Everything Blueprint Nav Link adds: the component, its viewport handles and arcs, every Details panel setting with its default, when navigation needs to update, multiplayer behavior, and the messages you may see. For each node and event, see Blueprint nodes.
At a glance#
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Plugin type | Runtime, with an editor module for the viewport handles and the Details panel button. It ships in packaged games, including dedicated servers. |
| Platforms | No platform restrictions |
| Engine versions | UE 5.5–5.8 |
| Requirements | A navigation mesh, from a Nav Mesh Bounds Volume, and AI that follows paths, such as AI Move To |
| Replication | Nothing on the component replicates. See Multiplayer. |
| Blueprint nodes | Yes. See Blueprint nodes. |
| Settings | Project Settings → Plugins → Blueprint Nav Link, shared with your team |
Where to find it#
- Add Component → Navigation → Nav Link Proxy adds the component. The engine has a component named Nav Link in the same group and an actor named Nav Link Proxy in Place Actors; neither is this plugin's component.
- Copy End Points From Simple Link, at the end of the Smart Link category, moves the smart link onto the first simple link, including its direction. It is available when Use Smart Link is on and Links has at least one entry, works on several selected components, and can be undone.
- Viewport handles and arcs, described below.
The plugin adds no menus, context-menu entries, or console commands.
Viewport handles#
Select the component in the Components panel, or its actor in the level, to show its handles.
| Handle | Look | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Endpoint | Orange point | One at each end of every simple link and of the smart link. Click it to put the move gizmo on it, then drag. |
| Selected endpoint | White point | The endpoint the gizmo moves. |
| Smart link marker | Thin orange line under the smart link's arc | Shows which pair of endpoints belongs to the smart link. |
- Press F to frame the selected link's two endpoints.
- Rotating or scaling a selected endpoint does nothing.
- Endpoint edits can be undone. In the Blueprint editor they change the Blueprint; in a level viewport they change that placed actor.
Arcs#
Arcs draw in every editor viewport, level and Blueprint alike, without selecting anything, turning on Show → Navigation, or building navigation. They never draw during play.
| Arc | Look |
|---|---|
| Simple link, or an open smart link with the default area | Light green |
| Closed smart link with the Null area | Dark translucent grey, drawn only while Draw Disabled Smart Links is on |
| Direction | Arrowheads show the allowed direction; both ends for Both Ways. |
| Snap radius | Translucent cylinders at each end of a simple link. |
Arcs take the color of their navigation area. The obstacle box is not drawn; check it in the navigation view (P). With Draw Links In Editor Viewports off, arcs draw only for the selected component.
Details panel#
A new component starts with one simple link placed exactly where the smart link is. Delete or move it when the agent must cross a gap or pass a door, because a simple link is walked like ground and stays open when the smart link is closed.
Links#
Each entry of the engine's Navigation → Links array is a simple link. Endpoints are relative to the component.
| Field | Default | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Left, Right | (0, -50, 0), (0, 50, 0) | The two endpoints. |
| Left Project Height | 0 | Drops the left end onto the ground below, up to this distance. 0 turns it off. |
| Right Project Height | 1000 | The same for the right end. |
| Snap Radius | 30 | How far an endpoint looks for navigation to connect to. Minimum 1. |
| Snap Height | 50 | Vertical allowance, used when its checkbox is ticked. Minimum 1. |
| Supported Agents | All | Which navigation agents can use the link. |
| Direction | Both Ways | Both Ways, Left To Right, or Right To Left. |
| Snap To Cheapest Area | On | Connects to the cheapest nearby area. |
| Area Class | NavArea_Default on the first entry | The navigation area of the link. Empty means the default walkable area. |
Smart Link#
Every setting except Use Smart Link is unavailable while it is off.
| Setting | Default | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Use Smart Link | On | Adds the smart link to the component. |
| Smart Link Start, Smart Link End | (0, -50, 0), (0, 50, 0) | Endpoints, relative to the component. Start counts as the left end for the direction. |
| Smart Link Direction | Both Ways | Both Ways, Left To Right, or Right To Left. |
| Link Enabled | On | Whether the link starts open. |
| Enabled Area Class | NavArea_Default | Area used while open. |
| Disabled Area Class | NavArea_Null | Area used while closed. NavArea_Null makes the link impassable. |
| Smart Link Supported Agents | All | Which navigation agents can use it. Details panel only. |
Smart link endpoints are not dropped onto the ground and connect within 30 cm, with no setting. Place them on the navigation surface.
