APawn

class Engine Blueprint Since 1.0

Inherits: UObjectBase › UObjectBaseUtility › UObject › AActor › APawn

#include "GameFramework/Pawn.h"

Access: public Specifiers: UCLASS

Description

APawn is the base class for all actors that can be possessed and controlled by a PlayerController or an AIController. Pawns receive input and can be moved through a MovementComponent.

Caveats & Gotchas

• Pawns require a Controller to receive input. Unpossessed pawns do not process player input.
• For humanoid characters with walking/running/jumping, prefer ACharacter which extends APawn with a CharacterMovementComponent.
• Possession can be replicated in multiplayer but the logic must be server-authoritative.

Signature

class APawn : public AActor

Example

Minimal pawn with input C++

void AMyPawn::SetupPlayerInputComponent(UInputComponent* InputComp)
{
    Super::SetupPlayerInputComponent(InputComp);
    InputComp->BindAxis("MoveForward", this, &AMyPawn::MoveForward);
}

void AMyPawn::MoveForward(float Value)
{
    if (Value != 0.f && Controller)
    {
        AddMovementInput(GetActorForwardVector(), Value);
    }
}

Functions (105)

Lifecycle 14 Transform 3 Components 1 Collision 2 Damage 2 Input 17 Networking 17 Rendering 2 Navigation 9 Utility 11 Camera 6 Controller 11 Movement 8 Physics 1 Possession 1

Lifecycle

14 ▼

Access	Type	Name	Description
public	function	APawn::BeginPlay	Called when the game starts or when the pawn is spawned into the world.
public	function	APawn::EndPlay	Called when the pawn is removed from the world or when the game ends.
public	function	APawn::Restart	Called when the pawn is restarted, typically immediately after possession.
public	function	APawn::Destroyed	Called when this pawn is destroyed.
public	function	APawn::OutsideWorldBounds	Called when the pawn moves outside the world's kill-Z or bounding box.
public	function	APawn::PawnClientRestart	Called on the owning client of a player-controlled pawn when it is restarted (usually after possession).
public	function	APawn::PostInitializeComponents	Called after all components have been initialized.
public	function	APawn::ReceiveRestarted	Blueprint event fired after the pawn is restarted (usually after possession).
public	function	APawn::Reset	Resets the pawn to its default state.
public	function	APawn::SetPlayerDefaults	Resets the pawn's properties to their default values.
public	function	APawn::DispatchRestart	Wrapper that calls Restart() and, when appropriate, PawnClientRestart().
public	function	APawn::NotifyRestarted	Broadcasts the pawn-restarted notification by firing `ReceiveRestarted` and `ReceiveRestartedDelegate`.
public	function	APawn::PostRegisterAllComponents	Called after all components have been registered, but before BeginPlay.
public	function	APawn::PreInitializeComponents	Called before component initialization begins.

Transform

3 ▼

Access	Type	Name	Description
public	function	APawn::GetControlRotation	Returns the rotation of this pawn's controller, which typically represents the player's look direction or the AI's facing direction.
public	function	APawn::FaceRotation	Updates the pawn's actor rotation to match the controller's ControlRotation, gated by the bUseControllerRotationPitch/Yaw/Roll flags.
public	function	APawn::RecalculateBaseEyeHeight	Updates `BaseEyeHeight` to reflect the pawn's current state.

Components

1 ▼

Access	Type	Name	Description
public	function	APawn::GetPawnNoiseEmitterComponent	Returns the PawnNoiseEmitterComponent for this pawn, if one exists.

Collision

2 ▼

Access	Type	Name	Description
public	function	APawn::MoveIgnoreActorAdd	Adds an actor to the pawn's movement collision ignore list so the pawn can pass through it during movement sweeps.
public	function	APawn::MoveIgnoreActorRemove	Removes an actor from the pawn's movement collision ignore list, restoring normal sweep collision between the pawn and that actor.

Damage

2 ▼

Access	Type	Name	Description
public	function	APawn::TakeDamage	Processes incoming damage on the pawn.
public	function	APawn::ShouldTakeDamage	Called at the start of TakeDamage to decide whether damage processing should proceed.

