ARC Raiders Grappling Hook Guide – How to Get It, Craft It, and Use It Effectively

TL;DR

• The Grappling Hook is a new Uncommon Quick Use traversal gadget added in the Frozen Trail 2.0 update.
• It lets you climb, swing, and rappel across vertical terrain — movement stays under your control throughout.
• Unlike the Legendary Snap Hook, which auto-reels you in, the Grappling Hook is manual and far easier to obtain.
• Fastest blueprint route: reach Level 12 on the free Frozen Trail Reward Pass.
• Alternative: Research it at your Outpost’s Research Station for 2,000 Research Points and 10 Rope.
• Level 6 of the free Reward Pass gives you two pre-made Grappling Hooks to try before you unlock the blueprint.
• Crafting requires a Utility Station Level 1, 2x Rope, 1x Cable Stripper, and 1x Mechanical Component.
• It weighs 5kg, sits in your Quick Use slot, and movement with it draws on your stamina meter.

What Is the ARC Raiders Grappling Hook?

If you’ve spent any time on the new Pendola Pass map since ARC Raiders Frozen Trail 2.0 launched, you already know how differently vertical terrain changes the game. Rooftops that used to require a specific approach path, gaps that sent you on a long ground detour, ledges that gave snipers a clean angle on your route — all of that gets rerouted when you have a Grappling Hook in your loadout.

The Grappling Hook is a brand new Uncommon Quick Use gadget added with the Frozen Trail 2.0 update on October 8, 2026. Fire it at almost any surface, let it anchor, and then use it to climb up, rappel down, or swing across gaps that ground routes can’t solve. What makes it distinct from the existing Snap Hook is that movement stays entirely under your control. The Snap Hook auto-reels you in the moment it connects. The Grappling Hook doesn’t — you manage the ascent or descent yourself, which makes it a fundamentally different tool suited to deliberate positioning rather than quick burst movement.

It sits in your Quick Use slot, weighs 5kg, and uses your stamina meter while in motion. That stamina cost is something to keep in mind — committing to a long climb or gap crossing mid-fight without watching your meter can leave you dangerously exposed at the other end.

Grappling Hook vs. Snap Hook — Key Differences

With two grappling-style gadgets now in the game, it’s worth understanding exactly where they split. Embark Studios deliberately gave them separate identities with Frozen Trail 2.0, stating clearly that they didn’t want the Grappling Hook to just be a linear upgrade from the Snap Hook — they’re designed for different situations.

• Snap Hook: Legendary rarity, auto-reels you in instantly on contact, crafted at Utility Station Level 3, weighs 5kg, range 20m — a fast committed burst movement tool. Great for closing distance quickly or escaping in a panic. Recycles into 1x Power Rod and 3x Rope.
• Grappling Hook: Uncommon rarity, manual movement control, crafted at Utility Station Level 1, weighs 5kg — a flexible traversal and positioning tool. Better for deliberate routing, elevation scouting, and approach angles you plan ahead of time.

The practical upshot: the Snap Hook is for reactionary bursts of movement; the Grappling Hook is for deliberate route-making and repositioning. They complement each other well rather than competing, and on vertical maps like Pendola Pass both have a clear role. If you want a deeper look at how shields and stamina interact with your overall mobility setup, our shield types guide and early skills guide cover the supporting systems that affect how aggressively you can use movement gadgets.

How to Get the ARC Raiders Grappling Hook Blueprint

There are three routes to the blueprint, and one very useful shortcut to get your hands on actual Grappling Hooks before you’ve unlocked crafting at all.

Arc Raiders Grappling Hook blueprint

Route 1 — Frozen Trail Reward Pass (Fastest and Free)

The most straightforward path is the Frozen Trail Reward Pass — and crucially, you don’t need the premium version. The free track includes the blueprint at Level 12. To climb through the pass, you earn Reward Points by completing Feats, which reset daily, giving you consistent progress even without paying anything.

