godot-combat-system

name

godot-combat-system

description

Expert patterns for combat systems including hitbox/hurtbox architecture, damage calculation (DamageData class), health components, combat state machines, combo systems, ability cooldowns, and damage popups. Use for action games, RPGs, or fighting games. Trigger keywords: Hitbox, Hurtbox, DamageData, HealthComponent, combat_state, combo_system, ability_cooldown, invincibility_frames, damage_popup.

NEVER Do

• NEVER use direct damage references (target.health -= 10) — Bypass armor, resistances, and i-frames. Always DamageData + HealthComponent.take_damage.
• NEVER forget invincibility frames (i-frames) — Multi-hit shapes otherwise tick every physics frame. Apply a short invuln window after a successful hit.
• NEVER keep hitboxes active permanently — Enable/disable with AnimationPlayer tracks or timed code; permanent monitoring causes ghost hits.
• NEVER use groups for physics-based hit filtering — Prefer collision layers/masks (C++ filter). Groups are secondary logic, not the physics gate.
• NEVER emit damage signals without a DamageData object — Raw numbers lose type, source, knockback, and crit context.
• NEVER use raw strings for elemental damage types — Use enum / @export_flags bitfields. String "physical" violates this skill’s own contract.
• NEVER use try/catch to validate targets — GDScript has no exceptions. Use has_method(&"take_damage") / is checks.
• NEVER hardcode hitstun with OS.delay_msec() — Blocks the OS thread. Use tweens / Engine.time_scale + ignore_time_scale timers.
• — Use / .