Hooks are a class of tools that aid the player in traversing terrain. When used, hooks fire a chain that latches to a surface or platform and pulls the player towards it. A hook is an essential tool that offers significant freedom from terrain height restrictions, and will often be the first major mobility tool a player acquires. A variety of hooks are available at all stages of the game (see table below).
The Grapple hotkey activates the equipped Hook in the player's equipment slot, or the first Hook from the inventory (read from left→right, top→bottom) without requiring it to be in the player's hotbar. On the Mobile version, dragging from the player outwards casts the Hook in the drag direction. On the Nintendo version, hooks can be fired with A.
Several higher-tier Hooks, like the Ivy Whip, allow the player to grapple multiple surfaces simultaneously. If the character grapples one surface, then fires the Hook a second time, another chain extends from the player without dislodging the first. Upon grappling a second surface, the player will be suspended in midair at a point midway between the two surfaces. This allows players more freedom during construction, or for navigating hazardous areas, such as above lava or Meteorite.
When the player first acquires a hook on Mobile or , a small tutorial box will pop up telling the player how to use it.
Types
Hooks vary in range, velocity, number of deployable hooks, and number of hooks that can remain latched simultaneously.
- All crafted Hooks are crafted at the Iron Anvil or Lead Anvil, with the exception of the Lunar Hook, crafted at the Ancient Manipulator.
- Single Hooks dislodge immediately if fired again while already latched to a surface.
- Multi-Hooks without simultaneous latching (Dual Hook; also the Fish Hook prior to 1.3) can fire a second chain before the first latches to a surface, but will dislodge the first chain when the second latches a surface.
- A Multi-Hook can be fired again only after the previous chain latched a surface or fully retracted. The Fish Hook, Dual Hook, Web Slinger, and Lunar Hook are exceptions, and can be fired very rapidly; nearly as fast as the player can press the button.
Pre-Hardmode
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Item | Source | Reach (tiles) |
Velocity | Hooks | Latching | Sell | Rarity | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Grappling Hook | Crafted: 3 + or bought from Goblin Tinkerer (2) |
19 | 11.5 | 1 | Single | 40 | ||
Amethyst Hook | Crafted: 15 | 18 | 10 | 1 | Single | 40 | ||
Topaz Hook | Crafted: 15 | 20 | 10.5 | 1 | Single | 40 | ||
Sapphire Hook | Crafted: 15 | 22 | 11 | 1 | Single | 40 | ||
Emerald Hook | Crafted: 15 | 24 | 11.5 | 1 | Single | 40 | ||
Ruby Hook | Crafted: 15 | 26 | 12 | 1 | Single | 40 | ||
Diamond Hook | Crafted: 15 | 28 | 12.5 | 1 | Single | 40 | ||
Web Slinger | Web Covered Chests | 16 | 10 | 8 | Simultaneous | 40 |
| |
Skeletron Hand | Skeletron (14.29%) | 22 | 15 | 2 | Simultaneous | 90 | ||
Slime Hook |
King Slime (14.29%) | 20 | 10 | 3 | Simultaneous | 40 | ||
Fish Hook | Angler (1%) | 25 | 13 | 2 | Simultaneous | 40 |
| |
Ivy Whip | Crafted: 12 + 3 | 25 | 13 | 3 | Simultaneous | 40 | ||
Bat Hook | Goodie Bags | 32 | 15.5 | 1 | Single | 2 |
| |
Candy Cane Hook |
Presents | 25 | 11.5 | 1 | Single | 4 |
Hardmode
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Item | Source | Reach (tiles) |
Velocity | Hooks | Latching | Sell | Rarity | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dual Hook | Mimics (14.29%) | 28 | 14 | 2 | Individual | 4 |
| |
Thorn Hook |
Plantera (10%) | 30 | 15 | 3 | Simultaneous | 8 |
| |
Illuminant Hook |
Hallowed Mimic (25%) | 30 | 15 | 3 | Simultaneous | 8 |
| |
Worm Hook Internal Item ID: 3023
|
Corrupt Mimic (20%) | 30 | 15 | 3 | Simultaneous | 8 |
| |
Tendon Hook Internal Item ID: 3020
|
Crimson Mimic (20%) | 31 | 15 | 3 | Simultaneous | 8 |
| |
Anti-Gravity Hook |
Martian Saucer (11.11%) | 31 | 14 | 3 | Simultaneous | 1 |
| |
Spooky Hook | Mourning Wood (14.29%) | 35 | 15.5 | 3 | Simultaneous | 4 | ||
Christmas Hook | Everscream (5%) | 35 | 15.5 | 3 | Simultaneous | 4 |
| |
Lunar Hook |
Crafted: 6 + 6 + 6 + 6 | 35 | 16 | 4 | Simultaneous | 10 |
| |
Static Hook |
Steampunker (50) | 40 | varies[1] | 2 | Individual | 10 |
|
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- ↑ Velocity varies based on firing angle
Achievement
Notes
- Grappling a platform or rail with only one hook will pull the player inside the platform, meaning that the player will always hit that platform with subsequent grapples. You must jump to dislodge the hook if this happens.
