# Using behaviorTree vs coding in AIController **URL:** \ **Category:** C++\ **Tags:** Behavior-Tree, aicontroller, unreal-engine, CPP, question\ **Created:** [January 28, 2021, 9:16am UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/using-behaviortree-vs-coding-in-aicontroller/477897 "2021-01-28T09:16:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![11Mdp](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@11Mdp](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/11Mdp)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2021, 9:16am UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/using-behaviortree-vs-coding-in-aicontroller/477897/1 "2021-01-28T09:16:24Z")
Hello everyone! I started studying BevahiorTrees and BlackBoards, and I can’t wrap my head around something. Are they suggested for some reason? Can’t I do the same things with code inside the AIController? I recognize that for most people BehaviorTrees may feel and look more intuitive, but having been a programmer for long, I feel more confident and see more clarity using the code directly. Are there any particular disadvantages in writing the AI logic directly in C++? Does BehaviorTree have any optimization/advantage? Thank you! ---
**Author:** ![acxsasx](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@acxsasx](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/acxsasx)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2021, 2:19am UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/using-behaviortree-vs-coding-in-aicontroller/477897/2 "2021-02-03T02:19:17Z")
Behavior Trees are built a built in AI structure so you don’t have to roll your own. They are optimized to not run from the top every time. You can extend them in C++ with a bit of work to minimize the visual aspect. I decided to use the MARPO Methodology from AI Gaming Wisdom 4, pg 239. I have no idea if it is better or not as I am too early in the use of it. I subclassed the brain component to assign to the subclassed AI character which then calls the appropriate classes to run the subtasks.