Woops! I forgot to add the offensive infantry template! Use 14 infantry batallions and 4 artillery batallions, add support artillery, engineers and support Anti-Air! Check out my Template video in the description for my information! Welcome to the Suffering! :_belgium:
Just downloaded HOI4. Was so overwhelmed with all the stuff on the interface. Doesnt help that the in game tutorial is dogshit. This helped alot cheers.
@@Winrarnt tbh i think the eu4 tutorial is shit, the first couple games i played after the tutorial i got crushed trying to do what they show you. then i watched some youtube videos and it was like night and day
@@christopher0261 hotline miami is fun to play for an hour. After that you have seen everything and theres no point in continuing unless you want to beat your scores. This game i have 500 hours with and still have not seen everything it has to offer plus i dont even know all the ways to be a powerful nation.
@@chasesmith9398good game doesn’t equal lots of content. I personally love hoi4, but I also feel the pain of needing to spend hours upon hours to get into it. It is fun but time consuming. I also don’t know why I’m defending a game I’ve never played(hotline Miami)
@@dragondotorg7323I have less than 4 hours right now. Really debating whether or not to give up or keep learning. I really like the setting and keep giving the game more chances but I'm getting really frustrated and overwhelmed when I play.
1:05:09 A tip for new players about paratroopers: If you've built some paratroopers, you also need to build transport planes to paradrop them to a specific area. If you're playing as Germany and want to knock out France with as little damage as possible, assign paratroop orders to Paris and its surrounding victory points. They will instantly capitulate.
@@royaldouche9669 It's a common and well known strategy actually. France has a national spirit that reduces their surrender limit tremendously.. That's why they're so easy to beat.
@@erhansolhan9564 i just have another question, im a new gamer into HOI4, and every time i attack poland, i immediatly grt retaliated by france, and they push me hard from the magnilot line, any tips how to deal with that?
@@royaldouche9669 Just park 24 normal infantry divisions to the border of France and they don't even need to be fully trained. French AI never attacks through maginot unless they feel they can break through your defenses. They almost always hide behind the maginot, just because of its "safety". Also, AI likes to bomb your infrastructure, factories and forts. Just assign 100 fighters seperately in each air region of Germany and assign them to Interception mission. That way, they'll only defend the air when they saw a threat and you won't burn down your fuel reserves for nothing. Also, never attack the maginot. The only way to break through it is lots of bombers and medium/heavy tank divisions.
Extremely interesting game but the learning curve is an absolute wall for someone with no strategy game knowledge but this is an incredibly good guide for beginners like me
Even with strat game knowledge and having watched many many videos before I failed horribly my first run. I did go with trying to resurrect the kaiserreich
If you're new to strategy gaming in general I really just can't help but to recommend some absolute masterpieces that are alot easier to learn and can help you get to grips with any strategy game in general. -Company of Heroes 2 - Great mechanics for smaller scale but more managed land battles to scratch that brutal, "boots on the ground" WW2 action itch, has some really immersive effects and terrain destruction as battles rage -Stellaris - A 4X galactic-scale game by Paradox that is in my opinion easier to learn than HOI 4 and you can do some pretty wacky stuff in it, also has an absolutely killer soundtrack -Halo Wars - Very simplified RTS game, can learn within a few minutes and has some great Halo universe action -Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War 1 - Probably the greatest RTS game of all time. A bit more complex than Halo Wars but is stupidly fun, especially if you are into 40k (is also a REALLY good game if you're interested to start learning about the universe and tone of 40k) -Star Wars: Empire at War - My first and all time favorite strategy game, some of the coolest looking space battles you'll ever see in a video game, ESPECIALLY with mods
Even with mine 1.370 hours of experience in this game, You Sir Bitter Steel; have done quite an impressive tutorial that emphasizes the very essence of this great strategy title. I shall say it - i did not knew that field marshals were able to put every unit under the same banner (or colour) despite of the many generals in the command group.
Thanks so much for this. Just picked up HoI and have definately been feeling overwhelmed by the Paradox-ness of it. I feel that you've done a great job explaining the basics, let's see if my terrible play improves as a result!
This game and CK are very overwhelming but so fun even if things don’t go to plan. It’s interesting that in CK, it’s advised to find a small quiet kingdom to start and HOI4 its best to start as the big dog. This guide is super helpful to getting me out of the “dicking around” stage.
The fact it took this long to explain just the basics of the game shows that developers really thought of the mechanics and the way the player will play
This is the most complex game I have ever played but damn its addictive. like 20 games later there are still so many questions. This guide was great thank you!
