Enshrouded Glider and Grappling Hook: How to Unlock Both
How to get the glider and grappling hook in Enshrouded: both come from rescuing the Blacksmith, and the hook upgrades from a Scavenger Matron head.
Editor’s note: the unlock itself is confirmed - the Blacksmith is the artisan who gives you both mobility items, and the Scavenger Matron head is what upgrades the hook. What we do not publish is a step-by-step route: we have not verified one, and a guessed route is worse than none. Last verified: 2026-09-30.
Two items change how Enshrouded feels more than any weapon drop: the Glider and the Grappling Hook. Both come from the same rescue, which makes the Blacksmith the single highest-value detour in the opening hour.
How do you unlock the glider and grappling hook?
You rescue the Blacksmith. He is not just the gear artisan - he is the one who unlocks both items, which is why every route we publish puts him first:
| Item | How you get it | What it changes |
|---|---|---|
| Glider | Unlocked by the Blacksmith rescue | Falling stops being a death sentence; distant Flame Altars and boss arenas become reachable |
| Grappling Hook | Unlocked by the same rescue | Vertical terrain becomes climbable instead of walk-around |
| Hook upgrade | Scavenger Matron head (also the Flame 3 gate) | Longer/faster hook reach - the upgrade that makes the mid-game map feel small |
Neither one is a crafting recipe you stumble into. If you have no glider, the problem is upstream: the Blacksmith is still where you found him.
Where is the Blacksmith?
At the Cindervault, the Springlands area you start in - the same location as your first Flame Altar and the point the interactive map marks as your spawn. Our beginner guide puts the sequence as: commune with the Flame, craft a Stone Axe and Stone Pickaxe, place your first Flame Altar (5 Stone) on flat, Shroud-free ground, then go for the Blacksmith.
1.0 check (launch day): the patch notes do not change the grapple-hook unlock chain. Related 1.0 additions: the free Airborne Architect skill (flight building), an Updraft charge-time world setting, and higher enemy knockback so you can glide back into arenas.
Why rescue the Blacksmith first?
Because Enshrouded’s map is vertical, and without those two items you walk around everything instead of over it. He is also your gear source - tools, weapons, armor and repair kits, with a new tier per biome - so the rescue pays twice: mobility now, and a weapon tier before the first real boss fight. For the full artisan list and what each one is for, see NPCs and artisans.
How does the grappling hook upgrade?
The Scavenger Matron is the gate. Her head gives Flame 3 and the grappling-hook upgrade, which makes her the first boss worth pulling out of order - she appears across Springlands, Revelwood, Nomad Highlands and Kindlewastes, in Standard / Gorger / Grizzler variants. All three variants share one 1.0 damage profile — weak to Cut, Pierce, Fog and Ice (1.2-1.4x) — so the variant you meet does not decide which weapon you bring (see the Springlands biome guide).
What do the glider and hook change about exploration?
Everything that follows in the skill tree assumes you have them. The clearest example is Updraft, one of the universal centre-hub skills: it extends glider flight and lets you climb steep terrain mid-glide. Builds are written around that - the Assassin is described as an efficient glider build for mobile sniping, and the Athlete treats movement as the whole build. If you skipped the rescue, those pages will read as if they assume something you do not have.
What still needs 1.0 verification?
Three things: the exact route to the Blacksmith inside the vault, how many tiers the hook upgrade has, and whether 1.0 changes either unlock (a 1.0 tutorial pass is exactly the kind of change that moves a first-hour unlock). We publish the unlock and the upgrade source because those are confirmed, and leave the route to launch day.
Related
- NPCs and artisans — the five artisans, the rescue flow, and why the Blacksmith first
- Enshrouded beginner guide — the first 15 levels around this rescue
- Scavenger Matron boss guide — the Flame 3 gate and the hook upgrade
- Forging the Path skill tree — Updraft and the universal first picks
- Flame Altar — the first altar and what it protects
- Assassin build — the build that leans hardest on the glider
FAQ
How do you get the glider in Enshrouded?
How do you get the grappling hook in Enshrouded?
Which artisan should you rescue first in Enshrouded?
Where is the Blacksmith in Enshrouded?
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