Target Locking

Certain games allow players to lock onto a specific target, helping them focus their attacks regardless of camera movement or other nearby enemies.

A locked target is also relevant to other systems, such as Motion Warping, to ensure that attacks prioritize the locked target, and Movement, since locking to a target commonly shifts the character into strafing movement.

The Target Lock functionality is implemented through a dedicated Gameplay Ability, a Targeting Preset and a Marker Actor to visually represent the current locked-on target.

Target Manager Component

Targets are managed and replicated by a Target Manager Component, defined by CombatTargetManagerInterface. By default, the Combat Manager Component is a valid implementation for that component.

The Target Manager is responsible for instantiating the Marker Actor and also storing, replicating, and broadcasting the current target when it is set or cleared.

Listening to Target Changes

Other systems can react to target changes by binding to the Target Manager Component through BindToCombatTargetChangedDelegate.

This is useful for systems that need to update behavior when a target is locked, switched, or cleared, such as UI, movement, camera logic, animation, or custom combat assists.

When the listener is no longer valid, it should unbind using UnbindFromTargetChangedDelegate.

Controller Rotation

The default Target Manager (provided by the Combat Manager Component) also offers optional controller rotation toward the locked target.
This improves gameplay by keeping the character and camera naturally aligned during lock-on.

The following properties control this behavior:

Property	Description
`bRotateControllerToTarget`	If true, automatically rotates the Controller to face the locked target.
`bLockControllerPitch`	If true, locks the pitch during lock-on. If false, player input can still modify it.
`bLockControllerYaw`	If true, locks the yaw during lock-on. If false, player input can still modify it.
`RotationInterpSpeed`	Determines the interpolation speed when rotating toward the locked target.

Marker Actor

The Marker Actor, NinjaCombatMarkerActor, visually represents which target is currently locked on by the player. It can use any visual elements, such as widgets or particle systems to represent that a given actor is the current locked-on target.

If the marker widget needs to know which actor is currently locked, implement CombatActorAwareInterface. The Marker Actor automatically sends the current target to compatible widgets when the target is set or cleared.

The Marker Actor is automatically attached to the current target's Scene Component tagged as Combat.Component.TargetLockAnchor. This behavior, along with others, can be customized in Blueprint or C++ child classes.

Function	Description
`FindAttachAnchor`	Finds the anchor point for the target. By default, selects a Scene Component with the appropriate Gameplay Tag. Can be overridden for advanced setups.
`AttachToTarget`	Handles the attachment logic when locking onto a target.
`DetachFromTarget`	Handles the detachment logic when unlocking or switching targets.
`HandleTargetSet`	Hook for custom logic when a new target is locked.
`HandleTargetCleared`	Hook for custom logic when a target is cleared.

The base actor is also a poolable actor, integrated with the Actor Pool.

Target Lock Ability

The Target Lock Ability is assigned to any character intended to lock onto targets. Once activated, it collects the best available target using a Targeting Preset, supports target cycling and synchronizes them with the Target Manager Component.

Property	Description
Targeting Preset	Targeting Preset used to find an eligible target.
Perform Async Targeting	If true, collects targets asynchronously using the Gameplay Targeting System.
Track Distance	If true, tracks distance from the current target.
Distance Threshold	Optional distance limit. Exceeding it deselects the current target.
Adjacent Target Collision Channel	Collision channel used to find adjacent targets when cycling left or right.
Adjacent Target Distance	Maximum distance used to find adjacent targets when cycling left or right.
Trace Complex Adjacent Targets	If true, the adjacent target overlap uses complex collision.
Target Lock Effect Class	Gameplay Effect applied to the source when it locks onto a target.
Source Lock Effect Class	Gameplay Effect applied to the target when it is locked by the source.

Gameplay Effects

The Target Lock Ability is pre-configured to apply Gameplay Effects to both the source and the target.
By default, the source receives a Gameplay Effect indicating that it is locked onto a target, while the target receives a Gameplay Effect indicating that it is being locked by the source.

These effects simply assign Gameplay Tags that can be tracked by other systems, but you can extend them to include additional logic or modifiers as needed.

Target Death

When the current target dies, the Target Lock Ability clears the target and ends.

If your game should automatically move to another target, override HandleTargetDeath in Blueprint or C++ and run your own target acquisition logic before ending the ability.

Gameplay Events

You can activate or deactivate the Target Lock Ability either manually (by class or tag) or automatically via Gameplay Events:

Event	Description
`Combat.Event.Target.Acquired`	Activates the ability from an external system, locking to the Actor provided in the payload.
`Combat.Event.Target.Scan`	Re-runs the Targeting Preset to find a target. If a target is already locked, it is kept if no new valid target is found.
`Combat.Event.Target.Left`	Moves to a target to the left from the current one, if any. Cycles around targets.
`Combat.Event.Target.Right`	Moves to a target to the right from the current one, if any. Cycles around targets.
`Combat.Event.Target.Dismissed`	Cancels the target lock.

Once the Target Lock Ability is configured, players (or AI) will be able to seamlessly acquire, track, and disengage targets during combat.

20 June 2026