Combat

combat.yml controls the CombatActionEvaluator (CAE) combat system that drives elite basic attacks, guarding, retreat, and movement AI. The CAE is Hytale’s native combat evaluation system - RPGMobs generates per-style, per-tier, and per-weapon CAE configs at runtime from these settings.

How CAE Combat Works

Instead of a code-side state machine, RPGMobs uses Hytale’s built-in CombatActionEvaluator to handle:

Basic attacks - per-weapon swing chains with correct animations and sounds
Sustained guard - shield blocking on recent sustained damage (T2+)
BackOff - brief retreat after completing an attack chain (T2+)
Health retreat - fleeing when health drops below a threshold (T3+)
Group observe - pausing before joining group combat (T3+)
Flanking - positioning behind the target (T5 only for most styles)

RPGMobs abilities (Charge Leap, Multi Slash, Enrage, etc.) are handled code-side and temporarily interrupt CAE control. Code-side parry uses CAE’s setCurrentInteraction() to fire reactive guard interactions.

Combat Styles

The factionStyles map defines combat personality profiles. Despite the legacy name, styles are not faction-bound - any mob rule can reference any combat style to control its attack timing and defensive behavior.

factionStyles:
  skeleton:
    attackCooldownMin: 1.0
    attackCooldownMax: 2.0
    shieldBlockEnabled: true
    backoffEnabled: true
    retreatEnabled: true
    reengageEnabled: true
    strafeEnabled: false
    observeEnabled: true
    flankingEnabled: false
  trork:
    attackCooldownMin: 0.4
    attackCooldownMax: 0.8
    shieldBlockEnabled: false
    backoffEnabled: true
    retreatEnabled: true
    reengageEnabled: true
    strafeEnabled: false
    observeEnabled: false
    flankingEnabled: false
  outlander:
    attackCooldownMin: 0.8
    attackCooldownMax: 1.2
    shieldBlockEnabled: true
    backoffEnabled: true
    retreatEnabled: true
    reengageEnabled: true
    strafeEnabled: true
    observeEnabled: true
    flankingEnabled: true
  goblin:
    attackCooldownMin: 0.3
    attackCooldownMax: 2.0
    shieldBlockEnabled: true
    backoffEnabled: true
    retreatEnabled: true
    reengageEnabled: true
    strafeEnabled: false
    observeEnabled: true
    flankingEnabled: false

Field	Type	Description
`attackCooldownMin`	float	Minimum delay between basic attack chains (seconds).
`attackCooldownMax`	float	Maximum delay between basic attack chains (seconds). A random value in this range is chosen each cycle.
`shieldBlockEnabled`	boolean	Whether the style uses CAE ShieldBlock action for sustained guarding.
`backoffEnabled`	boolean	Whether the style briefly retreats after completing an attack chain.
`retreatEnabled`	boolean	Whether the style retreats when health is low (CAE HealthRetreat).
`reengageEnabled`	boolean	Whether the style automatically re-engages after retreating.
`strafeEnabled`	boolean	Whether the style strafes around the target between attacks.
`observeEnabled`	boolean	Whether grouped elites pause before joining combat (CAE GroupObserve).
`flankingEnabled`	boolean	Whether the style attempts to position behind the target.

Tier Behaviors

The tierBehaviors list defines which CAE actions are unlocked at each tier. Index 0 = T1, index 4 = T5.

tierBehaviors:
  - shieldBlock: false
    backOff: false
    healthRetreat: false
    groupObserve: false
    flanking: false
  - shieldBlock: true
    backOff: true
    healthRetreat: false
    groupObserve: false
    flanking: false
    guardChargeFor: 3.0
    guardCooldown: 8.0
  - shieldBlock: true
    backOff: true
    healthRetreat: true
    groupObserve: true
    flanking: false
    guardChargeFor: 3.5
    guardCooldown: 6.0
    retreatHealthThreshold: 0.35
    retreatDuration: 3.0
  - shieldBlock: true
    backOff: true
    healthRetreat: true
    groupObserve: true
    flanking: false
    guardChargeFor: 4.0
    guardCooldown: 5.0
    retreatHealthThreshold: 0.30
    retreatDuration: 2.5
  - shieldBlock: true
    backOff: true
    healthRetreat: true
    groupObserve: true
    flanking: true
    guardChargeFor: 5.0
    guardCooldown: 4.0
    retreatHealthThreshold: 0.25
    retreatDuration: 2.0

