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If you’re looking for a deep, global-scale simulation of the Second World War, there’s no better game thanHearts Of Iron 4. Paradox’s hit strategy game has an enormous, dedicated following, putting it routinely among the most-played games on Steam.
Of course, it’s also extremely complex. There are dozens of things to keep track of at any given time, and a single oversight can have a snowball effect that upends the entire war effort… but there are also opportunities to do the same to your opponents. If you’re staring at the map wondering what to do, try these tips to set yourself up for success.
Build Civilian Factories First
Hearts Of Iron doesn’t bog you down with tracking the cash in your country’s treasury or managing taxation; instead, it focuses ontransitioning from a peacetime economy to a wartime one. There are two kinds of factories, and you’ll need both:
Civilian factoriestake the longest time to build, so it’s best to start by building them before the war actually starts. The more you have, the more military factories you’ll be able to produce later on, ultimately giving you a logistical advantage.
Up to 15 civilian factories can work on a single project at once; if you have more than that, excess factories will work on the next construction in the queue. That means that having lots of civilian factories means you’re able to build many projects simultaneously!
What Are Consumer Goods?
Depending on your current Economy Law (which you can change by spending Political Power), a certain percentage of your civilian factoriesmust be dedicated to producing Consumer Goods.These are essentially “dead” factories that don’t contribute anything to the war effort.
Building more civilian factories will help your overall production, but some will always have to produce Consumer Goods. Reducing that percentage by changing your Economy Law is one of the best ways to speed up your overall production, since you’ll be able to construct buildings much, much faster.
It doesn’t matter where in the world a factory is located; as long as you control it and it’s operational, it can contribute to construction anywhere that you may build.
Play Your First Game With Historical Focuses
Hearts Of Iron 4 famously allows for history to diverge in lots of fascinating ways, but for your first campaign you should probablystick to how the war played out in the real world.When you start a new game,check the “Historical Focuses” box in the lower right-hand corner of the country selection screen. This ensures that AI-controlled nations will make decisions roughly in line with how their historical counterparts did.
Historical Focuses don’t necessarily mean that events will occur along the exact timeframe that they did historically, but they doreduce the number of surprises you’ll have to deal with. The Axis will ultimately be comprised of Germany, Italy, and Japan, while Britain and France will ally against them with the USA joining later on. It might not happen on precisely Jun 13, 2025, but Germany will definitely invade Poland.
Of course, your own actions as whichever country you choose to control can also affect the outcome of the war; in fact, you’ll probably be the biggest variable on the map when Historical Focuses are turned on.
Everything in Hearts Of Iron 4 takes days, weeks, or even months of in-game time to accomplish. From building up enough Political Power to change a law, to training new divisions, to planning and executing a battle plan,everything must be planned for ahead of time if you want to succeed.There’s nothing worth doing in this game that you can do instantly.
This is especially true when it comes to combat;units get a defense bonus called Entrenchmentthe longer they remain in place, so setting up defensive lines and building forts before war is even declared helps protect your borders. By the same token,waiting for an operation to be fully planned grants the attacking troops a bonus, which they’ll need to overcome the defenders' advantage.
Focus On Defense
It’s much easier to defend territory than to take it. Offensive maneuvers tend to beextremely costly, both in terms of manpower and equipment, and you can easily burn out your nation’s resources by being overly aggressive.
Unless you have an overwhelming advantage in terms of numbers, technology, and/or leadership, it’s often best tolet the enemy come to you, throwing their troops at your entrenched positions until they’re weak enough for you to counterattack. Conversely, if the enemy is the one with the advantage (which is often the case if you’re defending China against Japan, for example, or Poland against Germany), you can’t afford to risk troops taking back lost ground; stay on the defensive and wear down the attackers until help from your allies arrives.
Terrain Is Key
Part of planning your war effort isknowing what kind of terrain you’ll be fighting on, both early on and as you (hopefully) push the front toward the enemy’s capital. Not only does terrain affect movement speed and overall defensibility, butdifferent unit types perform better in different environments;Mountaineers, for example, perform better in mountains, while Marines are best at amphibious assaults.
Attacking into anything other than open terrain (Plains or Desert) will inflict a penalty, giving the defenders even more of an advantage in the ensuing combat. It’s alsoharder to establish air superiority over wooded and urban areas that you don’t control.
Climate can also be a factor - from the deserts of North Africa to the wintry forests of Russia,troops will suffer extra Attrition until they acclimate to the temperature.
Every Unit Type Has A Role To Play
On land, sea, and air, each unit type in Hearts Of Iron 4 has a specific battlefield role. Designing your divisions for a purpose and deploying them to carry it out is the way to win the war.
For example,infantry are used for holding the line, especially when they have support companies like Engineers and Field Hospitals backing them up, but are torn to shreds by artillery. Tanks are great at breaking through weak points in the enemy front, and are impervious to most damage, but faced with AT guns they fall apart quickly.
Not only should you build your divisions to support your overall war plan, but it’s also a good idea topay attention to the kind of divisions your enemy is deployingand attempt to counter them.
Encircle Enemies Whenever Possible
Once the war is underway, you’re able to expect to do a lot of micromanaging at the front. While the ultimate goal is toconquer territory and force the enemy to capitulate, a great way to gain advantage in the short term is toencircle and destroy enemy land divisions.
Using tanks and motorized infantry (or, in a pinch, cavalry),punch through a gap in the lineand cut off divisions from their supply lines. If you can keep them isolated for long enough, they’llpermanently disband when their supplies run out. In the meantime, they’ll fight at a disadvantage as they try to break free - just be sure to prevent reinforcements from rescuing them!
This probably goes without saying, but you should prevent this sort of thing from happening to your own troops at all costs.
Target Infrastructure And Cities
Any territory taken from the enemy is good, butto win the war, you need to take their major cities.They’re worth the most Victory Points, which determines when a nation surrenders. Taking large cities alsodenies the enemy the supplies and industry produced their, hampering their war effort.
If you can’t take a city,send strategic bombers to damage it and its infrastructure.Destroying roads, factories, and railways prevents enemy troops from getting resupplied, and diverts resources to repairs rather than expansion. Like everything in Hearts Of Iron 4, this is part of a long-term strategy; weaken the enemy forces bit by bit, until they can no longer fight.
