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Hearts of Iron IV Tank Guide
Butcher79
As part of Hearts of Iron IV, the tank is a versatile unit that can move quickly and deal serious damage to the enemy. Many players use the basic 7v2 pattern as a universal pattern for attack and defense, but this is not quite the right solution, especially for multiplayer games.
What tanks are generally in the game?
The following types of tanks are available in HOI4: light, medium, heavy and super-heavy, naval (with the "Man of the guns" DLC).
Let's talk about lungs: why are they needed, where to use, what template to collect.
Light tank - it is relevant only in the early stages of the game, when other types of tanks are not available. He is able to move quickly and deal damage to early enemy infantry. On the plus side, a light tank is cheap to produce, has a high speed, and can be used effectively without a doctrine. Well, from the minuses - low armor penetration and armor (breaks through with anti-aircraft guns), begins to yield in terms of characteristics to other types of tanks after the early stages of the game. Where can be used? In the Spanish Civil War, in the capture of European minors in the early stages of the game.
Now about medium tanks:
The medium tank is the golden mean, in which armor and movement speed smoothly balance. Having an average armor penetration, it is able to overcome all variants of light tanks. Accordingly, its advantages: high speed (twice the speed of infantry), armor (several times greater than the armor of light tanks), a good attack that can penetrate a heavy tank of 41 years (if you have 41-43), low production cost (if we compare with heavy tanks). Of the minuses, it can be noted: it breaks through with anti-tank weapons, is inferior in characteristics to heavy tanks, in any tank battle it loses up to 10% of the material base (tanks in a division), it requires a large amount of tungsten.
About heavy tanks:
The heavy tank is an armored monster that has the highest anti-personnel and anti-tank attack stats, balancing with a large amount of breakthrough. Pros: high armor and armor penetration, invulnerable to anti-aircraft defense and anti-aircraft defense, capable of destroying any enemy fortifications and breaking through large concentrations of infantry. Cons: high production cost, low speed compared to other types of tanks, requires a lot of chromium.
Super heavy tanks:
A super-heavy tank is a versatile and the most powerful fighter, but it is unprofitable in production, so it’s not worth writing about it.
Marine tanks:
Amphibious tank - on the plus side, it can be noted that it does not have large debuffs when attacking across the river and landing from the sea. And of the minuses: low armor and armor penetration, even compared to light tanks, are little used by players.
Combinations
What should tanks be combined with?
Basically, tank divisions are equipped with motorized and mechanized infantry, as they outperform infantry in speed and add strength and organization to tanks, but this also has its pluses and minuses.
What about motorized infantry?
It has low production cost, high speed, strength and organization. Well, now about the cons: it has no armor at all. Larger proportion of infantry compared to mechanized. We recommend putting them in the template for light tanks (you can use them for all, if you didn’t have time to optimize the industry for the production of armored personnel carriers, that is, mechanized infantry).
So, what about mechanized?
It has armor and armor penetration (if we equip tank divisions with them, this increases the overall armor value in the template). Of the minuses: the speed is lower than motorized (6 to 12), it is 3,5 times more expensive to manufacture. It is recommended to put medium and heavy tanks in the template.
And the usual infantry is possible?
Yes, you can, but then the division completely loses the speed parameter. Because the speed value in the template is determined by the speed of the slowest unit. I recommend to put to heavy tanks, and you will not need to spend production on motors. BUT!!! Such a template is much inferior in performance to the same template with motorized or mechanized infantry.
Auxiliary equipment
Still tanks are mandatorily equipped with auxiliary vehicles, namely: self-propelled guns, tank destroyers, SPAAGs. About each individually:
SAA - infantry killer, has a high value of anti-personnel attack, but a small value of anti-tank, greatly reduces the value of armor and armor penetration in the template. We recommend using it on a narrow front in places where infantry and fortifications are concentrated. Self-propelled guns should be used only when you know that the enemy does not have tank divisions, since anti-tank attack decides most of all in battle, and self-propelled guns only reduce it.
SAA - infantry killer, has a high value of anti-personnel attack, but a small value of anti-tank, greatly reduces the value of armor and armor penetration in the template. We recommend using it on a narrow front in places where infantry and fortifications are concentrated. Self-propelled guns should be used only when you know that the enemy does not have tank divisions, since anti-tank attack decides most of all in battle, and self-propelled guns only reduce it.
\PT-ACS - has high armor penetration and increases its value in the division. We recommend using it against the enemy in a defensive war, it can be effectively combined with infantry (France is written below)
And if you put a tank destroyer in an infantry division?
