Character Not Moving Despite Input Setup – UE 5.2.1

Hi everyone,

I’m having trouble getting my character to move in Unreal Engine 5.2.1 using Blueprints. I’ve set up the input mappings and created the movement logic in my character Blueprint, but when I hit Play, the character doesn’t respond to any input.


Problem Description:
I’m trying to make a simple third-person character move using keyboard input (WASD). I’m using the default Third Person template as a base. I added a new input action for movement under Project Settings > Input and mapped it to the W, A, S, D keys. In my Character Blueprint, I’m using the “InputAxis MoveForward” and “InputAxis MoveRight” nodes to add movement input.

However, when I press any key during Play mode, the character just stands still — no movement, no animation change.


What I’ve Tried So Far:

  • Verified that input mappings are correctly set in Project Settings

  • Made sure the Game Mode is using my custom character

  • Ensured the character is possessed by Player Controller 0

  • Checked that the “Auto Possess Player” setting is set to “Player 0”

  • Added print strings to the input events — they don’t fire at all


Expected Behavior:
When I press W, the character should move forward using the default movement component and the animation blueprint should respond accordingly.


Actual Behavior:
The character stays idle and doesn’t respond to any keyboard input. Input events don’t seem to be firing.


Additional Info:

  • Engine Version: 5.2.1

  • Using Blueprints only

  • Based on Third Person Template

  • Windows 10

  • No errors in Output Log during runtime

  • Input Mode is set to Game Only

1 Like

Hey @klg05095 ! Welcome to the forums!

It sounds like you haven’t yet set up an Input Mapping Context (IMC). First you add your Input Actions (IA) to the IMC. Then, you have to add that to the Enhanced Input Local Player Subsystem for it to be usable. This allows contexts to be switched out for different use cases, such as driving a car vs walking. :slight_smile:

Hope that helps!