An Action performs behavior while a state is active. Use Actions for work such as moving toward a target, playing an animation, changing a value, triggering an effect, or calling another gameplay system.
Most project-specific State Designer behavior belongs in an Action. States organize that behavior into modes, while Conditions decide when transitions may move the state machine to another mode.
In the editor
For a GameObject workflow, select an Action State, add the Actions that should run in that state, and configure each Action in the Element Inspector. The same Action type can be reused in multiple states with different values.
An Action State can run its Actions as a Sequence or in Parallel. Choose Sequence when one Action should finish before the next starts. Choose Parallel when the Actions should run together.
Entity Actions use the ECS workflow and appear as their own state logic rather than as GameObject Actions inside an Action State. Choose that workflow when the project already uses ECS or profiling shows that the behavior must scale across many entities.
Use Action list controls
An Action State’s list supports Enable/Disable, drag reordering, + to open the searchable Action selector, and – to remove the selected row. Search, Favorites, Recent, Documentation, and the Kind, Member, Scope, Returns, Requires, and Execution filters work as described on the States page, but the results are limited to compatible Actions.
Right-click an Action row for Replace, Rename, Edit Script, Locate Script, Copy, Paste, Duplicate, or Delete. Copy, Duplicate, and Delete can use a multi-row selection; Replace and Rename require one row. Right-click blank list space to paste copied Actions. Dragging a GameObject or Component onto a supported Action State area opens a filtered Action selector and assigns the target automatically.
The Element Inspector gear provides Edit Script, Locate Script, and Reset for the selected Action. A watch icon shows a supported field’s live value on the State without affecting execution. Serialized list edits are unavailable in Play Mode.
Movement Action Base settings
| Setting | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Auto Add Movement Agent | true | Automatically add a MovementAgent when the target does not already contain one. |
| Stop On End | true | Stop and clear the provider path when the action ends. |
| Allow Partial Path | false | Allow a partial path to remain active instead of treating it as a terminal result. |
| Use Timeout | false | Enable the action timeout. |
| Timeout | 10f | The maximum active action duration. |
| Fail When Stuck | true | Treat lack of provider progress as a terminal result. |
| Path Validation Grace | 0.2f | The delay after setting a destination before validating the resulting path. |
| Result | Default | Receives the detailed movement result for state-machine transitions. |
Movement Control Actions settings
Suspend Movement settings
| Setting | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Result | Default | Receives the detailed suspension result. |
Resume Movement settings
| Setting | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Complete Traversal | Default | Complete the pending provider traversal link before resuming movement. |
| Result | Default | Receives the detailed resume result. |
Patrol Wander Cover settings
Patrol settings
| Setting | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Waypoints | Default | The patrol waypoint GameObjects. |
| Route Mode | Sequential | The route selection mode. |
| Arrival Distance | 0.25f | The waypoint arrival distance. |
| Dwell Duration | Default | The dwell time at each waypoint. |
| Required Cycles | Default | The number of completed cycles required before success. Zero patrols continuously. |
| Skip Invalid Waypoints | true | Skip an invalid waypoint instead of ending the action. |
| Maximum Recovery Attempts | 3 | The maximum invalid waypoints that can be skipped consecutively. |
Patrol Route Mode values: Sequential, PingPong, Random.
