In this lesson, you will learn how to leverage Unreal’s built-in visual debugging tools to pinpoint exactly when and why your animation notifies and montage sequences are failing to trigger.
When you have complex sequences—like a character drawing a sword, swinging, and hitting a target—it is common for AnimNotifies to fail or feel "off-beat." The first tool you must master is the Animation Debugger. While your game is running, press Shift + F1 to eject, then select your character in the viewport. Look for the Debug Filter in the details panel, set it to your Character Mesh, and look at the Animation section.
Visualizing the Pipeline
The most powerful way to see what is happening under the hood is the console command a.AnimNotify.Debug 1. Once enabled, this command draws the name of every triggered notify directly above your character’s head in the game world. If you see a notify trigger too early, you know you need to adjust its position on the montage timeline.
If you are dealing with state-based issues, such as a montage failing to branch or an AnimNotifyState hanging, use the Visual Logger. Press ~ and type VisLog to open it. Record a session while performing your action, then scrub through the timeline. You will see a dedicated channel for your Animation Blueprint, which highlights exactly which state is active and which notifies fired during the sequence.
Debugging with Print Strings
For more granular feedback, do not rely on guesses. Place a Print String node inside your custom AnimNotify class:
// Inside your Custom AnimNotify Blueprint
Print String: "Notify Fired: [Name]"
Duration: 2.0s
Color: Green
If the string doesn't appear on screen during your montage, you know the issue isn't your game logic—it's the animation sequence itself. Check if the montage is actually playing on the correct Slot or if another animation is overriding it.
Key Takeaway: Use the a.AnimNotify.Debug 1 console command and the Visual Logger to bridge the gap between your animation timeline and your gameplay logic.