There’s also a useful bonus at Level 6 of the free track: two pre-made Grappling Hooks drop into your inventory. That means you can start experimenting with the gadget in real raids before you’ve even unlocked the crafting recipe — a smart way to get a feel for the hook’s behaviour on Pendola Pass before committing it to your regular loadout. Once you hit Level 12, claim the blueprint, and you’re set to craft as many as your materials allow.

Make sure the Frozen Trail Reward Pass is set as your active pass before grinding Feats. Reward Points only go toward whichever pass is currently active, and they won’t transfer retroactively.

Route 2 — Research Station at the Outpost

If you’ve already unlocked the Outpost and built your Research Station, you have a second path. The Grappling Hook Blueprint becomes available at Research Station Level 1 and costs:

• 2,000 Research Points
• 10x Rope

Once researched, the blueprint unlocks immediately and you can head straight to crafting — no separate “consume” action needed like you’d have with a looted copy. If you’re still working toward your Outpost, our full ARC Raiders Outpost guide walks through the Sheltered Retreat Project stages and everything you need to get the Research Station up and running.

Route 3 — Looting or Buying Without the Blueprint

You don’t technically need the blueprint to get your hands on a Grappling Hook. A few other sources exist:

• Nomadic Envoys: The hook is available from Nomadic Envoy traders in the Traders tab — straightforward if they have it in stock.
• Pendola Pass quests: Several new Frozen Trail missions supply hooks directly as quest items.
• Topside loot: The hook and its blueprint can appear in containers, Weapon Cases, and Raider Caches during raids. Map conditions like Night Raid or Electromagnetic Storm improve your odds. There’s no guaranteed spawn point, so treat this as opportunistic rather than a farming strategy.

The catch with all of these: finding or buying a hook doesn’t unlock the recipe. If you want to reliably craft one before every raid, the Reward Pass or Research Station routes are the only ways to get there permanently. Finding a blueprint copy in loot still requires you to go to Speranza, select it, and choose “Learn and Consume” to register it — using up that copy in the process. A checkmark shows once it’s learned, confirming you’re clear to craft at will.

Grappling Hook Crafting Recipe and Where to Craft It

Once the blueprint is in hand, crafting a Grappling Hook is refreshingly straightforward. You need a Utility Station Level 1 and the following materials:

• 2x Rope (Uncommon Topside Material — found in commercial and residential areas; also sold by Celeste for 10 Assorted Seeds per piece)
• 1x Cable Stripper (Uncommon Topside Material — found in industrial and mechanical loot)
• 1x Mechanical Component (standard crafting material)

That’s it. It’s one of the cheaper crafting recipes in the game for a gadget of this utility level, which means you can reasonably bring one into every raid without putting serious strain on your stash. Both Rope and Cable Stripper stack in inventory, so building a small buffer of both makes pre-raid crafting quick. If you’re short on Mechanical Components, our Mechanical Components farming guide has the best sourcing locations covered.

One more useful detail: if you recycle a used Grappling Hook, you get back 1x Rope and 1x Cable Stripper — so even a damaged or spent hook isn’t a complete loss.

How to Use the Grappling Hook Effectively

Getting the hook is the easy part. Using it well — especially on a vertical map like Pendola Pass — takes a bit of practice. Here’s what actually matters:

Reach Elevation Before You Commit to a Fight

The most consistent use for the Grappling Hook is pre-fight positioning. Before engaging, use it to reach a rooftop or elevated structure, check the surroundings, identify ARC activity and other raiders, and then decide whether to push. High ground is a significant advantage in ARC Raiders, and the hook gives you access to positions that would otherwise require a long exposed ground approach.

Equally importantly: if the elevated position gets compromised, the hook gives you another angle to leave quickly. You’re not stuck on the rooftop once you’re up there. Our Pendola Pass map guide identifies the key elevated zones where this kind of pre-positioning pays off most reliably.

Create Alternative Routes Through the Map

Pendola Pass is more vertical than the other ARC Raiders maps, and the Grappling Hook is designed with that in mind. Rather than following predictable ground-level corridors, swinging across gaps and ascending structures opens routes that other players won’t expect. Varying your approach lines — especially when carrying valuable loot — makes you harder to intercept.

