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Nations Focus trees by country
Spain: Complete Focus Tree Guide
From the coup to Mediterranean power: the optimal route, key decisions and mistakes that will cost you the game.
FILE NO. 002 — GERMANY
Germany: Fast Anschluss and Rearmament
How to reach 1939 with your industry and doctrine ready, without depending on the historical script.
FILE NO. 006 — USSR
USSR: Recovering From the Purges and Unlocking Your Potential
How to survive the weak early game and make the most of the biggest manpower and industry potential in the game.
FILE NO. 007 — ITALY
Italy: Choosing Your Wars Wisely
How to turn a weak industry into a Mediterranean power without opening more fronts than you can sustain.
FILE NO. 008 — JAPAN
Japan: Getting Out of the China Quagmire
How to close out the Chinese front as soon as possible and calmly decide between expanding north or south.
FILE NO. 009 — UNITED KINGDOM
United Kingdom: Preparing the Empire Before the Storm
How to manage a scattered empire and balance the Navy and army before France falls.
FILE NO. 013 — FRANCE
France: Avoiding the 1940 Collapse
The Maginot Line, mobile reserves and the alliance with the UK: how not to repeat the six weeks of 1940.
FILE NO. 014 — UNITED STATES
United States: Breaking Out of Isolationism
The biggest industrial potential in the game, if you know how to manage the shift from isolationism to intervention.
FILE NO. 015 — POLAND
Poland: The Shortest Clock in the Game
Caught between Germany and the USSR: how to hold out longer than history did.
FILE NO. 016 — CHINA
China: Unifying the Country to Resist
Warlords, communists and the war against Japan: how to unify before attrition becomes too much.
FILE NO. 041 — FINLAND
Finland: The Terrain as a Weapon
How to hold off the USSR by using the forest, the cold and morale instead of brute force.
FILE NO. 042 — YUGOSLAVIA
Yugoslavia: Internal Unity Above All
How to manage internal tensions before the Axis decides the rest for you.
FILE NO. 043 — CANADA
Canada: The Empire's Silent Arsenal
How to supply industry and manpower to the UK while gaining your own autonomy along the way.
FILE NO. 044 — AUSTRALIA
Australia: Far From Europe, Close to Japan
How to prepare the Pacific defense while still contributing to the British war effort in Europe.
FILE NO. 045 — COMMUNIST CHINA
Communist China: Surviving on Two Fronts
Squeezed between Japan and the Nationalists: how to survive first and win later, with almost no industry.
FILE NO. 046 — INDIA
India: The Empire's Greatest Manpower
How to make the most of the largest industrial and manpower potential in the British Empire.
FILE NO. 047 — TURKEY
Turkey: Master of the Bosphorus
How to profit from controlling the Bosphorus strait without getting dragged into either side.
FILE NO. 048 — GREECE
Greece: The Resistance That Surprised the Axis
How to use the mountainous terrain to stop Italy and Germany, just like the real Greece did.
FILE NO. 049 — HUNGARY
Hungary: Reclaiming What Trianon Took
How to reclaim revisionist territory without ending up completely dragged along by Germany.
FILE NO. 050 — ROMANIA
Romania: The Oil Everyone Wants
How to protect your Ploiești oil fields and pick the right moment to switch sides.
FILE NO. 051 — BULGARIA
Bulgaria: The Balkan Tightrope Walker
How to reclaim territory in the Balkans without dragging yourself into a war with the USSR.
FILE NO. 052 — SWEDEN
Sweden: Armed Neutrality
How to maintain armed neutrality, or take the step toward intervention at just the right moment.
FILE NO. 053 — MEXICO
Mexico: Between Neutrality and the Good Neighbor
How to make the most of being close to the United States and build up national industry without rushing.
FILE NO. 054 — PORTUGAL
Portugal: The Neutral Atlantic Empire
How to make the most of the Atlantic position and colonial empire without getting dragged into the war.
Game Mechanics How the game actually works
How Military Production Actually Works
Civilian vs. military factories, production efficiency, and the 7 strategic resources explained without jargon.
FILE NO. 004 — COMBATCombat Width and Division Templates
The mechanic that confuses newcomers the most: what combat width is, and two templates that always work.
