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When an entity dies in Hytale, the DeathComponent is attached to it carrying the cause of death, the death message, item loss data, and respawn control. Your death screen, kill feed, item recovery system, and custom respawn logic all depend on reading this component correctly. Testing death and respawn is critical because getDeathCause() returns a DamageCause index, not the DamageCause object itself. If you read it wrong, your kill feed shows “Unknown” for every death. Automated tests catch this before your players do.
Death assertions require entities with stat components (EntityStatMap, DeathComponent). Always use spawnNPC with a valid role name - empty entities created with ctx.createEntity() lack the required components.

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Complete Example Suite

package com.example.tests;

import com.frotty27.hrtk.api.annotation.CombatTest;
import com.frotty27.hrtk.api.annotation.HytaleSuite;
import com.frotty27.hrtk.api.annotation.HytaleTest;
import com.frotty27.hrtk.api.annotation.Tag;
import com.frotty27.hrtk.api.annotation.DisplayName;
import com.frotty27.hrtk.api.annotation.Order;
import com.frotty27.hrtk.api.assert_.CombatAssert;
import com.frotty27.hrtk.api.assert_.HytaleAssert;
import com.frotty27.hrtk.api.assert_.StatsAssert;
import com.frotty27.hrtk.api.context.WorldTestContext;
import com.frotty27.hrtk.api.lifecycle.IsolationStrategy;

@HytaleSuite(value = "Death and Respawn Tests", isolation = IsolationStrategy.DEDICATED_WORLD)
@Tag("death")
public class DeathRespawnTests {

    @CombatTest
    @Order(1)
    @DisplayName("Entity gains DeathComponent after lethal damage")
    void deathComponentAfterLethalDamage(WorldTestContext ctx) {
        Object entity = ctx.spawnNPC("Kweebec_Sapling", 0, 64, 0);
        ctx.waitTicks(1);

        // Deal lethal damage through the damage pipeline.
        ctx.dealDamage(entity, 99999.0f, "GENERIC");
        ctx.waitTicks(5);

        Object store = ctx.getStore();
        StatsAssert.assertDead(store, entity);
    }

    @HytaleTest
    @Order(2)
    @DisplayName("DeathItemLoss.noLossMode returns a valid configuration")
    void noLossModeIsValid() {
        // DeathItemLoss.noLossMode() is a static factory that creates
        // a "no items lost" configuration for custom death penalties.
        // Your hardcore mod might override this; your casual mod uses it as default.
        var noLoss = DeathItemLoss.noLossMode();
        HytaleAssert.assertNotNull("noLossMode should return a valid object", noLoss);
    }

    @CombatTest
    @Order(3)
    @DisplayName("DamageModule groups are accessible")
    void damageModuleGroupsAccessible() {
        // DamageModule exposes damage processing groups that control
        // how damage flows through the pipeline: gather, filter, inspect.
        var module = DamageModule.get();
        HytaleAssert.assertNotNull("DamageModule singleton should exist", module);
    }

    @CombatTest
    @Order(4)
    @DisplayName("Killed entity is not alive")
    void killedEntityIsNotAlive(WorldTestContext ctx) {
        Object entity = ctx.spawnNPC("Trork_Warrior", 10, 64, 10);
        ctx.waitTicks(1);

        StatsAssert.assertAlive(ctx.getStore(), entity);

        ctx.dealDamage(entity, 99999.0f, "MELEE");
        ctx.waitTicks(5);

        StatsAssert.assertDead(ctx.getStore(), entity);
    }
}

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DeathComponent API

The DeathComponent is the ECS component Hytale attaches to dead entities. Key methods:
MethodReturnsDescription
getDeathCause()death cause infoThe damage cause that killed the entity
getDeathMessage()StringThe death message for the kill feed
setDeathMessage(String)voidOverride the death message
isShowDeathMenu()booleanWhether to show the death/respawn UI
setShowDeathMenu(boolean)voidControl death menu visibility
getItemsLostOnDeath()itemsItems the entity drops on death
setItemsLostOnDeath(...)voidOverride dropped items
getDeathItemLoss()DeathItemLossItem loss configuration
respawn()voidStatic method to trigger respawn

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DeathItemLoss API

DeathItemLoss controls what items a player loses when they die:
MethodReturnsDescription
getLossMode()loss modeHow items are lost (all, percentage, none)
getItemsLost()itemsWhich items are marked for loss
getAmountLossPercentage()floatPercentage of stack amounts lost
getDurabilityLossPercentage()floatPercentage of durability lost
noLossMode()DeathItemLossStatic factory for zero item loss

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DamageSystems Pipeline

Use DamageSystems.executeDamage() instead of manually subtracting health. The damage pipeline runs resistances, triggers events, and processes death correctly:
  • DamageModule.get() - returns the singleton
  • DamageModule.getGatherDamageGroup() - first stage, collects damage sources
  • DamageModule.getFilterDamageGroup() - second stage, applies resistances
  • DamageModule.getInspectDamageGroup() - final stage, logs and triggers events

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Isolation Recommendation

Death tests mutate entity state heavily. Use IsolationStrategy.DEDICATED_WORLD: 
@HytaleSuite(value = "Death Tests", isolation = IsolationStrategy.DEDICATED_WORLD)
@Tag("death")
public class DeathTests { }

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Next Steps