Winch

The Winch is a portable towing tool used to move objects that would otherwise be difficult or impossible to transport. It can be attached to a Rover, Shuttle, Rail Car, or even the player, and it is especially useful for dragging large debris, stranded vehicles, and other heavy items across terrain. It is also the only practical way to move some oversized wrecked modules, such as wrecked solar arrays.

To use it, click the hook on the Winch and attach it to the object you want to tow. To release it, click the base of the cable where it exits the Winch body. The hook will also let go automatically if the cable is stretched too far or if the attached object is destroyed.

• The Winch can be placed on any Rover except the Tractor, since the Tractor has only one Medium Slot for the player to sit in.
• It can be attached to Shuttles, but anything fastened to it will fall off when entering space.
• It can also be attached to Rail Cars, which stay locked to their rails and therefore provide perfect traction.
• When carried by hand, the Winch remains effective and can be used to pull stuck or unpowered Rovers with greater maneuverability.
• Attaching the Winch to the player is safe; the Astroneer is unaffected by the Winch’s tendency to fling other objects around.

The Winch’s physics are notoriously unstable. Two objects of similar weight connected by a Winch may begin flying around, including Rovers that can end up launched into space and lost. Even when the objects are not similar in weight, the smaller one may be thrown violently. If a player picks up an object that already has a Winch hook attached, the Winch and everything connected to it can be flung around based on the object’s movement, so care should be taken to click the hook base rather than the object itself, since doing otherwise can flip Rovers upside down.

Historical Probes cannot be hooked up to a Winch, so they cannot be moved from their locations easily. The Winch was also visually outdated compared with most other items until the Exploration Update.