ai-navigation

AI Navigation in Godot 4.3+

Cover NavigationAgent2D/3D, steering behaviors, behavior trees, and patrol patterns. All examples target Godot 4.3+ with no deprecated APIs.

Related skills: state-machine for AI state management, component-system for modular AI behaviors, player-controller for movement physics patterns, math-essentials for pathfinding vectors and steering math, limboai for BT + HSM with a visual editor, beehave for lightweight GDScript behavior trees. For a structured behavior tree (rather than steering/navigation), see the comparison tables in limboai and beehave.

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1. Navigation Setup

Scene Structure

World (Node2D or Node3D)
└── NavigationRegion2D (or NavigationRegion3D)
    ├── TileMapLayer / StaticBody2D (geometry)
    └── Enemy (CharacterBody2D with NavigationAgent2D child)

NavigationRegion2D / NavigationRegion3D

1. Add a NavigationRegion2D (or NavigationRegion3D) node to your scene.
2. Assign a NavigationPolygon (2D) or NavigationMesh (3D) resource to it.
3. Draw the walkable area in the NavigationPolygon editor, or configure the NavigationMesh bounds in 3D.
4. Bake the mesh at edit time: select the NavigationRegion node → click Bake NavigationPolygon (2D) or Bake NavigationMesh (3D) in the toolbar.
5. Bake at runtime when the world changes dynamically:

# 2D
$NavigationRegion2D.bake_navigation_polygon()

# 3D
$NavigationRegion3D.bake_navigation_mesh()

// 2D
GetNode<NavigationRegion2D>("NavigationRegion2D").BakeNavigationPolygon();

// 3D
GetNode<NavigationRegion3D>("NavigationRegion3D").BakeNavigationMesh();

Async Navigation Baking (Godot 4.4+)

Navigation baking can cause frame drops on large maps. Godot 4.4 supports baking on a background thread:

# 2D — bake on a background thread
func rebake_async() -> void:
	var nav_region: NavigationRegion2D = $NavigationRegion2D
	# Connect to know when baking finishes
	NavigationServer2D.bake_from_source_geometry_data_async(
		nav_region.navigation_polygon,
		NavigationMeshSourceGeometryData2D.new()
	)
	# Or use the region's built-in signal:
	nav_region.bake_finished.connect(_on_bake_finished, CONNECT_ONE_SHOT)
	nav_region.bake_navigation_polygon(true)  # true = use thread

func _on_bake_finished() -> void:
	print("Navigation mesh ready")

# 3D — bake on a background thread
func rebake_async_3d() -> void:
	var nav_region: NavigationRegion3D = $NavigationRegion3D
	nav_region.bake_finished.connect(_on_bake_finished_3d, CONNECT_ONE_SHOT)
	nav_region.bake_navigation_mesh(true)  # true = use thread

func _on_bake_finished_3d() -> void:
	print("3D navigation mesh ready")

// 3D — bake on a background thread
public void RebakeAsync3D()
{
    var navRegion = GetNode<NavigationRegion3D>("NavigationRegion3D");
    navRegion.BakeFinished += OnBakeFinished;
    navRegion.BakeNavigationMesh(true); // true = use thread
}

private void OnBakeFinished()
{
    GD.Print("3D navigation mesh ready");
}

When to use async baking: Procedurally generated levels, destructible terrain, or any scene where the navigation mesh must be rebuilt at runtime. The game continues running while the mesh bakes.

Navigation Layers

Navigation layers let you separate walkable areas for different agent types (ground troops, flying units, large enemies).

# Assign layer bits on the NavigationRegion (Inspector or code)
# Layer 1 = ground, Layer 2 = air, Layer 3 = large

# On the NavigationAgent, set matching layers:
$NavigationAgent2D.navigation_layers = 1   # ground only
$NavigationAgent2D.navigation_layers = 2   # air only
$NavigationAgent2D.navigation_layers = 1 | 2  # both (bitwise OR)

// Assign layer bits on the NavigationRegion (Inspector or code)
// Layer 1 = ground, Layer 2 = air, Layer 3 = large

var navAgent = GetNode<NavigationAgent2D>("NavigationAgent2D");
navAgent.NavigationLayers = 1;       // ground only
navAgent.NavigationLayers = 2;       // air only
navAgent.NavigationLayers = 1 | 2;   // both (bitwise OR)

Set navigation_layers on both the NavigationRegion and the NavigationAgent so they match. Mismatched layers are one of the most common reasons an agent finds no path.

