AActor::GetLifeSpan

function Engine Blueprint Since 4.0

#include "GameFramework/Actor.h"

Access: public Specifiers: virtualUFUNCTIONBlueprintCallableENGINE_API

Description

Returns the remaining lifespan of this actor in seconds. Returns 0 if the actor has no lifespan timer set (i.e., it lives indefinitely).

Caveats & Gotchas

• A return value of 0 is ambiguous — it means either no timer is set, or the timer expired this frame just before the call. Do not rely on this to detect imminent destruction; bind to `OnEndPlay` instead.
• The returned value counts down in dilated time (accounting for `CustomTimeDilation` and world dilation), consistent with how `SetLifeSpan` sets the timer.

Signature

ENGINE_API virtual float GetLifeSpan() const;

Return Type

float

Examples

Print a warning when the actor's lifespan drops below 3 seconds Blueprint

Warn when a buff is about to expire C++

void AMyBuffActor::Tick(float DeltaTime)
{
	Super::Tick(DeltaTime);
	const float Remaining = GetLifeSpan();
	if (Remaining > 0.f && Remaining < 3.f)
	{
		// Flash UI warning
		OnExpiryWarning.Broadcast(Remaining);
	}
}

Version History

Introduced in: 4.0

Version	Status	Notes
5.6	stable	—

Feedback

Was this helpful?