TheGrappling Hook

# The Grappling Hook

> The Grappling Hook is an efficient tool for getting you where you want to go and getting you there quickly. It also doubles as a pretty effective weapon. Being proficient with the hook is critical to being competitive in CTF. You need to be able to swing like "Tarzan" though the Quake jungle. Quick and accurate grapples can not only get you out of some overwhelming firefights, but can put some serious distance between you as the flag carrier, and the defenders in hot pursuit. It can get you around the map using shortcuts that one couldn’t imagine in normal Quake. It also gives you the opportunity to "defend" or "snipe" from some very strategic locations.

> The best way to use the hook is to bind it to a key that is close at hand. I use r and the alias script written by Stuart MacDougall (incorporated in my config file), so that I can switch to the hook by holding down r, and switch back to my previous weapon when I release r.

> ## Tactical Hookin’

> Movement Speed -The hook can get you around the map fast. Fire it in the direction you’re running while you continue to run and you’ll get there much faster.

> Stealth -If you fire low to the wall or along the floor, it will pull you around with your body prone to the floor. Don’t know how many times an enemy snaked past me while I was looking up with this maneuver, until I caught on. Also, infiltrating the enemy’s base along the ceiling can be pretty effective, especially if some of your teammates are keeping their attention at ground level.

> Sniping -The hook can get you to some great places for a "defensive posture" (legitimate camping in CTF). Having that split-second "I see you first" advantage is part of an effective base defense. Especially if some of the enemy team are "vertically challenged" (not using +mlook).

> Hiding -For those times when you have the enemy flag, but they have yours. Find a convenient "rock to crawl under", away from the beaten path, until both your base and your flag are secure.

> Grappling the Enemy -Oh yea, my favorite! Now this is not the most efficient method of killing your enemy, but there are times when it can be useful. Like when you've got nothing to lose. Examples: Immediately after respawning in a bogus location. You shotgun, him RL. Chasing down a flag carrier and of course, the gratifying ####-eatin-grin you get from successfully humiliating an enemy player (especially when his teammates get to watch). Nothing is better than guttin someone with the hook. Three variations on this (so far). The "basic grapple frag" the "combo frag" and the "tele-grapple". The basic grapple frag is most effective when the fraggie is standing on a bridge, beam, or high ledge. Grappling to him when he is in one of these places usually guarantees a slow, torturous death for your opponent. You see, you will usually end up below the bridge or ledge where he can't quite get a piece of you, while he is practically helpless to do anything but die a slow, painful death. It also works to grapple and then jump or move to a position that hangs you up before you "get there", allowing you to gut him from across the room. You can even gut your foe from across the map with the handy grapple/sniper-scope. About the only thing you can do if you’re the "fraggie" is to try and jump off or move so you can try to remove this "growth" face to face with some firepower before it kills you. Usually a lost cause, unless you have superior health/firepower to start with. The combo frag is the more common. Simply attach yourself to your favorite opponent, switch to your best "non-explosive" weapon and rip his guts out while blowing his head off! Also, grappling the enemy flag carrier is the best way to keep him "in the crosshair". He can’t get away, and if you come out on top, your flag doesn’t have a chance to get scooped up by another enemy before you can get to it. Lastly, a new one on me from my bud, 'The Butcher'. The tele-grapple. Two ways of approaching this one. Grapple Mr. Unfortunate and piggy-back him as he runs thru a tele-porter if you want to let him off with an instant death. Or better yet, loiter next to your favorite tele-porter and grapple someone at a distance, then simply dive-in and listen to the agony from somewhere else on the map! Man, I thought I had a devious mind!