Hotkey to select all factories in BAR and use control groups

How to quickly select all your factories, assign them to control groups with alt plus number, and why it matters for managing your economy.

Tags: beyond all reason, hotkeys, factory, control group, autogroup, settings

Selecting all factories at once

New players often ask if there is a single hotkey to select every factory on the map. The answer is yes, and it is one of BAR's quality-of-life features that many people coming from other RTS games do not immediately know about.

You can select all units of the same type by using the selection filter tools. For factories specifically, double-clicking one factory selects all factories you control across the entire map. This lets you queue builds, change production, or manage factory rally points from one selection.

Using alt plus number for control groups

Once you have your factories selected, assign them to a control group using alt plus a number key. This works the same way as in most RTS games. Press alt plus one, and your selection goes to group one. Press the number key alone later to recall that group instantly.

This is especially useful for factories because you want those production queues constantly monitored. Assigning all factories to a single control group means you can check every queue, adjust unit production, and respond to map changes without hunting across the map.

The same technique works for any unit group. Keep your main army on one number, your economic structures on another, and your support units on a third. Muscle memory makes this second nature after a few games.

Why factory management matters

BAR runs on simultaneous production across many factories. A player running a dozen factories needs to keep all of them productive. Idle factories waste income that could be building units instead.

Using control groups to cycle through factory production queues is one of those small habits that separates decent players from good ones. It takes seconds to set up and pays off every single match.

Creed of Champions

Picking up these mechanical habits is easier when you play alongside people who can share tips. Creed of Champions runs training sessions where experienced players show newer members exactly how to organize production, use hotkeys efficiently, and manage economy structures.

Crd is the first really comfortable community I have been a part of. Everyone is nice and kind, the atmosphere is relaxed, and I am not getting yelled at for not being optimal. [Crd]