- Hooks reset a character's flight time when Rocket Boots or Wings are equipped as soon as the hook latches on something. This also applies to items that allow more jumps mid-air like the Cloud in a Bottle or Cloud in a Balloon.
- All Hooks can remain attached to a surface continuously for 10 minutes (10 hours in-game time) before they automatically disengage.
- Players can remove Hooks from their Inventory while clinging to a surface and remain there until they jump, use another Hook, or automatically disengage, even though the Hook is no longer in their Inventory.
- When used via the hotbar, Multi-Hooks can be re-fired more rapidly, requiring only that the previous chain has fully extended first.
- There is a short in-game tutorial when you obtain the Grappling Hook.
- Attempting to use a grappling hook on a slope will often cause the player to grapple the block they're standing on, as they are technically inside the block.
- If you try to place a hook on an Item Frame and it doesn't attach to the item frame, it will go back into your inventory, unlike other items which goes back into your current Hotbar slot.
Tips
- When sprinting accessories are equipped, the burst of speed provided by a Hook upon latching a surface can be used to accelerate a player to sprinting speed instantly. This can also be done with the Anti-Gravity Hook, but it will boost the player in the opposite direction.
- The Ice Rod can provide blocks to grapple while flying with Wings, repeatedly resetting flight time in midair.
- Characters that have hooked to a block are immune to gravity and knockback. Grappling the ground in dangerous locations, such as near lava, can ensure you don't fall in when taking damage from an enemy.
- Players can also exploit immunity to gravity by shooting the hook to the ground to prevent fall damage.
- Simultaneous-latch multi-hooks are more useful for intricate maneuvers. When fast travel is preferred, individually-latching multi-hooks allow faster transit, since they immediately sling the player across gaps, rather than automatically suspending them midway.
- Hooks that can be fired in rapid succession (Dual Hook, Web Slinger, Fish Hook, etc.) provide greater security when falling. If the first hook fails to latch onto a surface, the other hooks will provide additional chances to avoid fall damage.
- If a player grapples onto the middle of a door and opens it while suspended, the player will fly out with immense speed in the direction that he or she grapples onto the door with. The same effect can be achieved with Actuators. When there are Frozen Slime Blocks on the other side of the door, this speed will be kept and can be used for very rapid transportation in a skybridge, etc.
- Does not apply to the Static Hook or Anti-Gravity Hook, which don’t pull players in.
- On the Console version, Old-gen console version, and Mobile versions, doors are opened automatically when the player gets near one, so this is easier to perform.
- While latched with the Anti-Gravity Hook and rotating around the latch point, mana and health will regenerate as if you were standing still. It also provides a simple way to dodge quickly even when under the effects of reduced movement speed (such as from the Vortex armor's special ability).
- The Anti-Gravity Hook is very effective in avoiding quick enemies like Mothron, provided there is enough space.
