GrappleMomentum

Turns Valheim's vanilla grappling hook into a fast, momentum-based traversal tool, inspired by Pathfinder's grapple in Apex Legends. You get a kick when the hook lands, a pull that builds up speed, a rope you can swing on, a boosted grapple jump, and you keep your speed when you let go.

• Client-side only. The server and other players don't need it. Other players see your movement as normal.
• No new items or assets. It changes how the vanilla grappling hook behaves.
• Built for Valheim 1.0.16 with BepInEx 5.4.23.5. No Jötunn needed.

Features

• Initial impulse and progressive pull. When the hook lands you get a burst of speed toward the anchor. After a short delay, the pull keeps accelerating, so longer grapples end up faster.
• Momentum on release. Release at any time to keep your full velocity. Releasing when you reach the anchor also keeps it. Air braking is off until you touch ground or water, take a hit, or slow below running speed (for example, by hitting a wall).
• Rope swing. If the anchor is above you, the rope works like a pendulum. Look away from the anchor and steer with movement keys to open the arc.
• Grapple jump. Hook the ground ahead of you and jump within 0.5 s. You launch with a boosted jump and keep your horizontal speed, and the hook stays attached. The tip of the rope glows gold while the jump window is open.
• Off-hand hook. Fire the hook straight from your inventory with a mouse side button, even with a sword or anything else in your hands.
• Short cooldown. The hook is ready again 0.2 s after a shot, even while you're attached. There's no reload animation.
• Range indicator. With a hook in your inventory, a dot appears in the crosshair. It is blue if a shot would latch within max range (60 m) and grey if it wouldn't.
• Feather cape friendly. Glide, hook in mid-air, get pulled, release, and keep gliding.

Controls

These are the defaults. GrappleMomentum uses your Valheim key bindings and supports gamepad.

Attacking or switching weapons doesn't release the hook. Dropping the hook from your inventory does.

Quick start

1. Get a grappling hook (spawn GrapplingHook 1 with devcommands for testing).
2. On open ground, aim at the ground a bit ahead of you, fire, and press Jump right away.
3. While flying, look slightly to one side and strafe to shape the arc.
4. Release with Block and enjoy the momentum.
5. Then try high anchors (trees, cliffs) to swing, and hooking from mid-air with a feather cape.

Stamina and fall damage

• Each hook shot costs 5 stamina. You can change this in the config. Jumps keep their vanilla cost, including gear and feather cape modifiers.
• Gravity, collisions and fall damage work as in vanilla. If you want some fall-damage protection after a release, set Inertia.FallGraceSeconds.

Configuration

The config file is BepInEx/config/dugi.GrappleMomentum.cfg. It is created the first time you run the game with the mod. In r2modman, use Config editor. Changes apply live.

Compatibility

• Mods that also change player movement or the grappling hook may conflict. When it starts, GrappleMomentum lists any other mods that patch the same methods in the BepInEx log.
• If a Valheim update changes the code this mod relies on, it disables itself and logs an error. In that case the game runs as vanilla and nothing breaks.
• Works in multiplayer. Your movement replicates like normal player movement.

Known limitations

• This is an adaptation inspired by Pathfinder, not an exact copy. Speeds are tuned for Valheim.
• The rope is straight and doesn't wrap around corners.
• You get only one grapple jump per hook, and only from a ground attach. Hooking in mid-air doesn't give you a free extra jump.
• Rappelling (vanilla secondary use of the hook) stays vanilla until you start pulling.
• Very fast movement can still clip thin geometry, the same as with vanilla physics.

Bug reports

Please include your BepInEx/LogOutput.log. BepInEx overwrites it each time the game starts, so copy it before relaunching. Enable Diagnostics.DebugTransitions to add detailed grapple traces.

Changelog

0.3.2

First public release.

• Momentum after a release no longer has a time limit. It lasts until you touch ground or water, take a hit, or slow below running speed (for example, by hitting a wall). Removed Inertia.DurationSeconds.
• The grapple jump window stays open after an automatic release at the anchor. Before this, a jump could be lost when the anchor was close.
• New Pull.JumpMultiplier (default 1.5) sets the strength of the grapple jump.
• With a ground-level anchor, the pull no longer cancels a rising jump. Gravity bends the arc.
• With Diagnostics.DebugTransitions on, each grapple is traced: jump accepted or rejected (with the reason), plus height and speed every 0.1 s for 2 s.

0.3.1

• The rope only applies when the anchor is above you. Ground-level anchors give a straight pull, which makes grapple-jump arcs possible.
• The pull aims 0.6 m above the anchor.
• If you fly past a ground-level anchor and move away from it, the hook releases and you keep your momentum instead of being pulled back.
• Grapple jump window: 0.5 s after a ground attach (Pull.JumpWindowSeconds).
• Hit sparks appear on attach, and the rope tip glows gold while the jump window is open.

0.3.0

• The vanilla reload is replaced by a 0.2 s cooldown (General.CooldownSeconds), shared between both fire buttons. It also works while attached.
• Off-hand fire (Offhand.Key, Mouse4 by default) shoots the hook from your inventory without equipping it.
• Attacking or switching weapons no longer releases the hook. Dropping the hook does.
• Crosshair range dot: blue if a shot would latch, grey if it wouldn't.

0.2.0

• Progressive pull: initial impulse, 0.2 s delay and a 1.5 s ramp, tuned for Valheim.
• Rope swing with tangential air control. Looking away from the anchor reduces the pull.
• Grapple jump from the ground, once per hook.
• Block releases the hook and keeps your momentum. Reaching the anchor also releases it.
• Configurable stamina cost per shot (default 5). Jumps keep their vanilla cost.
• Optional fall-damage grace after a release (off by default).

0.1.0

• Momentum is kept after releasing the vanilla grappling hook.