AActor::SwapRoles

function Engine Since 4.0

#include "GameFramework/Actor.h"

Access: public Specifiers: ENGINE_API

Description

Swaps the values of Role and RemoteRole on this actor. Used internally by the replication system when adjusting authority perspective.

Caveats & Gotchas

• The comment in the header reads: "Only call this if you know what you're doing!" Incorrect use can make HasAuthority() return the wrong value, breaking replication logic throughout the actor.
• This is called automatically by ExchangeNetRoles during initial replication setup — you almost never need to call it manually in game code.
• After calling SwapRoles, any code path that checks Role == ROLE_Authority will now behave as if this machine is the server, which can lead to double-authoritative bugs in listen-server setups.

Signature

ENGINE_API void SwapRoles();

Return Type

void

Example

Understanding when the engine calls this internally C++

// The engine calls ExchangeNetRoles, which calls SwapRoles internally,
// when an actor arrives on the client for the first time.
// You rarely need to call SwapRoles directly.
// If you must, always restore symmetry:
void AMyActor::TemporaryAuthorityCheck()
{
	SwapRoles(); // Now HasAuthority() returns true
	// ... authority-dependent logic ...
	SwapRoles(); // Restore original roles
}

Version History

Introduced in: 4.0

Version	Status	Notes
5.6	stable	—

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