When to Use Hovercraft in BAR and Essential Lobby Commands
Hovercraft are a niche unit line in BAR. Here is when they make sense, and how to set up techsplit in lobbies for balanced team games.
Tags: bar, beyond all reason, hovercraft, units, lobby commands, techsplit, balance
Ask why before asking how with hovercraft
The honest answer most experienced players give when someone asks how to play hovercraft is: why do you want to? Hovercraft fill a specific role. They are your transport and combat option when you need to cross water regularly. They need more energy and buildpower to produce efficiently, similar to air units.
If water crossing is rare on the map, vehicles are simply cheaper and more effective. Hovercraft are not in a balance spot where they compete directly with tanks or ships. They are a specialist pick for specific map conditions.
Setting up techsplit in lobbies
Techsplit is a lobby command that forces teams to play from different tech branches, preventing mirror matchups where both sides spam identical unit comps. The commands are:
- !bSet techsplit 1 - enables techsplit
- !bSet techsplit_balance 1 - balances the techsplit across teams
You can use these in public lobbies if you get enough players to agree. A lobby vote lets the commands apply even to lobbies that already have players queued up.
When techsplit actually helps
Techsplit works best in organized team lobbies where players want variety and are willing to adapt. In quick matchmaking, it adds friction that most players do not want. Save techsplit commands for your regular teams or community-hosted lobbies where everyone is on board.
Creed of champions: variety without the arguments
Creed of Champions runs organized lobbies with clear rules and willing participants. Techsplit discussions happen in an environment where players want to try different factions and unit lines rather than complaining about forced restrictions. That shared enthusiasm for experimentation is what makes structured lobbies actually work.
"It is so easy to get on with everyone and there is zero toxicity. Just fun games of BAR which can have quite a toxic community usually."