Input

17 ▼

Access	Type	Name	Description
public	function	APawn::AddControllerPitchInput	Adds pitch rotation to the owning PlayerController's ControlRotation.
public	function	APawn::AddControllerRollInput	Adds roll rotation to the owning PlayerController's ControlRotation.
public	function	APawn::AddControllerYawInput	Adds yaw rotation to the owning PlayerController's ControlRotation, used to turn the camera or pawn left and right.
public	function	APawn::AddMovementInput	Accumulates a world-space movement direction into the pawn's input vector.
public	function	APawn::DisableInput	Prevents this pawn from processing player input.
public	function	APawn::EnableInput	Re-enables input processing for this pawn after it was disabled.
public	function	APawn::ConsumeMovementInputVector	Returns the accumulated pending movement input and resets it to zero, copying it to the last input vector.
public	function	APawn::GetLastMovementInputVector	Returns the movement input vector from the most recently completed movement update.
public	function	APawn::GetPendingMovementInputVector	Returns the accumulated movement input vector that has not yet been consumed by a movement update.
public	function	APawn::InputEnabled	Returns whether input processing is currently enabled on this pawn.
public	function	APawn::IsMoveInputIgnored	Returns true if movement input is currently being ignored by this pawn.
public	function	APawn::PawnStartFire	Called by the PlayerController when the player presses a fire input.
public	function	APawn::GetOverrideInputComponentClass	Returns the InputComponent subclass that should be created for this pawn instead of the project's default, as set by the OverrideInputComponentClass property.
public	function	APawn::Internal_AddMovementInput	Low-level function that directly accumulates into the internal ControlInputVector, bypassing the public AddMovementInput virtual dispatch.
public	function	APawn::Internal_ConsumeMovementInputVector	Copies ControlInputVector to LastControlInputVector, then returns and zeroes out ControlInputVector.
public	function	APawn::Internal_GetLastMovementInputVector	Returns the LastControlInputVector — the input value that was active at the point of the last ConsumeMovementInputVector call.
public	function	APawn::Internal_GetPendingMovementInputVector	Returns the raw ControlInputVector without consuming it.

Networking

17 ▼

Access	Type	Name	Description
public	function	APawn::GetLifetimeReplicatedProps	Registers which UPROPERTY members are replicated and how, by appending FLifetimeProperty entries to OutLifetimeProps.
public	function	APawn::GetNetConnection	Returns the net connection associated with this pawn, resolved by walking up through the owning PlayerController.
public	function	APawn::GetNetOwner	Returns the actor that owns this pawn for network relevancy and replication purposes.
public	function	APawn::GetNetOwningPlayer	Returns the UPlayer that owns this pawn for network purposes.
public	function	APawn::GetNetOwningPlayerAnyRole	Variant of GetNetOwningPlayer() that returns the owning UPlayer regardless of the actor's net role.
public	function	APawn::GetPlayerState	Returns the PlayerState associated with this pawn, or null if the pawn is not possessed by a player.
public	function	APawn::GetPlayerStateChecked	Returns the PlayerState cast to the specified type, using CastChecked which asserts if the cast fails.
public	function	APawn::GetPlayerStateObjPtr	Returns the PlayerState as a TObjectPtr, exposing the raw smart-pointer representation used internally.
public	function	APawn::GetRemoteViewPitch	Returns the replicated pitch of a remote client's view as a 16-bit compressed value.
public	function	APawn::IsNetRelevantFor	Determines whether this pawn should be replicated to a given viewer.
public	function	APawn::OnRep_Controller	Replication notification called on clients when the Controller property changes.
public	function	APawn::OnRep_PlayerState	Replication notification called on clients when the PlayerState pointer changes.
public	function	APawn::PostNetReceiveLocationAndRotation	Called on clients after the replicated location and rotation are applied to the actor.
public	function	APawn::PostNetReceiveVelocity	Called on simulated proxies after velocity is received from the server during network updates.
public	function	APawn::PreReplication	Called by the replication system on the server just before each actor is replicated to clients.
public	function	APawn::SetPlayerState	Establishes or clears the bidirectional link between this pawn and a PlayerState, keeping both objects' internal references in sync.
public	function	APawn::SetRemoteViewPitch	Stores the pawn's view pitch for replication to remote clients by compressing the degree value into a 16-bit integer.

