Hearts of Iron 4 is the latest installment of Paradox Interactive’s grand strategy wargame franchise. The series allows players to take on the role of a world leader as they attempt to guide their nation through warfare and eventual victory.
In Hearts of Iron 4, players can choose the German Reich as their controlled nation. The game allows players to look back at German history. They also get to traverse the historical path to reach their goals.
Diving into the game enables players to have fun while learning more about Germany and important events in the nation’s history, albeit in a more unorthodox way. It’s certainly not a typical video game in that regard.
For this article, we will be focusing on the German Reich. Specifically, we will discuss how you can successfully play as that nation inside the Hearts of Iron 4. Use this article as your HOI4 Germany guide and become a master tactician on the online battlefield.
Getting Started
Before you start playing, you will have to decide what kind of experience you want to have. You can either try a single-player or a multiplayer campaign. As with numerous other titles, the single-player and multiplayer campaigns will differ significantly.
Multiplayer campaigns can offer varied experiences. You can team up with friends and tackle cooperative multiplayer or go up against them in competitive multiplayer. Both options are fun and worth trying out as well.
Given that up to 32 players can participate in a single Hearts of Iron 4 multiplayer game, there’s also an element of unpredictability inherent to each campaign. Your experience will also largely depend on which country you choose.
We can discuss the HOI4 Germany multiplayer guide some other time. For now, our focus will be on the single-player campaign for the game.
You can choose from running a full-fledged single-player or tutorial campaign. In both types of movements, the AI will be in charge of controlling the other nations. The difference is that the game will offer tips as you go through a tutorial campaign.
Try out the tutorial campaign if this is your first time playing Hearts of Iron 4 or if you’re still getting the hang of things. Full-fledged single-player campaigns will not feature much in hand-holding, so be prepared.
Now, let’s talk more about running a campaign with Germany inside the game.
The German Reich in Hearts of Iron 4
Since this is a HOI4 Germany guide, let’s take this opportunity to discuss some of the standout features of the nation inside the game.
Germany is one of the major countries in Hearts of Iron 4. That means they are incapable of losing their major status while a war is raging inside the game.
Furthermore, the major countries in the game also start with many factories. Being in control of those factories gives you a leg up on many competing nations.
Let us now dive into more specific aspects of gameplay in this Germany guide HOI4.
Germany’s National Focus
In Hearts of Iron 4, there is a gameplay element known as National Focus. The National Focus of your chosen country will determine how it develops throughout the campaign. The National Focus is represented as a tree with multiple branches and sub-branches.
Following a specific National Focus path will require investing a significant amount of those Political Points you regularly earn in the game. You do not want to misuse any of those Political Points, so be careful about which National Focus you select.
It will also usually take around 70 days to complete a National Focus. That should further drive home just how important it is to select the right one.
Which National Focus Branches Should You Choose for Germany?
At the start of your Germany campaign, your top priority should be improving your industrial infrastructure. You need to build consistently throughout the early portion of the movement, or rival nations will leave you in the dust once the battles begin.
You need to set up a solid infrastructural base as the German leader. With that in mind, the Four Year Plan should be your initial National Focus.
The Four Year Plan branch should be your priority because it improves your industry and allows you to build fort lines around the European continent. It even gives you an additional research slot that should prove immensely valuable as you seek to industrialize your nation further.
The most important takeaway from any HOI4 Germany industry guide is that you must start with the Four Year Plan.
Once you’re done with the Four Year Plan, you can focus on other National Focus branches to further fortify your nation’s military.
Choose the Air Innovations Branch, the Army Innovations Branch, and the Naval Rearmament Branch after the Four Year Plan. Picking up those National Focus branches will give you a more substantial base to work with once more battles get underway.
So, what about the Rhineland branch? You don’t want to select Rhineland too early because it increases World Tension significantly. You don’t want to get into those battles at this point in the campaign just yet.
Instead, prioritize improving your army by building strong divisions and training your soldiers. Go after nations like Poland and France if you want to teach your troops. Apart from the valuable experience, you’re also getting the necessary resources from that tactic.
Germany’s National Spirits
The next section of this HOI4 Germany Guide will focus on the National Spirits. Those National Spirits are essential to game elements because they can make your country advantageous or disadvantageous.
Germany has three National Spirits inside the Hearts of Iron 4. Let’s discuss them in greater detail below.
General Staff
First off, you have General Staff. The General Staff is a helpful National Spirit because it positively affects planning speed and division organization. It specifically grants a 25 percent boost to planning speed and a 5 percent boost to division organization.
Bitter Loser
Next up is the Bitter Loser National Spirit. The Bitter Loser National Spirit can be helpful because it allows Germany to start creating factions. You can begin to overwhelm more opponents with the combined forces at your disposal.
Bitter Loser also grants a 50 percent boost to ideology drift defense. Ideology drift defense prevents your chosen nation from moving away from its dominant ideology at the start of the campaign.
In multiplayer games, you only need ideology drift defense when human players may try to use that tactic against you. In single players games, that boost is less helpful.
