Death Event

The death event triggers when an entity dies. It's a component-based event - death is detected when DeathComponent is added to an entity.

API Reference

See full API: DeathComponent | DeathSystems

Concepts

Before reading this, familiarize yourself with the Event System.

Overview

Property	Value
Component	DeathComponent
Base Handler	DeathSystems.OnDeathSystem
Trigger	DeathComponent added to entity

The DeathComponent

Location: com.hypixel.hytale.server.core.modules.entity.damage.DeathComponent

When an entity's health reaches zero, DeathComponent is added automatically. This component contains:[^1]

Method	Description
getDeathCause()	The DamageCause that killed the entity
getDeathInfo()	The Damage object that caused death
getDeathMessage()	Message shown on death screen
setDeathMessage(Message)	Set custom death message
isShowDeathMenu()	Whether to show respawn screen
setShowDeathMenu(boolean)	Control respawn screen visibility
getItemsLostOnDeath()	Items that were dropped
setItemsLossMode(ItemsLossMode)	How items are lost (ALL, CONFIGURED, NONE)
setItemsAmountLossPercentage(double)	Percentage of items to lose

[^1]: See DeathComponent API for full method list

Creating a Handler[^2]

Extend DeathSystems.OnDeathSystem:

[^2]: See DeathSystems API for base class methods

package com.example.myplugin;

import com.hypixel.hytale.component.*;
import com.hypixel.hytale.component.query.Query;
import com.hypixel.hytale.server.core.entity.entities.Player;
import com.hypixel.hytale.server.core.modules.entity.damage.*;
import com.hypixel.hytale.server.core.universe.world.storage.EntityStore;
import javax.annotation.Nonnull;

public class MyDeathHandler extends DeathSystems.OnDeathSystem {

    @Nonnull
    @Override
    public Query getQuery() {
        return Player.getComponentType();  // Only handle player deaths
    }

    @Override
    public void onComponentAdded(@Nonnull Ref<EntityStore> ref,
                                  @Nonnull DeathComponent component,
                                  @Nonnull Store store,
                                  @Nonnull CommandBuffer commandBuffer) {
        // Entity just died

        Player player = (Player) store.getComponent(ref, Player.getComponentType());

        // Get death info
        Damage deathInfo = component.getDeathInfo();
        DamageCause cause = component.getDeathCause();

        System.out.println("Player died from: " + cause.getId());

        // Check who killed them
        if (deathInfo != null && deathInfo.getSource() instanceof Damage.EntitySource source) {
            Ref<EntityStore> killerRef = source.getRef();
            if (killerRef.isValid()) {
                // Do something with the killer
                Player killer = (Player) store.getComponent(killerRef, Player.getComponentType());
                if (killer != null) {
                    killer.getPlayerRef().sendMessage(Message.raw("You killed someone!"));
                }
            }
        }

        // Modify death behavior
        component.setShowDeathMenu(true);
        component.setItemsLossMode(DeathConfig.ItemsLossMode.NONE);  // Keep items
    }
}

Common Use Cases

Track Kill Statistics

@Override
public void onComponentAdded(@Nonnull Ref<EntityStore> ref,
                              @Nonnull DeathComponent component,
                              @Nonnull Store store,
                              @Nonnull CommandBuffer commandBuffer) {

    Damage deathInfo = component.getDeathInfo();
    if (deathInfo == null) return;

    if (deathInfo.getSource() instanceof Damage.EntitySource source) {
        Ref<EntityStore> killerRef = source.getRef();
        if (killerRef.isValid()) {
            Player killer = (Player) store.getComponent(killerRef, Player.getComponentType());
            if (killer != null) {
                // Increment kill counter (your custom logic)
                incrementKills(killer);
            }
        }
    }
}

Prevent Item Loss

@Override
public void onComponentAdded(@Nonnull Ref<EntityStore> ref,
                              @Nonnull DeathComponent component,
                              @Nonnull Store store,
                              @Nonnull CommandBuffer commandBuffer) {

    // Keep all items on death
    component.setItemsLossMode(DeathConfig.ItemsLossMode.NONE);

    // Or configure partial loss
    component.setItemsLossMode(DeathConfig.ItemsLossMode.CONFIGURED);
    component.setItemsAmountLossPercentage(25.0);  // Lose 25% of items
}

Custom Death Message

@Override
public void onComponentAdded(@Nonnull Ref<EntityStore> ref,
                              @Nonnull DeathComponent component,
                              @Nonnull Store store,
                              @Nonnull CommandBuffer commandBuffer) {

    component.setDeathMessage(Message.raw("You have fallen!"));
}

Built-in Death Handlers

The system includes these handlers:

Handler	Purpose
ClearHealth	Sets health to 0
ClearInteractions	Cancels current interactions
ClearEntityEffects	Removes all effects
PlayerKilledPlayer	Sends "you killed X" message
DropPlayerDeathItems	Drops inventory items
PlayerDropItemsConfig	Configures item loss
RunDeathInteractions	Runs death interaction chain
KillFeed	Broadcasts kill feed
PlayerDeathScreen	Shows respawn UI
DeathAnimation	Plays death animation
CorpseRemoval	Removes corpse after delay

Registration

@Override
protected void setup() {
    ComponentRegistryProxy<EntityStore> registry = this.getEntityStoreRegistry();
    registry.registerSystem(new MyDeathHandler());
}

See Also

• Event System - How component events work
• Damage Event - The damage that causes death
• Respawn Event - Handling respawns