UGameplayStatics::SpawnEmitterAttached

function Engine Blueprint Since 4.0

#include "Kismet/GameplayStatics.h"

Access: public Specifiers: staticUFUNCTIONBlueprintCallable

Description

Spawns a Cascade particle system attached to a scene component or socket, so the effect follows the component's movement. Useful for continuous effects like flames, trails, or muzzle flashes.

Caveats & Gotchas

• This is for legacy Cascade systems (UParticleSystem), not Niagara. For Niagara, use UNiagaraFunctionLibrary::SpawnSystemAttached.
• If AttachToComponent is null, the function returns null without spawning — null-check the parent component before calling.
• With bAutoDestroy=true, the component and its particle instance are destroyed when the effect ends, so holding the returned pointer is unsafe unless you know the system loops.

Signature

static ENGINE_API UParticleSystemComponent* SpawnEmitterAttached(class UParticleSystem* EmitterTemplate, class USceneComponent* AttachToComponent, FName AttachPointName = NAME_None, FVector Location = FVector(ForceInit), FRotator Rotation = FRotator::ZeroRotator, FVector Scale = FVector(1.f), EAttachLocation::Type LocationType = EAttachLocation::KeepRelativeOffset, bool bAutoDestroy = true, EPSCPoolMethod PoolingMethod = EPSCPoolMethod::None, bool bAutoActivate=true);

Parameters

Name	Type	Description	Default
EmitterTemplate	class UParticleSystem*	Cascade particle system asset to attach.	—
AttachToComponent	class USceneComponent*	The component to attach the particle system to.	—
AttachPointName	FName	Optional socket or bone name on the component to attach to.	NAME_None
Location	FVector	Offset location relative to the attach point.	FVector(ForceInit)
Rotation	FRotator	Offset rotation relative to the attach point.	FRotator::ZeroRotator
Scale	FVector	Scale of the particle system.	FVector(1.f)
LocationType	EAttachLocation::Type	Whether Location is relative or world-space.	EAttachLocation::KeepRelativeOffset
bAutoDestroy	bool	Whether the component destroys itself when the system completes.	true
PoolingMethod	EPSCPoolMethod	PSC pooling mode.	EPSCPoolMethod::None
bAutoActivate	bool	Whether to activate the system immediately on spawn.	true

Return Type

UParticleSystemComponent*

Example

Attach fire effect to a character hand socket C++

UParticleSystemComponent* FireComp = UGameplayStatics::SpawnEmitterAttached(
    FireEffectTemplate,
    GetMesh(),
    FName("hand_r"),         // socket name
    FVector::ZeroVector,
    FRotator::ZeroRotator,
    FVector(1.f),
    EAttachLocation::SnapToTarget,
    false                    // don't auto-destroy — we'll stop it manually
);

Version History

Introduced in: 4.0

Version	Status	Notes
5.6	stable	—

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