Hooks

Hooks are a class of tools which 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 which offers significant freedom from terrain height restrictions as well as being a fast movement option, 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 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.

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 the, 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.

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 Unicorn and Basilisk Mount's charging abilities, though requiring an additional input to reactive the mount, and 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 one does not 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 they grappled 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.
 * This effect does not apply to the Static Hook or Anti-Gravity Hook, which do not pull players in.
 * On the, 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 the player was standing still. It also provides a simple way to dodge quickly even when under the effects of reduced movement speed (such as from the special ability).
 * The Anti-Gravity Hook is very effective in avoiding quick enemies like Mothron, provided there is enough space.
 * Smooth walls can be climbed extremely quickly with the Anti-Gravity Hook by pressing the key quickly and holding the  key while the mouse is in the top and slightly to the right of the middle of the screen.
 * Right-clicking a hook in the inventory will automatically equip it to the hook slot.

Trivia

 * It was once going to be possible to grapple to trees. However, this feature was later scrapped, because Redigit found that it "interfered with gameplay in an annoying way". This feature has since been added as the Squirrel Hook's unique feature.
 * 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 the fighting video game series .
 * However, none of the hooks can grab entities and pull them forward in any way.
 * The tooltip for the Lunar Hook "You want the moon? Just grapple it and pull it down!" is a possible reference to the quote "You want the moon? Just say the word and I'll throw a lasso around it and pull it down." by George Bailey, protagonist of the 1946 American Christmas fantasy drama movie .
 * The Bat Hook is most likely a reference to ' fictional superhero, who uses a grappling hook which reels in very quickly, usually launching him up onto ledges.
 * The Web Slinger is most likely a reference to ' fictional superhero, who is often referred to as the "Web Slinger" due to his ability to sling webs and attach them in order to enhance movement.
 * When using 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 is possible to cycle through the different hooks (i.e., shooting them out without latching onto an object) and latch onto objects with whichever desired color. Therefore, it is 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 the 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, re-shooting the hook will update the sprite.
 * When switching hooks from an 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 very unstable and can allow strange effects such as two static hooks latched at the same time.
 * The Static Hook has a rarity of 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 purchased.
 * Considering that the Thorn Hook has the same stats as the three Biome Mimic hooks, the Illuminant, Tendon and Worm Hooks, it is possible that the Thorn Hook may have originally been intended as a drop from the Jungle Mimic, which never made it into the game.
 * The tooltip for the Squirrel Hook "In the tree, part of the tree." is a possible reference to the Adventure Time episode "Up A Tree" in which Finn climbs a tree to get a frisbee and meets squirrel who says the line.