Starting a roblox sword combat system script can feel like a massive hurdle when you're just staring at a blank Luau file. We've all been there—you have a cool sword model, an idea for a high-octane fighting game, but the actual "hitting things" part feels clunky or unresponsive. If you've spent any time on Roblox, you know the difference between a game that feels crisp and one where you're just flailing a plastic stick around.
Creating a combat system that actually feels good requires a mix of clean code, smart math, and a little bit of "juice" to make every swing feel impactful. In this guide, we're going to break down how to approach your script, from the basic hit detection to the advanced stuff like combos and parries.
Why the Default Tools Don't Cut It
If you've experimented with the default Roblox "Sword" tool, you probably noticed it relies heavily on the .Touched event. Let's be honest: .Touched is a nightmare for competitive combat. It's inconsistent, it triggers at weird times, and it relies on the physics engine to figure out if two parts collided.
When you're writing a modern roblox sword combat system script, you want precision. You want to know exactly where the blade is at any given frame. This is why most pro developers move away from basic collisions and toward Raycasting or Shapecasting. By using Raycasting, you're essentially drawing invisible lines in the air to see if they intersect with an enemy. It's faster, way more reliable, and it doesn't care if your server is lagging a little bit.
Raycasting vs. Hitbox Modules
You could write your own raycasting logic from scratch, but if you want to save yourself a massive headache, I'd suggest looking into the "Raycast Hitbox" module by TeamSwordphin. It's a staple in the community for a reason.
The way it works is pretty clever. You place a few "attachments" along the length of your sword blade. When the player swings, the script draws rays between the current position of those attachments and their position in the previous frame. This creates a "trail" of detection. Even if the player is moving at light speed, the script won't miss a hit because the space between frames is fully covered.
When you're setting up your roblox sword combat system script, using this method ensures that if a player looks like they hit someone, the game actually registers it. There's nothing more frustrating for a player than seeing their sword pass right through an opponent with no damage.
The Client-Server Relationship
This is where things get a bit technical, but it's crucial. You can't just put all your code in a LocalScript and call it a day. If you do that, exploiters will have a field day, giving themselves infinite reach or instant kills.
Instead, you need a handshake between the Client (the player's computer) and the Server. 1. The Client detects the input (like a mouse click). 2. The Client plays the animation immediately so the game feels responsive. 3. The Client fires a RemoteEvent to the server saying, "Hey, I just swung my sword." 4. The Server receives that request, checks if the player is actually allowed to swing (cooldowns, stunned state, etc.), and then handles the hit detection and damage.
By keeping the "truth" on the server, you keep the game fair. However, you have to be careful about latency. If the server is slow, there might be a delay between the animation and the damage. This is why many developers use a "hybrid" approach where the client handles the visual hit detection and the server just double-checks if it was physically possible.
Adding the "Juice" (Animations and Sounds)
A roblox sword combat system script is nothing without good presentation. You can have the most mathematically perfect hit detection in the world, but if the player just stands there stiffly while health bars go down, it's going to feel boring.
You need a solid animation controller. Don't just use one "swing" animation. Create a variety! Maybe a light attack chain with three different motions, and a heavy attack that takes longer to wind up.
Pro tip: Use Animation Events. Inside the Roblox Animation Editor, you can drop "markers" on specific frames. Your script can listen for these markers. For example, you don't want the hitbox to be active the moment the player clicks; you want it to activate only when the sword is actually moving forward. By tagging the animation with "HitboxOn" and "HitboxOff" events, your script knows exactly when to start and stop looking for targets.
And don't forget the sound! A "swoosh" for the swing, a "clink" for hitting a wall, and a meaty "thud" for hitting an enemy make a world of difference.
Combos, Stun, and Knockback
To take your combat to the next level, you'll want to implement a combo system. This usually involves a "combo counter" variable in your script. If the player clicks again within a certain window after the first swing, you increment the counter and play the next animation. If they wait too long, the counter resets to one.
Knockback is another big one. Using LinearVelocity or ApplyImpulse on the victim's HumanoidRootPart gives the combat a sense of physical weight. Just make sure the knockback is directed away from the attacker.
Stun is also vital. When a player gets hit, they should probably be briefly unable to attack back. This prevents "trading" where two players just stand in front of each other clicking until one dies. It rewards the person who landed the first hit and encourages more tactical movement.
Handling the Technical Debt: Security and Lag
As your roblox sword combat system script grows, you'll run into the "lag" problem. If you have 20 players all swinging swords at the same time, the server might start to sweat.
One way to optimize this is by limiting how many raycasts you're doing. You don't need to check for hits 60 times a second if the sword isn't even in its "active" phase. Only enable the hitboxes during those animation markers we talked about earlier.
Regarding security, always validate distances on the server. If the server gets a hit request but the attacker is 50 studs away from the victim, something is wrong. Your script should automatically flag or ignore that hit. It's a simple check, but it stops 90% of basic reach exploits.
Final Thoughts on Iteration
The best part about working on a roblox sword combat system script is that it's never really "finished." You'll find yourself constantly tweaking the timing. Maybe the swing is 0.1 seconds too slow, or the knockback feels a bit too floaty.
Don't be afraid to scrap parts of your code and rewrite them as you learn more. Start with a basic script that does damage on click, and then slowly layer on the animations, the raycasting, the combos, and the sound effects.
The Roblox community is also incredibly helpful. If you get stuck on a specific piece of Luau code, there are endless DevForum posts and open-source modules to help you see how the pros do it. At the end of the day, the goal is to make something that feels rewarding to play. Once you get that first "perfect" swing feeling right, everything else just falls into place. Happy scripting!