if you ally italy it tends to work where they come to help you although it kinda breaks the game because germany is so interested in you that soviets just take over everything later when the allies go to war vs them
Best factions for a beginner
- Thread starter EmperorBatman999
- Start date
-
We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.
if you ally italy it tends to work where they come to help you although it kinda breaks the game because germany is so interested in you that soviets just take over everything later when the allies go to war vs them
I still expect the Germans led by that national traitor Hitler to be parading panzers around the Ringstraße and a swastika flag to be flying from the Hofburg Schloss before I can bring my forces around to try and stop them.
Just wondering, how is a faction like Saudi Arabia? I was thinking it might be interesting to ally the Axis and attempt to drive out the British and French so as to force them to make good on their promises to grant that land to the Arabs so I can make a Pan-Arab state.
HOI4 wont be HOI3
Personally I never played them, but I imagine it would be hard. Keep in mind that the population of the Arabian peninsula was actually comparatively small at the time.
- 1
I'm not sure it's a good idea to play big factions first. Because if you make mistakes, you won't know them. Usually, I played German, Italy, Japan in HOI3. And it's only in playing Turkey I understood how this game really works.
I think we have a respectfull disagreement.
. Because I think that it is more important to have fun and some easy victories as a beginner. If you just play as small nation it can be very frustrating in my opinion when every mistake basically means that you have to restart the game.
The best country for a beginner in my opinion is the US because of a few reasons:
-joins the war usually late which gives you enough time to learn game mechanics and stuff.
-is a sleeping giant so you could control by the end of the game one of if not the most powerful nations.
-if you screw up it's not so bad cause it wouldn't have the same affect as it would on a European nation, one misunderstanding
of an important game feature with Germany and the USSR is running over you with a 20 million strong army.
-the US is barely a challenge even for a beginner so it's kind of a real time tutorial.
those are the top reasons why the US is the best first nation to start off with for a beginner, but some might argue
otherwise, in any case that is how i got hocked on HOI III. then again HOI IV seems to be more easier to learn,
in anyway your choice.
-joins the war usually late which gives you enough time to learn game mechanics and stuff.
-is a sleeping giant so you could control by the end of the game one of if not the most powerful nations.
-if you screw up it's not so bad cause it wouldn't have the same affect as it would on a European nation, one misunderstanding
of an important game feature with Germany and the USSR is running over you with a 20 million strong army.
-the US is barely a challenge even for a beginner so it's kind of a real time tutorial.
those are the top reasons why the US is the best first nation to start off with for a beginner, but some might argue
otherwise, in any case that is how i got hocked on HOI III. then again HOI IV seems to be more easier to learn,
in anyway your choice.
- 2
- 1
.. what about the Netherlands ? No, seriously : small country, small colony, and if you get B...beaten in Europe, you can always move on. Two theatres of war, large industrial base, good navy. Could be fun to play as, especially when you know what's coming.
- 1
- 1
from every nation you could learn basically, but Netherlands is a hard one. most likely you will be beaten in Europe cause you wouldn't know hot to survive a German onslaught, thus leaving you mid to late game without really having a country, japan will take your most if not all of your Asian holdings, which anyway without having the actual Netherlands is really not worth much cause you dont have in industrial base and manpower. then again i don't really know what changes the new HOI is bringing with it and also some might learn from a rough start but sometimes it might push them away from such a good game.
- 1
I haven't seen it mentioned yet, but one of the few countries I was relatively succesfull at in HOI3 was Hungary. Their OOB is relatively small, so easy to understand, you have no seashore so you can ignore navy alltogether and you are fascist, making it easy to join germany. You can then usually use the Germans as your personal attack dog to conquer Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia, giving you fairly decent IC to work with. My games usually ended when Germany decided to attack the soviets, as I would get completely run over, but I guess a more experienced player could to much better than me.
- 1
I always thought Canada and Australia were great countries to learn the game as in HOI3. You can build a small army/navy/air force and then help the allies early in the war effort. The USA is easier, but typically doesn't enter the war until later.
- 1
My first game of Hearts of Iron was as Germany back in HoI2. I lost horribly (my Barbarossa made the real thing look good...) but I learned far more, and had much more fun, than I would've done sitting in safety somewhere boring.
I think I first played HoI3 as Italy to get a feel for the new stuff.
I think I first played HoI3 as Italy to get a feel for the new stuff.