Honestly this couldnt be more of a perfect timing, got hoi4 a few weeks ago and I still havent gotten used to all the stuff. This helped a lot, thanks Bitter!
I’ve had it for like 4 months and never touched it as eu4 was my go to game 😂 it’s a hard game to get into but I have like 50 hours which is very very very low but noticing how fun the game can be
@@moymo6125 I know right, the UK can be so annoying with their infinite naval invasions, gotta have like 30divisions on ports alone. And then Italy being so incompetent as to not garrison their ports.
Great video but I feel you undersell Recon a little bit, the increased speed bonus of 10% allows you to overrun and therefore destroy enemy units much more easily. Also, recon allows you the chance of picking better tactics in battle, which can be up to like 30-40% increased stats for your units depending on how lucky you are for that day of battle. This can be seriously huge when attempting tank breakthroughs combining those two advantages. Also, I find field hospitals useful even on countries that have large manpower bases purely for preventing XP loss, all the high manpower countries lean heavily into infantry, and keeping the infantry from becoming recruits is a huge advantage.
I have 400+ hours on EU4 and still very very fond of the game. I want to try out HOI4 because it’s massively multiplayer I heard so forming alliances and waging war on real people is so much more interesting so thank you for this in-depth and helpful tutorial. Can wait for Victoriano 3 either - best time era we have been through so far
I've had this game for two years and have NEVER been able to play it (well enough to enjoy it). I've watch several beginners guides and they all leave something important out but also they all add something important not previously explained by others. Yours probably did that too, I won't know what until I play again. Your naval tactics advice was very helpful. I reckon after a few more beginners tutorials over the next couple of years I'll have enough knowledge to actually enjoy the game. I think what I would find really helpful is a "let's play" campaign (no DLC) with detailed commentary (Assume that the beginners guide has been watched first so you don't end up just repeating everything). If you ever have the time and inclination to make such a video (series) I think it would be a great success for you. In the meantime thanks for posting, this it was helpful.
That's interesting since I've played many other Paradox Games and never had this much trouble getting into them (of course there are tips and tricks you learn along the way) yet this game was extremely hard to play.
I watched this right after buying HoI4. I've played HoI 2: Darkest Hour already, but many concepcts in HoI 4 are completely new to me. This tutorial helped me to understand them without any confusion. It's very clear, down to the point. Thank you for this.
Thanks for the great tutorial! I thought to wing this, being a veteran CK and EU player with a few hundred hours of Vic but got hopelessly lost. This guide helped me find my way. Great work!
Ah yes the paradox games, which have sh!t tutorials and because of that requires you watching hours and hours long tutorials just to get destroyed by some random small country until you sink your thousands of hours. Yeh it is fun (this is a cry for help)
I usually get to grips with these games within 2/3 hours but HOI has me stumped lol. 5 hours and I still don't really know what I'm doing. There's a lot to learn. But it's a necessary evil. If you want an in-depth realistic strategy game then there has to be a steep learning curve.
@@unimportant719 I think that HOI4 is probably the best game I've ever played, so I definitely wouldn't agree with the "extremely stupid" part lol. It can be overwhelming when you first play but it's worth putting in the time and effort because the game itself is so much fun. And addictive as hell.
My one day off of work...I will spend it trying to learn this game I've owned for ~3 years (again.) Fantastic video btw. This game is quite overwhelming to "smooth-brains" like myself even without the DLC. Wonderfully explained.
Amazing tutorial i have been stuck the eintire time in hoi4 because everything is complicated. I thought i knew a fair share of things but this video proved me wrong, thanks for making my purchase of hoi4 worth it.
I actually had an interesting way of learning more about the game and that was by playing Minors and watching what happens with other nations to try to figure out what the hell I was supposed to be doing. I also enjoy getting more into the navy stuff since, as my girlfriend has so eloquently put it, I am a boat girl. All in all, great video especially since looking at all of the menus made my head start to hurt. I came from Stellaris which is a lot more manageable when it comes to UI so this helps a lot. Thank you!
Thanks for this,i bought hearts of iron on sale and was confounded even by the italian tutorial,the way you laid things out has given me a foundation to build up on.
