Plane/Tank/Ship design suggestions?

[SHIWUBLAK]

Ok so after the No Step Back and By Blood Alone I m not getting used to these new design stuff I couldn't build a navy I was just stealing navies of Uk and France. After those Dlcs I stuck just like in the navy how do I understand which design is the best and how do I design it to create a stronger army?

 

[marcelo r. r.]

For the tanks and planes i give up, i just try mimic the pre-BBA models utilizing designers.(thanks theres a wiki page with the models list).

For naval is a entire diferent history, because along with the introduction of naval design, they did a deep rework. Must read wiki page and forum discussions about it.

 

[PorkchopSandwiches247]

As I understand it (and someone feel free to jump in if need be), it goes something like this…

Fighter planes - max out defense, then max out attack. Agility/speed matters, but not as much as those other stats
CAS - max ground attack. Although there is a gimmick where you can make ‘fake’ CAS that function as fighters with the middle doctrine.
Bombers - max bombing.

For Navy:
Carriers - get at least 4, max the number of planes possible on them via modules/designers
Capital Ships - refit any starting ones if possible, using designer to give them speed or damage. Refits are cheap as long as you dont change out heavy turrets, engine, or armor. So give them secondary turrets and anti air. Also upgrade their targeting computer module in the process. Naval bombers go after capitals first, so make them function as floating anti air platforms
Heavy Cruisers - supposed the ideal super design is to get 2 lvl 1 heavy turrets, then max out secondary turrets. With screening bonus, they do a ton of damage
Light Cruisers - max out light attack
Destroyers - max out speed, they function as your meat shield. Supposedly a patch will make torpedo hit chance better, so maybe torpedos are worth considering

For tanks:
Too complex honestly. Also extremely dependent if on if youre playing singleplayer or multiplayer, and the rules youre working with. The general idea is to make sure your divisions are unpiercable, have around 8+ speed, and do a lot of damage while not being stupidly expensive
A very strong gimmick in single player is to create relatively cheap medium tanks, and put just one in a primarily infantry/artillery division which allows them to not be pierced by the AI while piercing anything the AI can bring to the table. Strong enough that its banned in MP generally.
Medium tanks are almost always the way to go, although there are some gimmicks you can use with Light tanks. Heavy tanks are trash other than their buggy inter-war version, way too expensive. Light tank variants like SPG and Tank Destroyers are very cheap, so you can work with that if you feel like getting creative.

 

[Happy Trigger]

As I understand it (and someone feel free to jump in if need be), it goes something like this…

Fighter planes - max out defense, then max out attack. Agility/speed matters, but not as much as those other stats
CAS - max ground attack. Although there is a gimmick where you can make ‘fake’ CAS that function as fighters with the middle doctrine.
Bombers - max bombing.

For Navy:
Carriers - get at least 4, max the number of planes possible on them via modules/designers
Capital Ships - refit any starting ones if possible, using designer to give them speed or damage. Refits are cheap as long as you dont change out heavy turrets, engine, or armor. So give them secondary turrets and anti air. Also upgrade their targeting computer module in the process. Naval bombers go after capitals first, so make them function as floating anti air platforms
Heavy Cruisers - supposed the ideal super design is to get 2 lvl 1 heavy turrets, then max out secondary turrets. With screening bonus, they do a ton of damage
Light Cruisers - max out light attack
Destroyers - max out speed, they function as your meat shield. Supposedly a patch will make torpedo hit chance better, so maybe torpedos are worth considering

For tanks:
Too complex honestly. Also extremely dependent if on if youre playing singleplayer or multiplayer, and the rules youre working with. The general idea is to make sure your divisions are unpiercable, have around 8+ speed, and do a lot of damage while not being stupidly expensive
A very strong gimmick in single player is to create relatively cheap medium tanks, and put just one in a primarily infantry/artillery division which allows them to not be pierced by the AI while piercing anything the AI can bring to the table. Strong enough that its banned in MP generally.
Medium tanks are almost always the way to go, although there are some gimmicks you can use with Light tanks. Heavy tanks are trash other than their buggy inter-war version, way too expensive. Light tank variants like SPG and Tank Destroyers are very cheap, so you can work with that if you feel like getting creative.

These said "meta" things will just make you expend IC in things that aren't necessary. They are a guide, not a unbreakable rule.

Air:
In small airframes, you want to conserve speed and agility as you add your modules, taking care to not rise the IC/resource cost of the aircraft too much, because these are the aircraft that you'll lost the most. Air defense is important, but you don't need to max it out; while any air attack above the enemy air defense is wasted IC. So balanced designs are key. Sometimes is better to not max a single atribute, like ground attack, but make it cheap, so you can field 2 aircrafts with reasonable ground attack, than a single one that you'll lose against enemy AA.

To medium airframes, its important to care about what kind of mission your plane is gonna execute. Try to make them as specialized as possible, so you can produce them at reasonable IC costs. Quantity over quality.

While heavy airframes, for their high cost, its better to always stack as much modules as the engines allow it to carry. Quality over quantity.

Navy:
There are hundreds of YouTube videos teaching how to design it. What you need to keep in mind, is what strategy are you gonna use. Are you gonna make a single force to annihilate your enemy, or are you gonna spread your forces in multiple convoy raiders? Maybe a mix of both? Each kind of strategy requires ships specialized to the task. You need to think ahead, to be able to design them the way you need them to do their job.

Tanks:
I agree with you. It's definitely very complex. Though, the same way of thought to the navy, works here. Think ahead, build wisely. And don't lose your cool over making your tanks unpierceable (the game has partial piercing stats for a reason). Numbers are a quality on its on. Make them with a reasonable IC, and you'll be fine.

 

[WalterOlivos]

While probably not perfect min max ultra mp meta, these two guides someone made on steam are the best ones i've found

Steam Community :: Guide :: The Ultimate Guide to Division Templates, Aircraft and Tank Designs (Updated 10-03-2024)

Click here for the Navy Guide! Creating divisions is one of the most important aspects of Hearts of Iron IV. In this guide, you’ll be shown what division templates are be...

steamcommunity.com

Steam Community :: Guide :: The Ultimate Guide to Navy; Ship Templates and Fleet Composition (Updated 05-12-2023)

This guide will show you how to use your navy properly. In addition, ship templates are provided to make using your navy as simple as possible!...

steamcommunity.com