Brazil is a good nation, as although they are away from Europe, they can join either the axis or the allies, and expand easily
As for a country in Europe, may I recommend turkey? You'll have to start early (1933ish) to modernize your military, but your strategic position is promising.
As for a country in Europe, may I recommend turkey? You'll have to start early (1933ish) to modernize your military, but your strategic position is promising.
Germany. Great industry and economy. First enemies are likely Poland and France. Best to learn. Just avoid getting cocky and invading the USSR, or launching a premature invasion of Britain before you eliminate the Royal Navy.
I recommend USA. You have almost unlimited resources. You will have time on your side. You have to involve yourself in land, air and naval battles. It gives a complete experience and you can make mistakes without doom. Great for a new player.
At this point it's looking to be a tie between Italy and Sweden. I may go back to HoI 3 and try both.
I am hesitant about Italy because they kind of had a bad historical record and constantly needed Germany to pull them out of any mess. Perhaps though the Balkan nations may be easy conquests, but then again Mussolini thought the same thing. I will definitely stack more men in Libya and Etrirea to prepare for my African campaigns and to prevent steamrolling by the Brits like what really happened.
As for Sweden, their neutrality is definitely a plus. And in every PX game I have, I have played Sweden and conquered Scandinavia. It should probably be more challenging than CK2 or EU this time, and in the modern world that kind of expansionism and empire-building is far less acceptable.
I am hesitant about Italy because they kind of had a bad historical record and constantly needed Germany to pull them out of any mess. Perhaps though the Balkan nations may be easy conquests, but then again Mussolini thought the same thing. I will definitely stack more men in Libya and Etrirea to prepare for my African campaigns and to prevent steamrolling by the Brits like what really happened.
As for Sweden, their neutrality is definitely a plus. And in every PX game I have, I have played Sweden and conquered Scandinavia. It should probably be more challenging than CK2 or EU this time, and in the modern world that kind of expansionism and empire-building is far less acceptable.
Based only on previous HOI incarnations (obviously not having played HOI4), I'd agree with the folks who've already recommended Germany. If you care about learning more than winning, you can more or less ignore the more complex air/naval side of things and still have a lot of fun building up a big army and crushing through Poland and France and learning the political/economic side of things before everything goes pear-shaped.
My plan will be to do a play like this with Germany first thing, and them probably a play through as the US to focus on the air/naval side of things and really get that down.
That said, if the you're looking for a small scale game that will nonetheless let you play with the combat mechanics, Spain is often an interesting start. You get to fight the civil war and then more or less just get left alone.
My plan will be to do a play like this with Germany first thing, and them probably a play through as the US to focus on the air/naval side of things and really get that down.
That said, if the you're looking for a small scale game that will nonetheless let you play with the combat mechanics, Spain is often an interesting start. You get to fight the civil war and then more or less just get left alone.
Well Italy was tied down with bad leadership historically, with your own leadership in place things may well be different.
I think for this game we have to be aware that if you play with the ahistorical options then diplomacy suddenly becomes more important, as Germany do you try to bring France or the Soviets into your Axis? As Italy do you maintain the Stresa Front? As the USSR do you let revolution unfold and welcome back Trotsky?
So I would recommend the USA, now that you can push yourself into battles with differing enemies and have more choice over your destiny it should be more interesting than just researching and building IC for 6 years.
I think for this game we have to be aware that if you play with the ahistorical options then diplomacy suddenly becomes more important, as Germany do you try to bring France or the Soviets into your Axis? As Italy do you maintain the Stresa Front? As the USSR do you let revolution unfold and welcome back Trotsky?
So I would recommend the USA, now that you can push yourself into battles with differing enemies and have more choice over your destiny it should be more interesting than just researching and building IC for 6 years.
germany by far is the best faction to play as a beginner, thrown into the deep end but its enjoyable, i remember when i first played hoi3, i fount britain/usa boring, sitting around waiting for a war to start, and didn't have the patience to master the game or learn the mechanics initially, germany gives you a taste of everything alot sooner, and keeps you engaged. Now when i play the US/GB i don't feel so bored waiting for a war to kick off since i've had the playthrough has a tyrant.
i personally find hungry the most fun to learn the mechanics you don't have to focus on naval aspects and can learn the ground and air based game a little better in my opinion with the smaller amount of troops.
- 1
As a first game to learn the mechanics, I'd probably choose Canada. It's a decent size without being overwhelming as some majors could be. It's also protected from aggressors so if you mess something up your home territory will still be OK as you rebuild.