--- key: mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-floating-health-bars type: mechanic id: game-mechanics--gm-floating-health-bars lang: en title: Floating health bars summary: >- A health bar follows a character on screen. The player can associate remaining health with a specific target within the combat scene. updatedAt: '2026-10-22' status: active url: >- https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-floating-health-bars/ jsonUrl: >- https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-floating-health-bars.json markdownUrl: >- https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-floating-health-bars.md aliases: [] tags: - Game design techniques - Health sourceIds: - source-d5d666a22301538d - source-58ac01d327a6e95f - source-1dfdbb40733ab1b5 sources: - id: source-d5d666a22301538d title: 'Game Mechanics: Floating health bars' url: 'https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/floating-health-bars' verifiedAt: null - id: source-58ac01d327a6e95f title: Assassin's Creed Origins (2017) url: >- https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/floating-health-bars/game/assassins-creed-origins verifiedAt: null - id: source-1dfdbb40733ab1b5 title: Far Cry 6 (2023) url: 'https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/floating-health-bars/game/far-cry-6' verifiedAt: null relations: [] placements: - catalogId: game-mechanics id: gm-floating-health-bars title: Game design techniques url: >- https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/game-mechanics/#gm-floating-health-bars categoryIds: - gm-category-health supersededBy: [] attributes: preview: updatedAt: '2026-10-22' title: Floating health bars description: >- A health bar follows a character on screen. The player can associate remaining health with a specific target within the combat scene. image: src: images/mechanics/combat-floating-health-bars.webp width: 672 height: 378 game: Far Cry 6 sourceUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/floating-health-bars' originalUrl: 'https://cdn.gamemechanics.org/far_cry_6_health_bars.jpg' credit: Ubisoft; image via GameMechanics.org rights: >- Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Source host: GameMechanics.org. All rights reserved; excluded from the portal’s MIT and CC BY 4.0 licenses. caption: The bar follows an enemy alt: >- A white health bar and icon sit above an enemy walking ahead in Far Cry 6. markers: - x: 51 'y': 26 label: The health bar is attached to the target - x: 45 'y': 49 label: The character that owns the bar tips: - Position the bar so it does not obscure heads or the crosshair. - Reduce clutter by showing bars by relevance or on targeting. examples: - title: Far Cry 6 url: 'https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/floating-health-bars' endsAt: null provenance: >- Editorial reference index based on the 199 public Game Mechanics pattern pages checked on 2026-10-20. Original concise RU/EN definitions by gamemechanics.pro; pattern names, category associations and game-reference URLs retained from gamemechanics.org. The source gallery includes a film analogy. Linked materials retain their original rights; references are upstream attributions, not independent verification. license: CC-BY-4.0 codeLicense: MIT attribution: gamemechanics.pro contributors catalogKey: catalog/game-mechanics --- # Floating health bars id: game-mechanics--gm-floating-health-bars type: mechanic key: mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-floating-health-bars lang: en status: active url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-floating-health-bars/ A health bar follows a character on screen. The player can associate remaining health with a specific target within the combat scene. ## At a glance ![A white health bar and icon sit above an enemy walking ahead in Far Cry 6.](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/combat-floating-health-bars.webp) [Far Cry 6](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/floating-health-bars) · Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Source host: GameMechanics.org. All rights reserved; excluded from the portal’s MIT and CC BY 4.0 licenses. 1. The health bar is attached to the target 2. The character that owns the bar - Position the bar so it does not obscure heads or the crosshair. - Reduce clutter by showing bars by relevance or on targeting. - [Far Cry 6](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/floating-health-bars) ## How it works A health indicator follows a character on screen. ## Variants ### How the technique works - A health indicator follows a character on screen. ## Context and limits All 199 Game Mechanics entries at the check date: player actions, systems, presentation techniques and contested patterns. Entries are grouped by their first source-card category; all categories appear in their descriptions. Definitions use original wording. References link to game-specific galleries; images and videos remain at the source. ## Connected materials ## Sources and provenance Editorial reference index based on the 199 public Game Mechanics pattern pages checked on 2026-10-20. Original concise RU/EN definitions by gamemechanics.pro; pattern names, category associations and game-reference URLs retained from gamemechanics.org. The source gallery includes a film analogy. Linked materials retain their original rights; references are upstream attributions, not independent verification. - [Game Mechanics: Floating health bars](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/floating-health-bars) (id: source-d5d666a22301538d) - [Assassin's Creed Origins (2017)](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/floating-health-bars/game/assassins-creed-origins) (id: source-58ac01d327a6e95f) - [Far Cry 6 (2023)](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/floating-health-bars/game/far-cry-6) (id: source-1dfdbb40733ab1b5) CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors