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Despite ARK: Survival Evolved mainly being a game about dinosaurs, some players prefer to rely on their own character's abilities and opposable thumbs. Whether it's to perform a sneaky raid on an enemy tribe at night or simply to shoot without the constant swaying that comes with sitting on the back of a dinosaur, an ARK player's arsenal of weapons and tools should always be expanding.

A tool that players will find useful - or fun, if nothing else - is the grappling hook that can be used with crossbows. This guide will help players unlock, craft, and put the incredibly fun climbing tool to use.

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Obtaining the Grappling Hook Engram

ARK survival evolved engram screen with grappling hook selected

Unlocking the many prerequisites

Before players can craft anything useful in ARK: Survival Evolved, they first need to unlock its engram. Each level up grants upgrades to a player's many stats. It also gives access to a new level of engrams that can be unlocked in exchange for engram points.

While each new engram requires at least three engram points to unlock, players will receive several engram points per level-up. This makes it possible to save some for a not-yet-unlocked engram or simply ignore ones they don't see themselves needing. Without cheats, it's not possible for players to unlock every single engram on offer, so it's best to focus on only taking engrams that a player (or their tribe) needs.

To unlock the Grappling Hook, players must first unlock engrams for the stone arrow and crossbow - and with the crossbow having some prerequisites of its own, it'll take players a while to unlock.

  • The slingshot engram can be unlocked at level 5 for 6 engram points.
  • The stone arrow engram can be unlocked at level 10 for 2 engram points.
  • The bow engram can be unlocked at level 10 for 11 engram points.
  • The crossbow engram can be unlocked at level 25 for 12 engram points.
  • Finally, the grappling hook's engram can be unlocked at level 47 for 40 engram points.

That's not all, though - grappling hooks and crossbows can only be crafted at a smithy, which requires resources made at a refining forge.

  • The campfire engram can be unlocked at level 2 for 3 engram points.
  • The refining forge engram can be unlocked at level 20 for 21 engram points.
  • The smithy engram can be unlocked at level 20 for 18 engram points.

Wait, there's more! The grappling hook's crafting recipe requires resources made at a mortal and pestle.

  • The mortar and pestle engram can be unlocked at level 6 for 6 engram points.
  • The cementing paste engram can be unlocked at level 13 for 3 engram points.
  • It can't be placed on the ground, so a thatch foundation can be unlocked at level 4 for 3 engram points.

In total, players will need to spend 125 engram points over the course of multiple levels to have everything they need unlocked in the game's many crafting menus.

Crafting the Grappling Hook

After its engram has been unlocked, players will find the grappling hook in the crafting menu of the smithy. There, they'll find that resources needed to craft it are:

  • 1x Cementing Paste
  • 35x Fiber
  • 9x Metal Ingot
  • 3x Stone Arrow
  • 2x Thatch

It will then take a few seconds before the grappling hook is added to the smithy's inventory.

Using the Grappling Hook

ARK survival evolved player aiming at a cliff with a grappling hook

With both a crossbow and grappling hook crafted, players are finally ready to fulfill their Batman-inspired dreams - by dragging and dropping the grappling hook onto their crossbow, it will be equipped and ready to use. Its controls are as follows:

  • Left-click to shoot the grappling hook at a surface
  • When it's attached, hold left click to get closer to the hook
  • Hold right click to move further away from the hook
  • When on the ground, crouch to stop grappling
  • When right next to the hook, jump to get a big jump boost and stop grappling

It's also worth noting that players can use their grappling hooks in some truly creative ways, including (but not limited to):

  • Crossing lakes and rivers quickly without getting in the water
  • Climbing over the walls of enemy bases
  • Attaching to large dinosaurs to quickly escape pursuers
  • Attaching to a friend's mounted dinosaur to 'tag along'
  • Climbing cliff walls quickly
  • Climbing trees

With all those possible uses and more, the grappling hook will definitely be a welcome addition to any player's arsenal - the main downside is that they are not reusable, and a new one will need to be crafted for each separate climb - even if the hook didn't attach to anything.

ARK: Survival Evolved is available on PC, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X / S, Switch, and more.

MORE: The Best Grappling Hooks in Gaming, Ranked