FILE NO. 010 — TECHNOLOGYResearch and Technology: What to Prioritize
Research slots, the cost of getting ahead of your time, and how to decide what to research first.
FILE NO. 011 — DIPLOMACYDiplomacy and Factions: How Not to Go to War Alone
Factions, guarantees, non-aggression pacts and world tension, explained so you don't enter the war isolated.
FILE NO. 017 — DOCTRINECombat Doctrines: Which One to Pick and Why
Mobile Warfare, Superior Firepower, Mass Assault and Grand Battle Plan, explained without jargon.
FILE NO. 018 — NAVALNaval Warfare: Fleets, Convoys and Submarines
Fleet composition, convoy protection, and why submarines are so dangerous to unescorted ships.
FILE NO. 019 — AIRAir Warfare: Air Superiority, CAS and Bombing
Why almost everything in the air war depends on securing air superiority over the front first.
FILE NO. 020 — COMMANDMilitary Command: Generals and Field Marshals
Command traits, command capacity, and how to organize your command tree without losing performance along the way.
FILE NO. 038 — INTELLIGENCEIntelligence Agency: Espionage and Counter-Espionage
Espionage operations, code-breaking, and how to defend yourself against enemy agents.
FILE NO. 039 — TRADEResource Trade: How to Cover Your Shortfalls
How to buy the resources you're missing, who to trade with, and what happens when the supply gets cut off.
FILE NO. 040 — SELF-SUFFICIENCYHow to Make Your Nation as Self-Sufficient as Possible
Synthetic refineries, resource extraction, and when chasing autarky just isn't worth it.
DLCs & Expansions What to buy and in what order
Which HOI4 DLC to Buy First
Every major expansion and country pack explained, and which one to start with depending on the nation you want to play.
FILE NO. 012 — DLCs
What's New in Thunder at Our Gates
The newest Theater Pack: Australia, Siam, Indonesia, Army General Headquarters, and ship captains.
FILE NO. 021 — DLCs
La Résistance: Espionage and Occupation
Espionage, resistance support and collaborationist governments — the expansion that overhauled France and expanded Spain.
FILE NO. 022 — DLCs
No Step Back: The Eastern Front in Detail
Officer corps, army spirits and the tank designer — the USSR and Poland completely overhauled.
FILE NO. 023 — DLCs
By Blood Alone: War in the Air and at the Peace Table
The plane designer and peace conferences — Italy overhauled with much greater depth.
FILE NO. 024 — DLCs
Arms Against Tyranny: Industry as a Diplomatic Weapon
Military Industrial Organizations and the international arms market — the Nordic countries enter the game.
FILE NO. 025 — DLCs
Götterdämmerung: The Definitive Germany
Special projects (nuclear weapons, rockets) and Germany's focus tree rewritten from scratch.
FILE NO. 026 — DLCs
No Compromise, No Surrender: The Pacific War, For Real
Aircraft carriers, new doctrines and an expanded faction system — Japan and China with overhauled trees.
FILE NO. 027 — DLCs
Graveyard of Empires: Central Asia on the Map
India, Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan get their own focus trees centered on regional resistance.
FILE NO. 028 — DLCs
Trial of Allegiance: South America Enters the War
Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay get their own focus trees.
FILE NO. 029 — DLCs
Battle for the Bosporus: The Balkans and the Strait
Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey get their own focus trees in a region key to the Mediterranean.
FILE NO. 030 — DLCs
Peace for Our Time: Czechoslovakia Says No
An alternate focus tree for Czechoslovakia that stands up to Germany at the Munich Conference.
FILE NO. 031 — DLCs
Man the Guns: The Ship Designer
The ship designer, governments in exile, and naval treaties — now integrated free into the base game.
FILE NO. 032 — DLCs
Waking the Tiger: China Enters the Game
The first focus trees for Nationalist and Communist China — now integrated free into the base game.
FILE NO. 033 — DLCs
Death or Dishonor: The Eastern Europe Nobody Played
Hungary, Romania, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia — now integrated free into the base game.
FILE NO. 034 — DLCs
Together for Victory: The Weight of the British Empire
Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India and South Africa, plus the autonomy system — now integrated free.
FILE NO. 035 — DLCsPoland: United and Ready — Poland's First Tree
Poland's first focus tree, now surpassed by No Step Back but integrated free into the base game.