Getting a roblox fight script to feel smooth is probably one of the biggest hurdles for any new developer on the platform. We've all played those games where the combat feels "floaty" or, even worse, your hits just don't register no matter how many times you click. It's frustrating for the player and even more annoying for the person writing the code. But when you get it right? That's when your game starts to feel like a real experience rather than just a collection of parts.
Building a combat system isn't just about making a sword swing or a punch fly; it's about timing, feedback, and security. If you're diving into Luau to create your own system, there are a few things you really need to keep in mind to make sure your players aren't just spamming buttons into the void.
Understanding the Hitbox Dilemma
The heart of any roblox fight script is the hitbox. This is basically the invisible zone that tells the game, "Hey, this player just hit that other player." There are a few ways to do this, and honestly, none of them are perfect, but some are definitely better than others.
A lot of beginners start with the .Touched event because it's built right into Roblox and it's super easy to set up. You just connect a function to a part, and when it touches something else, boom—damage. But here's the thing: .Touched is notoriously unreliable for fast-paced combat. Sometimes it triggers twice, sometimes it doesn't trigger at all because the part moved too fast.
If you want something more professional, you're usually looking at Raycasting or Magnitude checks. Raycasting is great because it's precise. You can "fire" a tiny invisible laser from the player's fist or weapon, and if it hits a humanoid, you know exactly where and when it happened. Magnitude is even simpler—it just checks the distance between two players. If they're close enough and the player clicks, it registers as a hit. Mixing these methods is usually the secret sauce for a top-tier system.
The Importance of RemoteEvents
You can't talk about a roblox fight script without talking about RemoteEvents. If you try to handle your entire combat system on the client side (the player's computer), you're basically inviting exploiters to ruin your game. They'll just change their damage to a billion and one-shot everyone.
The standard workflow looks something like this: 1. The player clicks their mouse (Client). 2. The client sends a signal through a RemoteEvent to the server. 3. The server checks if that player is actually allowed to attack (Are they stunned? Is their weapon on cooldown?). 4. If everything looks good, the server calculates the hit and applies damage.
It sounds like a lot of steps for a single punch, but it happens in milliseconds. This "Server-Authoritative" model is what keeps your game fair. You always want the server to be the final judge of what happened.
Making the Combat Feel "Weighty"
Have you ever played a game where the combat just felt boring? Even if the code is perfect, if there's no feedback, it won't feel good. A huge part of your roblox fight script should actually be dedicated to the "juice"—the little details that make a hit feel impactful.
When a player lands a hit, don't just subtract health. Add a tiny bit of screenshake. Play a satisfying "thud" sound. Maybe trigger a small particle effect like a blood splatter or a spark. Another big one is hitstop. This is a tiny, almost imperceptible pause (we're talking 0.05 seconds) that happens when a hit connects. It mimics the resistance of hitting something solid and makes the combat feel incredibly satisfying.
Handling Animations and Timing
Your script and your animations need to be best friends. If the animation shows a massive overhead swing, but the damage happens the moment the player clicks, it's going to look weird. The damage should be timed with the "active frames" of the animation.
Most developers use Animation Events for this. Inside the Roblox Animation Editor, you can drop a marker at the exact moment the sword is at its furthest point. Your script listens for that marker, and that is when you trigger your hitbox. It makes the whole interaction feel cohesive.
Also, don't forget about the "startup" and "endlag." If a player can just spam attacks with zero penalty, the game becomes a clicking simulator. Adding a short delay after an attack where the player can't move or attack again adds a layer of strategy. It forces them to actually aim and time their moves.
Dealing with Lag and Latency
Let's be real: not everyone has a 1GB fiber connection. Some of your players are going to be playing on a phone in a basement with 300ms ping. If your roblox fight script is too strict with server checks, those players will feel like their inputs are delayed.
This is where "Client-Side Prediction" comes in. You can make the animation play instantly on the player's screen so it feels fast, while the server does its verification in the background. It's a bit of a balancing act. If you're too lenient, exploiters take over. If you're too strict, the game feels laggy. Most high-end Roblox games use a system where the client handles the visuals and the hitbox detection, but the server does a "sanity check" to make sure the distance and timing were physically possible.
Adding Depth with Combos and Stuns
A simple punch-punch-punch loop gets old fast. To really make your roblox fight script stand out, you'll want to implement a combo system. This usually involves a "combo counter" variable that resets if the player waits too long between clicks.
For example: * Click 1: Left Hook * Click 2: Right Hook * Click 3: Uppercut (deals extra knockback)
Speaking of knockback, you'll likely use something like LinearVelocity or ApplyImpulse to move the enemy character when they get hit. Adding a stun mechanic is also huge. If a player gets hit, they should briefly be unable to attack back. This creates an "opening" for the attacker, which is the foundation of almost every fighting game ever made.
Keeping Your Code Clean
As your roblox fight script grows, it can turn into a giant mess of nested if statements. Trust me, you don't want to be debugging a 2,000-line script where everything is tangled together.
Try using ModuleScripts to break things up. You can have one module for handling animations, one for the hitboxes, and another for the damage calculations. This makes your life so much easier when you decide you want to change how much knockback every weapon does—you just change it in one spot instead of hunting through a massive script.
Testing and Iteration
You're never going to get the "feel" right on the first try. You'll write the script, hop into a playtest, and realize the range is too short or the animations are too slow. The best way to refine a roblox fight script is to get a friend to jump into a private server with you and just fight for twenty minutes.
Pay attention to when things feel "off." Is the hit detection missing when you're both jumping? Is the stun lasting too long? Combat is all about the fine-tuning. It's a process of constant tweaking until the movement and the attacks feel like an extension of the player's intent.
Creating a combat system is one of the most rewarding things you can do in Roblox development. It's the core loop that keeps players coming back. Just remember to keep it secure, keep it responsive, and most importantly, make sure it's actually fun to play. Once you have that foundation down, you can start adding the flashy stuff like special moves, elemental effects, and whatever else your game needs to stand out. Keep at it, and don't get discouraged by a few bugs—they're just part of the process.