I played the tutorial, spent FOUR YEARS trying to take the Ethiopian heartland as Italy (it was literally a LINE on the map for most of that time). Hitler asked me if I wanted to go to war with basically the entire world and I was like, dang, why not? The whole game up until that point consisted of Me trying my darndest to maximize my armies' chances in Ethiopia and conquer it. Not like I'm going to get anywhere good anytime this decade. And then, I watched France invade and conquer the entire Italian mainland uncontested (withdrew all but one army there, and declared war before realizing I had posted them on the Yugoslav side of the Alps). before an even swifter Germany swept down and liberated it, all in like a month lol. The UK nommed Libya since I had withdrawn both battalions there in a desperate ploy to create a breakthrough, and then surrounded my armies in Ethiopia. Luckily (?) I had been seeding a coup in Ethiopia after I realized it was basically impossible to win at that point, so Ethiopia split in half and paused the British advance.
When you are a beginner 14-4 template is Nice because you can just draw Arrow and go vroom However, as you learn the game, 10-0 with engi and arti to hold the line + 40w tanks to push is much better
Thank you, thank you, your a god sent! this really helped, I tried to play and got confused and saw other people teach new people how to play and they said Italy was the easy to play for a beginner and I did and got mad. so 2 years later I saw a video and said "hm why not try to learn" and I bumped into your video and helped a lot
got this game yesterday (a sunday) and already have 14.5 hours on it. thanks for the tutorial because i basically didnt know what was happening in the tutorial because i was just focusing on clapping ethiopia. and then i played a real match vs AI and i got so confused on how i was supposed to invade japan but i understand now :)
I love this video. I tried getting started playing when it was just vanilla but it was very overwhelming then. I love how you say how some things are completely irrelevant for new players. I think a lot of people get caught up in trying to be Erwin Rommel or Rundsted all in one day. Then they get lost in all the options and feel like they have no idea what they are doing. It's probably true but it reminds me of the motto:"When you fail in life, strive to fail harder next time". After the video I tried my hand at playing Germany. I got a bit cocky and caught myself overburdoned with trying to actually "vin the varrr", reading Raeders vision for what the German Navy should be doing. Then I thought about your video again and realized I should just learn to play the game and not try anything too complicated maybe. I have a question though: When you say build military factories 1 year before the war, do you mean one year before the big war with a major power or any war? In my first try I had to conquer Austria when they refused "Anschluss".
When you send guns/weapons to another country, in real life you send "military advisors" along with those guns/weapons to teach the new owners how to use them and they send back home reports with info on how they actual worked or not on the battlefield (i.e. more army experience for your military).
This really helped me as I got the game just a few days ago. Once I watched just half of the video I was able to take over half the world as Germany by 1940.
Really nice guide Bitt3rSteel -- think I'll make another attempt at learning this game. PS - no worries on the dog, have 3 here so it was normal background for me :)
So glad this exists. Coming eu4 I thought I'd be able to at least get the basics down, but nope. Maybe that's just me but boy howdy am I happy I found this
All i get from these guides is: 1. Spam divisions 2. Frick technology and better equipment 3. Frick tanks, artillery, anti tank, anti air 4. Frick last stand (which i dont know how to use) 5. Somehow dont lose
I’ve been trying to give this game a fair chance for a while, but couldn’t figure out how half the things worked. Thanks, think I’m ready for an actual game now.
Its a shame my autism will never allow me to fully understand and enjoy this game. I really wanna give it my best shot. I know if I can get a hang of it that it'll be extremely fun and enjoyable. But strategy has always been my downfall. Micromanaging is extremely difficult. And numbers scramble my brain like fighter planes during an invasion. I will attempt to do my best despite all of this. I am determined to have fun and do well on this game! Thanks man. Im sure ill keep coming back to this video numerous times. Thanks man!
I have almost 300 in-game hours and I have been playing this game for 2 years. I will watch this tutorial religiously since most people won’t take the time to teach me. ^^
Not sure I'd recommend a 40 width light tank division as you'd have to spend a lot of experience creating it and some more just to replace it if you wanted medium tanks, plus they'd consume a lot of fuel and 20 width tank divisons generally do fine.
This game is very intimidating with all of the buttons and menus…your guide was great for breaking it down simple. Starting my invasion of Poland now cheers!
I have to admit you make the very confusing interface so much easier to understand I had to give up on crusader kings because of how confusing that was for me. if i ever know someone that wants to get into hoi4 I know who to show them.
Long time stellaris fan, bought this and CK3 together during a sale some time ago. Idk how I got good at stellaris, and CK3 was painful. But this game... I have turned it on dozens of times and only unpaused it once, I just get overwhelmed with the mechanics and decide to come back later. It's been over a month of that, no closer to actually starting a game. That being said, thanks for the lecture. I'm going to be coming back to this video often
Have 1000+ logged and still learned something’s. Great video. I like playing Italy 🇮🇹 a lot. Would love it if you came out with a similar video for that nation.
