AActor

class Engine Blueprint Since 1.0

Inherits: UObjectBase › UObjectBaseUtility › UObject › AActor

#include "GameFramework/Actor.h"

Access: public Specifiers: UCLASS

Description

The base class for all actors that can be placed or spawned in the world. AActor provides transform, component attachment, lifecycle events (BeginPlay, Tick, EndPlay), replication, and overlap/hit events. Every object you see or interact with in a level descends from AActor.

Signature

class AActor : public UObject

Caveats & Gotchas

• Actors must be spawned with `UWorld::SpawnActor<T>()`, not `NewObject<T>()`.
• Component initialization order: constructor → InitializeComponent → BeginPlay. Do not rely on component state in the constructor.
• NetMode checks (`HasAuthority()`, `IsLocallyControlled()`) are critical for multiplayer correctness.
• Calling `Destroy()` does not immediately remove the actor — it defers removal to end-of-frame.

Examples

Minimal AActor subclass C++

UCLASS()
class MYGAME_API AMyActor : public AActor
{
    GENERATED_BODY()

public:
    AMyActor();

protected:
    virtual void BeginPlay() override;
    virtual void Tick(float DeltaTime) override;

private:
    UPROPERTY(VisibleAnywhere)
    UStaticMeshComponent* Mesh;
};

AMyActor::AMyActor()
{
    PrimaryActorTick.bCanEverTick = true;
    Mesh = CreateDefaultSubobject<UStaticMeshComponent>(TEXT("Mesh"));
    RootComponent = Mesh;
}

Spawning an actor C++

FActorSpawnParameters Params;
Params.Owner = this;
AMyActor* Spawned = GetWorld()->SpawnActor<AMyActor>(
    AMyActor::StaticClass(),
    FVector(0, 0, 100),
    FRotator::ZeroRotator,
    Params
);

Functions (29)

Lifecycle 4 Transform 12 Components 1 Collision 4 Networking 1 Rendering 1 Utility 1 Actor 1 Transformation 4

Lifecycle

4 ▼

Access	Type	Name	Description
protected	function	AActor::BeginPlay	Called when the actor is fully initialized and play begins in the world.
protected	function	AActor::EndPlay	Called when this actor's lifespan ends.
public	function	AActor::TakeDamage	Entry point for applying damage to this actor.
public	function	AActor::Tick	Called every frame if `PrimaryActorTick.

Transform

12 ▼

Access	Type	Name	Description
public	function	AActor::GetActorLocation	Returns the current world-space location of the actor's root component.
public	function	AActor::GetActorScale	Returns the world-space scale of the actor's RootComponent as an FVector.
public	function	AActor::GetActorTransform	Returns the full world-space transform (location, rotation, scale) of the actor's root component as an FTransform.
public	function	AActor::SetActorLocation	Sets the world-space location of the actor.
public	function	AActor::SetActorLocationAndRotation	Sets the actor's world location and rotation in a single call, which is more efficient than calling SetActorLocation and SetActorRotation separately because it only triggers one transform update.
public	function	AActor::ActorToWorld	Returns the local-to-world transform of the actor's RootComponent.
public	function	AActor::AddActorLocalOffset	Moves the actor by a delta offset expressed in the actor's local space.
public	function	AActor::AddActorLocalRotation	Adds a delta rotation to this actor in its own local reference frame.
public	function	AActor::AttachToActor	Attaches this actor's RootComponent to the RootComponent of another actor.
public	function	AActor::AttachToComponent	Attaches this actor's RootComponent to a specific SceneComponent, with full control over how the existing transform is preserved or reset.
public	function	AActor::DetachFromActor	Detaches this actor's RootComponent from its current parent, releasing the attachment.
public	function	AActor::TeleportTo	Moves this actor to a destination location and rotation, attempting to push it clear of overlapping geometry if it does not fit exactly at the target point.

Components

1 ▼

Access	Type	Name	Description
public	function	AActor::GetComponentsByClass	Returns all components of the given class attached to this actor.

Collision

4 ▼

Access	Type	Name	Description
public	function	AActor::AddActorLocalTransform	Applies a delta transform (offset + rotation + scale) to this actor in its local reference frame.
public	function	AActor::GetOverlappingActors	Populates an array with all actors currently overlapping any component of this actor.
public	function	AActor::GetOverlappingComponents	Populates an output array with all UPrimitiveComponents from other actors that are currently overlapping any component of this actor.
public	function	AActor::SetActorEnableCollision	Enables or disables collision for the entire actor by toggling all of its collision components at once.

Networking

1 ▼

Access	Type	Name	Description
public	function	AActor::HasAuthority	Returns true if this actor is running on the authoritative (server) instance.

Rendering

1 ▼

Access	Type	Name	Description
public	function	AActor::SetActorHiddenInGame	Hides or shows the actor and all of its components in the game world.

Utility

1 ▼

Access	Type	Name	Description
public	function	AActor::Destroy	Requests that the actor be destroyed.

Actor

1 ▼

Access	Type	Name	Description
public	function	AActor::GetComponentByClass	Returns the first component of the given class attached to this actor, or null if none is found.

Transformation

4 ▼

Access	Type	Name	Description
public	function	AActor::GetActorForwardVector	Returns the unit forward vector (local +X axis) of this actor in world space, derived from the RootComponent's world rotation.
public	function	AActor::GetActorRightVector	Returns the unit right vector (local +Y axis) of this actor in world space, derived from the RootComponent's world rotation.
public	function	AActor::GetActorUpVector	Returns the unit up vector (local +Z axis) of this actor in world space, derived from the RootComponent's world rotation.
public	function	AActor::GetDistanceTo	Returns the world-space distance in centimetres between this actor's origin and OtherActor's origin.

Members

prop RootComponent prop bReplicates prop PrimaryActorTick

Events & Delegates

event OnActorBeginOverlap event OnActorEndOverlap event OnActorHit

Version History

Introduced in: 1.0

Version	Status	Notes
5.6	stable	—
5.5	stable	—

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