The Grappling Plunger is a ranged tool added in Version 0.1.15, appearing as a red-and-yellow cylinder with wavy stripes that visually contains a plunger. Like the Grimoires, it is held in the Player's Off-hand (or their right hand), and can thus be used while holding.
It has the unique ability for the player to launch a plunger that can be retracted which will affix itself to entities, structures, objects or terrain and automatically reel the plunger in. The player will then either be reeled towards the grappled entity or pull the grappled entity towards themselves; this behavior is influenced by the type of entity (stationary entities, such as trees, will pull the player towards them) and the health of the entity relative to the player (entities with more health relative to the player will reel in the player, and conversely weaker enemies will be drawn to the player).
The strength with which the plunger reels things in is affected by its level; the Level 0 Grappling Plunger located in the Saloon will pull in the player lethargically, while a higher level one will yank the player and the creatures they target around. As such, a higher level plunger is ideal for rapid traversal.
The Grappling Plunger being used to reel in a Pollywog.
Note that enemy corpses can also be reeled in for convenient sucking, even if these corpses are composed of disparate parts (i.e. a defeated Skellyton).
Trivia[]
- Grappling hooks as a mobility tool are a staple of pop culture and video games, and the notion of using plungers as a grappling tool has appeared in both video games and in movie/television animation.
- The plunger's auto targeting can make precise movement difficult, as the entity chosen to grapple onto may be difficult to influence if the target is far away and there are other grappling points in the vicinity.
- The grappling plunger will draw in enemies/the Player at high speeds, which can result in contact damage or lead to the Player briefly clipping into the ground.
- The Grappling Plunger can be used to move during the Swirly. D cutscene, despite normal movement being disabled, allowing the player to position themselves right next to him as he casts his lightning.