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Short answer: the most dependable pairing for the Grappling Hook is a loadout built around your intended fight distance, not a universal “meta” weapon. This article treats “the new gadget” as the Grappling Hook added in Embark Studios’ Frozen Trail 2.0 update on October 8, 2026. It lets you swing between buildings or climb to high ground, so the right setup is the one that turns that movement into a useful advantage while covering the exposure and landing risks it creates.
Embark has not published a best-build ranking or a tested weapon pairing. The loadouts below are therefore playstyle-based recommendations. Use them as starting points, then adjust for your squad, route and raid objective.
What the Grappling Hook changes in ARC Raiders
Frozen Trail 2.0 added Pendola Pass, new map conditions, enemies, weapons, a revised skill tree and several gadgets. The Grappling Hook is one of those new items. The current gadget description presents it as a traversal tool: you can swing between buildings or climb to elevated ground. That gives you route choices that a normal sprint or jump cannot provide, but it does not make every rooftop safe or every landing favorable.
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You can read the complete update notes in Embark Studios’ Frozen Trail 2.0 update. A community-maintained feature list also records the October 8 release date at the ARC Raiders Wiki.
How to choose a Grappling Hook loadout
Evaluate a build on six questions before entering a raid:
- Traversal flexibility: Can the setup take advantage of a new angle without leaving you helpless when the hook is unavailable?
- Weapon range and role: Does your primary weapon cover the distance at which you expect to fight after a swing or climb?
- ARC capability: Can you damage machines effectively, especially when armor plates are exposed?
- Raider capability: Can you handle a player or human opponent during the vulnerable moment before and after the grapple?
- Exposure and landing risk: Do you have a way to survive an interrupted swing, a bad line or an occupied rooftop?
- Resource and objective fit: Does the equipment leave enough capacity for healing, ammunition and the items your raid actually requires?
No official source establishes a single optimal augment, inventory package or weapon pairing. The templates below use weapon roles rather than unsupported claims about named guns or numerical performance.
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Four practical loadout templates
1. Mobility assault: close distance, then finish the fight
Use this when: you intend to create the first opening by taking a roof, balcony or side angle.
- Gadget: Grappling Hook in a quick-use slot.
- Weapon role: a close- to medium-range primary that can deliver immediate damage after landing, paired with a secondary that remains usable if the target is farther away than expected.
- Support priority: enough healing and ammunition to survive an exchange rather than spending every inventory slot on movement.
The hook’s value here is not raw damage; it is the ability to approach from a route the opponent may not be watching. A swing to a side window can bypass a street-level firing lane, while a climb can put you above a machine or Raider position. Keep the reticle and camera moving during the approach so you can identify a clear landing area before committing.
The weakness is exposure. A visible arc can announce your route, and a landing animation or awkward collision can leave you unable to fire at the exact moment you expected to have an advantage. Do not grapple directly into a known crossfire merely because the destination is elevated. If the landing is contested, cancel the assault and use the new height to break line of sight instead.
Best fit: compact urban sections of Pendola Pass where buildings, balconies and rooflines create multiple short routes. It is less attractive in open terrain with few anchor points.
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2. Disengage and extract: keep a fight survivable
Use this when: the raid objective matters more than forcing an engagement, or you expect to extract through contested space.
- Gadget: Grappling Hook assigned to quick use so it can be activated without opening inventory screens.
- Weapon role: a dependable medium-range weapon that can suppress or punish a pursuer while you move, plus a close-range fallback for a doorway or stairwell.
- Support priority: healing, ammunition and any objective item you cannot afford to lose.
Here, the hook is a route-changing tool. Swing over a barrier, climb to a roof to force a pursuer to choose a longer path, or use a vertical break to disappear behind cover before rotating toward extraction. Keep one conventional escape route in mind; a grapple line can be blocked, interrupted or aimed at an unsafe surface.
The Snap Hook may suit a different version of this plan. Its post-update identity is a short, committed burst for rapidly closing distance or traversing a location. The official balance changes make each use more expensive, so it rewards players who already know when a fast, linear movement is worth the commitment. Choose it when your route is predictable and speed is more valuable than the Grappling Hook’s broader path options.
Best fit: raids with a clear extraction timetable, heavy loot or a squad member carrying an objective item. The build is deliberately conservative: it gives up some initiation power for a better chance of reaching the exit.
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Use this when: you are mapping Pendola Pass, collecting materials or completing an objective that does not require hunting Raiders.
- Gadget: Grappling Hook in the quick-use slot.
- Weapon role: a flexible, low-maintenance primary that handles likely close and medium distances without consuming all your capacity in specialist ammunition.
