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Lead Node

Lead Node is the workhorse for NPC dialogue - the node type you'll place the most while building a conversation. This page covers what data it needs and why it fires on its own without you asking it to.

1. What Lead Node Is

UMounteaDialogueGraphNode_LeadNode derives from UMounteaDialogueGraphNode_DialogueNodeBase and - like Answer and Complete - doesn't override ProcessNode. It runs the exact same inherited logic described on the Dialogue Node Intro page: pull the active FDialogueRow from its DataTable/RowName, push it into the context, then run decorators. What makes a Lead Node behave like "an NPC line" is configuration, not a unique code path:

  • Does Auto Start is true. As soon as traversal reaches a Lead Node, it starts on its own - no player action required. This is the concrete mechanism behind "Lead Node represents NPC lines": nobody has to click anything for the NPC to speak.
  • Requires a Dialogue Data Table. Lead Node inherits DataTable/RowName from DialogueNodeBase - without a valid table and row, ValidateNodeRuntime fails and the Dialogue refuses to start.
  • Blueprintable. Unlike Start Node or Delay Node, you can create a Blueprint (or C++) subclass of Lead Node if you need custom behaviour on top of it.

Info

Lead Node accepts connections from Start Node, Answer Node, another Lead Node, and Delay Node. It does not accept a direct connection from Complete Node, which matches Complete's role as a dialogue-ending node.

2. Setting Up a Lead Node

  1. Right-click on the graph canvas (or drag from an existing node's output pin) and add a Lead Node.
  2. In the Details panel, set Data Table to a DialogueRow-structured Data Table.
  3. Pick a Row Name - the editor shows a text preview inline once a valid row is selected.
  4. Connect its output pin to whatever should happen next (an Answer Node to offer the player choices, another Lead Node to keep talking, or Complete Node to end things).
#include "Nodes/MounteaDialogueGraphNode_LeadNode.h"

// Blueprintable - safe to subclass if you need extra behaviour
class UMyCustomLeadNode : public UMounteaDialogueGraphNode_LeadNode
{
    // DataTable / RowName come from UMounteaDialogueGraphNode_DialogueNodeBase
};

Warning

A Lead Node with no DataTable or an empty RowName fails runtime validation. Since validation runs across the whole Graph before a Dialogue can start, one unfinished Lead Node is enough to block the entire conversation from playing.

3. Next Steps

Answer Node

Give players a choice instead of an automatic line