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Common Design Patterns (Examples)

These are examples, not built-in rules.
You can implement them using item tags, custom booleans on UItemDataAsset, or your own logic.

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Potion Belt (Slots 0–2, Consumables Only)

Blueprint Pattern In your UI or character Blueprint, when assigning to the hotbar: 
Assign Potion To Hotbar (Custom Event)
   Inputs:
      Item Instance
      Target Slot

Branch: Target Slot ≤ 2 ?
   True:
      → Check: Item Has Tag "Item.Category.Consumable"
         True:
            HotbarComponent → Assign Item To Slot
               Item Instance = Item
               Slot Index    = Target Slot
         False:
            Show Notification: "Only consumables allowed in potion belt"
   False:
      → (Handle as normal hotbar slot)
Key nodes you’d use:
  • Has Matching Gameplay Tag (or your own “Is Consumable” flag)
  • Assign Item To Slot
  • Print String / Show Notification widget
C++ Example 
void AMyCharacter::AssignPotion(const FItemInstance& Potion, int32 PotionSlot)
{
    if (PotionSlot >= 0 && PotionSlot < 3)
    {
        if (Potion.ItemData && Potion.ItemData->bIsConsumable)
        {
            HotbarComponent->AssignItemToSlot(Potion, PotionSlot);
        }
        else
        {
            ShowNotification(TEXT("Only consumables allowed in potion belt"));
        }
    }
    else
    {
        // Handle normal hotbar behavior
        HotbarComponent->AssignItemToSlot(Potion, PotionSlot);
    }
}

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Weapon Loadout (Slots 3–5, Weapons Only)

Blueprint Pattern 
Assign Weapon To Hotbar (Custom Event)
   Inputs:
      Item Instance
      Target Slot

Branch: Target Slot in [3..5] ?
   True:
      → Check: Item Has Tag "Item.Category.Weapon"
         True:
            Assign Item To Slot (HotbarComponent)
         False:
            Show Notification: "Only weapons allowed in weapon slots"
   False:
      → Assign Item To Slot (normal behavior)
Again, you can use either:
  • A Gameplay Tag like Item.Category.Weapon
  • Or a bool like bIsWeapon on the Item Data Asset exposed to Blueprint
C++ Example 
void AMyCharacter::AssignWeapon(const FItemInstance& Weapon, int32 WeaponSlot)
{
    if (WeaponSlot >= 3 && WeaponSlot < 6)
    {
        if (Weapon.ItemData && Weapon.ItemData->bIsWeapon)
        {
            HotbarComponent->AssignItemToSlot(Weapon, WeaponSlot);
        }
        else
        {
            ShowNotification(TEXT("Only weapons allowed in weapon slots"));
        }
    }
    else
    {
        HotbarComponent->AssignItemToSlot(Weapon, WeaponSlot);
    }
}

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Quick Heal (Use First Health Potion in Hotbar)

Blueprint Pattern Create a custom event on your character, e.g. Quick Heal: 
Quick Heal (Custom Event)
   ↓
For Loop
   First Index = 0
   Last Index  = MaxSlots-1
   Loop Body:
      Get Item At Index (HotbarComponent)
         Slot Index = Loop Index
         ↓
      Branch: Is Item Empty?
         True:
            → Continue Loop
         False:
            → Branch: ItemID == "HealthPotion" ?
               True:
                  Use Hotbar Slot (HotbarComponent)
                     Slot Index = Loop Index
                  Break Loop
               False:
                  Continue Loop
Completed:
   If no potion used → Show Notification "No health potions in hotbar"
You can track “found one” with a bool set in the loop or with a local variable. C++ Example 
void AMyCharacter::QuickHeal()
{
    const int32 MaxSlots = HotbarComponent->MaxSlots;
    for (int32 i = 0; i < MaxSlots; ++i)
    {
        FItemInstance Item = HotbarComponent->GetItemAtIndex(i);
        if (!Item.IsEmpty() && Item.ItemID == "HealthPotion")
        {
            HotbarComponent->UseHotbarSlot(i);
            return;
        }
    }

    ShowNotification(TEXT("No health potions in hotbar"));
}