Soulslike Enemy Combat Plugin

Production-ready enemy AI system for Unreal Engine featuring tactical movement, intelligent action selection, and AAA-quality StateTree/BehaviorTree hybrid architecture.

SoulslikeCombat AI System

A production-ready AI combat system for Unreal Engine 5.7+. Built for souls-like and action RPG games, this plugin provides intelligent enemy behavior, tactical movement, and scalable combat AI without the complexity of building from scratch.

Includes a fully functional demo enemy - study it, extend it, and create your own combat encounters in hours instead of weeks.

Why I Built This

I've spent years building combat systems for commercial mobile games and action prototypes. Every time, I faced the same challenges: building intelligent AI that feels responsive, tactical movement that looks natural, and an architecture that doesn't collapse under complexity.

The problem: Most developers build everything in one massive Behavior Tree, mixing strategic decision-making with low-level execution. This works for simple enemies but becomes unmaintainable for complex combat.

The solution: This plugin implements the industry-standard approach used in AAA action games - separating high-level AI strategy (StateTree) from granular action execution (Behavior Trees/Gameplay Abilities).

The result? Scalable, maintainable AI that works for both simple melee enemies and complex boss encounters.

AAA-Quality Architecture

This plugin uses the professional AI architecture found in modern action games:

StateTree for Strategic AI - The "brain" that handles high-level decision making:

• Target acquisition and threat evaluation
• Distance and angle-based action scoring
• Movement strategy (approach, strafe, retreat, flank)
• State management (idle, combat, retreat)

Behavior Tree for Action Execution - The "hands" that execute complex sequences:

• Multi-step attack chains
• Conditional combo branches
• Custom action logic per enemy type
• Fine-grained control when needed

Gameplay Abilities for Simple Actions - Direct execution for straightforward attacks:

• Play montage → Apply damage → Done
• No BT overhead for simple cases
• Choose per-action based on complexity

This separation of concerns means you can:

• ✅ Add new actions without breaking existing AI logic
• ✅ Debug strategy vs execution issues independently
• ✅ Scale from simple enemies to complex bosses seamlessly
• ✅ Maintain clean, readable AI as your game grows

Key Features

🎯 Tactical Movement System

• Direction sampling evaluates multiple paths per frame for optimal positioning
• Distance maintenance keeps enemies at ideal combat range
• Natural strafing behavior with fatigue/rest cycles
• Velocity-aware pawn avoidance
• Hybrid navigation switches between pathfinding (far) and direct input (close)

⚔️ Intelligent Action Selection

• Scoring-based evaluation considers distance, angle, health, and context
• Cooldown management with combo chain bonuses
• Novelty decay prevents repetitive behavior
• Runtime modifiers adjust priorities dynamically
• Hybrid execution: Abilities OR Behavior Tree sequences per action

🗡️ Frame-Perfect Melee Combat

• Interpolated swept traces between frames (frame-rate independent)
• Multi-shape support (sphere, capsule, two-point capsule)
• Animation notify integration for precise hit windows
• Configurable damage with Gameplay Effect integration
• Equippable weapon system with auto-registration

👁️ Threat Detection

• Tracks player camera attention on the AI
• Distance adjustment when under sustained observation
• Automatic strafe direction changes when spotted
• Threat-based defensive behavior

🎖️ Multi-Enemy Coordination

• Role-based behavior (Attacker, Flanker, Waiter, Supporter, Elite)
• Slot management (max attackers, total combatants)
• Distance-based priority assignment
• Dynamic role switching as combat evolves

What It Is / What It's Not

What SoulslikeCombat IS:

✅ Production-Ready Enemy AI - Intelligent, tactical combat behaviors ready to ship
✅ Modular Component System - Mix and match components for different enemy types
✅ Data-Driven Configuration - Designers tune behavior without touching code
✅ Blueprint-Friendly - Full Blueprint support, C++ source included for extension
✅ Demo-Included - Working enemy in a demo level to study and extend
✅ Professionally Architected - AAA-standard StateTree/BT hybrid approach

What It's NOT (Yet):

❌ NOT a Complete Game Template - This is a combat AI system, not a full game
❌ NOT Player Character Combat - Focused on enemy AI (player components coming in roadmap)
❌ NOT Multiplayer-Ready - Currently single-player focused (replication support planned)
❌ NOT a Visual Scripting Tool - Uses Unreal's standard StateTree and Behavior Tree tools
❌ NOT a "No-Code" Solution - Requires basic understanding of UE's AI and GAS systems

You still need to provide:

• Player character combat mechanics
• UI/HUD elements (health bars, lock-on indicators)
• Level design and enemy encounter placement
• Progression systems and difficulty balancing

Quick Start

Get your first intelligent enemy running in under 10 minutes:

1. Install via Fab Marketplace - Add to your project directly from Fab
2. Enable the plugin in Edit → Plugins if not auto-enabled
3. Open the demo level (SEC_DemoLevel) to see a working enemy
4. Create your enemy by inheriting from AEnemyCharacterBase
5. Set up AI controller inheriting from AEnemyControllerBase
6. Create an ActionSet data asset with your enemy's attacks
7. Configure your StateTree using the included tasks
8. Test and iterate using built-in debug visualization

The plugin includes everything you need: base classes, components, StateTree tasks, example data assets, and a fully functional demo enemy to learn from.

Visual Showcase

Use Cases

Who benefits from this plugin:

Solo Developers - Skip months of AI development and focus on your game's unique mechanics.

Small Teams - Get production-quality AI without dedicated AI programmers.

Action RPG Projects - Souls-like, hack-and-slash, character action games with intelligent enemies.

Prototypers - Quickly test combat ideas with functional AI before committing to custom systems.

Students/Learners - Study a professional AI architecture with full source code.

Roadmap

Planned Features:

2025 Q1:

• 🔮 Player Combat Component - Matching combat system for player characters with same architecture
• 🔮 Example Player Character - Pre-configured third-person combat character

2025 Q2:

• 🔮 Multiplayer Support - Replication and server-authoritative combat
• 🔮 Advanced Boss Toolkit - Phase transitions, enrage states, special attack patterns

2025 Q3:

• 🔮 Ranged Combat Extension - Projectile attacks, cover system integration
• 🔮 Group Tactics System - Coordinated multi-enemy attacks and formations

Want to influence development? Open an issue on GitHub or join the discussions.

Technical Highlights

For Programmers:

• Full C++ source code included
• Clean component-based architecture
• Extensive inline documentation
• Blueprint-exposed API for designers
• GAS integration for damage and abilities
• StateTree and Behavior Tree task library

For Designers:

• Data assets for enemy configuration
• No code required for basic enemy setup
• Visual debugging tools
• Behavior presets (Aggressive, Defensive, Flanker, etc.)
• Easy-to-tune parameters with tooltips

Requirements

• Unreal Engine 5.7 (uses StateTree and GameplayStateTree APIs - other versions not supported due to breaking changes)
• Gameplay Abilities System (included with UE5)
• StateTree Plugin (included with UE5)
• GameplayStateTree Plugin (included with UE5)

Links & Resources

Demo Level - Included with plugin purchase at Content/SoulslikeEnemyCombat/Maps/SEC_DemoLevel

Support - Contact via this website or Fab marketplace for assistance

Credits

Developed by Hakan Erünsal. Built from experience shipping commercial mobile games and prototyping action combat systems. Designed to save developers the pain of building scalable AI from scratch.

Special thanks to the Unreal Engine community for feedback, testing, and feature requests that shaped this plugin.

For buyers: Full source code, example projects, and updates are included with your purchase.