- Support priority: space for loot and objective items, with enough medical supplies to recover from a surprise encounter.
Use the hook to check upper floors, cross gaps and avoid noisy ground routes. A high route can also give you time to observe patrols before choosing whether to continue, wait or rotate. The goal is not to turn every elevated position into a shooting platform; it is to spend fewer resources on fights that do not advance the raid.
Do not assume that vertical movement is silent or invisible. Other players can watch common rooflines, and ARC units may still detect you after a landing. Stop briefly behind cover, listen and scan before opening a container. If the destination has no cover, the hook may save time but create more danger than a slower ground route.
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Best fit: objective-focused runs and early exploration of a new map condition. It is a poor choice if your squad has already committed to repeated close-quarters pushes.
4. ARC pressure: build around armor-plate opportunities
Use this when: your route is likely to produce machine encounters and you can identify armor plates reliably.
- Gadget: Grappling Hook for reaching a firing angle, high ground or a safer reload position.
- Weapon role: a weapon that can exploit the armor state you expect, with a backup capable of dealing with a Raider while you reposition.
- Support priority: ammunition for sustained machine pressure and enough defensive resources to survive a third-party attack.
Embark’s update notes say explosive weapons deal over 50% more damage against ARC armor plates but about 30% less damage against fragile parts. That is a conditional change, not a blanket instruction to carry explosives in every raid. If armor plates are the part of an ARC target you can expose consistently, an explosive option may be attractive. If the encounter requires precise fragile-part damage, the same choice can be less efficient.
The hook helps you reach an angle, but it does not solve target identification or ammunition management. Watch the machine’s state, choose the damage type for that state and keep a Raider response available. A squad that spends every slot on ARC damage can be punished while reloading or looting.
Best fit: routes with predictable machine activity or objectives that require disabling ARC units. Reconsider it when the main threat is another squad.
Grappling Hook versus Snap Hook
The two gadgets should be selected for different movement problems. The following figures are the changes Embark published for the Snap Hook in the October 2026 update notes.
| Characteristic | Snap Hook after Frozen Trail 2.0 | Grappling Hook | Loadout implication |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary identity | Burst mobility for quickly closing distance or traversing a location with more commitment | Flexible movement for swinging between buildings or climbing to high ground | Pick Snap Hook for a known, committed burst; pick Grappling Hook for route choice and vertical access. |
| Published range | 18 m, reduced from 20 m | Exact range not stated in the cited guide | Do not plan a Grappling Hook route around an unverified distance. |
| Durability consumption | 4% per use, increased from 2% | Exact consumption not stated in the cited guide | Budget Snap Hook uses carefully; verify current Grappling Hook values in-game. |
| Power cost | 60, increased from 50 | Exact cost not stated in the cited guide | Keep a conventional movement fallback instead of assuming unlimited gadget use. |
| Typical pairing | Weapons that benefit from a rapid, committed close or crossing | Weapons chosen for the distance and cover available after a swing or climb | The weapon should complement the movement role, not replace it. |
Embark described the change as giving the gadgets an identity “outside of a ‘linear upgrade’ path.” That means the Grappling Hook is not automatically a stronger Snap Hook. Its value is flexibility; the Snap Hook’s value is a faster, more committed burst when the route and timing are clear.
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Weapon-range decisions after a grapple
Choose the primary weapon by the space you expect to occupy after movement, not the space you are leaving. A rooftop with a long sightline favors a different role from a cramped interior, even if both locations are reached with the same gadget.
| Expected post-grapple space | Weapon role to favor | Main risk | Adjustment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small room, stairwell or narrow balcony | Immediate close-range damage | Landing into a waiting opponent | Scan the destination first and keep a retreat line. |
| Street-to-roof transition | Close-to-medium flexibility | Target is outside effective range | Carry a secondary that can reach beyond the landing point. |
| Open rooftop or ridge | Medium- to long-range control | Exposure from multiple angles | Use cover and avoid staying elevated after revealing your position. |
| ARC engagement with visible plates | Damage type suited to armor plates | Reduced efficiency against fragile parts or Raiders | Carry a complementary option and switch when the target state changes. |
These are role recommendations, not claims that a particular named weapon is the current best. Weapon balance, availability and your own accuracy can change the result. The official explosive adjustment is especially situational: the “over 50%” and “around 30%” figures apply to the specified ARC armor-plate and fragile-part interactions, not to every enemy or every explosive hit.
