Essential Great Sword Animation Pack

Action RPG projects requiring heavy blade combat often struggle to assemble locomotion, attack chains, and stance transitions in a single coherent set. The Essential Great Sword Animation Pack consolidates those pieces into one package built specifically for characters wielding large swords, making the groundwork available for prototyping combat systems without animating each motion from scratch.

Great Sword Combat Stances and Workflow Structure

The package divides its animations by wielding style and stance. Two styles of great sword animation are included: one-handed (1H) and two-handed (2H). Each style offers two stances — normal (A) and battle (B) — producing four main stance configurations: 1H-A, 1H-B, 2H-A, and 2H-B.

This four-stance matrix allows a project to switch between relaxed and combat-ready postures while maintaining separate animation sets. The character blueprint drives these motions, giving developers a functional starting point for implementing combat logic rather than wiring animations into an empty rig manually. The blueprint already includes functions such as air attack and charged attack, reflecting the package's intent as a playable combat foundation.

Playable Character Blueprint and Attack Functions

A playable character blueprint ships with the package, providing immediate context for how the animations connect to gameplay code. The blueprint has been expanded across multiple updates. A substantial update in May 2022 added 63 new animations, aim offset poses for all stances, and new functions inside the character blueprint for air attack and charged attack.

That same revision changed the default dodge animations and restructured jump behavior. Jump primary attack became an air attack — previously it was a plunge attack — while a jump secondary attack was added to the plunge attack slot. This restructuring separates aerial and plunge combat into distinct inputs, which matters for action RPG combat where timing and attack type determine hit behavior.

A follow-up patch corrected the charged attack functionality so it works as intended. These refinements signal the developer's focus on combat feel — charged attacks, air attacks, and plunge attacks each serve different gameplay moments.

Locomotion, Crouch, Sprint, and Slide Motions

Root motion was applied to basic locomotion animations in a May 2022 update, covering Walk, Jog, Run, Brake, and Idle_to_Jog across all stances. To switch from in-place to root motion on these updated clips, force root lock must be disabled and root motion enabled for each clip individually. This gives developers control over where root motion matters and where it doesn't.

A September 2024 update expanded the locomotion set further. New animations were added for crouch, slide, directional jump, sprint, and 180-degree turn-in-place. A looping spin attack was also introduced. Alongside these additions, the developer improved the overall locomotion polish and refined the shoulder and clavicle deformation areas across most animations — a detail that becomes visible when characters swing large swords overhead or across the body.

The locomotion improvements build on earlier structural fixes. A July 2023 patch corrected the initial rotation of root motion on turn-in-place animations, which smoothed a common popping artifact when characters pivoted in place.

UE5 Retargeting and IK Rig Setup

For Unreal Engine 5 users, the setup path is more streamlined. A QoL update in March 2024 added a UE5 skeleton with retargeted animations, though these pre-retargeted clips require UE5.3 or above. The update also introduced IKRig and IKRetargeter assets — the standard UE5 toolset for retargeting motion across different character skeletons.

This approach replaced the older manual retarget workflow with Unreal's native system, making it easier to transfer great sword animations onto custom characters that use a different skeletal structure. The retargeted animations were further improved in September 2024, with micro adjustments applied to some clips alongside the broader locomotion improvements.

During the same QoL update, the developer implemented Enhanced Input — Unreal's modern input system — and changed the project type to an asset pack. This change means the package can now be added directly to an existing project rather than requiring a fresh project creation, which is a significant workflow improvement for teams integrating these animations into established codebases. Folders were restructured and files renamed to keep the content browser organized once the pack is imported.

Bone Fixes and Animation Polish

Throughout 2024, the developer addressed deformation and motion issues tied to the shoulder and clavicle regions. The October 2024 update (version 1.02.3) fixed missing root motion on 1H-B_Jog_Loop and corrected shoulder twist bones across 1H-A_Jog_Start/Stop and Guard_Jog_Start/Loop/Stop. Earlier in September, the shoulders and clavicles across most animations received broader refinement.

Shoulder twist corrections are particularly relevant for two-handed great sword swings, where the arms rotate aggressively overhead and across the body. When twist bones deform incorrectly, the mesh collapses or pinches in the shoulder area — a visible problem during overhead slashes and horizontal sweeps. The targeted fixes ensure guard and jog transitions in the one-handed stances maintain clean deformation during state changes.

Engine Compatibility and Integration Notes

The pack supports Unreal Engine 4.26 through 4.27 and 5.0 through 5.7, covering the transition period between the two engine generations. On UE5.3 and above, the pre-retargeted animations, IKRig, and IKRetargeter provide a shorter path to custom characters. Enhanced Input integration means Blueprint logic designed around the modern input system can connect directly to the included character blueprint.

For teams working in UE4 or early UE5 versions, the base animations remain available with root motion support across all stances. The manual root-motion toggle workflow — disabling force root lock and enabling root motion per clip — applies when integrating locomotion animations into older project setups that rely on in-place animation logic.

Animation Categories and Attack Variety

Beyond locomotion, the package covers a spread of combat actions across both wielding styles. The four stance system (1H-A, 1H-B, 2H-A, 2H-B) means each attack type exists across multiple postures. Aim offset poses were added for every stance, enabling upper-body aiming adjustments while the lower body remains mobile — a requirement for combat characters that need to track targets while moving.

Hurt variations exist for the one-handed style, with a corrected hurt sequence fixed in an early 2022 patch. The turn-in-place, dodge, jump, charged attack, air attack, plunge attack, and looping spin attack collectively form a combat motion vocabulary that covers neutral play, aggressive approaches, defensive reactions, and specialized attacks.

Who Benefits from This Package

Developers building action RPG combat systems in Unreal Engine will find the most direct value here. The four-stance great sword structure suits projects that need distinct combat postures — normal and battle readiness — across one-handed and two-handed wielding modes. The included character blueprint reduces the friction between importing animations and seeing them function in-game, particularly with air attacks, charged attacks, and plunge attacks already wired as functions.

For engine version targeting, UE5.3 and above unlocks the shortest integration path through retargeted animations and Enhanced Input. Earlier engine versions still provide full root-motion locomotion, manual retargeting, and the complete combat animation set across the four stance combinations. The package's evolution from an initial release focused on core combat to a refined toolkit with bone-level fixes, expanded locomotion, and modern UE5 tooling reflects steady maintenance rather than a one-time asset drop.

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