Apex Legends: Pathfinder Grapple Guide For Swinging Your Way To The Top

Apex Legends has only been out one week, but already theorycrafters and competitive gamers are figuring out the best ways to use each of the character’s abilities to get a leg up on the competition. While some might say that Pathfinder - the loveable, optimistic, and upbeat robot - is Apex Legends’ worst character, it could be argued that if you use him and his grappling hook correctly, he could, in all reality, be one of the games most powerful Legends. Additionally, it's crazy talk to think of Pathfinder as Legends' weakest character, considering he basically has the same ability as Mortal Kombat's Scorpion, which we will touch on later.

Here’s our Pathfinder grappling guide, so you can slingshot your way to the top. Fair warning: anticipate the need for a lot of practice.

By now, you have probably seen the mindblowing video of Twitch streamer, Triv, as he grapples his way to victory thanks to a crazy spinning maneuver using Pathfinder’s grappling hook. Thus, if you are merely using Pathfinder’s grappling hook as a way to zip straight from point to another, you’re doing it wrong. Pathfinder’s grappling ability can do so much more, including increasing your skiing speed and slingshotting across the map to take your enemies by surprise.

In order to perform a swinging grapple or slingshot, you will need to keep three things in mind: the grapple point, the strafe direction, and the direction in which you are looking. Ready for your physics lesson?

Here is how to put it all together. The grapple point acts as a passive force that propels you forward. Holding forward on your controller or keyboard acts as an additional force to pull you forward and increase speed. Finally, strafing left or right will pull you in that direction, away from the grapple point, while increasing your speed. In order to stay attached to your grapple point, the angle created from the grapple point to where you are looking must not exceed 90 degrees. Basically, if you are looking to replicate Triv’s spinning grapple tactic, you will need to keep the grapple point in view at all times as you strafe left or right.

Jumping is also a pivotal part of the action, especially for slingshotting to heights or distances that might otherwise be unreachable. However, the jump won’t matter much if you don’t time it properly.

Jump as soon as the grappling hook attaches to something. You can use the visual cue of Pathfinder’s arm extending into view, or simply listening for when the hook attaches to a point. More often than not, the timing is so fast, that you will likely just need to jump a split second after shooting the hook. From there, implement the three-point strafing technique and you’ll be slingshotting just fine around King’s Canyon.

This all sounds far easier than it actually is. You will need a lot of practice to get a feel for the timing, as well as the directional mechanics necessary for performing slingshot grapples. Just keep at it, and you will be rewarded with some pretty exciting ways of travelling across the map while taking out opponents.

Of course, Pathfinder’s grappling ability isn’t purely for travel purposes. Players can pack some additional offensive firepower by aiming directly at an opposing player and shooting the hook, which will pull the enemy closer. Again, this technique will take some practice, but it is a pretty hilarious and effective technique that will undoubtedly take the enemy by surprise.