Rank 1 AOE4 Player Explains his Hotkeys

Rank 1 world Age of Empires 4 Player explaining his hotkeys.
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Thanks for watching and supporting! :)

[@tylerrichter4066]

I was just telling my wife how cool I was that my hotkeys were almost exactly the same as #1 in world Aoe4 guy, until he got to the 1,2,3 thing and I was like, the fak is this

[@magicmacify]

oh boy I bet your wife is disappointed

[@tylerrichter4066]

Disappointing is my specialty

[@magicmacify]

@@tylerrichter4066 I feel that.

[@ares106]

The size of your hotkey list does not matter. What matters is how you use it.

[@sarangtamirisa5090]

The amount of practice needed for this to become instinctual seems insane.

[@FacundoTupac]

This was a complete master class! Thanks a lot. As you mentioned in the end, please keep us updated if you do any changes

[@lukeclay1168]

I respect you for showing this, very humble! I will give it this a go

[@SandWhale919]

Thanks for making this video, answers a lot of questions i have when i watch you play

[@Lapul10ga]

“That’s pretty much it” made me feel old af😂

[@MiroslawHorbal]

Never though about using the map position for army hotkeys, but it makes sense. Going to have to give it a try!

[@CjqNslXUcM]

You could use the f3 hotkey (default) for blacksmith and other upgrade buildings. And h (cycle through town centers) could free up f4 (might not work with kings palace, pos)

[@MX009m]

This video is just in time, ive been always a 1 hand causal guy but due to the many times i got clapped in quick match i decided to work my lazy ass and learn some hotkeys, and its from Beasty Pog

[@teemo-kawaii3423]

My god, what you're doing with the 1,2,3 for 3 parts of the map, is outstanding. What I do is I move the grid 1 column to the right, so I have Q A Z for myself. A should replace 9 and Z replacr 0, the control group.

[@szyszszysz2062]

qwe are for recruting units in buldings for fast

[@michaelwells2624]

​@@szyszszysz2062this person would then use w,e,r instead. That's all.

[@chappYcast]

@beastyqtsc2 Any chance you can do a video on HOW you do your control groups (not what your control groups are, which you covered in this video)? Basically would like to know what keys you use inside the 'Control Groups' grouping of hotkeys. How you're addingcontrol groups, removing units from all control groups, remove unit from specific control groups, etc. Also, do you have any commands on your mouse? Thanks so much!

[@iLightSoundGeometry]

i think you have to split them up among groups , as you can see some units have like 1,5,,8 or 1,2 etc not sure though but you could split 8 and 5 off of 1 and 2 thus creating a lot of possibilities

[@Nanni730]

ctrl + number to create a new group (and subsequently unbind previous unit in that group number) and shift+number to add a unit to an existing group (without reseting that said group) Does that answer your question?

[@jonathanbody3890]

Loved it man thanks again!

[@seymann]

Thanks, this video really helped me a lot!

[@Evghenios79]

I use something slightly different. And I use the same numbers always and if not applicable I keep them empty This way I've taught myself to always react instantly on whatever i need / want. Units 1. Horsemen / Knights OR MAA / Spearmen Special Cases: breakaway harass army 2. Archers 3. Mangos 4. Feudal: specific group of Villagers / Rams , Castle onwards: Springs / Cannons 5 Feudal: Scouts, Castle: Priests Special Cases: Rams / Trebs Buildings 6 Docks / Blacksmith / University / Special Upgrade Buildings such as Rus Age IV 7 Infantry / Archeries 8 Stables / Siege / Monasteries 9 Marketplaces 10 Townhalls

[@emarquez70]

Excellent video, it will improve my game greatly 👍

[@2acristian]

the new hotkeys that we tried in the PUP are great, especially that there is finally a button for all the Towns centers

[@naturalie2425]

What is it called?

[@MrIkon12izzy]

This looks like differential equations without thinking. cool insight into the thought process. Its a lot like a comp program. as factors change the variables change. the more factors then you get into DE territory.

[@gonzdoom]

This is the best freehand Mouse Maneuvered Art I have ever seen.