I bought the game a long time ago and tried to play but gave up quickly because of how overwhelmed I was. But now, thanks to your video, I now have the motivation to go back to it!!
Thank you for this tutorial just picked up HOI4 today! I tried the tutorial and it taught me nothing it was kinda ass, but you’re helped me understand a good amount, though it’s still really confusing! The game is very laggy for me so it sucks! I’m planning to get a better pc soon though. Thanks a lot again though!
Woops! I forgot to add the offensive infantry template! Use 14 infantry batallions and 4 artillery batallions, add support artillery, engineers and support Anti-Air! Check out my Template video in the description for my information!
Welcome to the Suffering! :_belgium:
You mean 14 infantry battalions?
Suffering seems to be nre bittersteel motto
The famous 1-4 template. 😅
Big boomers
@@Bitt3rSteel pin your comment cuz I found it at the bottom 😅
Just downloaded HOI4. Was so overwhelmed with all the stuff on the interface. Doesnt help that the in game tutorial is dogshit. This helped alot cheers.
It's a great game once you come to grips with it.
Same. This was great.
I legitimately don't get how the eu4 tutorial was pretty good and then the hoi4 tutorial was shit.
@@Winrarnt tbh i think the eu4 tutorial is shit, the first couple games i played after the tutorial i got crushed trying to do what they show you. then i watched some youtube videos and it was like night and day
I feel it, I just started playing and I keep getting farther each time but, it is a lot.
everybody with a lot of hours in hoi4: interesting
me with 0 hours of hoi4, but 903783 hours of hoi4 videos: ultra-interesting
Did you ever get the game?
@@johngalt5166 yes
@@itsBonjo well I wasn’t asking you but that is still pretty cool lol.
Same
true
you know it's a good game when it takes you an hour to explain the basics
"basic guide"
No actually, just because its intricate and complex doesn’t make it good hotline Miami is an infinitly better game
@@christopher0261 hotline miami is fun to play for an hour. After that you have seen everything and theres no point in continuing unless you want to beat your scores. This game i have 500 hours with and still have not seen everything it has to offer plus i dont even know all the ways to be a powerful nation.
@@chasesmith9398good game doesn’t equal lots of content. I personally love hoi4, but I also feel the pain of needing to spend hours upon hours to get into it. It is fun but time consuming. I also don’t know why I’m defending a game I’ve never played(hotline Miami)
@@dragondotorg7323I have less than 4 hours right now. Really debating whether or not to give up or keep learning. I really like the setting and keep giving the game more chances but I'm getting really frustrated and overwhelmed when I play.
Me with 400+ hours: Hmmmm.... Interesting
Me with 1500+ hours: Hmmmm.... Still Interesting
me with 4000 hours: im sad
@@Sev7. are you sure you have a life m8?
What is life?
@@Bitt3rSteel yeah imagine having one right?
1:05:09 A tip for new players about paratroopers: If you've built some paratroopers, you also need to build transport planes to paradrop them to a specific area. If you're playing as Germany and want to knock out France with as little damage as possible, assign paratroop orders to Paris and its surrounding victory points. They will instantly capitulate.
Thank you !!
You helped this fallschirmjager. Danke
@@royaldouche9669 It's a common and well known strategy actually. France has a national spirit that reduces their surrender limit tremendously.. That's why they're so easy to beat.
@@erhansolhan9564 i just have another question, im a new gamer into HOI4, and every time i attack poland, i immediatly grt retaliated by france, and they push me hard from the magnilot line, any tips how to deal with that?
@@royaldouche9669 Just park 24 normal infantry divisions to the border of France and they don't even need to be fully trained. French AI never attacks through maginot unless they feel they can break through your defenses. They almost always hide behind the maginot, just because of its "safety". Also, AI likes to bomb your infrastructure, factories and forts. Just assign 100 fighters seperately in each air region of Germany and assign them to Interception mission. That way, they'll only defend the air when they saw a threat and you won't burn down your fuel reserves for nothing. Also, never attack the maginot. The only way to break through it is lots of bombers and medium/heavy tank divisions.
Extremely interesting game but the learning curve is an absolute wall for someone with no strategy game knowledge but this is an incredibly good guide for beginners like me
It's not a wall, it's more like a cliff.
Even with strat game knowledge and having watched many many videos before I failed horribly my first run. I did go with trying to resurrect the kaiserreich
If you're new to strategy gaming in general I really just can't help but to recommend some absolute masterpieces that are alot easier to learn and can help you get to grips with any strategy game in general.
