Hearts of Iron 4 is a great strategy game that is best experienced with mods
Hearts of Iron 4 has been released in 2016 and has become one of the most popular Paradox titles to date. HOI4 has a huge and devoted community and thousands of mods that make it much more interesting and enjoyable to play
Hearts of Iron 4 is a great game but it can get a bit tedious without mods. Even though it’s undoubtedly one of the best grand strategy games of all time, the unmodded game still has a lot of flaws. Luckily, HOI 4 has a huge modding community with dozens of mods being released every day. From minor gameplay improvement mods to total conversion and alternate history mods, there’s something for everyone. We’ve come up with a list of the best Heart of Iron 4 mods worth downloading.
15. FPS Map
The game looks so much better with the FPS map mod enabled
This simple mod optimizes the game and makes the map clear and more colorful. It is a must-have mod if you’re running the game on a low-end PC. The mod optimizes the frame rate and also comes with a few other useful graphic improvement mods such as colored icons and strategic view adjustments.
Why use the FPS Map mod:
- An improved, better-looking game map
- It will optimize your game and make it run faster
- It comes with several minor mods that improve graphics
You can get the mod here
14. The Road to 56
The mod is ideal for people looking for more detailed focus trees and alternate history paths
If you feel like the vanilla game is a bit limiting when it comes to alternate history scenarios, this mod will be perfect for you. It’s one of the most popular Hearts of Iron 4 mods to date for a reason, it dramatically expands focus trees for both major and minor nations, without altering the base game too much.
The mod features:
- Reworked focus trees to make it possible to pursue realistic non-historical outcomes
- A massive expansion of technology-tree
- The game timeline expanded to 1956
- Major balance, event, and graphics overhaul
You can get the mod here
13. The Great War
You can now fight in the Great War and try to change the destiny of Europe and the world
This mod pushes the timeline back to 1910 and lets you fight in the Great War. Although you can pick a scenario starting in 1914 or even in 1919 after the war ended, we recommend you pick the 1910 bookmark. The mod comes with brand new focus trees, WWI-era technologies, and 3d models.
The key mod features:
- Fight in the trenches of WWI and lead your country to ultimate victory
- Historical events and WWI-era tech
- A reworked game map and new doctrines
You can get the mod here
12. Eight Years War of Resistance
If you feel like Asian nations can be a lot more interesting to play as, this mod is the best choice for you
Even though the vanilla game includes a decent focus tree for China and Japan, we’ve always felt like the game focus was mostly on Europe. This mod focuses on East and South East Asia, aiming to bring you a more historical and balanced experience. You should use this mod if you want to experience the best of playing a nation such as China or Japan.
The main mod features include:
- Brand new and historically accurate historical focuses for China, Japan, and Chinese warlord factions
- New ideologies, advisors, and political decisions
- Unique skins and tech for Chinese warlord factions
- A new supply mechanic that adds war exhaustion
- Partisan warfare mechanic for Communist China
You can get the mod here
11. Vanilla Super Events
Looking for more in-game events? Get this mod
Events in the vanilla game can feel a bit generic and boring. If you want to add more historical flavor to your game, this simple mod is for you. The mod introduces many new historical and non-historical events (depending on your playstyle) as well as its own music and quotes.
Main mod features:
- 53 unique super events
- A new radio station that lets you adjust the volume of an event while it is playing
You can get it here
10. State Transfer Tool
The state transfer tool is a simple mod that gives you more options to manage your states
Do you need to fix border gore created by the hopelessly broken peace conference system or want to transfer a state to your ally without using console commands? This mod has got you covered. It’s simple to use and lets you transfer states between all existing countries.
The new abilities include:
- Marking a state
- Marking colonies
- Adding or removing cores of a selected country
You can get it here
9. Puppet Manager
You can now exert more control over your puppets
Many Hearts of Iron 4 players complain about not having control over their puppets. This mod enables you to exert more control over your puppets as well as the useful ability to transfer and claim your subject’s states.
Main mod features:
- Granting independence to your puppets
- Funding national integration
- Claiming colonies
- Relocating civilian factories
You can get the mod here
8. BlackIce Historical Immersion Mod
Feel like HOI4 is too easy? If that's the case, use this mod.
Be advised that this mod is not for the faint-hearted. We recommend you get BICE only if you’re a hardcore history junkie and a fan of realism. It is a total overhaul mod that changes almost every aspect of the game. Core game mechanics have been tweaked to offer maximum historical immersion. BICE is the ideal mod for veteran HOI 4 players who want a challenging game experience.
