How Bot Farms Work in Beyond All Reason

Bot farming has become one of the strangest strategies in BAR. Here is what you need to know about the mechanic, why players use it, and how the community views it.

Tags: beyond all reason, bar, bot farm, construction, strategy, exploit

What is a bot farm

A bot farm means positioning a commander near a structure so the con turret can continuously queue and produce T1 bots. Players discovered you can flood bots into a walled-off area in front of the turret, creating a steady stream of units you did not pay metal for.

Most people run this with a T2 Botlab, which has the build speed and queue depth to make it worthwhile. Some players have experimented with a T1 Vehicle Fab in the same role. Since it is just bots, the cons are cheaper on resources and take less space than other factory products.

How to set one up

The basic setup is straightforward. Park your commander near the wall you want to funnel units through. Build walls to create a holding pen. Place a construction turret facing into the pen. Set the turret to loop-queue cheap bots. The turret produces them continuously as long as it has energy and a path exists for units to exist in the pen.

There is debate about whether the pen area should be large or small. A bigger pen reduces unit collisions, which means less lag. A smaller pen is easier to defend if someone finds your setup. The community consensus leans toward giving units space to exist without pathfinding pileups.

Does it actually work in real games

It produces units. The real question is whether those units win you the game. Bot farms cost time and positioning that a commander could spend expanding economy or building forward static defense. The bots you produce are T1 fodder, useful as scouts, distractions, or meat shields, not as a core army.

In team games, especially 8v8, someone running a bot farm is often not contributing their fair share to the frontline. The strategy is more of a novelty than a serious tactic at higher levels.

Build cost versus build time

One thing players confuse is build time versus build cost. Build cost is the total metal and energy required to finish a unit. Build time depends on how many build points per second your fab or turret applies. A construction turret applies build points continuously, which is why the bot farm mechanic works. The cost is still paid in energy, so you need solid power infrastructure to sustain it.

Should you bother

For newer players experimenting with the game engine, bot farms are a fun way to understand how factories and construction interact. You will see them in casual 8v8 lobbies and they can generate a decent number of cheap units if left alone.

Against competent opponents who scout, a bot farm is a dead giveaway that your commander is parked playing factory simulator instead of contributing to map control. Use your time to expand metal, secure reclaim, and build an actual army.

Creed of Champions

At Creed of Champions, the focus is on improving through disciplined teamwork rather than hunting for quirky exploits. Players who want to learn real strategy fundamentals find a supportive environment where teammates share knowledge instead of running gimmicks. As one member put it:

[Crd] The removal of toxicity, the goal of fun and learning, makes for a refreshing spot to play and spend time. It has also made a game with plenty of complexity a bit less daunting to dive into.

If you want to get better at BAR through clean execution and genuine strategy, this is the place to do it.