The zipline and zipline tool are rewards Raft players get for visiting Caravan Town. The zipline tool is essential for getting to the infirmary and mayor's residence on the island, and thanks to the zipline blueprint players can also build zipline posts on their raft and use the tool at home.
The usefulness of a zipline depends entirely on the raft's layout. A very vertical raft with limited ways up and down or a very horizontal raft with long distances to cover will naturally benefit more from a zipline than a compact raft where everything sits close together. Either way, it helps to know how to set up a Raft zipline and what limitations and benefits it has.
Setting Up the Posts
The first thing players must do is build two zipline posts. While some crafting recipes create multiple copies each time, every single zipline post costs 5 planks, 5 rope, and 1 bolt.
After that, players can place the zipline on nearly any horizontal or vertical surface. Placed on the ground, a zipline post is just under one story tall, so players can place it under a one-story ceiling but not under a floor or platform half a story tall. Posts can also attach to walls, at which point they become small rope-covered handles that don't stick out far from the surface. If players want to keep their ziplines out of the way, wall attachments are the best way to do it.
Another thing to remember is that players can only place zipline posts on their raft. While they would be very useful on some large islands, players can't build or place any crafted item off the raft.
Setting Up The Ropes
Once players have at least two zipline posts on their raft, they can attach a zipline rope between them. They do so by hitting the interaction button (default E) when standing next to a post and then hitting it again while standing next to the destination post. If the route is clear for a zipline rope to cross the gap between them, a green line will appear between the posts and the zipline will attach. If the route is blocked by walls, floors, or other obstructions, the line will be red and the zipline won't connect.
The zipline rope has no resource cost of its own, so players are free to make each one as long or short as they like. Also, a single zipline post can have any number of connections, so players can create three or more posts and have all of them connect to each other. The only problem with this is that players must click on the zipline rope to use it, so if two of them overlap it can be hard to select the right one.
Something else players should know is that the regular zipline tool only lets players travel down a zipline and not up. So while players can attach a zipline between two posts on the same level, they'll end up stuck in the middle unless they have the electric zipline tool (which only appears on the final story island). Until then, players should make sure their ziplines are at least somewhat vertical.
Raft is available now on PC.