[@thegorn]

Beasty’s brain works in ways I cannot fathom

[@ecpgieicg]

Great explanations. A good primer on hotkey usage. Look forward to more indepth tutorials like this. For the select-all-idle-army key, I did lose a game bc I assign it to select-all-army and in the heat of a moment I used that key to select a spare “half” of my army to meet raiders on a different part of the map, forgetting to tell the other half to cancel action, and leaving a small part of my reinforcing units and my proxy base to his full army. (An army that was smaller than my main contingent without as much siege support if not for the inadvertent move.) I wish the game has deselection by group: e.g. assign 1 to five lancers, select all, alt+1 to select everyone except the five lancers. But it does not have that feature. For us casual players, it’s hard to always assign hotkeys to all army units. So I am somewhat scared of needing to select unassigned units that are moving.

[@royzeilstra8809]

This is your best video ever!! Love it

[@damienimschoot613]

Nice video, thanks for the tips! Do you use hotkeys only on your keyboard or you also have a mouse with numbers?

[@ApoloApolo-or4oe]

thanks for buying these tips, by the way I would love to see more of Painter the legend and the low ranks, it is pure gold

[@justinhouse2665]

does the 1,2,3 section make more sense on a grid? 1 1 2 1 2 3 2 3 3 Looking into hotkeys there is a select all TC, Barracks, ETC does it make sense to make those 4,5,6,7,8? saves you from having to actually put them on hotkeys or does that make it to rigid of a structure for when you are moving monastery's in/out of the control groups?

[@BartvdRiet87]

A bit late to the party, but enjoyed the vid. I really liked splitting the map in 1,2,3 in your mind. When I have three scouts with Rus i always forget which scout is which hotkey. So gonna try that out. I am a Tab guy since i run out of easy to hit hotkeys. Is using 7 and 8 just a matter of practise? I also use a lot of APM making 3 knights if i have 3 stables to optimise resource spending. But using shift and making 5 is way less APM heavy. What do you do? Greetings OpDVlaM

[@jpteknoman]

i use a mouse button for cycling through tc, one for cycling through idle villagers (with ctrl + mouse 5 for all idle on screen), one for all eco buildings and one for blacksmith. this way i can keep 1-0 free for the army or villagers i need to use for specific tasks (i.e the 4 that will build the feudal landmark)

[@goofygrandlouis6296]

Congrats. 👍

[@tys1076]

I'm curious what you hotkey your scout to? Unless there's a default you use, Im still new to using hotkeys but my setup is pretty similar except I do 1st tc is h and scout is j

[@jeremyhayes5124]

Thank you 💯❤️💪

[@Tom3K_grabarzzzz]

Instead of using 4 or 5 for tc etc i have a separate bind on f1 for this f2 for afk vils and so on ending at f6 i have no probs reaching but honestly cant wait for an updateted hotkeys with new patch looking forward to make some changes

[@caspuchiha]

Hey beasty, can you do a video like this on the new hotkeys from the season one update?

[@totalwarfreak9628]

I was wondering if you could do a video what hot keys do you use or think are worth learning? I often see you pick out 1 individual villager that gets hurt or 5 spearmen will separate from the main group (that one seems really helpful) with out any click or mouse movement. All those hot keys in game were overwhelming so I was wondering if you could trim down that list?

[@batteredskullsummit9854]

I do the haggard "entire army is one group and tab for different unit types" lol

[@pedagogojose9134]

sin hablar ingles y con el traductor de youtube y aun asi lo comprendo ,gracias

[@Nirvanic89]

Do u have to select every new unit made and put them in a group or can you get it to where they automatically in group when made.. and how to you remove unit from a group?

[@maximilianmusterman6829]

I use shift a/s/q/w for military buildings and Spacebar for TC have you ever tried putting hotkeys that are closer to your hand?

[@tarandeepsingh9593]

Also can you tell if there is another way to drag camera because It feels slower If I have to drag mouse cursor all the way to the right to move camera or left.

[@stefanlowenherz4558]

Very interesting and logic action

[@iLightSoundGeometry]

i still use old EE and AOC hotkeys lol .. im glad we can remap the interface ..and im still a noob !

