HOI4 Tips

[DakotaHale]

I'm bad at the game. Getting stomped by Japan as USA on recruit and don't understand how aerial/naval combat works. Any tips?

[vcczar]

1 minute ago, DakotaHale said:

I'm bad at the game. Getting stomped by Japan as USA on recruit and don't understand how aerial/naval combat works. Any tips?

It's definitely the Paradox game I'm the worst at. I tend to play a small country and just try to be a spoiler. For instance, playing as Oman and using all my resources to get the atomic bomb first. If I play a major power, I pretty much get walloped. I wish HOI had more of a domestic and economic focus. It's the only major Paradox game that is almost entirely mono-focused (warfare in this instance). 

[DakotaHale]

Also not really looking into specifics on certain countries and I'm very familiar with division designing/trees/menu etc (except when it comes to planes/naval shit). I just don't know how combat/orders work.

[DakotaHale]

Just now, vcczar said:

It's definitely the Paradox game I'm the worst at. I tend to play a small country and just try to be a spoiler. For instance, playing as Oman and using all my resources to get the atomic bomb first. If I play a major power, I pretty much get walloped. I wish HOI had more of a domestic and economic focus. It's the only major Paradox game that is almost entirely mono-focused (warfare in this instance). 

I also find smaller countries easier to play as. I just lost the Philippines to Japan as the USA (to be fair I only had one division there until they invaded and I hastily reinforced it) but kicked Russia and the allies' asses as Italy in my first playthrough and outlasted Germany before ultimately losing in like 1954 in a based drawn-out war that cost millions on both sides lmao.

[Rezi]

Nuke Iwo Jima

[vcczar]

Just now, DakotaHale said:

I also find smaller countries easier to play as. I just lost the Philippines to Japan as the USA (to be fair I only had one division there until they invaded and I hastily reinforced it) but kicked Russia and the allies' asses as Italy in my first playthrough and outlasted Germany before ultimately losing in like 1954 in a based drawn-out war that cost millions on both sides lmao.

That's better than I've done. I really haven't ever had time to really focus on playing it. EU4 is easy for me because I've played them all since the original. CK2 and CK3 are probably the most intuitive. 

[DakotaHale]

Also need this because I'm doing an ironman mega campaign from CK3 > UE4 > Vic2/3 > HOI4 > Stellaris as Hispania (~1350 in CK3 right now) and I plan on being a fascist/Axis power by the time I play HOI4 and don't want to get my shit stomped.

[jvikings1]

48 minutes ago, DakotaHale said:

I'm bad at the game. Getting stomped by Japan as USA on recruit and don't understand how aerial/naval combat works. Any tips?

Air and navy are pretty easy. Just make sure to watch your fuel. If you run out, those areas grind to a halt. Make sure to trade for an excess of oil to ramp up fuel production. Fighters are the best for establishing air superiority. For navy, you want to produce a variety of ships. Naval range also matters. You will be limited on how far you can operate until you build/capture naval bases in the islands (which is why the US has a great starting position). You will want to be prepared to quickly take US islands to limit their reach and maximize your own. Plus, those islands in the south have valuable resources.

I like playing Germany the most because naval power is reduced until you capture the rest of Europe (unless you strike at the UK early on before the big war starts).

[Pringles]

54 minutes ago, DakotaHale said:

I'm bad at the game. Getting stomped by Japan as USA on recruit and don't understand how aerial/naval combat works. Any tips?

Air wings need to be in groups of 80-100 for max efficiency and fighter aces you generate.

Naval combat needs to be split up into groups. 

Submarines are always separate from the main fleet. 

Doomstack your carrier fleets with one strong admiral. 

For carrier missions, take a group of about 10 destroyers and set them to the patrol mission in areas you are fighting. This helps you spot ships.

Set the CARRIER fleet to strike force. Once the destroyers find the enemy the strike force will automatically bring the carriers in. 

I'll add more later as I'm at work. I'm something of a competitive player at this game... HOI is the series I've sunk thousands into. 

[Pringles]

Also @DakotaHale, lmk if you need pro army tips as well or something. I got a whole text file I keep for myself on my PC 🤣

[DakotaHale]

1 hour ago, Pringles said:

Also @DakotaHale, lmk if you need pro army tips as well or something. I got a whole text file I keep for myself on my PC 🤣

Might as well lmao

[Pringles]

3 hours ago, DakotaHale said:

Might as well lmao

Aite. Hopefully the naval and air stuff will help you out. One more important tip. Having a doomstack fleet is great. But what's even better is having airplanes to accompany said fleet via carrier, or if the battle is close to an airbase, send CAS or Naval Bombers to join the fight. (CAS can naval bomb). 

For army, combat width and support companies are very important. 

You want the meat of your infantry, your attack-defend to be anywhere from 21 or 27 width. 21 with a more cheap/defensive focus, 27 for more attack. 

Ex: 9 Infantry, 1 Artillery template. (This is pretty average and good for the meat of your army.) 