Rendering

2 ▼

Access	Type	Name	Description
public	function	APawn::BecomeViewTarget	Called when this pawn becomes the view target of a PlayerController.
public	function	APawn::EndViewTarget	Called when this pawn stops being the view target of a PlayerController.

Navigation

9 ▼

Access	Type	Name	Description
public	function	APawn::GetMovementComponent	Returns the pawn's movement component, if it has one.
public	function	APawn::GetNavAgentLocation	Returns the pawn's location as seen by the navigation system — the actor location offset downward by BaseEyeHeight.
public	function	APawn::PawnMakeNoise	Broadcasts a noise event to nearby AIControllers that have hearing enabled, sending them a HearNoise notification if the sound is within their hearing threshold.
public	function	APawn::ReachedDesiredRotation	Returns true if the pawn's current yaw is within AllowedYawError degrees of the controller's desired rotation yaw.
public	function	APawn::GetMoveGoalReachTest	Part of the `INavAgentInterface`.
public	function	APawn::GetNavAgentPropertiesRef	Returns the nav agent properties (agent radius, height, step height, etc.
public	function	APawn::SetCanAffectNavigationGeneration	Controls whether this pawn instance participates in runtime navmesh generation.
public	function	APawn::UpdateNavAgent	Refreshes the `MovementComponent`'s nav agent properties so the navigation system uses the pawn's current collision extents and step-height settings.
public	function	APawn::UpdateNavigationRelevance	Override to propagate the `bCanAffectNavigationGeneration` flag to the relevant components when it changes at runtime.

Utility

11 ▼

Access	Type	Name	Description
public	function	APawn::GetController	Returns the controller currently possessing this pawn, or null if unpossessed.
public	function	APawn::IsControlled deprecated	Returns true if the pawn currently has a valid controller.
public	function	APawn::IsPawnControlled	Returns true if this pawn currently has a valid Controller of any kind (AI or player).
public	function	APawn::GetDefaultHalfHeight	Returns the half-height of the default collision shape for this pawn, scaled by the root component's world scale.
public	function	APawn::GetHumanReadableName	Returns a debug-friendly name for this pawn.
public	function	APawn::GetLocalViewingPlayerController	Returns the local PlayerController that has this pawn as its ViewTarget, whether it is controlling or spectating.
public	function	APawn::IsLocallyViewed	Returns true if a local PlayerController has this pawn as its ViewTarget — whether controlling or spectating.
public	function	APawn::SetController	Directly sets the Controller pointer on this pawn.
public	function	APawn::TurnOff	Freezes the pawn by stopping sounds, animations, physics simulation, and weapon firing.
public	function	APawn::DisplayDebug	Draws pawn-specific debug information to the screen when the ShowDebug command is active.
public	function	APawn::ShouldTickIfViewportsOnly	Returns whether this pawn should tick while the editor is open but not in Play-in-Editor mode (viewport-only).

Camera

6 ▼

Access	Type	Name	Description
public	function	APawn::GetBaseAimRotation	Returns the aim rotation for the pawn.
public	function	APawn::GetPawnViewLocation	Returns the world-space location of the pawn's eyes, offset upward from the collision center by BaseEyeHeight.
public	function	APawn::GetViewRotation	Returns the rotation representing where the pawn is looking, typically the controller's ControlRotation.
public	function	APawn::GetActorEyesViewPoint	Returns the world-space location and rotation of the pawn's eye point, used by the engine for line-of-sight checks, AI perception, and camera queries.
public	function	APawn::InFreeCam	Returns true if the local PlayerController is currently viewing this Pawn through a free-cam (spectator-style camera detached from the pawn).
public	function	APawn::IsLocalPlayerControllerViewingAPawn	Returns true if this pawn is currently the ViewTarget of any local player controller, whether that player is directly controlling it or spectating it.

