Looking for a roblox weapon swing animation script that actually feels good can be a bit of a headache when you're first starting out in Studio. We've all been there: you've got a cool sword model, you've put it in a tool, but when you click, nothing happens—or worse, the arm just moves in a weird, stiff robotic motion that looks like it's from 2012. If you want your game to feel "weighty" and professional, the animation logic is where you need to spend your time.
In this guide, we aren't just going to dump a block of code and leave you to it. We're going to talk about why some scripts feel clunky, how to handle the "Action" priority so your swing doesn't get overridden by a walking animation, and how to make the whole thing look smooth for other players, too.
Why Animation Priority is Your Best Friend
Before we even touch a line of code, we have to talk about the number one reason a roblox weapon swing animation script fails: Animation Priority.
By default, when you save an animation in the Animation Editor, it's usually set to "Core." If your player is walking while they swing their sword, the walking animation (which is also high priority) might fight with your swing. The result? A jittery mess or a swing that only happens from the elbow down.
When you're exporting your swing, always set the priority to Action. This tells Roblox, "Hey, I don't care what else the character is doing, play this right now." It's a tiny toggle, but it's the difference between a broken tool and a working one.
Setting Up the Tool Structure
For a clean setup, you'll want your sword (the Tool object) in the StarterPack. Inside that tool, you'll usually have a "Handle" (the part the player holds) and, most importantly, an Animation object.
Name that Animation object something easy like "AttackAnim" and paste your Animation ID into the properties. Now we need the logic. You'll want a LocalScript inside the tool to handle the player's input and a RemoteEvent if you plan on doing damage (which we'll get to later).
Writing the Local Script
Let's get into the actual roblox weapon swing animation script logic. We're going to use the Tool.Activated event because it's the simplest way to detect a click while the tool is equipped.
Here's a breakdown of how the logic should flow: 1. Define the tool and the player. 2. Wait for the player's character to load (crucial, or the script will error out). 3. Load the animation onto the character's "Humanoid." 4. Play the animation when Activated fires. 5. Use a "debounce" (a cooldown) so the player can't spam the swing 50 times a second.
In practice, your script is going to look for the "Animator" object inside the Humanoid. We use LoadAnimation() on the Animator specifically because the old way of loading it directly onto the Humanoid is technically deprecated.
Dealing with the Server-Side Delay
One thing a lot of beginners miss is that if you play an animation only on the client, it might look fine to you, but other players might see something slightly different. Luckily, Roblox is pretty smart about replicating animations. If a client plays an animation on their own character, it usually replicates to everyone else automatically.
However, the damage part is a different story. Never, ever trust the client to tell the server how much damage was done. Your roblox weapon swing animation script should handle the visuals, but it should fire a RemoteEvent to the server to handle the actual hit detection. This keeps your game safe from exploiters who might try to tell the server they hit someone from across the map.
Making the Swing Feel Weighty
A sword swing that's just a motion is boring. To make it feel "premium," you need three things: Sound, VFX, and Camera Shake.
For sound, you can trigger a "woosh" noise right at the start of the script. For the VFX, a simple "Trail" object inside the sword blade that enables when the swing starts and disables when it ends makes a huge difference.
If you really want to go the extra mile, try adding a tiny bit of camera shake. You don't need a complex module for this; just a slight offset to the Humanoid.CameraOffset property for a fraction of a second can make the player feel the power behind the blow.
Why Raycasting is Better Than .Touched
If you're building a combat system, you've probably heard of the .Touched event. While it's easy to use, it's notoriously unreliable for fast-moving objects like a sword. Sometimes the sword passes right through an enemy between frames, and the hit never registers.
The pros use Raycasting. Basically, every frame the animation is active, the script draws invisible lines (rays) between the sword's previous position and its current position. If that line hits a character, it counts as a hit. There are some great community modules out there, like "Raycast Hitbox," that make this way easier to integrate into your roblox weapon swing animation script without having to do the heavy math yourself.
Common Scripting Mistakes to Avoid
Even seasoned devs trip up on some of this stuff. Here are a few things to keep an eye on:
- Forgetting the Animator: If you try to load an animation and the
Animatorobject hasn't been created inside the Humanoid yet, the script will break. UseWaitForChild("Animator"). - Variable Scope: Make sure your
AnimationTrackis defined outside of the click function. You only want to load the animation once, not every time the player clicks. Loading it over and over is a memory hog. - The Debounce: If you don't use a
wait()or a cooldown variable, your player will look like a vibrating windmill if they have a fast mouse-click. Set acanSwingvariable to false, wait for the animation length, then set it back to true.
R6 vs R15 Considerations
Depending on your game's style, you're either using R6 (the classic blocky avatars) or R15 (the more articulated ones). Your roblox weapon swing animation script doesn't really care which one you use, but your animation definitely does.
An R6 animation will not play on an R15 character and vice-versa. If you want your game to support both, you'll actually need to create two separate animations and write a bit of logic in your script to check Humanoid.RigType to decide which Animation ID to load. It's a bit of extra work, but it ensures no one is left out.
Polishing the Experience
At the end of the day, a script is just a set of instructions. What makes a game "good" is the polish. Once you have your roblox weapon swing animation script working, spend an hour just tweaking the timing. Maybe the swing should be slightly faster at the start and slow down at the end? Or maybe you want a three-hit combo system where each click plays a different animation?
To do a combo system, you just need a counter variable. Click one plays "Swing1," click two plays "Swing2," and so on. If the player waits too long between clicks, the counter resets to one. It adds a lot of depth to the gameplay without needing a massive overhaul of your code.
Wrapping Up
Creating a solid roblox weapon swing animation script is a rite of passage for any aspiring game dev on the platform. It teaches you about client-server communication, animation priorities, and the importance of game feel.
Don't get discouraged if the first swing looks a bit janky. Animation is an art form as much as it is a technical skill. Keep tweaking those keyframes in the editor, make sure your script is clean, and eventually, you'll have a combat system that feels just as snappy as the top-tier games on the front page. Happy scripting!