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Shadow Knightbrain

Based on game build 714014 | Last updated: 2026-02-27

Overview​

This brain component implements the AI logic for the Shadow Knight boss entity using a behavior tree (BT). It orchestrates priority-based actions including attacking when not in cooldown, fleeing/dodging when targeted, facing the nearest player, wandering, and automatically triggering a despawn event after a fixed time. The brain relies on the Combat component to determine whether a valid target exists and whether an attack is in cooldown, and on the Health component to validate target state (e.g., not dead, not a ghost). It integrates with several behavior modules: ChaseAndAttack, RunAway, FaceEntity, Wander, and custom utility functions.

Usage example​

inst:AddBrain("shadow_knightbrain")
inst:ListenForEvent("despawn", function() ... end)

Dependencies & tags​

Components used:

  • Combat: accessed via inst.components.combat to check for HasTarget() and InCooldown()
  • Health: accessed via target.components.health to check IsDead(), and via inst.components.health (indirectly via target)

Tags:

  • notarget: checked on candidate targets to exclude them from targeting
  • playerghost: checked on candidate targets to exclude ghost players
  • despawn: pushed as an event by this component after TUNING.SHADOW_CHESSPIECE_DESPAWN_TIME

Properties​

No public properties are initialized in the constructor. The component stores only the behavior tree root internally as self.bt.

Main functions​

OnStart()​

  • Description: Initializes the behavior tree root for the Shadow Knight. It constructs a prioritized sequence of behaviors: (1) Attack when no target is present or cooldown has ended, (2) Dodge/run away when a target is active, (3) Face the nearest valid player, and (4) Concurrently wander and schedule a despawn event after a fixed time. Called automatically when the brain is attached and started.
  • Parameters: None.
  • Returns: nil.
  • Error states: None documented. Assumes inst.components.combat and inst.components.health exist on the entity.

Events & listeners​

  • Listens to: None directly — event listeners are managed internally by behavior modules (e.g., ChaseAndAttack, RunAway).
  • Pushes:
    • despawn: Fired on self.inst after TUNING.SHADOW_CHESSPIECE_DESPAWN_TIME seconds, via the behavior tree. No data payload.