Wander settings
| Setting | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Distance | 8f | The forward distance of a desired wander destination. |
| Maximum Angle | 90f | The maximum random heading change per destination. |
| Sample Distance | 3f | The maximum provider sampling radius around a desired point. |
| Sample Attempts | 8 | The number of bounded sampling attempts per destination. |
| Arrival Distance | 0.25f | The waypoint arrival distance. |
| Dwell Duration | Default | The dwell time at each wander destination. |
| Required Destinations | Default | The number of destinations required before success. Zero wanders continuously. |
Move To Cover settings
| Setting | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Threat | Default | The threat that the cover should block. |
| Cover Layers | ~0 | The layers containing potential cover geometry. |
| Occupancy Layers | Default | The layers that prevent selection of an occupied cover point. |
| Search Radius | 15f | The radius searched for cover geometry. |
| Cover Offset | 0.5f | The distance placed beyond the far side of the cover bounds. |
| Sample Distance | 2f | The provider sampling radius around each cover candidate. |
| Occupancy Radius | 0.5f | The occupancy test radius around a candidate. |
| Arrival Distance | 0.25f | The distance at which the cover point counts as reached. |
| Stable Arrival Duration | 0.15f | The uninterrupted arrival duration required before success. |
| Maximum Cover Candidates | 64 | The maximum number of cover colliders considered per search. |
| Maximum Occupancy Results | 16 | The maximum number of occupancy colliders considered per candidate. |
Pursue Evade settings
Pursue settings
| Setting | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Pursuit Target | Default | The target to pursue. |
| Arrival Distance | 0.5f | The distance at which pursuit succeeds. |
| Maximum Prediction | 1.5f | The maximum number of seconds to predict ahead. |
| Default Agent Speed | 3.5f | The fallback movement speed used when the provider is currently stationary. |
| Replan Interval | 0.1f | The interval between pursuit replans. |
| Replan Distance | 0.1f | The destination movement required before issuing a replacement path request. |
| Stable Arrival Duration | 0.1f | The uninterrupted arrival duration required before success. |
Evade settings
| Setting | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Threat | Default | The moving threat to evade. |
| Evade Distance | 8f | The distance of each evade destination from the current position. |
| Safe Distance | 10f | The threat distance that counts as safe. |
| Safe Duration | 0.25f | The uninterrupted safe duration required before success. |
| Maximum Prediction | 1f | The maximum number of seconds to predict the threat ahead. |
| Replan Interval | 0.15f | The interval between evade replans. |
| Candidate Count | 7 | The number of bounded angular candidates evaluated per replan. |
| Candidate Angle | 25f | The angular spacing between evade candidates. |
| Sample Distance | 2f | The maximum provider sampling distance around a candidate. |
Seek Follow Flee settings
Seek settings
| Setting | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Destination Source | GameObject | The source used to resolve the destination. |
| Destination Game Object | Default | The destination GameObject. |
| Destination Position | Default | The destination position. |
| Arrival Distance | 0.25f | The distance at which the destination counts as reached. |
| Stable Arrival Duration | 0.15f | The uninterrupted arrival duration required by Stable Arrival mode. |
| Completion Mode | MovementCompletionMode.Arrival | How the action completes after reaching or tracking the destination. |
| Duration | 1f | The active duration used by Duration completion mode. |
| Replan Interval | 0.1f | The minimum time between moving-target replans. |
| Replan Distance | 0.1f | The minimum destination displacement required for a moving-target replan. |
Destination Source values: GameObject, Position.
Movement Completion Mode values: Arrival, StableArrival, Duration, Continuous.
Follow settings
| Setting | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Follow Target | Default | The GameObject to follow. |
| Minimum Distance | 1.5f | The closest desired distance from the target. |
| Maximum Distance | 3f | The furthest desired distance from the target. |
| Hysteresis | 0.2f | The distance hysteresis that prevents rapidly changing between approach and retreat. |
| Replan Interval | 0.1f | The interval between destination corrections. |
| Face Target | Default | Rotate toward the target while maintaining the distance band. |
| Rotation Speed | 360f | The maximum facing rotation speed in degrees per second. |
| Completion Mode | MovementCompletionMode.Continuous | How the follow action completes. |
| Stable Duration | 0.25f | The uninterrupted in-band duration required by Stable Arrival mode. |
| Duration | 1f | The active duration used by Duration completion mode. |
Movement Completion Mode values: Arrival, StableArrival, Duration, Continuous.
Flee settings
| Setting | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Threat | Default | The threat to flee from. |
| Flee Distance | 10f | The distance of each flee destination from the current position. |
| Safe Distance | 12f | The threat distance that counts as safe. |
| Safe Duration | 0.25f | The uninterrupted safe duration required before success. |
| Replan Interval | 0.25f | The interval between flee destination updates. |
| Sample Distance | 3f | The maximum provider sampling distance around the desired flee point. |
How it runs
When a state becomes active, its Actions perform the work for that mode. In a Sequence, the state advances through its Actions in order and finishes after the final Action completes. In Parallel, the Actions start together and the state finishes after all active Actions complete.
Actions do not decide transitions. Conditions on outgoing transitions determine whether the state machine can leave the current state. Keeping behavior in Actions and decisions in Conditions makes the graph easier to read and debug.
Key choices and example
Create an Action when something should happen in the game. Create a Condition when the state machine only needs to answer a yes-or-no question before taking a transition.
Keep each Action focused on one job. Smaller Actions are easier to reuse, configure, and combine than one Action that controls an entire behavior.
For example, a Chase state can combine one Action that moves toward a target with another that turns to face it. Conditions on its outgoing transitions can check whether the target is close enough to enter Attack or has been lost so the state machine should return to Patrol.
For most custom behavior, start with a GameObject Action. Use an Entity Action for data-oriented behavior that needs ECS execution, and optimize only where the project benefits from it.
Use Built-in Actions to choose a category before searching the Action selector. The selector remains the source of truth for capabilities supplied by currently installed integrations and project code.