- You can climb smooth walls extremely quickly with the Anti-Gravity hook by pressing your grapple key quickly and holding your up key whilst your mouse is in the top and slightly to the right of the middle of your screen.
- Right-clicking a hook in the inventory will automatically equip it to your grappling hook slot.
Trivia
- The Fish Hook is a play on words, using the term for the real-life fishing tool for a grappling hook with the same appearance.
- The tooltip for the Grappling Hook, "Get over here!", is a reference to Scorpion's catchphrase in Mortal Kombat.
- The tooltip for the Lunar Hook "You want the moon? Just grapple it and pull it down!" is a possible reference to It's a Wonderful Life's famous quote from George Bailey: "You want the moon? Just say the word and I'll throw a lasso around it and pull it down."
- The Bat Hook is most likely a reference to DC's Batman, who uses a grappling hook that reels in very quickly, usually launching him up onto ledges.
- The Web Slinger may be reference to Marvel's Spider-Man, who is often referred to as the "Web Slinger" due to his ability to sling webs and attach them to enhance movement.
- When you use the Lunar Hook, the color fired always follows this order: First orange (Solar), second green (Vortex), third pink (Nebula), and finally blue (Stardust).
- Because the Lunar Hook always follows this pattern, it's possible to cycle through the different hooks and latch onto objects with whichever color you want. Therefore it's also possible to have four of the same type of hook out (four Solar, Nebula, Vortex or Stardust hooks) at a time.
- The Candy Cane Hook has the same sell value as the Hardmode hooks, although it can be obtained Pre-Hardmode. It is also one of the few items with Lime rarity that can be obtained Pre-Hardmode.
- The Thorn Hook resembles a miniature version of Plantera's Hooks.
- If a player switches Hooks while already hooked, the existing hook will keep the previous hook's sprite. However, reshooting the hook will update the sprite.
- When switching hooks from a older hook that has more ends to a newer hook with less ends, the new hook will initially replace the first hook shot out, but then will subsequently always replace the older hook. This is extremely buggy and can allow strange effects such as two static hooks latched at the same time.
- The Static Hook is a Tier 10 (Red rarity) Item despite being acquirable after only one of the Mechanical Bosses has been defeated. It is also the only item with this rarity that can be bought.
History
- Desktop 1.3.1: Introduced Static Hook.
- Desktop 1.3.0.5: Fixed Lunar Hook not allowing you to use the hooks freely unless at least 1 is placed.
- Desktop 1.3.0.4: Fixed controls being reversed for Anti-Gravity hook when used in reverse Gravity.
- Desktop 1.3.0.1: Introduced Worm, Tendon, Illuminant, Thorn, Anti-Gravity, and Lunar Hooks, tweaked mechanics:
- Hooks given a dedicated equipment and dye slot, and can no longer be fired from inventory.
- Fish Hook changed to Simultaneous latching.
- You can no longer grapple while frozen.
- Desktop 1.2.4: Introduced Fish Hook and Slime Hook.
- Desktop 1.2.3:
- Fixed a bug where hooks would break if they tried to attach to blocks with liquid in them.
- Using a Rod of Discord releases all grapples.
- Using a teleporter tile releases all grapples.
- Desktop 1.2.2: Introduced Candy Cane Hook and Christmas Hook.
- Desktop 1.2.1.2: Bat Hook now correctly drops from the Goodie Bag.
- Desktop 1.2.1: Introduced Bat Hook and Spooky Hook.
- Desktop 1.2: Introduced Gem hooks, Web Slinger, Skeletron Hand.
- Desktop 1.1: Introduced Dual Hook, the Grappling Hook can now be bought from the Goblin Tinkerer for 2.
- Desktop 1.0.6: Grapple hotkey added. Removed 60-second auto-disengage.
- Desktop-Release: Introduced Grappling Hook and Ivy Whip.
- Console-Release: Introduced.
- Mobile-Release: Introduced.
- 3DS-Release: Introduced.