Unreal Engine 5.6 GAS Combat Tutorial #28 (Nov 2025) – Paired Montages & Gameplay Cues

UE5 Katana Combat — Paired Animation Sets and GAS Gameplay Cues (Step-by-Step Tutorial Description)

Welcome to this Unreal Engine 5 katana combat tutorial. In this episode, we walk through building a complete paired animation system that works with the Gameplay Ability System. You will learn how to set up attacker and victim montages, cycle through multiple attacks, randomize starting patterns, and trigger camera shakes and visual effects using Gameplay Cues. Everything is built with multiplayer in mind.

What You Will Learn

How to create paired animation sets using a Blueprint structure

How to store attack and victim montages in a clean data format

How to cycle through attacks using an attack counter and modulus logic

How to randomize starting attacks for variation

How to trigger camera shakes, VFX, and SFX through Gameplay Cues

How to run effects only on the local player for proper multiplayer behavior

Tips for debugging root motion, camera collision, and spring arm issues

Keywords: Unreal Engine 5, UE5, Gameplay Ability System, GAS, katana combat, melee combat tutorial, blocking system, camera shake, gameplay cues, multiplayer melee.

Step-by-Step Implementation
Step 1 — Create a Paired Montage Struct

We start by building a structure that holds both attacker and victim montages. This ensures every animation pair stays organized and can be easily referenced.
Create a new Blueprint Structure and add two fields: one for the attacker montage and one for the victim montage. This keeps both parts of a paired animation linked together.

Step 2 — Build an Array of Paired Sets

Inside your ability, create an array variable of the montage struct. Each element contains one unique animation pair. This lets you add as many katana attack variations as you want without cluttering your logic.

Step 3 — Add an Attack Counter with Modulus

Add an integer attack counter set as instance-per-actor. When the ability activates, use the counter modulus the array length to pick the current montage pair. The modulus keeps the index safely within range and cycles cleanly when the counter grows. After every attack, increment the counter.

Step 4 — Randomize the Initial Attack

To prevent predictable combat, give each actor a seed value. On first activation, if the seed is zero, assign a random number. Use this seed to initialize the attack counter. This gives enemies and players different starting attacks and keeps combat visually varied.

Step 5 — Play Attacker and Victim Montages

From the selected struct entry, play the attacker montage on the katana user and the victim montage on the target. If using root motion, make sure it is enabled and both characters are aligned before the montage starts.

Step 6 — Create a Camera Shake Asset

A short, sharp camera shake boosts impact for melee hits. Create a Camera Shake Blueprint, keep the duration very short, and tune small rotation and location offsets. This creates responsive katana impact feedback.

Step 7 — Build a Gameplay Cue for Effects

Gameplay Cues handle VFX, SFX, and camera shakes in one place. Create a new Gameplay Cue Notify and add your camera shake to its burst effects section. You can also add slash particles, katana spark effects, or hit sounds. Keep camera shake configured to play only for the local player.

Step 8 — Trigger the Cue in Your Ability

When the attack hits, call Execute Gameplay Cue on Owner with your gameplay cue tag. This ensures only the instigator receives the camera shake while still allowing optional world effects like sparks to replicate normally.

Step 9 — Create Additional Hit and Blocked Cues

For better combat feel, create separate cues for standard hits and blocked hits. A normal hit can use a stronger shake and heavier sound, while a blocked hit can use lighter feedback and metallic audio. Trigger the appropriate cue in your hit detection logic.

Step 10 — Test and Debug

Paired animations often push characters close together, which can cause camera clipping. Adjust your spring arm collision channel to avoid colliding with character capsules. Test in multiplayer simulate windows to confirm that camera shakes trigger locally and root motion stays synchronized.

Summary

In this tutorial you built a complete UE5 katana combat foundation using paired montages, attack counters, randomized attack selection, camera shakes, and data-driven Gameplay Cues. Using GAS keeps your logic clean, modular, and multiplayer-safe. You now have a flexible system that supports multiple attack types, reaction animations, and visual feedback.

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