Hooks



Hooks are a class of tools that aid the player in traversing terrain. When used, a chain is fired that latches a surface and hoists the player towards it. A Hook becomes an essential tool, as it offers significant freedom from terrain height restrictions, and will often be the first major mobility aid a player acquires. Hooks are acquired in various ways depending on their type (see table below).

The hotkey activates the equipped Hook in the player's equipment slot, or the first Hook from the inventory (reading it from left→right, top→bottom) without requiring that the Hook be in the player's hotbar. On the mobile version, dragging quickly from the player outwards casts the Hook in the drag direction.

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 those above lava.

Types
Hooks vary in their 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 when firing 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, 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 &mdash; nearly as fast as the player can hit 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.
 * 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 "grappling 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. In case the first hook fails to latch onto a surface, another chain can be fired immediately to ensure you don't take falling 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.
 * Moving whilst latched with the Anti-Gravity Hook doesn't count as movement with regards to mana regeneration. 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.
 * 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.
 * The hook is a great way to transport in early game.

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 catch phrase 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 is a reference to Marvel's Spider-Man, who is often referred to as the "Web Slinger" due to his ability to sling webs.
 * When you use the Lunar Hook, the color fired always follows this order: First orange (Solar Fragment), second green (Vortex Fragment), third pink (Nebula Fragment), and finally blue (Stardust Fragment).
 * 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 three of the same type of hook out (three Solar, Nebula, Vortex or Stardust hooks) at a time. However, trying to latch onto an object with a fourth hook of the same color results in one of your previous hooks disappearing. Trying to have three hooks of the same color and one of a different color still works. This means you can have no more than three of the same type of hook active at once. This could imply that the Lunar Hook is coded as four different hooks put together, with each individual hook behaving as any other three-grapple hook.
 * 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 hooks will keep their existing sprites. However any new hooks will have the correct sprite.
 * When switching hooks from a hook that has more hooks to a hook with less hooks, the new hook will replace the first hook shot out, but then start to always replace the new hook.

History
Grappins