AActor::Tick

function Engine Blueprint Since 1.0

#include "GameFramework/Actor.h"

Access: public Specifiers: virtual

Description

Called every frame if `PrimaryActorTick.bCanEverTick` is set to true. Use this for per-frame updates. Prefer event-driven patterns over Tick where possible for performance.

Signature

virtual void Tick(float DeltaSeconds)

Parameters

Name	Type	Description	Default
DeltaSeconds	float	Elapsed time in seconds since the last frame.	—

Return Type

void

Caveats & Gotchas

• Tick is disabled by default. Set `PrimaryActorTick.bCanEverTick = true` in the constructor to enable it.
• Always call `Super::Tick(DeltaSeconds)` to ensure base class tick logic and component ticking works.
• Avoid expensive per-frame operations. Use timers (`GetWorldTimerManager().SetTimer()`) for lower-frequency logic.
• Tick ordering between actors is not guaranteed unless you set `PrimaryActorTick.AddPrerequisite()`.

Example

Enabling and using Tick C++

// In constructor:
PrimaryActorTick.bCanEverTick = true;

// Override:
void AMyActor::Tick(float DeltaSeconds)
{
    Super::Tick(DeltaSeconds);

    // Move forward at 100 units/second
    FVector NewLocation = GetActorLocation() + GetActorForwardVector() * 100.f * DeltaSeconds;
    SetActorLocation(NewLocation);
}

Version History

Introduced in: 1.0

Version	Status	Notes
5.6	stable	—

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