Obstacle#
| Setting | Default | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Create Box Obstacle | Off | Cuts a box out of the navigation surface so agents must use the link. It exists while Use Smart Link is on, whether the link is open or closed. |
| Obstacle Offset | (0, 0, 0) | Center of the box, relative to the component. |
| Obstacle Extent | (50, 50, 50) | Half-size of the box. It rotates and scales with the component. |
| Obstacle Area Class | NavArea_Null | Area inside the box. |
Broadcast#
| Setting | Default | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Notify When Enabled | Off | Repeat On Smart Link State Changed while the link stays open. |
| Notify When Disabled | Off | Repeat it while the link stays closed. |
| Broadcast Radius | 0 cm | Search radius around each endpoint for Collect Nearby Agents. 0 finds nothing. |
| Broadcast Interval | 0 s | Seconds between repeats. 0 means no repeats. |
| Broadcast Channel | Pawn | Collision channel searched. |
Nothing is sent to AI agents automatically. Use On Smart Link State Changed and Collect Nearby Agents to react, for example by reissuing a Move To.
Traversal#
| Setting | Default | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Traversal | Jump | None (Walk, or Handle in Blueprint), Jump, or Teleport. |
| Jump Arc | 0.5 | Shown for Jump. From 0.05 to 0.95: lower values give a higher, steeper arc; higher values give a flatter, faster one. |
| Jump Timeout | 5 s | Shown for Jump. Minimum 0.1. After this long, the Character falls normally from where it is and resumes its path. |
Project Settings#
Project Settings → Plugins → Blueprint Nav Link, category Editor:
| Setting | Default | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Draw Links In Editor Viewports | On | Draw every link's arcs. Off draws arcs only for the selected component. |
| Draw Disabled Smart Links | On | Also draw closed smart links. Unavailable while the first setting is off. |
Traversal#
| Mode | What happens |
|---|---|
| Jump, with a Character | The Character flies an arc to the far end, aimed with its gravity at take-off, and resumes its path on landing. It stays on the arc even if its path is interrupted. It is in the Falling movement mode throughout, so its animation sees a fall, and On Landed fires. After landing, its speed is limited to its Max Walk Speed. Its movement settings are not changed. |
| Jump, with a Character that cannot move | It is not moved, and the traversal ends after half a second. |
| Jump, with any other pawn, or with no possible arc | The pawn is teleported. |
| Teleport | The pawn is placed standing at the far end, keeping its rotation, and resumes its path at once. |
| None | Nothing moves the pawn, and its path following keeps steering it toward the far end. Move it from On Smart Link Reached in the same frame, then call Resume Path Following. |
The component only does work while it is carrying an agent across.
Navigation updates#
| Change | Navigation rebuild |
|---|---|
| Set Smart Link Enabled, area class changes, Link Enabled | Not needed. Works with a static navigation mesh for links built in the editor. |
| Spawning, moving, or destroying a link | Needed. |
| Set Smart Link Endpoints, Set Simple Link Endpoints, Set Simple Links | Needed. |
| Use Smart Link, obstacle, and simple-link settings | Needed. |
In the editor, navigation updates automatically when it is set to. During play it updates only when the navigation mesh's Runtime Generation is Dynamic. Each spawned or duplicated actor gets its own independent smart link.
Multiplayer#
- Pathfinding and AI movement run on the server, and nothing on the component replicates.
- On Smart Link Reached and On Smart Link Traversal Finished fire on the machine running the AI: the server, or a standalone game.
- On Smart Link State Changed fires only on the machine that called Set Smart Link Enabled.
- Call the setters on the server. If clients need the link's state, replicate your own variable and call the setter from its notify function.
- Jumps run on the server; clients see them through normal Character movement replication.
Messages#
Output Log messages appear under LogBlueprintNavLink.
| When | Message |
|---|---|
| An actor spawned during play carries a link, but the navigation mesh is Static | A warning that the link will never be used for pathfinding, with how to set Runtime Generation to Dynamic. Shown once per world. |
| Resume Path Following receives an agent without path following | A warning that the agent stays on the link. |
| Set Simple Link Endpoints receives an index outside Links | A warning with the index and the number of simple links. |
| A pawn cannot be launched and is teleported instead | A verbose message, shown after Log LogBlueprintNavLink Verbose. |
The Static warning covers spawned actors only. Links on actors streamed in, or components added to a placed actor during play, are also ignored by a static navigation mesh.
Limits#
- One smart link per component.
- Smart Link Supported Agents cannot be read or changed in Blueprint.
- Links built with Make Navigation Link only set Left, Right, and Direction.