[@Weep_TTV]

As a new player out of the oven, could we could this updated? A few points were left uncovered, for example if you sent 3 different unit types to 1 how do you micro them effectively? (Pushing up troops back archers, and hold sieges or do you try to keep only the same unite type in the groups

[@kleinerprinz99]

How do you quickly split the army control groups from 1,2,3 for the army into 1-archers, 2-cav/spearmen, 3- siege for example in under one second? Thanks :)

[@Schlitzerix]

Do you use a normal keyboard or special hotkey keyboard?

[@sergioippolito]

but with only 3 buttons how do you move the army in more particular situations? Let's suppose that with the vertical map you have to defend zones 1 and 3 of your base and attack zones 1 and 3 of the opposing base but at the same time in the offensive zone 1 (opposing base) you want to divide the army again or because you have different units in the same zone or because you want a larger group to fight and a smaller group of 2, 3 units to attack the villagers. would be 5 groups. 2 in defense (the first in zone 1 and the other in zone 2 of the map), and 3 in attack, two on the left (zone 1) and one on the right (zone 3)

[@showmethefacts4061]

That control f is god tier lol

[@kgeo2686]

When are we getting group steal?

[@AminHasani-jh3uc]

Beasty, I need every video to start with: [Clap] [Clap] "Gamers...". Thank you!

[@XyntXII]

How do I set the Camerafocus to the currently selected unit(s)? I am giving aoe4 another try and I don't know if I am blind or if it does not exist xD thanks for your help

[@sisi6679]

I mean it makes sense, theres method to your madness, not gonna work for everyone but it works perfectly for you

[@IrishRepoMan]

Your hotkeys are almost exactly like mine. I put TC on 3 and horsemen/spears on 1. I use an mmo mouse, so all the buttons are under my thumb.

[@imperator9343]

@beastyqtSC2 I'm curious if you've changed this system at all in the year or so since you made this video

[@webster951]

I use the arrow keys to navigate around . How do you guys do it? It makes it difficult to use wasd and 1234 etc

[@CjqNslXUcM]

Why don"t you rotate the view to be at the top/bottom every time?

[@fanathym]

Thanks very good advice. One thing I am wondering: How do you reach e.g. pressing Shift + 9 on keyboard? Do you use two hands? Or very long fingers? Or do you bind Shift to Mouse Botton 4 or something like that? I find it hard to reach keys > 7 (8, 9, 0) on the keyboard while pressing shift or ctrl. Any advice? And one more q: do have "double click" bound to an extra mouse key?

[@smnvalex]

You should have another Ctrl and shift on the other side of the keyboard

[@zanedurante3709]

I just use two hands since you only have to do it a few times (only use those for buildings)

[@jigmewangchuk4085]

@@smnvalex OMG I was wondering the same thing and even after 34 years on this planet I never thought about that. Mind blown right now, thanks a bunch. I was pressing ctrl with my pinky and trying to reach 0 with my thumb before this, like a caveman.

[@dresavagegameing7128]

How do u on hot key or key bind when your n a game I always get those random villagers in my armies and I could never get them out

[@noahhochger7131]

WIll there be an update with the update / patch the game got?

[@romariobroers94]

Hello guys, is there a way to automatically when starting games it sets groups like tc on Control group 4 ans scout when it comes out to 2 without doing it manually? Thank you in advance gamers!

[@customsaucer2780]

@BeastyqtSC2 Can you please release the file for all of your hotkey/keybind settings?

[@MytzerL]

Does anyone know if Beasty uses mouse hotkeys?

[@JuiceboxEconomics]

How do you scroll around the map? Do you use arrows on the keyboard? I find pushing the mouse to the edge really ineffective, but the arrows are far from everything else you need on the keyboard.

[@teekteekteekteek]

I think he just Jump with the hotkeys and he Don t Need That much scrolling

[@nopenope3416]

I usually just select all army and shift+A move.

[@nguyentho6768]

One question: Why I never see you guys garrison relics in castle?

[@LesterSuggs]

Ensure to mash each button in rapidly, at least 10 times.

[@Peatopher90]

the F-keys that you use for mill etc. also work for your smith/market so u really don't need to go all the way to 9-0 or consider it "bad" that you don't because those keys require less movement to get to and are inherent to the game anyway

[@MrMogli80]

what about scouts?

