# My Small NavMesh Characters are floating - how does the default BP\_TopDownCharacter handle it?

**URL:** <https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/my-small-navmesh-characters-are-floating-how-does-the-default-bp-topdowncharacter-handle-it/2701840>\
**Category:** Programming & Scripting\
**Tags:** ai-navigation, unreal-engine, question\
**Created:** [February 23, 2026, 11:51pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/my-small-navmesh-characters-are-floating-how-does-the-default-bp-topdowncharacter-handle-it/2701840 "2026-02-23T23:51:10Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![jbg\_joe](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@jbg\_joe](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/jbg_joe)\
**Post date:** [February 23, 2026, 11:51pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/my-small-navmesh-characters-are-floating-how-does-the-default-bp-topdowncharacter-handle-it/2701840/1 "2026-02-23T23:51:10Z")

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I’ve got some custom characters about 30cm tall that are hovering above the Nav Mesh.

To try and debug it, I started up a new top down Unreal project, scaled down BP\_TopDownCharacter to about 40cm, and made it use the NavMesh. I see there’s no floating on the character, but there _is_ floating on the capsule collider. However, I do see that the character is not aligned with their capsule collider - their head is far down from the top, their feet stick out through the bottom:

 ![image](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/f/e/f/feff1e81e71b38f87c8b1dd5aad95740618489d5.jpeg)

If I look at the Blueprint Viewport though, I see that the feet are aligned with the bottom of the capsule collider, and there’s less margin above the head:

 ![image](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/0/4/3/0434acd1d7f85284f11afada1e3e2e9ca236f198.jpeg)

Is something pulling this character down in PIE to be aligned with the floor that is preventing floating?

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I tried an experiment where I replaced the default skeletal mesh with the “SkeletalCube” asset.

I made sure it matched in the Blueprint Viewport:

 ![Screenshot 2026-02-24 081303](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/e/4/2e4d84316468f365e3b3b796a1229422e4bd9892.png)

Sure enough, it floats when in PIE:

 ![Screenshot 2026-02-24 081344](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/c/a/c/cac6bea4428977f1fc6b1f5f714445e154cf3fb7.jpeg)

So there’s something special pulling the mannequin down.

———————————————

Okay, it has something to do with the AnimationBlueprint. If I set the animation mode to simply use an animation asset, the mannequin starts floating too.

 ![image](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/8/b/d/8bdeaeb10893797173f0e79743ac29546b5d30e8.png)

 ![image](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/d/3/3/d331b8427acaab6e5218d457d8874a58b0ce66a4.jpeg)

Or if I set the Anim class to be a generic “AnimInstance,” it also floats

 ![image](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/c/0/4/c04e0f9534b31a6883165ef15e4793be2b481462.jpeg)

———————————————

Note: I haven’t messed with the Navigation System parameters at all - haven’t setup a supported agent or changed the default Nav Agent Height in the BP\_TopDownCharacter blueprint.

 ![image](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/6/a/7/6a79f171da18adfabf31879b6af67122547fb554.png)

 ![image](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/3/3/5/335cc02a41997c829bcbc1febdbb9a1702474dd0.png)

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![jbg\_joe](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@jbg\_joe](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/jbg_joe)\
**Post date:** [February 24, 2026, 4:30pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/my-small-navmesh-characters-are-floating-how-does-the-default-bp-topdowncharacter-handle-it/2701840/2 "2026-02-24T16:30:50Z")

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Okay, found it.

Double Clicking the Control Rig in the AnimGraph…

 ![image](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/8/2/2/82274e82ffb03860d88b8555a0908fc9c1501f3d.jpeg)

Brings me to the **CR\_Mannequin\_FootIK** Control Rig, which is responsible for pulling the whole skeletal mesh down to the floor so it doesn’t float.

 ![image](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/3/d/3/3d37078ab3ee6c5805a549efe45fca3f0669d1bf.jpeg)