-Company of Heroes 2 - Great mechanics for smaller scale but more managed land battles to scratch that brutal, "boots on the ground" WW2 action itch, has some really immersive effects and terrain destruction as battles rage
-Stellaris - A 4X galactic-scale game by Paradox that is in my opinion easier to learn than HOI 4 and you can do some pretty wacky stuff in it, also has an absolutely killer soundtrack
-Halo Wars - Very simplified RTS game, can learn within a few minutes and has some great Halo universe action
-Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War 1 - Probably the greatest RTS game of all time. A bit more complex than Halo Wars but is stupidly fun, especially if you are into 40k (is also a REALLY good game if you're interested to start learning about the universe and tone of 40k)
-Star Wars: Empire at War - My first and all time favorite strategy game, some of the coolest looking space battles you'll ever see in a video game, ESPECIALLY with mods
I've only ever played cod and I just downloaded this and it's literally like staring at rocket blue prints
@@metalkicker23 Same men🤣
Even with mine 1.370 hours of experience in this game, You Sir Bitter Steel; have done quite an impressive tutorial that emphasizes the very essence of this great strategy title. I shall say it - i did not knew that field marshals were able to put every unit under the same banner (or colour) despite of the many generals in the command group.
Thank you for the kind words, sir
69 likes
@@Bitt3rSteel hay yeah I had a similar problem with my 1500 hours but am horrible
Thanks so much for this. Just picked up HoI and have definately been feeling overwhelmed by the Paradox-ness of it. I feel that you've done a great job explaining the basics, let's see if my terrible play improves as a result!
Have fun!
This game and CK are very overwhelming but so fun even if things don’t go to plan. It’s interesting that in CK, it’s advised to find a small quiet kingdom to start and HOI4 its best to start as the big dog.
This guide is super helpful to getting me out of the “dicking around” stage.
I have around 300 hours in this game, but I'm still quite confused about a lot of it. Every single tutorial from a pro is VERY appreciated!
haha 600 here and same
First when i played i Lost to Belgium
@zenszkij same
@zenszkij HOW. Did they eat you up? XD
The fact it took this long to explain just the basics of the game shows that developers really thought of the mechanics and the way the player will play
or that they made very unintuitive styles of playing to confuse us all
@@GamesExposed nope, he is right, you are wrong or you are not that bright to figure out some simple stuff
@Cypher degetica
this game is actually very dumb and shallow.
This is the most complex game I have ever played but damn its addictive.
like 20 games later there are still so many questions.
This guide was great thank you!
The first times I played was fun. But I can never play without DLC's again.
i feel you
I feel ya, this is mostly for people just getting into the game
Encryption and decryption technology was something I had suppressed deep inside my mind
@@JS-iu3ce i loved seeing every division on the map when I was cheating for funsies
welcome to the times where Oppose Mustache Man doesn't exist
Honestly this couldnt be more of a perfect timing, got hoi4 a few weeks ago and I still havent gotten used to all the stuff. This helped a lot, thanks Bitter!
I’ve had it for like 4 months and never touched it as eu4 was my go to game 😂 it’s a hard game to get into but I have like 50 hours which is very very very low but noticing how fun the game can be
@@moymo6125 yeah, I have around 470h and I still manage to find new stuff that I previously had no idea existed.
@@guyfromfinland758 470 is still a lot to me 😂 I keep loosing to France and the UK
@@moymo6125 I know right, the UK can be so annoying with their infinite naval invasions, gotta have like 30divisions on ports alone. And then Italy being so incompetent as to not garrison their ports.
Great video but I feel you undersell Recon a little bit, the increased speed bonus of 10% allows you to overrun and therefore destroy enemy units much more easily. Also, recon allows you the chance of picking better tactics in battle, which can be up to like 30-40% increased stats for your units depending on how lucky you are for that day of battle. This can be seriously huge when attempting tank breakthroughs combining those two advantages. Also, I find field hospitals useful even on countries that have large manpower bases purely for preventing XP loss, all the high manpower countries lean heavily into infantry, and keeping the infantry from becoming recruits is a huge advantage.
I have 400+ hours on EU4 and still very very fond of the game. I want to try out HOI4 because it’s massively multiplayer I heard so forming alliances and waging war on real people is so much more interesting so thank you for this in-depth and helpful tutorial.
Can wait for Victoriano 3 either - best time era we have been through so far
I have just recently got the game and I've been watching many tutorials, this one is by far one of the best ones I've come across. great job
As someone who quit HOI 4 multiple times due to every guide having DLC with it, thank you for this!