Support Companies for this template: 

Engineer, Support Artillery, Cav Recon. (Signal, Anti-Air, Anti-Tank) are your next applicable options depending on your situation. NEVER USE FIELD HOSPITALS SUPPORT COMPANY. THEY ARE USELESS. 

---

For purely garrison or defensive infantry, say you are playing Germany and guarding the French shores. 15 or 18 width Infantry only divisions with an engineer support will do the trick. Purely defensive and can delay the enemy in time for tanks and better soldiers to arrive. 

---

Fighting in mountains is tricky. There is a lot of conflicting advice. What I like to do, is if I'm strictly in PURELY mountains. Is go for huge 45 width divisions. Since combat width is so low on a mountain (90) I think... you do 45 width so you can get the fullest extent, if that makes sense. Don't use 45 width for everything else though, like infantry, just not practical. Mountaineer divisions should be packed with mountaineers of course, and support artillery. Usual support companies apply. 

--- 

Fighting in Northern Africa can be a mess. I'd adhere to the usual advice for infantry at the top, just don't put too many cause supplies will become an issue. This goes for island hopping in the jungles as well. 

---

Finally marines. You'll use these a lot as America. Early marines need to be packed with marines and maybe some extra support artillery. 21 or 27 width works. 

Once you get amphibious assault tanks... pack it out with those. 

--- 

Reminder: Organization is very important for a division. It is the "stamina" of the divisions fighting ability. General rule of thumb: Keep it above 30. 

Tanks will always have lower org than infantry divisions. Your infantry divisions generally should have above 40 org. 

You get more org by getting your land doctrine filled out. As America you should take the Superior Firepower Doctrine. 

Early tanks (I'm talking 38-39). Can have low org I suppose. They might sit at around 29 or so. It won't hurt them since they melt through the early shit anyways. If you're Germany invading the Soviets though... you gonna need some decently high org tanks. Above 35 hopefully with half of your land doctrine filled out. 

---

Finally, more doctrine advice:

As America you should take the furthest right naval doctrine. The one with Carriers. Rush it. 

Air Doctrine: Go for the Strategic Bombing. It's a good mix of strategic bombing, fighting, and ground support. The middle doctrine is good for CAS support and is useful for countries like Germany that rely on Blitzkrieg. 

The final doctrine "Operational Integrity," is good if you plan ONLY on dog fighting. (Air Superiority, Interception, etc.)

---

Anyways, that's a fuckton of info. I hope it helps. Just keep playing. You'll learn. 🙂 

 

 

 

Edited April 25, 2022 by Pringles

[vcczar]

I’ve been observing HOI4 while working on AMPU the past few days. I think the reason I didn’t like the game too much was because I didn’t have any of the DLC. I bought three of them and the game is much better. Bonaparte vs. Habsburg vs. Ottoman Empire vs Hitler is interesting. The US always goes fascist for some reason. Axis always seems to win too. I’m not sure why. 

[jvikings1]

13 minutes ago, vcczar said:

I’ve been observing HOI4 while working on AMPU the past few days. I think the reason I didn’t like the game too much was because I didn’t have any of the DLC. I bought three of them and the game is much better. Bonaparte vs. Habsburg vs. Ottoman Empire vs Hitler is interesting. The US always goes fascist for some reason. Axis always seems to win too. I’m not sure why. 

Axis have a massive advantage early on in the game. It is only if the war gets prolongs that it shifts towards the Allies. But if the US is fascist, then it is very difficult for the Allies to respond.

[vcczar]

9 minutes ago, jvikings1 said:

Axis have a massive advantage early on in the game. It is only if the war gets prolongs that it shifts towards the Allies. But if the US is fascist, then it is very difficult for the Allies to respond.

I have seen the US get involved only once. 

[DakotaHale]

On 4/24/2022 at 7:36 PM, Pringles said:

Air wings need to be in groups of 80-100 for max efficiency and fighter aces you generate.

Naval combat needs to be split up into groups. 

Submarines are always separate from the main fleet. 

Doomstack your carrier fleets with one strong admiral. 

For carrier missions, take a group of about 10 destroyers and set them to the patrol mission in areas you are fighting. This helps you spot ships.

Set the CARRIER fleet to strike force. Once the destroyers find the enemy the strike force will automatically bring the carriers in. 

I'll add more later as I'm at work. I'm something of a competitive player at this game... HOI is the series I've sunk thousands into. 

Ok I finally have a slight understanding of naval combat but I made a mistake in the beginning I think.

When you said split naval combat into groups, I thought you meant admirals. I had my submarine admiral scouting, and all of my other admirals on strike force and was wondering why I was getting stomped still. I now realize that each admiral can have multiple task forces. I usually click it to "automatically separate task forces" or whatever, and have one scout and all of the others do strike force stuff. Does that work? Also my convoys are getting killed and I lost about 50k troops to Japan with convoy raids. Can I have a third one do convoy protection or is that worthless and it's better to focus on getting 100% naval supremacy?

[DakotaHale]

Also I've used two generals to protect Hawaii and the other islands. I set them to area defense and have 10 troops on Hawaii, and 18 scattered to all of the random islands that the US owns. They've been able to prevent any naval invasions so far. I also have 36 divisions in the Philippines and they have been good so far as well. Is this a good strat or is there a better way to defend all these places with less manpower?

