unlock new castes; earned by killing enemies.
- Alate
- A winged ant caste that can fly, scout, and become queen if the current queen is gone.
- Trophallaxis
- The act of regurgitating food to feed a larva or nestmate, toggled with T on PC or the Troph button on mobile.
- Heavy bite
- A charged attack that deals twice the damage of a normal bite; performed by holding and then releasing the attack input.
- Super Major
- A Carpenter Ant-exclusive caste that is larger and stronger than a regular Major, considered the strongest ant in the game.
- Caste
- Any of the distinct ant roles within a colony, such as Worker, Soldier, Major, Super Major, Alate, or Queen.
Common questions
FAQHow do I get Protein as a new player?
Kill beetle larvae, which spawn near queens. You can also join your queen and Alates on raids and target enemy larvae inside their nests. Dying to a player costs you Protein, so avoid fighting other players alone as a worker.
Can I play on mobile?
Yes, but mobile controls are limited compared to PC. You can bite, dig, feed larvae using the Troph button, and lay eggs as a queen using the Egg button. Building with soil and opening the queen menu are not available on mobile in V2, which means queens on mobile cannot turn off auto-lay.
What happens if the queen leaves or dies?
Any Alate in the colony can become the new queen by pressing E first, as long as a primary queen was active before. The new queen loses her wings after laying her first egg and cannot regrow them.
Why is my colony being wiped out by one spider?
Spiders deal enormous damage, especially with a heavy bite, which can one-shot almost any ant — including queens, except the Carpenter Ant queen who has very high health. The best defence is to seal your nest entrance with dug soil, since spiders cannot dig. A group attack on the spider can also drive it off or kill it.
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