Controller

11 ▼

Access	Type	Name	Description
public	function	APawn::IsBotControlled	Returns true if this Pawn is controlled by an AI (possessed by an AIController rather than a PlayerController).
public	function	APawn::IsLocallyControlled	Returns `true` if this pawn is controlled by a local (non-network) controller — i.
public	function	APawn::IsPlayerControlled	Returns true if this Pawn is controlled by a human player (possessed by a PlayerController).
public	function	APawn::PossessedBy	Called on the server (or in standalone) immediately after a controller takes possession of this pawn.
public	function	APawn::ReceivePossessed	Blueprint event fired on the server/authority when a controller possesses this pawn.
public	function	APawn::ReceiveUnpossessed	Blueprint event fired on the server/authority when a controller stops possessing this pawn.
public	function	APawn::UnPossessed	Called on the server (or in standalone) when the current controller stops possessing this pawn.
public	function	APawn::GetPlatformUserId	Returns the platform user ID of the local PlayerController controlling this pawn.
public	function	APawn::ReceiveCon trollerChanged	Blueprint event called after the pawn's controller changes, on both the server and owning client.
public	function	APawn::SpawnDefaultController	Spawns the default controller class for this Pawn (from AIControllerClass) and immediately possesses the pawn with it.
public	function	APawn::NotifyControllerChanged	Calls `ReceiveControllerChanged` and broadcasts `ReceiveControllerChangedDelegate` on both the server and owning client.

Movement

8 ▼

Access	Type	Name	Description
public	function	APawn::GetVelocity	Returns the pawn's current velocity vector in world space.
public	function	APawn::CanBeBaseForCharacter	Returns whether this pawn can act as a standing surface (movement base) for another pawn or character.
public	function	APawn::GetMovementBase	Returns the `UPrimitiveComponent` the pawn is standing on, attached to, or otherwise using as a movement base.
public	function	APawn::GetMovementBaseActor	Returns the owning Actor of the movement base component the pawn is currently standing on or attached to.
public	function	APawn::GetPhysicsVolume	Returns the physics volume that currently contains this pawn.
public	function	APawn::IsBasedOnActor	Returns true if this pawn is standing on, attached to, or otherwise based on the given actor.
public	function	APawn::TeleportSucceeded	Called after a successful teleport via SetActorLocation or TeleportTo.
public	function	APawn::GetGravityDirection	Returns the current gravity direction vector for this pawn.

Physics

1 ▼

Access	Type	Name	Description
public	function	APawn::GetGravityTransform	Returns a quaternion that transforms from world space into gravity-relative space, where the negative Z axis aligns with the gravity direction.

Possession

1 ▼

Access	Type	Name	Description
public	function	APawn::DetachFromControllerPendingDestroy	Safely unpossesses the pawn from its controller in preparation for imminent destruction.

Properties

Access	Type	Name	Description
public	property	APawn::AIControllerClass	The controller class to instantiate when this pawn is automatically possessed by AI.
public	property	APawn::AutoPossessAI	Controls when this pawn automatically spawns and is possessed by an AI controller.
public	property	APawn::AutoPossessPlayer	Specifies which local player (if any) automatically possesses this pawn when the level starts or the pawn is spawned.
public	property	APawn::BaseEyeHeight	The height of the pawn's eye position above the collision center, in unreal units.
public	property	APawn::Controller	The controller currently possessing this pawn.
public	property	APawn::LastHitBy	The controller of the last actor that dealt damage to this pawn.
public	property	APawn::PreviousController	Stores a reference to the controller that possessed this pawn immediately before the most recent controller change.
public	property	APawn::ReceiveControllerChangedDelegate	Multicast sparse delegate broadcast after the pawn's controller changes, on both the server and owning client.
public	property	APawn::ReceiveRestartedDelegate	Multicast sparse delegate broadcast when the pawn is restarted, in parallel with the `ReceiveRestarted` Blueprint event.

Version History

Introduced in: 1.0

Version	Status	Notes
5.6	stable	—

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