[Pringles]

1 minute ago, DakotaHale said:

Ok I finally have a slight understanding of naval combat but I made a mistake in the beginning I think.

When you said split naval combat into groups, I thought you meant admirals. I had my submarine admiral scouting, and all of my other admirals on strike force and was wondering why I was getting stomped still. I now realize that each admiral can have multiple task forces. I usually click it to "automatically separate task forces" or whatever, and have one scout and all of the others do strike force stuff. Does that work? Also my convoys are getting killed and I lost about 50k troops to Japan with convoy raids. Can I have a third one do convoy protection or is that worthless and it's better to focus on getting 100% naval supremacy?

Sub fleets should usually always be convoy raiding. Not much of another use for them imo. 

Your convoys are getting killed because you don't have a convoy protection mission. I'd suggest taking a group of destroyers and splitting them up a bit, and throwing them into the area area. 

And here's what I mean when I say split naval combat:

Admiral 1 (Carrier Fleet) Composition:

Main Doomstack Fleet with 100+ ships. Everything's in this fleet except submarines. (Mission: Strike Force)

2 groups of Destroyers (10 Destroyers or so): (Mission: Patrol)

---

Admiral 2 (Convoy Raiding Fleet) Composition:

Tons of small submarine fleets. You want your submarines to be in small groups so they don't get detected. I don't like going any higher than 3 per group. So:

3 Subs

3 Subs

3 Subs

3 Subs

3 Subs (You get the drift.... groups of 3 or so until it hits the admirals max command)

---

Admiral 3 (Convoy Protection Fleet) Composition:

5 Destroyers

5 Destroyers

5 Destroyers... etc.

 

This is really just how I like to split my fleets up. But hopefully that makes things a bit clearer. 😄 

 

[Pringles]

5 minutes ago, DakotaHale said:

Also I've used two generals to protect Hawaii and the other islands. I set them to area defense and have 10 troops on Hawaii, and 18 scattered to all of the random islands that the US owns. They've been able to prevent any naval invasions so far. I also have 36 divisions in the Philippines and they have been good so far as well. Is this a good strat or is there a better way to defend all these places with less manpower?

That's an okay strat I guess. You really don't need 10 troops on Hawaii though. 

2 Divisions that are decked out with support companies should be able to defend an island quite easily. Naval invading is a tough task. 

36 divisions in the Philippines also seems a bit much, makes me think you might be taking supply issues there.

But yeah, overall what's working works I guess. Just be weary of supply and it's better to have quality divisions defending these places rather than quantity imo.

[DakotaHale]

2 minutes ago, Pringles said:

That's an okay strat I guess. You really don't need 10 troops on Hawaii though. 

2 Divisions that are decked out with support companies should be able to defend an island quite easily. Naval invading is a tough task. 

36 divisions in the Philippines also seems a bit much, makes me think you might be taking supply issues there.

But yeah, overall what's working works I guess. Just be weary of supply and it's better to have quality divisions defending these places rather than quantity imo.

Also another dumb question. Why are my patrol task forces patrolling, but my strike force guys are docked? Do they only come out of the docks when the patrol guys see someone?

[Pringles]

Just now, DakotaHale said:

Also another dumb question. Why are my patrol task forces patrolling, but my strike force guys are docked? Do they only come out of the docks when the patrol guys see someone?

Yep. Strike force comes out when the patrol bro's see shit goin' down. If it's say 2 shitty Japanese destroyers the patrol group finds the strike force probably won't trigger. But say they run into the DOOMSTACK Japanese fleet... the strike force will pop out asap and rush to get to battle. 

Sometimes they're also docked because they're repairing. 

[Pringles]

Also, light cruisers are helpful in patrol missions if you got radars on them. Bit of a more effective patrol than just destroyers. 

[mark2]

My main tip I could think of is to really not overthink things: don't place a billion divisions onto a single island, don't try to do an overcomplicated naval strategy, don't try to micromanage the entire eastern front while playing as Germany on your first playthrough (personal mistake, probably doesn't need to be mentioned here)

Things are simpler than they seem. Naval isn't an insane challenge unless you make it one.

[mark2]

11 minutes ago, Pringles said:

Sub fleets should usually always be convoy raiding. Not much of another use for them imo. 

Gotta disagree there. Subs have carried my navy since release: easy to produce and can deal some damage if you use them right. Can't really defeat a Japanese doomstack with 5 subs, but they're so easy to make that you can have a navy with an absolute shitton of subs very quickly in the game.

[Pringles]

3 minutes ago, mark2 said:

Gotta disagree there. Subs have carried my navy since release: easy to produce and can deal some damage if you use them right. Can't really defeat a Japanese doomstack with 5 subs, but they're so easy to make that you can have a navy with an absolute shitton of subs very quickly in the game.

You must play a lot of Germany. 😛 

But nah, you're right. They're cheap. And they can do damage. I just prefer to have a more organized, capital ship focused fleet unless I'm playing Germany really.