You can pirate this game with all DLC so easily. Paradox are turbo k**es so it is okay
I've had this game for two years and have NEVER been able to play it (well enough to enjoy it). I've watch several beginners guides and they all leave something important out but also they all add something important not previously explained by others. Yours probably did that too, I won't know what until I play again. Your naval tactics advice was very helpful. I reckon after a few more beginners tutorials over the next couple of years I'll have enough knowledge to actually enjoy the game. I think what I would find really helpful is a "let's play" campaign (no DLC) with detailed commentary (Assume that the beginners guide has been watched first so you don't end up just repeating everything). If you ever have the time and inclination to make such a video (series) I think it would be a great success for you. In the meantime thanks for posting, this it was helpful.
That's interesting since I've played many other Paradox Games and never had this much trouble getting into them (of course there are tips and tricks you learn along the way) yet this game was extremely hard to play.
As someone who is late to the party, this tutorial is sooooo much better than the other popular ones out there. Thank you!
I watched this right after buying HoI4. I've played HoI 2: Darkest Hour already, but many concepcts in HoI 4 are completely new to me. This tutorial helped me to understand them without any confusion. It's very clear, down to the point. Thank you for this.
Thanks for the great tutorial! I thought to wing this, being a veteran CK and EU player with a few hundred hours of Vic but got hopelessly lost. This guide helped me find my way. Great work!
Just started playing this a month ago and a friend is getting into it as well so many thinks for this concise starting guide.
11/10
I wish I had a tutorial like this when I was just starting the game
Ah yes the paradox games, which have sh!t tutorials and because of that requires you watching hours and hours long tutorials just to get destroyed by some random small country until you sink your thousands of hours.
Yeh it is fun
(this is a cry for help)
Haha, yeah, unfortunately there’s no quick way around it.
There is no help
I usually get to grips with these games within 2/3 hours but HOI has me stumped lol. 5 hours and I still don't really know what I'm doing. There's a lot to learn. But it's a necessary evil. If you want an in-depth realistic strategy game then there has to be a steep learning curve.
@@signoguns8501 the point is that hoi4 is extremely stupid but requires you to come down to his level
@@unimportant719 I think that HOI4 is probably the best game I've ever played, so I definitely wouldn't agree with the "extremely stupid" part lol. It can be overwhelming when you first play but it's worth putting in the time and effort because the game itself is so much fun. And addictive as hell.
Fun fact Germany was a good "friend" with China for a while
Yeah, they even sent their military advisors to China to help modernise their army. Hitler actually quite liked the Chinese.
@Mike Wiki +1000 social cradit good job sir you make the chair man pround
I'm a total begginer at strategy games and this is helping me so much! thank you a lot sir.
Me with 2.500 hours in hoi4: interesting
me with 0 hours in hoi4, but 294036 hours of hoi4 videos: super interesting
Dude, we watch the Same UA-camrs..... I'm creeped out
@@yogurt4life358 that’s you
@@slavetislamic1957 what's me?
@@yogurt4life358 he is you
My one day off of work...I will spend it trying to learn this game I've owned for ~3 years (again.) Fantastic video btw. This game is quite overwhelming to "smooth-brains" like myself even without the DLC. Wonderfully explained.
Lifesaver dude! my brother gifted me this on my birthday but I never played a strategy game ever in my life so this helped me a ton
I’ve had this game in my library for many many years……I knew it would be like this. My Body is Finally Ready. Thx for the vid👍
Amazing tutorial i have been stuck the eintire time in hoi4 because everything is complicated. I thought i knew a fair share of things but this video proved me wrong, thanks for making my purchase of hoi4 worth it.
Thank you! I was thinking about getting hoi4 on my HP laptop and set up a monitor, so this will help me out tons!
I actually had an interesting way of learning more about the game and that was by playing Minors and watching what happens with other nations to try to figure out what the hell I was supposed to be doing. I also enjoy getting more into the navy stuff since, as my girlfriend has so eloquently put it, I am a boat girl.
All in all, great video especially since looking at all of the menus made my head start to hurt. I came from Stellaris which is a lot more manageable when it comes to UI so this helps a lot. Thank you!
Thanks for this,i bought hearts of iron on sale and was confounded even by the italian tutorial,the way you laid things out has given me a foundation to build up on.
Best beginner tutorial out there I've seen so far! If only I had seen it when getting into the game..
I have 700 hours in this game and I'm still asking you, pls make a guide with DLC as well.