Field	Type	Description
`shieldBlock`	boolean	Whether this tier can use sustained shield guard.
`backOff`	boolean	Whether this tier retreats briefly after attacking.
`healthRetreat`	boolean	Whether this tier retreats when health is low.
`groupObserve`	boolean	Whether this tier pauses before joining group combat.
`flanking`	boolean	Whether this tier attempts to flank the target.
`guardChargeFor`	float	Duration in seconds that the mob holds its shield guard.
`guardCooldown`	float	Minimum time in seconds between guard actions.
`retreatHealthThreshold`	float	Health fraction below which the mob retreats (e.g., `0.35` = 35% HP).
`retreatDuration`	float	How long in seconds the mob retreats before re-engaging.

Weapon Parameters

The weaponParams map defines per-weapon basic attack configuration. Each entry controls the attack chain, sounds, and combat reach for one weapon type.

weaponParams:
  swords:
    maxRange: 3.5
    speedMultiplier: 1.0
    animationSet: "Sword"
    attackChain:
      - "SwingLeft"
      - "SwingRight"
      - "SwingLeft"
      - "SwingRight"
    swingSound: "SFX_Sword_T1_Swing"
    impactSound: "SFX_Sword_T2_Impact"
    weaponTrail: "Sword_Distortion"
    hitParticle: "Mace_Signature_Cast"

Field	Type	Description
`maxRange`	float	Maximum attack reach in blocks. Larger weapons (battleaxes, spears) have longer range. Uses projected distance (edge-to-edge, not center-to-center).
`speedMultiplier`	float	Attack speed modifier. `1.0` = baseline. Daggers are faster (~1.3), Battleaxes slower (~0.7).
`animationSet`	string	Hytale animation set ID (e.g., `Sword`, `Daggers`, `Battleaxe`, `Mace`, `Spear`, `Club`, `Club_Flail`, `Axe`, `Longsword`).
`attackChain`	string[]	Ordered list of animation IDs for the basic attack cycle. The NPC cycles through these in order, then loops.
`swingSound`	string	Sound event played on every swing regardless of hit.
`impactSound`	string	Sound event played only on successful hit (defined in the damage template, not the swing).
`weaponTrail`	string	Trail asset attached to the weapon during swings. Optional - leave empty for no trail.
`hitParticle`	string	Particle system spawned on impact. Optional.

Default Weapon Configurations

Weapon	Range	Speed	Animation Set	Chain Length
Swords	3.5	1.0	Sword	4
Longswords	4.0	0.9	Longsword	4
Daggers	2.8	1.3	Daggers	4
Axes	3.5	0.9	Axe	5
Battleaxes	4.0	0.7	Battleaxe	5
Maces	3.5	0.85	Mace	4
Clubs	3.5	0.9	Club	4
ClubsFlail	3.5	0.9	Club_Flail	4
Spears	4.5	0.85	Spear	4

Parry System

The code-side reactive parry system is not configurable via combat.yml - it is hardcoded with per-tier chances and per-weapon delays. The parry system detects player attacks via RPGMobsPlayerAttackDetectionSystem and fires guard interactions through CombatActionEvaluator.setCurrentInteraction().

Tier	Parry Chance
T1	0%
T2	15%
T3	30%
T4	50%
T5	70%

Per-weapon parry delay (based on the player’s weapon wind-up time): Daggers 1 tick, Swords 2, Spears 5, Battleaxes 7, Maces 10.

Admin UI

Combat AI settings are editable in the Combat AI tab of the Admin UI. The tab provides visual editors for combat styles, tier behaviors, and per-weapon attack chains.

Getting Started

Admin UI

File Configuration

Developer API

Reference

How CAE Combat Works

Combat Styles

Tier Behaviors

Weapon Parameters

Default Weapon Configurations

Parry System

Admin UI

​How CAE Combat Works

​Combat Styles

​Tier Behaviors

​Weapon Parameters

​Default Weapon Configurations

​Parry System

​Admin UI

How CAE Combat Works

Combat Styles

Tier Behaviors

Weapon Parameters

Default Weapon Configurations

Parry System

Admin UI