---

2. NavigationAgent2D Basic Usage

GDScript

extends CharacterBody2D

@export var speed: float = 120.0

@onready var nav_agent: NavigationAgent2D = $NavigationAgent2D


func _ready() -> void:
	# velocity_computed fires when avoidance calculates a safe velocity
	nav_agent.velocity_computed.connect(_on_velocity_computed)


func _physics_process(delta: float) -> void:
	if nav_agent.is_navigation_finished():
		return

	var next_pos: Vector2 = nav_agent.get_next_path_position()
	var direction: Vector2 = (next_pos - global_position).normalized()
	var desired_velocity: Vector2 = direction * speed

	if nav_agent.avoidance_enabled:
		# Hand desired velocity to the avoidance system; wait for the signal
		nav_agent.velocity = desired_velocity
	else:
		velocity = desired_velocity
		move_and_slide()


func _on_velocity_computed(safe_velocity: Vector2) -> void:
	velocity = safe_velocity
	move_and_slide()


func set_target(target_pos: Vector2) -> void:
	nav_agent.target_position = target_pos

Key NavigationAgent2D properties:

Property	Purpose
target_position	World-space destination
path_desired_distance	How close to each waypoint counts as reached (default 1)
target_desired_distance	How close to the final target counts as finished (default 10)
avoidance_enabled	Enable RVO obstacle avoidance
radius	Agent collision radius for avoidance
time_horizon_agents	Seconds of avoidance look-ahead (tune to reduce jitter)

C#

using Godot;

public partial class Enemy2D : CharacterBody2D
{
    [Export] public float Speed { get; set; } = 120f;

    private NavigationAgent2D _navAgent;

    public override void _Ready()
    {
        _navAgent = GetNode<NavigationAgent2D>("NavigationAgent2D");
        _navAgent.VelocityComputed += OnVelocityComputed;
    }

    public override void _PhysicsProcess(double delta)
    {
        if (_navAgent.IsNavigationFinished()) return;

        Vector2 nextPos = _navAgent.GetNextPathPosition();
        Vector2 direction = (nextPos - GlobalPosition).Normalized();
        Vector2 desiredVelocity = direction * Speed;

        if (_navAgent.AvoidanceEnabled)
            _navAgent.Velocity = desiredVelocity;
        else
        {
            Velocity = desiredVelocity;
            MoveAndSlide();
        }
    }

    private void OnVelocityComputed(Vector2 safeVelocity)
    {
        Velocity = safeVelocity;
        MoveAndSlide();
    }

    public void SetTarget(Vector2 targetPos) => _navAgent.TargetPosition = targetPos;
}

---

3. NavigationAgent3D Basic Usage

GDScript

extends CharacterBody3D

@export var speed: float = 4.0
@export var gravity: float = 9.8

@onready var nav_agent: NavigationAgent3D = $NavigationAgent3D


func _ready() -> void:
	nav_agent.velocity_computed.connect(_on_velocity_computed)


func _physics_process(delta: float) -> void:
	# Apply gravity
	if not is_on_floor():
		velocity.y -= gravity * delta

	if nav_agent.is_navigation_finished():
		move_and_slide()
		return

	var next_pos: Vector3 = nav_agent.get_next_path_position()
	var direction: Vector3 = (next_pos - global_position)
	direction.y = 0.0
	direction = direction.normalized()
	var desired_velocity: Vector3 = direction * speed
	desired_velocity.y = velocity.y  # preserve gravity

	if nav_agent.avoidance_enabled:
		nav_agent.velocity = desired_velocity
	else:
		velocity = desired_velocity
		move_and_slide()


func _on_velocity_computed(safe_velocity: Vector3) -> void:
	velocity = safe_velocity
	move_and_slide()


func set_target(target_pos: Vector3) -> void:
	nav_agent.target_position = target_pos

C#

using Godot;

public partial class Enemy3D : CharacterBody3D
{
    [Export] public float Speed   { get; set; } = 4f;
    [Export] public float Gravity { get; set; } = 9.8f;

    private NavigationAgent3D _navAgent;

    public override void _Ready()
    {
        _navAgent = GetNode<NavigationAgent3D>("NavigationAgent3D");
        _navAgent.VelocityComputed += OnVelocityComputed;
    }

    public override void _PhysicsProcess(double delta)
    {
        var vel = Velocity;
        if (!IsOnFloor()) vel.Y -= Gravity * (float)delta;

        if (_navAgent.IsNavigationFinished())
        {
            Velocity = vel;
            MoveAndSlide();
            return;
        }

        Vector3 nextPos = _navAgent.GetNextPathPosition();
        var direction = (nextPos - GlobalPosition) with { Y = 0f };
        direction = direction.Normalized();
        vel.X = direction.X * Speed;
        vel.Z = direction.Z * Speed;

        if (_navAgent.AvoidanceEnabled)
            _navAgent.Velocity = vel;
        else
        {
            Velocity = vel;
            MoveAndSlide();
        }
    }

    private void OnVelocityComputed(Vector3 safeVelocity)
    {
        Velocity = safeVelocity;
        MoveAndSlide();
    }

    public void SetTarget(Vector3 targetPos) => _navAgent.TargetPosition = targetPos;
}

---

4. Steering Behaviors

Lightweight per-frame calculations (seek, flee, arrive, wander) that produce natural-looking movement without a navigation mesh. Combine them by summing the returned vectors, or pick one and assign it to velocity each _physics_process tick.

See references/steering-behaviors.md for the full GDScript and C# implementations of seek, flee, arrive (with deceleration ramp), and wander (with circle-projection jitter).

---

5. Patrol Patterns

A NavigationAgent2D plus an array of Marker2D waypoints and a Timer for the pause at each point produces a clean patrol loop. Cycle the index on wait_timer.timeout, set nav_agent.target_position to the next waypoint, and gate movement on is_navigation_finished().

