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Retreat

Overview

Retreat pushes agents away from the target once they come closer than Stop Retreating. Inside Start Retreating the push is full strength, and between the two distances it fades out.

In motion, this creates a keep-back zone around the target. It can make enemies bounce out after overcommitting, preserve a minimum standoff distance, or stop certain archetypes from smothering the player.

It changes swarm feel quickly because it directly opposes approach pressure.

On an archetype with a Perception Profile, this behavior only steers while the agent detects its target. An agent that is searching, or walking to where it last had the target, gets nothing from it until a sense picks the target up again.

Target no retreat Start Retreating push at full weight Stop Retreating push reaches zero
Retreat works in two bands, not one. Inside Start Retreating the push runs at full weight. From there it fades linearly, reaching zero exactly at Stop Retreating, and beyond that the pass skips the agent entirely. Shipped defaults are 3 and 6, drawn here to scale.

Parameter Reference

Advanced Parameters

All parameters here are advanced: leave at defaults unless you have a reason

Retreat When Too Close

  • Visible effect: Agents can back away from the target instead of only pushing inward.
  • Gameplay effect: Creates caution, recoil, or spacing behavior.
  • Increase when: Ranged units, skittish enemies, or avoidance-heavy archetypes.
  • Decrease when: Pure melee rushers.
  • Pitfalls: Combining this with strong close-range behaviors often creates contradictory motion.
  • Technical effect: Adds the retreat pass.

Retreat Weight

  • Visible effect: Higher values create harder pushback.
  • Gameplay effect: Makes enemies feel more fearful, lighter, or more evasive.
  • Increase when: Agents still crowd too close.
  • Decrease when: Agents bounce out too dramatically.
  • Pitfalls: Weight 0 still leaves the pass enabled, which can still set target awareness inside the retreat band. Any weight above 0 also turns the agent to face away from the target everywhere inside Stop Retreating, even at the outer edge where the push has almost faded.
  • Technical effect: Scales steering away from the target while inside Stop Retreating.

Start Retreating

  • Visible effect: Sets the inner danger bubble.
  • Gameplay effect: Defines how close enemies are willing to get.
  • Increase when: Enemies need more personal caution or ranged spacing.
  • Decrease when: Melee enemies should commit deeper.
  • Pitfalls: If larger than intended melee range, enemies may never feel threatening.
  • Technical effect: Distance at which retreat reaches full strength.

Stop Retreating

  • Visible effect: Larger values create a broader fade band.
  • Gameplay effect: Smooths the back-off motion instead of snapping from flee to chase.
  • Increase when: Retreat transitions feel abrupt.
  • Decrease when: Agents spend too much time backing off.
  • Pitfalls: Must be at least Start Retreating. Very large values create a wide indecisive donut.
  • Technical effect: Outer limit of retreat influence. Between Start Retreating and Stop Retreating, the force fades out.

Practical Usage Guidance

Use Retreat for fragile enemies, ranged enemies that should not body-block the player, or special melee units that lunge in and fall back. It can also help boss add-ons avoid suffocating the target.

It works best when it fits the enemy fantasy. Infected spitters, skirmishers, or pests that dart in and out are good candidates. It does not belong on basic zombie hordes or survivor-style trash mobs that should relentlessly close distance.

Avoid mixing strong Retreat with strong Approach & Press weight: one pulls agents in while the other drives them back out. Light retreat plus light orbit can work for cautious harassers.

Gameplay Interpretation

Higher retreat values make enemies feel cautious or fragile. Lower values keep them committed and oppressive.

A large Start Retreating distance makes kiting easier and gives the player breathing room by preventing sustained body contact.

Quickstart: tune in this order

Tune radius values before weight. First decide where the enemy should start feeling uncomfortable, then how strongly it responds. If the behavior is only meant to soften overcommitment, use a small Start Retreating distance and moderate weight.