I played the tutorial, spent FOUR YEARS trying to take the Ethiopian heartland as Italy (it was literally a LINE on the map for most of that time). Hitler asked me if I wanted to go to war with basically the entire world and I was like, dang, why not? The whole game up until that point consisted of Me trying my darndest to maximize my armies' chances in Ethiopia and conquer it. Not like I'm going to get anywhere good anytime this decade. And then, I watched France invade and conquer the entire Italian mainland uncontested (withdrew all but one army there, and declared war before realizing I had posted them on the Yugoslav side of the Alps). before an even swifter Germany swept down and liberated it, all in like a month lol. The UK nommed Libya since I had withdrawn both battalions there in a desperate ploy to create a breakthrough, and then surrounded my armies in Ethiopia. Luckily (?) I had been seeding a coup in Ethiopia after I realized it was basically impossible to win at that point, so Ethiopia split in half and paused the British advance.
When you are a beginner 14-4 template is Nice because you can just draw Arrow and go vroom
However, as you learn the game, 10-0 with engi and arti to hold the line + 40w tanks to push is much better
Thank you for this great guide! Even after playing more than 200 hours I learnt many things. The level of complexity of this game is crazy!
Playing Old World Blues. Practically zero exp in vanilla. This basics is pure gold and huge boost to understanding of this game
Thank you, thank you, your a god sent! this really helped, I tried to play and got confused and saw other people teach new people how to play and they said Italy was the easy to play for a beginner and I did and got mad. so 2 years later I saw a video and said "hm why not try to learn" and I bumped into your video and helped a lot
Your German Pronounciation was actually on point for a non-native speaker. Nice touch ^^
got this game yesterday (a sunday) and already have 14.5 hours on it. thanks for the tutorial because i basically didnt know what was happening in the tutorial because i was just focusing on clapping ethiopia. and then i played a real match vs AI and i got so confused on how i was supposed to invade japan but i understand now :)
Just got the game yesterday on sale also....watching tutorials to figure it out as well...only 1 hr in-game so far....lol
Poor Ethiopia.
Very usefull. Its crazy how advanced a game is when the basics take 1 hour
I love this video. I tried getting started playing when it was just vanilla but it was very overwhelming then. I love how you say how some things are completely irrelevant for new players. I think a lot of people get caught up in trying to be Erwin Rommel or Rundsted all in one day. Then they get lost in all the options and feel like they have no idea what they are doing. It's probably true but it reminds me of the motto:"When you fail in life, strive to fail harder next time".
After the video I tried my hand at playing Germany. I got a bit cocky and caught myself overburdoned with trying to actually "vin the varrr", reading Raeders vision for what the German Navy should be doing. Then I thought about your video again and realized I should just learn to play the game and not try anything too complicated maybe.
I have a question though:
When you say build military factories 1 year before the war, do you mean one year before the big war with a major power or any war? In my first try I had to conquer Austria when they refused "Anschluss".
As a new player I was easily able to be Erwin Rommel(I sent my tanks too far ahead of the rest of the army, where they ran out of fuel and supplies)
i believe the base game special operations is the stage a coup supply build up where it says you need 5000 guns that makes it faster
This was great for a returning player, thank you! Very well done!
When you send guns/weapons to another country, in real life you send "military advisors" along with those guns/weapons to teach the new owners how to use them and they send back home reports with info on how they actual worked or not on the battlefield (i.e. more army experience for your military).
This really helped me as I got the game just a few days ago. Once I watched just half of the video I was able to take over half the world as Germany by 1940.
Thanks so much for this, I bought this game on sale a few years ago, I have no clue how to play it and yet it seems like a game I would greatly enjoy.
Really nice guide Bitt3rSteel -- think I'll make another attempt at learning this game. PS - no worries on the dog, have 3 here so it was normal background for me :)
Best tutorial I have ever watched on HOI4. Your video and presentation is terrific.
So glad this exists. Coming eu4 I thought I'd be able to at least get the basics down, but nope. Maybe that's just me but boy howdy am I happy I found this
All i get from these guides is:
1. Spam divisions
2. Frick technology and better equipment
3. Frick tanks, artillery, anti tank, anti air
4. Frick last stand (which i dont know how to use)
5. Somehow dont lose
Thanks for this guide. Going to give HOI4 another try. Thousands of hours in EUIV and other strategy games and still baffled by HOI4.
New sub!
im brand new to the game with only 60 hours this really helped alot
I’ve been trying to give this game a fair chance for a while, but couldn’t figure out how half the things worked. Thanks, think I’m ready for an actual game now.
Thank you, this is 3rd tutorial I've watched, but the only one that makes sense.
I love how your dog began freaking out at the mere suggestion of an alliance with the Bolsheviks 😂.
It's not even my dog...but it felt a disturbance!
