You can find similar information in video format in the Developer Community site by watching the Chaos Destruction Overview tutorial.
1 - Required Setup
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Create a new project and select the Games category and the First Person template. Enter your project's name and click Create.
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In the editor, click File > New Level. Select the Basic template and click Create. Save the level.
Section Results
In this section, you created a new project and set it up so you can add a Static Mesh which can be fractured in the next section of this guide.
2 - Creating the Geometry Collection
Destruction within the Chaos system starts with a new kind of asset called a Geometry Collection. These assets can be built from one or more Static Meshes, including those gathered together in Blueprints or even nested Blueprints.
Once you have a Geometry Collection, you can break it apart using the Fracture Mode and define the settings that determine how it breaks apart.
In this section you will create a Geometry Collection from a Static Mesh actor.
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Add a Static Mesh to the level which you'll use to create a fractured mesh. In this example, I'm using the Chaos Primitive Box included in the Content Examples project available in the Unreal Engine Marketplace.
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Click the Mode dropdown and select Fracture.
This will open the Fracture Mode windows that contain all the tools for fracturing your mesh. Alternatively, you can press Shift-6 to switch to the Fracture Mode.
Click for full view.
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Go to the Generate section and click New to create a new Geometry Collection. This new asset type will be saved in the Content Browser and will be used to create your fractured mesh.
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Select the directory location where the Geometry Collection will be saved.
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Enter the name for the Geometry Collection asset.
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Click Create Geometry Collection.
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Click Save All in the Content Browser to save the new Geometry Collection asset.
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The Static Mesh will be replaced with the Geometry Collection in the level. In the Fracture Hierarchy window you will see that the Geometry Collection has a single node in the hierarchy.
This means that the Geometry Collection is composed of only one piece (single node). As you fracture your Geometry Collection, you will see each fractured piece represented as a separate leaf (child) node in the hierarchy. This hierarchy represents how the entire object was fractured, from a single solid piece to individual pieces that can break off as strain is applied.
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Section Results
In this section you learned how to create a Geometry Collection from a Static Mesh actor. You also learned how to enable the Fracture Mode in the editor and view a Geometry Collection's Fracture Hierarchy.
In the next section you will learn how to fracture the Geometry Collection.
3 - Fracturing the Geometry Collection
There are several different types of fracture methods available. Combining the different techniques may lead to more interesting-looking destruction. You will have to experiment with the different options and settings to achieve your desired results.
In this guide you will learn about the standard Uniform Voronoi method. With this method you define a minimum and maximum number of sites to create cell volumes for fracturing.
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Go to the Fracture section and click the Uniform fracture button.
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Leave the default settings as they appear and click Fracture.
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The Geometry Collection is now fractured and you can see the newly created nodes (fractured pieces) in the Fracture Hierarchy window. For this example, you created 20 nodes.
Click for full view.
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You can see the current fracture hierarchy by going to the Level Statistics window. In this example, Level 0 has 1 piece, and Level 1 has 20 pieces. If you continue to further fracture the Geometry Collection, the new structure will be reflected in this window.
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You can preview how the Geometry Collection will fracture by changing the value of the Explode Amount field inside the Fracture window.
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In the example below, you can see the results of changing the value from 0 to 1 in the field.
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Select the Geometry Collection and move it above the ground. Click the Play Mode options button and select Simulate or Selected Viewport to see the results.
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Below you can see the result of the performed steps.
Section Results
In this section you learned how to use the Fracture Mode to fracture a Geometry Collection by using the standard Uniform Voronoi method.
In the next section you will learn how you can destroy the Geometry Collection by shooting it.
4 - Destroying the Geometry Collection by shooting it
In this section you will use the First Person Rifle Blueprint that comes with the template to shoot and destroy the Geometry Collection you created.
The fractured pieces of a Geometry Collection break apart when enough strain is applied to its Connection Graph (how the fractured pieces are connected to one another).
The most common way to apply strain to a Geometry Collection is by using a Physics Field. In this example, you will use a pre-built Master Field that comes with Unreal Engine by default. You will spawn this Field at the projectile's impact location, and the Field will cause the Geometry Collection's pieces to break apart.
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In the Content Browser go to FirstPerson > Blueprints and drag BP_Rifle to the level. During gameplay you can pick up the rifle and shoot by using the left mouse button.
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In the same folder, double-click BP_FirstPersonProjectile to open it. In the Event Graph, select all the nodes except Event Hit and delete them.
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Drag from the Event Hit node and search for then select Spawn Actor from Class.
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Click the Class dropdown of the Spawn Actor node and search for then select FS_MasterField.
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Drag from the Spawn Transform pin of the Spawn Actor node and select Make Transform.
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Connect the Hit Location pin of the Event Hit node to the Location pin of the Make Transform node.
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Drag from the Return Value pin of the Spawn Actor node and search for then select Set Activation Type.
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Connect the Spawn Actor node to the Activation Type node.
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Click the Activation Type dropdown and select Trigger. This will set the Master Field to activate when triggered.
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Drag from the Return Value pin of the Spawn Actor node and search for then select CE Trigger.
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Connect the Activation Type node to the CE Trigger node. The CE Trigger node immediately activates the Master Field.
Click for full view.
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Drag from the CE Trigger node and search for then select Delay.
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Drag from the Delay node and search for then select Destroy Actor. This will destroy the projectile after a brief delay on impact.
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Your complited Blueprint Script should look as following:
Click for full view.
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Go back to Fracture Mode and select the Geometry Collection. Press Shift-B to toggle the bone colors of the Geometry Collection so you can see the box materials.
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Press Play and move to the rifle to pick it up. Use the left mouse button to shoot a projectile at the Geometry Collection and destroy it
Section Results
In this section you learned how to spawn a Physics Field that applies strain to a Geometry Collection, causing it to break apart.
5 - On Your Own!
Now that you know how to create and fracture a Geometry Collection, you can take what you've learned and apply it to more complex examples.
Here are some additional examples you might want to try:
- Use several Static Meshes to create a more complex Geometry Collection.
- Create more fracture levels and use different fracturing methods to create more interesting destruction patterns.
- Build a more complex structure by combining several Geometry Collections and destroy them by shooting them.

Next Steps
You can learn more about the Fracture Mode and the Destruction system by reading the Key Concepts documentation or watching the Chaos Destruction video tutorials in the Developer Community site.