Ladders can be climbed by holding up/down while standing next to them without having to select them first.

Barotrauma/BarotraumaShared/Source/Characters/Character.cs

@@ -1405,6 +1405,34 @@ namespace Barotrauma
             {
                 findFocusedTimer -= deltaTime;
             }
+
+            //climb ladders automatically when pressing up/down inside their trigger area
+            if (selectedConstruction == null && !AnimController.InWater)
+            {
+                bool climbInput = IsKeyDown(InputType.Up) || IsKeyDown(InputType.Down);
+                
+                Ladder nearbyLadder = null;
+                if (Controlled == this || climbInput)
+                {
+                    float minDist = float.PositiveInfinity;
+                    foreach (Ladder ladder in Ladder.List)
+                    {
+                        float dist;
+                        if (CanInteractWith(ladder.Item, out dist) && dist < minDist)
+                        {
+                            minDist = dist;
+                            nearbyLadder = ladder;
+                            if (Controlled == this) ladder.Item.IsHighlighted = true;
+                            break;
+                        }
+                    }
+                }
+
+                if (nearbyLadder != null && climbInput)
+                {
+                    if (nearbyLadder.Select(this)) selectedConstruction = nearbyLadder.Item;
+                }
+            }
             
             if (SelectedCharacter != null && focusedItem == null && IsKeyHit(InputType.Select)) //Let people use ladders and buttons and stuff when dragging chars
             {

Barotrauma/BarotraumaShared/Source/Items/Components/Ladder.cs

@@ -1,13 +1,20 @@
-using System.Xml.Linq;
+using System.Collections.Generic;
+using System.Xml.Linq;
 
 namespace Barotrauma.Items.Components
 {
     class Ladder : ItemComponent
     {
+        private static List<Ladder> list = new List<Ladder>();
+        public static List<Ladder> List
+        {
+            get { return list; }
+        }
 
         public Ladder(Item item, XElement element)
             : base(item, element)
         {
+            list.Add(this);
         }
 
         public override bool Select(Character character)
@@ -15,9 +22,13 @@ namespace Barotrauma.Items.Components
             if (character == null || character.LockHands || character.Removed) return false;
 
             character.AnimController.Anim = AnimController.Animation.Climbing;
-            //picker.SelectedConstruction = item;
 
             return true;
         }
+
+        protected override void RemoveComponentSpecific()
+        {
+            list.Remove(this);
+        }
     }
 }