Hearts of Iron IV 10 Tips for New Players

Paradox Development Studio’s Hearts of Iron IV has been garnering a massive hoard of fans over the past few years. Despite having been released back in 2016, the game is still stealing away new players in droves on a daily basis. That being said, this World War II strategy game is no walk in the park. If you want to come out victorious in this title, then you are going to need to have your wits about you. With that in mind, we have created a quick guide of ten important tips for new players.

• Don’t forget about active pause. By pressing the spacebar, you can pause the game and give yourself time to think out your strategy before making any large decisions. While it seems trivial, this tool will prove invaluable throughout your campaign.
• Pay attention to your world tension level. Some political options will only become available after the world tension level has reached a certain point. Consequently, it is best to keep up with this factor and to not let it get too out of hand.
• Make sure you are always performing some kind of technological research. While you do not want to pour too much of your resources into any one portion of Hearts of Iron IV, it is suggested to always have at least one if not two different active technology researches at all times.
• Keep strong ties with at least a few allies. You can’t be friends with everyone. That being said, allies are paramount for success in Hearts of Iron IV. If you are having issues finding allies with the same ideologies as your country, then use propaganda in your intended ally’s nation to eventually sway them to your country’s point of view. Beyond that, increase trade with your intended ally in order to improve relations.
• Do not spend political power points on diplomacy during the early phase of the game.
  Focus your points to assign government members and to introduce laws to your nation, as these things will prove more useful early on.
• Some laws have negative effects. When enacting a law within your nation, you may be inviting your own downfall. Laws can be useful, but some offer negative effects as well as positive ones. Always make sure to thoroughly read through a law’s effects before introducing it.
• Improve your industrial infrastructure. Before you begin mass producing anything, you should first focus your industrial resources towards building more factories. Once you have an abundance of factories, you will be able to mass produce weapons and other equipment at a faster rate.
• Focus some of your political objectives towards industry. By completing these, you can earn some free factories to add to your nation.
• After you have formed an industrial infrastructure, keep rifles in production. It is always nice to have rifles consistently in production, as this will increase the recruitment rate for your army when the time comes.
• Always train your land units. Land units should be trained as often as possible, as to increase army experience and therefore improve your nation’s combat effectiveness.