Lightning VFX for Roblox

Lightning is two different effects in a Roblox game. A strike or a burst happens in one place: a flipbook draws it best, with the branching bolt, the flash and the sparks in one particle. A bolt that links two things that move, such as a tower and its target, has to stretch between them: that is a Beam with a lightning beam texture.

Lightning effects to start from

Thunder HammerAnime Lightning StrikeChain LightningLightning SpearThunder DomeThunderstorm CloudElectrifiedTesla Chain Gun

• Strikes from above: Thunder Hammer and Anime Lightning Strike come down in one place and fade. For an ultimate, see Thunder God Strike on anime VFX.
• Spells: Chain Lightning arcs between four orbs, Lightning Spear is thrown and bursts where it lands, Thunder Dome raises a dome of lightning.
• Weather: Thunderstorm Cloud is a dark cloud with a bolt every cycle, for a storm area or a weather event.
• Status: Electrified loops on a stunned or shocked character.
• Weapons: Tesla Chain Gun draws its arcs from left to right, so like any flipbook it suits a view from the side.

A strike that deals damage

For a strike on a point, lift the effect part by half its Size so the bottom of the frame touches the ground and the bolt comes down from above. Size sets how tall the bolt is: the effect fills at most 7/8 of the square frame.

local Players = game:GetService("Players")
local Debris = game:GetService("Debris")
local template = game.ReplicatedStorage.Effects:WaitForChild("Thunder Hammer")

local function strike(position: Vector3, damage: number, radius: number)
	local size = template.Attachment.Flipbook.Size.Keypoints[1].Value
	local fx = template:Clone()
	fx:PivotTo(CFrame.new(position + Vector3.new(0, size / 2, 0)))
	fx.Parent = workspace
	Debris:AddItem(fx, 3) -- Lifetime 1.4 s + 1, rounded up

	-- Damage every player standing in the circle where it lands.
	for _, player in Players:GetPlayers() do
		local character = player.Character
		local root = character and character:FindFirstChild("HumanoidRootPart")
		local humanoid = character and character:FindFirstChildOfClass("Humanoid")
		if root and humanoid and (root.Position - position).Magnitude <= radius then
			humanoid:TakeDamage(damage)
		end
	end
end

Run on the server, this shows the strike to everyone. For many strikes at once, fire a RemoteEvent and clone the effect on each client instead, as on anime VFX. A big strike looks bigger with a flash of light: a PointLight in the effect part, its Brightness raised for a moment.

A bolt between two points

A flipbook bolt has a fixed length and always faces the camera, so it cannot reach from a tower to an enemy that keeps moving. Use a Beam between two Attachments instead: it stretches a lightning texture to any length and stays joined at both ends. The Roblox beam textures page has free seamless lightning, electric arc and energy textures, the Beam settings, and a link function that draws a beam from one part to another for a moment. Play Electrified at the far end, so the bolt lands on something.

Settings for lightning

• Glow: pure energy (Chain Lightning, Thunder Dome, Electrified, Tesla Chain Gun) exports with Glow on. Strikes that throw up dust or rocks, and the storm cloud, export with it off, because those parts are matter.
• Size: strikes look best tall, 15 to 25 studs, so the bolt starts well above the characters. A status effect such as Electrified wants about 6.
• Upright: set Orientation to FacingCameraWorldUp for strikes and storm clouds, so the bolt stays vertical when the camera looks down.
• Dark maps: the emitter is unlit, so lightning stays bright at night, which is when it looks best.

The flipbook PNG is free: the ROBLOX button on every effect page needs no account, and a free account can also export it from the studio (3 effects a day) with the grid and texture size of your choice. The ready model, a .rbxmx with the emitter set up and a script that plays it, plus UIFlipbook.luau for UI, comes with any plan, from $7.99 a month.