MEFO Bills
Last up, Germany HOI4 also features MEFO Bills as a National Spirit. Or at least it will if you have the Waking the Tiger expansion active in your game. You will want to use the MEFO Bills as a National Spirit for Germany early in the game.
MEFO Bills will provide 25 percent boosts to the construction speeds of your air bases, naval bases, naval dockyards, and military factories. Other essential elements of your nation you can build faster with the help of the MEFO Bills include forts, anti-air facilities, fuel silos, radar stations, and synthetic refineries.
Remember how we talked about the importance of strengthening your industry earlier? Well, the MEFO Bills are going to help with that.
However, note that using the MEFO Bills will cost you a lot in terms of Political Power. You may have to be more discerning when you deploy them because they can put you in a hole if you’re careless.
Germany’s Ideology
There are four distinct types of ideologies in Hearts of Iron 4. These are communism, democracy, fascism, and non-aligned.
This is a HOI4 Germany guide, so that we will focus on that nation’s ideology in the game. In this case, Germany follows the doctrine of fascism.
A nation following the ideology of fascism inside the Hearts of Iron 4 can send volunteer forces to other countries. That can turn them into valuable allies. It would be best to remember to send volunteers to Nationalist Spain to strengthen your troops.
If you’re playing as Germany, you may also be able to enter a war inside the game earlier. That feature should be helpful if you’re going on a HOI4 Germany speedrun.
By the way, Germany being a fascist country in the game, grants them more significant freedom. Restrictions related to World Tension do not affect Germany if they remain a fascist nation.
Germany’s Resources
Resources are required to complete numerous actions throughout campaigns waged in Hearts of Iron 4. Those resources will be crucial to building your nation and strengthening your forces inside the game. You will need plenty of them if your campaign inside the match turns out how you intended.
This is one area where Germany can prove to be a challenging nation. Early in the game, Germany does not have a lot of resources to use. Germany has a good amount of steel and aluminum early on, but that’s about it.
That lack of resources is why we recommend focusing on your industry and infrastructure when you start the campaign. Use the MEFO Bills to build the fuel silos and synthetic refineries you need. Start working on compensating for your resource shortages as soon as possible.
Start trading with other countries if you still struggle to collect all the necessary resources. Forge deals that will enable you to make up for your shortages as soon as possible. Seek out which trading partners offer the best deals and the resources you covet.
The only thing you must remember when trading with Germany is avoiding making deals with the Soviet Union. You want to avoid trading with the Soviet Union because doing so will likely strengthen them. Doing that can backfire later because many progression paths for Germany involve getting into a war with the Soviet Union.
This HOI4 Germany Strategy Guide notes that trading with the Soviet Union should be your last resort if you’re low on resources.
Germany’s Military Units
Properly managing your military is crucial in a game like Hearts of Iron 4. There are three different types of military forces present in the game. Those are the Army, the Navy, and the air force.
Investing and training suitable units will be hugely important. Developing all types of units is an option, but it can be a detrimental strategy in this game. Some teams aren’t helpful in the combat you should try to wage.
Let’s simplify things by reviewing the military forces and highlighting the units you should invest in.
Army Units
Your army units will be critical when the time comes to infiltrate enemy territory. They will be your go-to troops inside the game because they offer the most versatility from the German side.
Focus your resources on infantry units. Get those artillery and support upgrades to strengthen your frontlines. Your trained and upgraded infantry units can wreak plenty of havoc.
Investing in tanks and other motorized units offers more support for your infantry units. With all those army units at your disposal, you should be able to take over enemy countries efficiently.
Naval Units
Unlike some other nations, naval units are not essential for success if you’re controlling Germany. Many of the battles you will be involved in will not necessitate the presence of an overwhelming naval force.
All that said, this HOI4 Germany guide still recommends investing in the development of at least two naval units. The units you’ll need are light cruisers and submarines.
Light cruisers will be helpful because they can serve well as escort ships. You will want them on standby as you facilitate trades during tense times. Make sure you have a mid-sized fleet of light cruisers ready to go.
Meanwhile, the submarines will prove helpful as you try to disrupt transactions being made by nearby nations. Going up against the full force of a country that has invested heavily in its naval forces will not work out well for you. Use the cover of water to attack and take your opponents by surprise instead.
Air Force Units
You have to incorporate more variety when building up your air force. Go with tactical bombers, naval bombers, and close air support units. They are the ones you’ll need the most.
Deploy the close air support units when you are locked in a struggle. They should make driving deep into enemy territory even more accessible for your army units.
The tactical and naval bombers have different roles in this HOI4 Germany guide. Similar to submarines, naval bombers should be used to disrupt transactions. Just be careful and avoid attracting too much attention while using them to attack by air.
Tactical bombers should be used to attack smaller nations. You can boost your forces and resources nicely by letting those tactical bombers fly at the correct times. Maintain that kind of assault throughout the game, and be amazed at how effective those tactical bombers are.
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