Enemy AI: chasing a player without Navigation2D or A* pathfinding

Abstraction: Scent-trail raycast technique for obstacle-aware enemy chasing in Godot 2D

Key points:

• Problem: direct-chase AI (move toward player position) gets stuck against obstacles
• Solution: player drops "scent" Node2D instances every 0.1s into a trail array; scents auto-expire via Timer
• Chase state raycasts directly to player first; if blocked, iterates the scent trail to find the nearest visible scent node and chases that instead
• Uses Godot KinematicBody2D, RayCast2D, Physics Layers for collision filtering, and a State Machine architecture
• Lightweight alternative to built-in Navigation2D or AStar nodes; used in production game Helms of Fury
• Scents stored front-to-back (most recent first) so enemy follows the freshest visible trail toward the player

Connections: Godot Engine · Game AI · Pathfinding · State Machines

Source: https://abitawake.com/news/articles/enemy-ai-chasing-a-player-without-navigation2d-or-a-star-pathfinding