Division Design Changes in Hearts of Iron IV

Hearts of Iron IV is a popular strategy game that has remained more or less untouched since its release. However, the developers have decided to make some changes to one of the fundamental building blocks of the game: division design. In this dev corner, we will take a closer look at the changes being made to support companies and doctrines.

Support Company Changes

The first step in making doctrines better affect how players design their divisions is by adding another dimension of choice to support companies. Support companies can now confer multiplicative or additive bonuses to line battalions of specific categories within their own division. This allows for better representation of the effects of certain doctrinal advancements or technologies and adds a completely new dimension to consider when choosing support companies.

For example, Engineers will no longer begin by applying a flat bonus of 5 entrenchment. Instead, their initial stats will grant a bonus of 0.25 entrenchment per Leg Infantry battalion in their division. This change allows for a flattening of the efficacy of entrenchment and devalues it slightly for org-wall playstyles. Other support companies such as Recon, Field Hospital, Flame Tanks, and Military Police will also receive changes to increase their utility within line divisions.

Doctrine Changes

Doctrine changes are still being worked on, but some examples of what is planned include:

• Dispersed Support: Signal companies grant 10% defense to all Artillery battalions in division


• Airland Battle: Standard recon grants 10% air attack to anti-air battalions in division


• Mechanized Wave: Armored Car recon grants 1 max organization to all Leg Infantry battalions in division


• Central Planning: Logistics Company adds 5% defense to all infantry battalions in division

These changes are intended to add an extra dimension to consider when building division templates, accentuating the value of interdisciplinary coordination. They also give an opportunity to equalize the value of some underperforming support companies in a slightly more realistic way than flat stats. The production value of bonus-granting support companies will be weighted more favorably towards larger divisions.

These changes were necessary for a new small feature that will be revealed in a future dev diary. Stay tuned for more information!