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Unreal Engine 5.7 — Navigation Module Reference

Unreal Engine 5.7 — Navigation Module Reference

Last verified: 2026-02-13 Knowledge Gap: UE 5.7 navigation improvements

Overview

UE 5.7 navigation systems:

  • Nav Mesh: Automatic pathfinding mesh for AI
  • AI Controller: Controls AI movement and behavior
  • Behavior Trees: AI decision-making (covered in AI module)

Add Nav Mesh Bounds Volume

  1. Place Actors > Volumes > Nav Mesh Bounds Volume
  2. Scale to cover walkable areas
  3. Press P to toggle Nav Mesh visualization (green overlay)
// Project Settings > Engine > Navigation System
// - Generate Navigation Only Around Navigation Invokers: Performance optimization
// - Auto Update Enabled: Rebuild NavMesh when geometry changes

AI Controller & Movement

Create AI Controller

UCLASS()
class AEnemyAIController : public AAIController {
    GENERATED_BODY()

public:
    void BeginPlay() override {
        Super::BeginPlay();

        // Move to location
        FVector TargetLocation = FVector(1000, 0, 0);
        MoveToLocation(TargetLocation);
    }
};

Assign AI Controller to Pawn

UCLASS()
class AEnemyCharacter : public ACharacter {
    GENERATED_BODY()

public:
    AEnemyCharacter() {
        // ✅ Assign AI Controller class
        AIControllerClass = AEnemyAIController::StaticClass();
        AutoPossessAI = EAutoPossessAI::PlacedInWorldOrSpawned;
    }
};

Basic AI Movement

Move to Location

AAIController* AIController = Cast<AAIController>(GetController());
if (AIController) {
    FVector TargetLocation = FVector(1000, 0, 0);
    EPathFollowingRequestResult::Type Result = AIController->MoveToLocation(TargetLocation);

    if (Result == EPathFollowingRequestResult::RequestSuccessful) {
        UE_LOG(LogTemp, Warning, TEXT("Moving to location"));
    }
}

Move to Actor

AActor* Target = /* Get target actor */;
AIController->MoveToActor(Target, 100.0f); // Stop 100 units away

Stop Movement

AIController->StopMovement();

Path Following Events

On Move Completed

UCLASS()
class AEnemyAIController : public AAIController {
    GENERATED_BODY()

public:
    void BeginPlay() override {
        Super::BeginPlay();

        // Bind to move completed event
        ReceiveMoveCompleted.AddDynamic(this, &AEnemyAIController::OnMoveCompleted);
    }

    UFUNCTION()
    void OnMoveCompleted(FAIRequestID RequestID, EPathFollowingResult::Type Result) {
        if (Result == EPathFollowingResult::Success) {
            UE_LOG(LogTemp, Warning, TEXT("Reached destination"));
        } else {
            UE_LOG(LogTemp, Warning, TEXT("Failed to reach destination"));
        }
    }
};

Pathfinding Queries

Find Path to Location

#include "NavigationSystem.h"
#include "NavigationPath.h"

UNavigationSystemV1* NavSys = UNavigationSystemV1::GetCurrent(GetWorld());
if (NavSys) {
    FVector Start = GetActorLocation();
    FVector End = TargetLocation;

    FPathFindingQuery Query;
    Query.StartLocation = Start;
    Query.EndLocation = End;
    Query.NavData = NavSys->GetDefaultNavDataInstance();

    FPathFindingResult Result = NavSys->FindPathSync(Query);

    if (Result.IsSuccessful()) {
        UNavigationPath* NavPath = Result.Path.Get();
        // Use path points: NavPath->GetPathPoints()
    }
}

Check if Location is Reachable

UNavigationSystemV1* NavSys = UNavigationSystemV1::GetCurrent(GetWorld());
FNavLocation OutLocation;
bool bReachable = NavSys->ProjectPointToNavigation(TargetLocation, OutLocation);

if (bReachable) {
    UE_LOG(LogTemp, Warning, TEXT("Location is reachable"));
}
  1. Place Actors > Volumes > Nav Modifier Volume
  2. Configure Area Class (e.g., NavArea_Null to block, NavArea_LowHeight for crouching)

Custom Nav Areas

Create Custom Nav Area

UCLASS()
class UNavArea_Jump : public UNavArea {
    GENERATED_BODY()

public:
    UNavArea_Jump() {
        DefaultCost = 10.0f; // Higher cost = AI avoids unless necessary
        FixedAreaEnteringCost = 100.0f; // One-time cost to enter
    }
};

Use Custom Nav Area

// Assign to Nav Modifier Volume or geometry

Rebuild Nav Mesh at Runtime

UNavigationSystemV1* NavSys = UNavigationSystemV1::GetCurrent(GetWorld());
NavSys->Build(); // Rebuild entire NavMesh

Dynamic Nav Mesh (Moving Obstacles)

// Enable: Project Settings > Navigation System > Runtime Generation = Dynamic

// Mark actor as dynamic obstacle:
UStaticMeshComponent* Mesh = /* Get mesh */;
Mesh->SetCanEverAffectNavigation(true);
Mesh->bDynamicObstacle = true;
  1. Place Actors > Navigation > Nav Link Proxy
  2. Set up start and end points
  3. Configure:
    • Direction: One-way or bidirectional
    • Smart Link: Animate character during traversal

Crowd Management

Detour Crowd (Avoid Overlapping)

// Enable: Character Movement Component > Avoidance Enabled = true

// Configure avoidance group and flags
UCharacterMovementComponent* MoveComp = GetCharacterMovement();
MoveComp->SetAvoidanceGroup(1);
MoveComp->SetGroupsToAvoid(1);
MoveComp->SetAvoidanceEnabled(true);

Performance Tips

// Reduce tile size for large worlds:
// Project Settings > Navigation System > Cell Size = 19 (default)

// Use Navigation Invokers for dynamic generation:
// Only generate NavMesh around players/important actors

Debugging

Visualize Nav Mesh

// Console commands:
// show navigation - Toggle NavMesh visualization
// p - Toggle NavMesh (editor viewport)

// Draw debug path:
if (NavPath) {
    for (int i = 0; i < NavPath->GetPathPoints().Num() - 1; i++) {
        DrawDebugLine(GetWorld(), NavPath->GetPathPoints()[i], NavPath->GetPathPoints()[i + 1], FColor::Green, false, 5.0f, 0, 5.0f);
    }
}

Common Patterns

Patrol Between Waypoints

UPROPERTY(EditAnywhere, Category = "AI")
TArray<AActor*> PatrolPoints;

int32 CurrentPatrolIndex = 0;

void OnMoveCompleted(FAIRequestID RequestID, EPathFollowingResult::Type Result) {
    if (Result == EPathFollowingResult::Success) {
        // Move to next waypoint
        CurrentPatrolIndex = (CurrentPatrolIndex + 1) % PatrolPoints.Num();
        MoveToActor(PatrolPoints[CurrentPatrolIndex]);
    }
}

Chase Player

void Tick(float DeltaTime) {
    Super::Tick(DeltaTime);

    AAIController* AIController = Cast<AAIController>(GetController());
    APawn* PlayerPawn = GetWorld()->GetFirstPlayerController()->GetPawn();

    if (AIController && PlayerPawn) {
        float Distance = FVector::Dist(GetActorLocation(), PlayerPawn->GetActorLocation());

        if (Distance < 1000.0f) {
            // Chase player
            AIController->MoveToActor(PlayerPawn, 100.0f);
        } else {
            // Stop chasing
            AIController->StopMovement();
        }
    }
}

Sources

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