One thing to stay aware of: predictable grapple points are a liability. If you always climb the same rooftop or use the same escape ledge, experienced players will anticipate your landing spot and be waiting. Mix up your anchor points as much as the terrain allows.

Use It With the Tether Launcher in Squads

The Grappling Hook pairs particularly well with the new Tether Launcher gadget in team situations. Use the hook to reach a clean elevated angle, identify a target, and then use the Tether Launcher to restrict their movement. Your squadmates can capitalize on the opening while the enemy is locked in position. The combination of vertical reach from the hook and the crowd control from the Tether creates genuine team pressure that’s hard to counter on the fly.

Watch Your Stamina

This one catches people off guard early. Movement while using the Grappling Hook draws on your stamina meter. A long climb, a gap crossing, or a rapid repositioning sequence can drain it fast — and arriving at your destination with no stamina in a firefight is a very bad situation. Always check your meter before committing to a significant grapple, especially if you expect immediate contact after landing. Skills from the Conditioning tree that reduce stamina consumption or boost regeneration complement the Grappling Hook well for players who plan to use it heavily.

Use It for the Ballistic Gondola Exit

One specific and very practical use: the Grappling Hook can be used to drop off from the outside of the Ballistic Gondola extraction on Pendola Pass. If you need to bail from an extraction pod for any reason, or want to reposition to a different pod, the hook gives you a controlled way to do it rather than just falling. For extraction tips more broadly, our extraction guide and Raider Hatch Key guide are worth reading before you run Pendola Pass seriously.

Grappling Hook Item Stats at a Glance

• Type: Gadget (Quick Use)
• Rarity: Uncommon
• Weight: 5kg
• Stack Size: 1
• Stamina Cost: Yes — uses stamina during movement
• Crafted At: Utility Station Level 1
• Materials: 2x Rope, 1x Cable Stripper, 1x Mechanical Component
• Blueprint Sources: Frozen Trail Reward Pass Level 12 (free), Research Station Level 1 (2,000 RP + 10x Rope), Topside loot
• Recycle Output: 1x Rope, 1x Cable Stripper

Tips for Getting the Most Out of the Grappling Hook

• Stock Rope consistently. It’s the only crafting material here that appears in two places (two required to craft, ten required for the Research Station unlock). Buy it from Celeste with Seeds when your supply runs low rather than scrambling to find it Topside mid-grind.
• Learn the vertical routes on Pendola Pass first. The hook is most valuable when you already know where you want to go. Experimenting with anchor points mid-raid while under pressure is not the time to figure out what the map’s elevation looks like.
• Don’t grapple in a straight predictable line during PvP. Change your angle and destination regularly. Predictable grapple points turn a mobility advantage into an ambush vulnerability.
• Use it for repositioning, not just escape. Reactive use (escaping when pinned) is fine, but proactive use (approaching from an angle the enemy didn’t expect) is where the hook generates real advantage.
• Recycle spent hooks you find in loot if you don’t need them. Getting 1x Rope and 1x Cable Stripper back is a free partial restock on your next craft.
• Build up your stash and loadout fundamentals alongside the hook. Our best tips and tricks guide, stash space guide, and Safe Pockets guide are all worth reading if you’re taking movement-focused loadouts into more contested runs.

The Grappling Hook works alongside the other new Frozen Trail gadgets — particularly the Tether Launcher and Yank Grenade — to create a much richer movement and control toolset than the game had before. For players who’ve been waiting for vertical play to matter in ARC Raiders, Pendola Pass and the hook together are exactly that moment. You can play the game on PlayStation or Xbox, and if you’re looking for a broader view of everything the Frozen Trail update changes — from new enemies to the Amplified Weapons system — check out our related guides. Our full quest list also covers the new Pendola Pass missions that hand out Grappling Hooks as quest supply items.

Frequently Asked Questions — ARC Raiders Grappling Hook