Description
Sets the instigating pawn responsible for spawning or triggering this actor. The instigator is used by the damage system and can be queried to attribute actions to a specific pawn.
Caveats & Gotchas
- • The instigator is also settable via `FActorSpawnParameters::Instigator` at spawn time, which is the preferred approach for projectiles and spawned effects. Using this setter after spawn is valid but means the instigator was not available during construction.
- • The `Instigator` property is replicated, so setting it on the server will propagate to clients. However, it is stored as a raw pointer — if the instigating pawn is destroyed, it becomes a dangling reference. Always null-check before use.
Signature
ENGINE_API void SetInstigator(APawn* InInstigator)Parameters
| Name | Type | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| InInstigator | APawn* | The pawn to set as the instigator of this actor (e.g. the player or AI that spawned or fired it). | — |
Return Type
void Example
Assign instigator when spawning a projectile C++
void AMyWeapon::Fire()
{
FActorSpawnParameters SpawnParams;
SpawnParams.Instigator = GetInstigator(); // preferred at spawn
AMyProjectile* Proj = GetWorld()->SpawnActor<AMyProjectile>(
ProjectileClass, MuzzleLocation, MuzzleRotation, SpawnParams);
// Alternatively, after spawn:
// Proj->SetInstigator(GetInstigator());
}See Also
Version History
Introduced in: 4.0
| Version | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 5.6 | stable | — |
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