So I imported my root motion animation, set it to use root motion, created an anim BP and set it to use root motion from everything, assembled my metahuman, added it to a BP and gave it the Anim BP and all is right with the world… except my capsule stays put when my animation plays.
Why?
I followed the exact same steps in 5.5 with a Character Creator mesh and it worked perfectly. Now I am doing it in 5.6 with a MetaHuman and the capsule refuses to move. I tried Googling th eissue but because 5.6 is so new all I get are outdated stuff that speak of adding bone chains and manually modifying the chains etc. For the life of me I can’t find the chains at all in 5.6. Seems that is now a legacy system that makes all the tutorials I can find outdated.
They said to make sure the pelvis, not the root, is the root bone (?) and I need to set the pelvis to “Globally scaled”. Neither step seems possible in 5.6.
So what is the missing step I am not seeing? How do I get my MetaHuman to move with root motion?
1. Verify Root Bone Animation in Your MetaHuman Animations
Ensure your animation sequences have motion data on the Root Bone (not just pelvis or other bones).
Open the Animation Sequence and check that Root Motion is enabled and that root bone transforms are moving (Use Show Root Motion Trail for visual debug).
2. Enable Root Motion on Animation Assets
Open your MetaHuman’s Animation Sequence or Montage asset in the Animation Editor.
In the Details panel, enable “Enable Root Motion”.
Configure Root Motion Root Lock as needed (e.g., Anim First Frame is common).
Save the asset.
3. Setup Your Animation Blueprint for Root Motion
Open the Animation Blueprint (AnimBP) assigned to your MetaHuman’s Skeletal Mesh.
In the Blueprint Editor, go to Class Defaults.
Find the Root Motion Mode property and select an option that suits your gameplay:
Root Motion from Everything: uses root motion from all animations.
Root Motion from Montages Only: only montages apply root motion.
For testing, start with Root Motion from Everything.
Ensure the AnimGraph nodes support root motion seamless movement.
4. Confirm MetaHuman Blueprint Component Setup and Tagging
Duplicate the MetaHuman Character Blueprint and remove old skeletal mesh components.
Copy your MetaHuman Blueprint’s body mesh and paste it into the duplicated Character Blueprint’s Mesh Component.
Set the Anim Class on the Body Skeletal Mesh to the correct Animation Blueprint.
Add the component tag RTG_UEFN_to_Metahuman_nrw to the Body Mesh Component tags array (this enables the Retarget AnimBP to recognize it).
Align the mesh properly with the Capsule Component (feet on bottom, facing forward).
5. Repair Construction Script (if using Retarget AnimBP or Master Pose)
Open the Character Blueprint’s Construction Script.
Reconnect body parts references and master pose nodes after component changes (Feet, Legs, Torso, Body).
Make sure proper leader pose component is set on the root mesh.
6. Testing and Debugging
Play in PIE mode and observe if root motion leads to actual displacement in the world as the animation plays.
Use Show Root Motion Trail and Show Skeleton debugging options on Animation assets to verify root bone movement.
Check that your Character Movement Component isn’t conflicting with Root Motion. In Character Blueprint, you can temporarily disable Movement Component or set Movement Mode to None for testing root motion driven movement.
If root motion is not applied during gameplay, verify Animation Blueprint’s Root Motion Mode matches your gameplay needs.
Additional Tips
If your animation doesn’t have root bone displacement, root motion won’t move the actor.
Retargeted MetaHuman animations sometimes require careful tagging and mesh alignment for root motion to work.
Use the official Game Animation Sample Project as reference—it contains examples of MetaHuman root motion setup.
Avoid mixing animations with root and non-root motion without proper blending setup.
This step-by-step should help you eliminate root animation issues on MetaHumans in UE 5.6 by verifying animation data, enabling root motion per asset, and aligning blueprint components correctly.