See references/patrol-patterns.md for the full GDScript and C# waypoint-chain patrol with wait-timer pauses.

---

6. Behavior Tree Concept

A behavior tree (BT) is a tree of nodes evaluated every tick. Three core node types:

Type	Succeeds when	Fails when
Sequence	all children succeed (AND)	any child fails
Selector	any child succeeds (OR)	all children fail
Action	the leaf action completes	the leaf reports failure

Sequences model "do A then B then C". Selectors model "try A, else try B, else try C".

See references/behavior-trees.md for the full lightweight BT implementation (BTNode base + Sequence / Selector / Action) and a worked enemy that uses "chase OR patrol", in both GDScript and C#.

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7. Chase + Attack Pattern

Combines NavigationAgent2D with a state machine. See the state-machine skill for the full FSM infrastructure.

States

State	Entry condition	Exit condition
PATROL	default / player escaped	player enters detect_range
CHASE	player in detect_range	player in attack_range OR player escaped
ATTACK	player in attack_range	player left attack_range

See references/chase-attack.md for the full GDScript and C# implementation (PATROL → CHASE → ATTACK transitions, attack cooldown timer, patrol-waypoint advancement, escape-range hand-off back to patrol).

For larger projects, extract each state into its own node class using the state-machine skill and inject the NavigationAgent2D reference from the parent.

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8. Dedicated 2D Navigation Server (Godot 4.5+)

Prior to Godot 4.5, NavigationServer2D was a thin frontend that delegated all work to the 3D navigation server internally. Godot 4.5 splits them into fully independent servers. The change is transparent — no API changes and no code migration is required — but it brings two practical benefits:

• Performance: 2D pathfinding no longer competes with 3D navigation for server resources. Large 2D scenes with many agents see lower CPU overhead.
• Smaller exports for 2D-only games: The 3D navigation server can be stripped from 2D-only export templates, reducing binary size.

# No code change needed — NavigationServer2D calls work identically.
# The split is internal; you continue using NavigationServer2D as before.

# Example: query a path directly via the server (unchanged API).
func get_path_to(target: Vector2) -> PackedVector2Array:
    var map: RID = get_world_2d().get_navigation_map()
    return NavigationServer2D.map_get_path(
        map,
        global_position,
        target,
        true  # optimize path
    )

// No code change needed — NavigationServer2D calls work identically.
public PackedVector2Array GetPathTo(Vector2 target)
{
    var map = GetWorld2D().GetNavigationMap();
    return NavigationServer2D.MapGetPath(map, GlobalPosition, target, true);
}

2D-only projects: In Project Settings → Modules, you can disable the NavigationServer3D module to reduce export size. This is only safe if no 3D navigation nodes (NavigationRegion3D, NavigationAgent3D) are used anywhere in the project.

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9. Common Pitfalls

Pitfall	Symptom	Fix
Navigation mesh not baked	Agent stands still; no path found	Bake the NavigationPolygon/NavigationMesh before running, or call bake_navigation_polygon() at runtime after scene loads
agent_radius too large	Agent can't fit through doorways or narrow corridors	Lower radius on NavigationAgent to be slightly less than half the passage width
Avoidance jitter	Agent stutters or oscillates when near other agents	Increase time_horizon_agents (try 2–4 s) or slightly lower max_speed on the agent
Path recalculation too frequent	CPU spike each frame; agents lag	Add a Timer (0.2–0.5 s) and only set target_position when the timer fires, not every physics frame
Wrong navigation layer	Agent ignores some regions or finds no path	Confirm navigation_layers bitmask matches between the NavigationRegion and the NavigationAgent
Target set before NavigationServer is ready	Path is empty on the first frame	Defer target_position assignment to _ready() or await NavigationServer2D.map_changed
Gravity ignored in 3D	Agent floats or sinks into the floor	Always accumulate velocity.y from gravity separately; only zero out X/Z from the nav direction
Baking causes frame drop	Synchronous bake on large maps blocks the main thread	Use async baking: bake_navigation_mesh(true) (Godot 4.4+); connect bake_finished signal

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10. Checklist

• NavigationRegion2D/3D added to the scene with a NavigationPolygon/NavigationMesh resource
• Navigation mesh baked (edit-time or at runtime before the agent needs a path)
• navigation_layers bitmask matches between NavigationRegion and NavigationAgent
• NavigationAgent2D/NavigationAgent3D is a child of the enemy node
• get_next_path_position() called each physics frame, not get_target_position()
• velocity_computed signal connected when avoidance_enabled is true
• is_navigation_finished() checked before moving to avoid jitter at the destination
• Path target updated via a throttle timer rather than every frame when following a moving player
• agent_radius small enough to fit through the narrowest passage in the level
• Gravity applied independently of horizontal nav velocity (3D only)
• Large or dynamic maps use async baking (bake_navigation_mesh(true)) to avoid frame drops (Godot 4.4+)
• 2D-only projects on Godot 4.5+ can disable NavigationServer3D in Project Settings to reduce export size