How to equip and prepare the gadget
The current gadget guide explains the basic preparation flow. It says gadgets are added to a loadout before a raid and can be assigned to a quick-use slot. It also describes acquisition through loot, crafting and blueprints, with some gadgets sold by traders. The guide, updated October 7, 2026, marks some new-item details as not specified, so it does not establish a Grappling Hook recipe, price, rarity or exact unlock path.
- Open your loadout before matchmaking. Select the gadget section rather than relying on an item found during a previous raid.
- Select the Grappling Hook. If it is unavailable, check the current in-game acquisition screen; do not infer a recipe or trader price from an older guide.
- Assign it to quick use. Choose an input you can reach while moving, then verify the icon and charge state in the pre-raid interface.
- Match the weapon roles to the route. Decide whether the raid favors initiation, extraction, exploration or ARC pressure before filling the remaining slots.
- Reserve survival and objective space. Leave capacity for healing, ammunition and the items required by your objective instead of treating every slot as a combat upgrade.
- Preview two landing options. Before launching, identify one aggressive destination and one covered fallback. This prevents a single blocked line from dictating the entire encounter.
For the gadget’s described function and general equipping context, see the October 7, 2026 gadget guide. Confirm live values and unlock requirements in the game because the guide leaves several new-item fields open.
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Pendola Pass urban routes
In dense sections, treat roofs and balconies as connected lanes rather than permanent strongholds. A grapple can bypass a street choke point, but every elevated route has a predictable landing area that another squad can watch. Move through the height, take the information it provides and then rotate before your position becomes obvious.
Open or exposed conditions
When map conditions reduce cover, prioritize a grapple that ends behind a wall, ridge or structure. A longer swing across open air may be visually impressive but tactically weak if you cannot reload or heal on arrival. Keep the disengage template in mind even when you started with an assault plan.
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Objective runs should reserve inventory space first. The Grappling Hook can shorten a route to an upper floor or extraction approach, but it should not displace the medical supplies or objective item that determines whether the raid succeeds. If the route is contested, use the height to scout and wait rather than automatically initiating combat.
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Common mistakes and fixes
Grappling directly into a fight
Symptom: you arrive in the center of an enemy’s aim and cannot fire immediately. Fix: target cover or an offset angle, then peek after landing. The hook creates access, not immunity.
Assuming every rooftop is safe
Symptom: you win the climb but are exposed to several sightlines. Fix: identify a covered fallback before activating the gadget and leave the roof once it has served its purpose.
Ignoring the weapon’s effective distance
Symptom: the landing is successful but the target is outside your weapon’s practical range. Fix: choose the primary for the destination and retain a complementary secondary.
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Using explosives against the wrong ARC component
Symptom: damage feels poor after the target exposes a fragile part. Fix: remember that the published explosive bonus is for ARC armor plates, while fragile-part damage is around 30% lower; change damage type or target state when possible.
Spending all movement resources early
Symptom: the squad reaches the first building but has no escape option during extraction. Fix: treat at least one grapple as a reserve and keep a ground route available.
Copying an unverified recipe or price
Symptom: your preparation plan depends on a rarity, cost or unlock level that does not appear in the current client. Fix: use the live acquisition screen. The dated guide does not establish those Grappling Hook details.
Quick selection guide
| Your priority | Recommended template | Why it fits | What to watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Take an unexpected angle and force a fight | Mobility assault | Close-to-medium weapon role capitalizes on a new entry route. | Landing exposure and limited retreat options. |
| Reach extraction with valuable loot | Disengage and extract | Medium-range control and a reserved movement charge support survival. | Do not confuse route flexibility with guaranteed escape. |
| Explore, loot and avoid unnecessary conflict | Explore and loot | Flexible weapon role leaves room for objective items and supplies. | Roofs and upper floors can still be watched. |
| Fight ARC units around exposed plates | ARC pressure | Lets you exploit the published explosive-versus-armor interaction when appropriate. | Explosives are less effective against fragile parts and may leave you weak against Raiders. |
Verdict
The Grappling Hook is best paired with a loadout that is built for the space it opens: close-range pressure for a deliberate assault, medium-range control for a safe disengagement, flexible equipment for exploration or a damage option chosen around the ARC target’s current state. It is not a universal upgrade, and the official notes do not name a winning weapon combination.
Use the Grappling Hook when route flexibility and elevation are worth the exposure of a swing or landing. Choose the Snap Hook when a faster, committed burst is exactly what the route demands, while accounting for its 18 m range, 4% durability use per activation and 60 power cost after the Frozen Trail 2.0 changes. Recheck live gadget values and unlock details in-game, then tune the weapon role to your objective rather than chasing an unverified “best” build.
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