Thanks to this, you can increase the armor penetration value of a division, which will allow you to penetrate the armor of an enemy division (if the enemy tanks were not upgraded to armor for military experience).
The Armed Forces - outperforms conventional air defense, completely covers the debuff for enemy air superiority. Provides cover for tanks from enemy attack aircraft. Two ZSU in a tank division will be enough to completely block the debuff from enemy aircraft.
Pluses on the left - what is this for?
These are additional equipment companies, here we can talk about some: artillery support, repair company, field hospital, air defense support (if you didn’t build ZSU), support company, sapper company:
- Artillery support - increases anti-personnel attack
- Repair company - increases the reliability of tanks
- Field hospital - compensates for losses and saves the experience of the division
- Air defense support - goes in addition to the ZSU and increases air attack, protects against enemy attack aircraft
- Support company - since tanks have a high consumption of supplies and cannot always be effectively supplied under conditions of a breakthrough, the support company will reduce the consumption of supplies in a tank division.
- Sapper company - increases the value of the defense and fortification of the division.
What templates to collect?
Ideal Templates:
Some conventions on game mechanics
If you are an experienced player and often participate in multiplayer games, then you need to know the features of tank warfare:
Tanks in your army are the main strike force, so it should be endowed with maximum advantages over the enemy. One of these you can get with the help of a bonus from the battleplan (planning), it is he who will give you a buff in the range of 40% - 50%. I also recommend training tanks to regulars, because this level of training gives a buff of 25% (it is not always possible to do this, but it is recommended).
+If you have an adviser for tanks, then be sure to put it on (for example, Germany and the USSR have such advisers).
Terrain - is an important component of the tank game. You should not attack them into the mountains, because there is a strong exhaustion, large debuffs are also applied to the attack parameter. You don't need to attack across the rivers (unless, of course, you have a general on bridges), because there is also a debuff to the attack (and the enemy general can knock you out during a retaliatory attack). If there is a forest in front of you, then you can attack it, but under the following conditions: only infantry is standing (there are no enemy tanks), attack from several sides with a buff from the battleplan (planning gives a bonus to attack). Never attack swamps, there is also a lot of attrition and the attack parameter is cut very much. Now let's just talk about protection. It's not a good idea to leave tanks on the plains ahead of time, as they have very little defense in the area and enemy tanks don't get the attack debuff. Even if the plain is protected by a river, it's still not worth the risk. Did you take over the forest? Tanks have a 50% defense buff there. What about the hills? You can attack under the buff from the plan, without it you should not attack. Standing there is risky, but sometimes worth it (depending on the situation).
Day Night - if you attack at night, then a -50% attack debuff is applied to your tanks, so this idea is dangerous. Even on the plains, you can take heavy casualties when attacking.
Tanks in your army are the main strike force, so it should be endowed with maximum advantages over the enemy. One of these you can get with the help of a bonus from the battleplan (planning), it is he who will give you a buff in the range of 40% - 50%. I also recommend training tanks to regulars, because this level of training gives a buff of 25% (it is not always possible to do this, but it is recommended).
+If you have an adviser for tanks, then be sure to put it on (for example, Germany and the USSR have such advisers).
Terrain - is an important component of the tank game. You should not attack them into the mountains, because there is a strong exhaustion, large debuffs are also applied to the attack parameter. You don't need to attack across the rivers (unless, of course, you have a general on bridges), because there is also a debuff to the attack (and the enemy general can knock you out during a retaliatory attack). If there is a forest in front of you, then you can attack it, but under the following conditions: only infantry is standing (there are no enemy tanks), attack from several sides with a buff from the battleplan (planning gives a bonus to attack). Never attack swamps, there is also a lot of attrition and the attack parameter is cut very much. Now let's just talk about protection. It's not a good idea to leave tanks on the plains ahead of time, as they have very little defense in the area and enemy tanks don't get the attack debuff. Even if the plain is protected by a river, it's still not worth the risk. Did you take over the forest? Tanks have a 50% defense buff there. What about the hills? You can attack under the buff from the plan, without it you should not attack. Standing there is risky, but sometimes worth it (depending on the situation).
Day Night - if you attack at night, then a -50% attack debuff is applied to your tanks, so this idea is dangerous. Even on the plains, you can take heavy casualties when attacking.
Credit: VK group
I hope this guide was helpful to you. Good luck in the game!
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