Pathfinding / Start here
Game Pathfinding: Start Here
Choose the representation, engine API, or gameplay problem you have now. This page routes you to the guide that owns the implementation.
Recommended paths
Follow the path that matches the game.
Each sequence is intentionally short. Stop when the current guide answers the problem.
Start with a working Godot game
Build the complete playable maze chase, then reduce the system to the smaller A* baselines.
Build a Godot grid
Choose the representation, import authored facts, then keep it current.
Move a NavigationAgent
Choose the 2D or 3D implementation, then diagnose movement behavior.
Build tactical movement
Separate range, cost, confirmation, ownership, and turn order.
Support large units
Define clearance at planning time and footprints at execution time.
Scale to crowds
Measure repeated work before choosing per-agent or shared navigation.
Complete index / 38 guides
All pathfinding guides
01 / Foundations
Choose and understand the pathfinding layer
Start here when the representation, engine API, or algorithm boundary is still undecided.
- Start2D Pathfinding in Godot 4: Grid, Graph, or Navmesh?Choose among regular cells, authored waypoint graphs, and continuous polygon navigation, then run all three in one browser scene.
- ImplementationA* Pathfinding in Godot and Unity: Free Starter ProjectsThree free MIT-licensed A* projects: Godot GDScript, Godot C#, and Unity C#.
- StartGrid or navmesh in Godot? Choosing pathfinding that survives productionChoose between explicit cells and continuous walkable geometry.
- ReferenceGodot pathfinding and navigation glossaryGodot navigation vocabulary in one maintained reference.
- ReferenceAStarGrid2D in Godot 4: complete referenceThe complete built-in grid API, including weights, diagonals, jumping, and updates.
- ReferenceAStar2D in Godot 4: complete referenceArbitrary graph points, directed edges, custom costs, and disabled nodes.
02 / Grids
Grid data, terrain, and dynamic worlds
Turn authored cells into navigation facts, price traversal, and update the graph without losing state.
- TutorialPac-Man-Style Ghost AI in Godot: Build the Full Maze ChaseBuild a complete playable maze chase with buffered movement, shared pursuer fields, modes, tunnels, and reservations.
- ImplementationTileMap to Navigation Grid in GodotTranslate TileMap facts into stable AStarGrid2D coordinates and blockers.
- ImplementationTileMapLayer Custom Data for Walkability in GodotUse TileSet custom data as the authored walkability source.
- SystemWeighted Terrain Pathfinding in GodotRoads, mud, danger, safe heuristics, and unit-specific terrain profiles.
- SystemRuntime AStarGrid2D Updates Without Full RebuildsPoint edits, structural updates, replay, and route invalidation.
- ProofStop Players from Blocking the Path in a Godot Tower DefenseReject placements that block every legal route.
03 / Tactical
Tactical movement and turn systems
Reachable cells are only the first layer; these guides cover costs, ownership, confirmation, and scheduling.
- ImplementationTactical RPG movement range in GodotCompute reachable cells and reconstruct paths inside a movement budget.
- SystemAction points and terrain costs in GodotKeep preview, confirm, AP spending, and undo consistent.
- SystemHow to Prevent Two Units From Moving to the Same Tile in GodotUse reservations to prevent two units claiming the same destination.
- SystemTurn order and movement planning in GodotSeparate initiative, intents, resolution, and animation playback.
- StartFire Emblem, Into the Breach and XCOM Movement in GodotChoose a movement contract from the game rules, not the visual genre.
04 / Clearance
Large and multi-cell units
Plan for a body rather than a point, then apply the same footprint convention during execution.
- StartMulti-size agents in Godot: clearance maps without the headachesThe clearance-map foundation for multiple square agent sizes.
- ImplementationAnnotated A* for Multi-Size Agents in GodotQuery one annotated grid with a required clearance value.
- ImplementationRectangular and Circular Agent Clearance in GodotPrefix-sum rectangle checks and explicit shape policies.
- SystemHow to Move Multi-Tile Units on a Grid in GodotValidate anchors, touched cells, offsets, and movement transitions.
06 / Crowds
Crowds and shared spatial fields
Decide whether agents need independent routes, scheduled requests, or one shared answer.
- DiagnosisWhy NavigationAgent2D Lags With Hundreds of UnitsBound request bursts, target resets, cleanup, and latency.
- ImplementationFlow fields in Godot: pathfinding for crowds that share a destinationStore one direction field when many units share a destination.
- ImplementationDijkstra maps for roguelike AI in GodotGoal-centered fields for pursuit, escape, greed, and auto-explore.
- SystemInfluence maps in Godot: giving a grid a sense of dangerRepresent danger, control, and attraction separately from shortest paths.
- ProofMoving 10,000 agents in Godot without the frame spikeMeasured scheduled shared-field navigation with public benchmark data.
07 / Diagnosis
Debugging, performance, and production limits
Start from the visible symptom and identify which layer owns the failure.
- DiagnosisWhy is my path failing in Godot? Nine boring causes to check firstNine ordinary causes of empty routes, in practical checking order.
- SystemGodot No-Path Reports: Turn an Empty Path Into a DiagnosisReplace an unexplained empty array with named failure reasons.
- DiagnosisPathfinding failure modes in Godot: why no path is not enoughA broader taxonomy for stale data, wrong queries, blockers, and clearance.
- ImplementationBuilding a navigation debug panel in GodotExpose the navigation facts needed to debug the current frame.
- DiagnosisWhy your Godot pathfinding causes frame spikes and how to fix itMeasure query shape, repeated work, and same-frame bursts.
- ReferenceAStarGrid2D limitations and alternatives in GodotKnow where the built-in grid ends and a larger system begins.
- ReferenceGodot pathfinding addons compared: what actually exists in 2026A source-checked map of the current Godot pathfinding ecosystem.
Unity pathfinding
Explicit grids and continuous geometry
Use the downloadable Unity C# starter for a small explicit cell graph. For continuous movement across scene geometry, use Unity's first-party AI Navigation documentation.
Beyond the built-ins
PathForge for Godot
PathForge is being built for profile-aware movement, multi-size clearance, dynamic blockers, tactical ranges, shared fields, and editor-visible navigation state.
View PathForge