Its a shame my autism will never allow me to fully understand and enjoy this game. I really wanna give it my best shot. I know if I can get a hang of it that it'll be extremely fun and enjoyable. But strategy has always been my downfall. Micromanaging is extremely difficult. And numbers scramble my brain like fighter planes during an invasion. I will attempt to do my best despite all of this. I am determined to have fun and do well on this game! Thanks man. Im sure ill keep coming back to this video numerous times. Thanks man!
actually the best tutorial here cause ur talking more about doctrines which are really important
just want to say, does not matter how old the video may be its super helpful, thanks.
I have had the game for 2 1/2 years and I am stillwatching guides
just found your channel bro, loving your vids. your channel will blow up
I have almost 300 in-game hours and I have been playing this game for 2 years. I will watch this tutorial religiously since most people won’t take the time to teach me. ^^
Everyone: me with 69420+ hours: intresting
Me: me with 0 hours but 99999 videos: intresting
Not sure I'd recommend a 40 width light tank division as you'd have to spend a lot of experience creating it and some more just to replace it if you wanted medium tanks, plus they'd consume a lot of fuel and 20 width tank divisons generally do fine.
thanks man I have 100+ hours in this game and I didnt know how to play well until I saw this tutorial!
This game is very intimidating with all of the buttons and menus…your guide was great for breaking it down simple. Starting my invasion of Poland now cheers!
thank you bro, even though I kinda skipped right to air and naval combat, you described it so simply, Ty
I have to admit you make the very confusing interface so much easier to understand I had to give up on crusader kings because of how confusing that was for me. if i ever know someone that wants to get into hoi4 I know who to show them.
Thank You, total new player learned a LOT! just what I needed! Well explained all areas - Once more Cheers, Bow and Thank YOU! :)
Long time stellaris fan, bought this and CK3 together during a sale some time ago. Idk how I got good at stellaris, and CK3 was painful. But this game... I have turned it on dozens of times and only unpaused it once, I just get overwhelmed with the mechanics and decide to come back later. It's been over a month of that, no closer to actually starting a game. That being said, thanks for the lecture. I'm going to be coming back to this video often
I promise, it gets better as you play it more. I was way out of my depth and now i can play this game blindfolded
Have 1000+ logged and still learned something’s. Great video. I like playing Italy 🇮🇹 a lot. Would love it if you came out with a similar video for that nation.
And once again, I'm watching a HOI4 tutorial. Yes BBA is out, but a recap always helps.
Oh, wait, was "return Kaiser" come with a DLC? Paradox why do this? Why force to crack me? [edit: did you say "rocket is useless"? How dare you!]
It comes with Waking the Tiger.
I bought the game a long time ago and tried to play but gave up quickly because of how overwhelmed I was. But now, thanks to your video, I now have the motivation to go back to it!!
A basic tutorial being over an hour long is one of the most Paradox things I’ve seen.
everytime i try play this game i just give up, it pickles my brain, il get there some day
The fact you say "now lets get into hears of iron IV" at 57 minutes speaks to this games learning curve
Man, you are amazing, this video is the best, and I loved you enthusiasm.
6:10 Germany literally was in an alliance with the USSR lol. Great guide. Love it
Untill they betrayed ussr
Thank you Bitt3rSteel, this is the video i learned how to play HOI4 with.
Just came across your video. You helped me out alot, man! Keep it up
By the way, the "69" part really had me there lol
Funny number, haha :')
Great video. Watched the whole thing and probably doubled my knowledge about the game.
Thank you for this tutorial just picked up HOI4 today! I tried the tutorial and it taught me nothing it was kinda ass, but you’re helped me understand a good amount, though it’s still really confusing! The game is very laggy for me so it sucks! I’m planning to get a better pc soon though. Thanks a lot again though!
Wow, such a great introduction video, thank you so much 🙏
This game is a lot more dynamic than I thought, I hope I can get it soon!
@Mike Wiki i dont think he is gonna sail the seven seas for that one matey
Brilliant guide mate!
“As Germany you decide when the fun begins”💀
Awesome review this one and the division template for 2021 is much needed thanks
excellent video thankyou although there was a declaration of war between my dog and yours early on in the video xD
I can finally understand hoi4 videos
cheers from canada
Start watching this to make myself feel smart. Ands up feeling like i have no idea how to play this game(i have 400 hours)
this was a great video. it was helpful to hear some of the different aspects that i was guessing at.
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks man, this made the game look quite easy.
Thanks so much, always had a hard time learning the game.
Thanks for this. Ive played a few games and France always wrecks me. Hopefully I can learn a few things