Company of Heroes Game Strategies: Learning Hotkeys

To excel in any RTS title you're going to have to learn your hotkeys. Hotkeys are basically shortcuts to options that would otherwise require you to use your mouse and find the exact item to be clicked. There are also many instances in which certain abilities can only be achieved via the use of hotkeys. For Company of Heroes the formula is no different. Either learn your hotkeys or watch your opponent slowly pull away from you until there's a gigantic gap.

CTRL + 1-0 By highlighting any unit and pressing control plus a number you'll assign that unit to the number. While this may seem like a waste of time at the outset of a game, it can help you locate a unit that you've lost track of, which can happen in massive 4v4 games or even a hectic 1v1 game. It's also important when micromanaging your squads and other units in a skirmish. Instead of having to click each individual unit in order to maneuver them, you'll be simply press a number while determining how you want to flank and opponent. This becomes extraordinarily important when it comes to managing armor in tank warfare. In many cases you can find your armor decimated when you're rushing to highlight a particular unit.

Company of Heroes, like many other RTS titles, features global hotkeys that work with every unit so long as they have the ability (Armor does not have a retreat command). A is Attack for every unit while G is Attack Ground for every unit that has the ability to do so. The rest are as following H for Halt, R to Reinforce, and T to retreat. These are notably the most important Global hotkeys in Company of Heroes when it comes to the basics.