[@catburt8685]

What i do not know how to manage is scouts and religious units.

[@bennoffke823]

I wish AOE4 would incorporate AOEO hotkey modifications.

[@toxniq8076]

NEW PLAYE RHERE THANK YOU

[@SadboiShinobi22]

I dont understand how are you setting new keybinds in hte middle of the game?

[@juancantor7507]

hey can you do a guide about the general numbers on how much villagers should you have by minute depending if you are playing agro or playing the long run? i find myself struggling with being consistent on that matter

[@Waddehaddeduddedaa]

Why not just set standard hotkeys for the buildings and use those every game?

[@aka_0432]

Press ( H ) for Town center

[@UncertaintyPopsicle]

no mouse hotkeys?

[@aaron1534]

I hotkey my blacksmith and market

[@captaincodypotato8386]

Time to go pro

[@alexanderdiaz3404]

What about if the mouse has left side buttons m4 and m5?

[@portman8909]

Bind m4 all idle villagers and m5 all idle military units.

[@grkhebrew5272]

How do u clear control groups to reset them and is it even possible ?

[@vcpinheiro14]

unselect any unit/building then ctrl+group to clear

[@LBPFrost]

there's a default bind that is ctrl + alt + control group number, much easier than whatever other dude said

[@orangebyte7506]

nice

[@garnetkodo0]

still slightly confuse. you said you map your keys 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 to certain things a the beginning of the video. later you said you map your army to 1,2,3 for left, center and right. this would override the bombards, mongos, archers, mma, etc .. right? This would also map all your slower units with your faster unit? is is the left, center, right army thing a different set of keys? thx. also, is your hand on home row when playing? i find it very odd to play ctrl + (whatever) when hand is on home row.

[@Mark-mx7jr]

Yeah I didn’t get this either. I think he uses the first set for when it’s a massive battle. If there are multiple spread out battles he switches to the second method.

[@mattice9083]

i struggle enough getting to 4 and 5 i have no idea how id hit 6-9 on hotkeys lol

[@_Kaelstrom_]

i really wanna see a video of his hands when he plays

[@user-lv8rf9tm1f]

Another tutle for you:"This video will increase your ELO instantly!")

[@magicmacify]

lol, why is using number 1 to 0 suddenly so complicated

[@saccular]

This is actually genius because it incentivizes you to harass and be more active around the map providing good vision

[@LeGou]

Welcome to starcraft 101 😁

[@asjfkjasdlkfjasfdlk]

damn you had the whiteboard but didn’t use it very effectively lmao

[@christopherfotheringham6539]

So complicated. I'm too dumb. I'll never get out of the gold tier. 🙂

[@DerpMcDerp101]

ITs actually not that hard to do this if you have a mouse with 12 keys on the side.

[@_Kaelstrom_]

same haha, idk how he even reaches across the whole keyboard. Luckily I come from mmo's so I have a 12 button mouse and it's a lifesaver.

[@fugazi8715]

What I don’t understand is the 123 hot keys at start with your villagers and scout

[@cmgambit23]

Is it even fun anymore when it becomes a job to sweat?

[@gamerbabu665]

F1 - Militarry F2 - Resource Gathering F3 - Research F4 - Rest Using these helps

[@judjudersawn2596]

Glad you’ve moved on from that trash game where you need 600 million apm if and only if you play Terran

[@NomoregoodnamesD8]

nice bait

[@chainsawfreak]

SC2 is still the best RTS yet as far as controls go, maybe Broodwar is better from a tactical perspective but bw is sufficiently annoying to play that if you've ever played sc2 for some time you cannot really go back to it (but I do not downplay broodwar's gameplay at all, it's just that when you get used to better UX you get complacent with it). AOE4 I think is a mix between these games as far as controls go. Yes it allows you to tab between unit or structure types but it never is consistent which should make you want to hotkey anything that you can. I think Beasty is just using common sense and not trying to rely on the game to tell him which unit should have the focus in an all army hotkey (and in this case that is very good, although it can be a good practice, aoe4 is particularly bad about it)