Features:
- New focus trees for all majors and most minor nations
- Total overhaul of tech and research trees. Country-specific armor, aircraft, and ships
- Air and naval rework
- Extended laws and politics
- Additional events and decisions
- Improved AI
Note: The mod currently does not support the latest game version. The currently supported game version is 1.10.8 but a test version of the mod is available here
You can get it here
7. Millennium Dawn: A Modern Day Mod
Welcome to the modern world where you can play as any nation and try to become the 21st century version of Genghs Khan
A total conversion mod, Millennium Dawn gives you the opportunity to play almost any modern country. The mod is set in the year 2000 and comes with brand new focus trees, tech, events, and much more. While the mod can appear a bit overwhelming at first due to the sheer amount of content and gameplay changes, it’s pretty fun to play. It’s currently one of the most popular HOI4 mods that received regular updates. There are also many submods you can use to add more flavor and depth to an already huge mod.
Key features:
A completely reworked game map with new provinces and accurate borders, resources, and industry
- Modern-day tech
- New economic system
- Modern 3D models
You can get it here
6. The New Order: Last Days of Europe
Remember the show 'Man in the High Castle'? In this mod, you find yourself in a world where Hitler won WWII
Imagine living in the nightmarish world where Nazi Germany had won WWII and conquered most of Europe, has nuclear weapons, and is the first nation to send a man to the Moon. You will find yourself in the year 1962 in a broken and dark world dominated by the victorious Nazis and the struggling USA. It feels like a completely different game and the sheer amount of new content it introduces is mindboggling.
Main mod features:
Ten years of playable content for German factions, Japan, China, England, the USA, and Russian warlord factions
- A completely new game interface
- Thousands of unique events
- New focus trees and technology
- A new game map
- A brand new law and political system
You can get the mod here
5. World Ablaze
World Ablaze is all about balance and realism, get it if you appreciate a challenging and historically accurate HOI4 experience
The mod aims to make the game more challenging to play. It features a rework of focus and tech trees and most notably, AI tweaks that will cause you to think twice before going to war. We recommend you go down a historical path to experience the best of what the mod has to offer. A word of warning, though, the mod may prove challenging to new players due to significant rebalancing of game mechanics. The mod is a good choice for experienced HOI4 players who want a challenging and realistic WWII experience.
Features:
- A competent AI focused on simulating historical builds
- Expanded focus trees
- Unique artwork and new technologies
- An expanded map adding more states and strategic regions
- Rebalanced game mechanics focused to create an immersive and realistic WWII experience
You can get the mod here
4. Old World Blues
Yes, it's Fallout but without guns and pip-boys. You can control one of many factions struggling for control over the Wasteland and claim ultimate victory, Caesar's legion style
The year is 2275 and the world lies in ashes - literally. This total conversion mod is set in the Fallout universe and lets you realize your dreams of becoming the lord and master of the Wasteland. Much like the Last Days of Europe mod, it feels like you’re playing a brand new game, with tons of new content, game mechanics, and a custom map of post-apocalyptic North America.
Mod features:
- A brand new map centered on North America
- New unit types and custom voices for major nations
- Fallout-style 3D models, units, and interface
- New game mechanics including an economic and political system
- A unique research tree
You can get the mod here
3. Enhanced Diplomatic Actions
The mod does what it says, it gives you additional diplomatic options and has a few other features that can prove very useful
Diplomacy doesn’t play a big role in Hearts of Iron 4. The number of diplomatic options in the game is very limited. For example, if you find yourself in the middle of a war you want to end or simply want to experience more diplomatic choices, this is mod is a must-have. The mod adds new diplomatic decisions that give you more control over your puppets and let you manage your relations with other countries.
Main features:
- Send insults to a specific country
- Send factories and dockyards
- Send and request manpower from other countries
- Demilitarize or grant independence to your puppets
You can get the mod here
2. Expert AI
You're tired of beating the vanilla AI? Well, in this mod the AI is no pushover and it also comes with a few useful tools that can reduce lag
One of the biggest issues in HOI 4 is incompetent AI that breaks game immersion. This mod aims to fix the AI and make it more challenging to play against. The way the AI manages its country has been tweaked so you can expect to face a more competent enemy. The mod is meant to be played with historical focuses enabled.
Features:
- An extensive rework of the AI impacting production, division composition, research, and diplomacy
- An in-game configuration tool allowing you to change certain AI behavior and adjust the difficulty
The mod can be downloaded here
1. Kaiserreich
Kaiserreich is an alternate history mod set in the world where Germany had won WWI. It's probably the most popular HOI4 mod of all time, and with a good reason.
Arguably the most popular HOI 4 mod of all time, Kaiserreich is set in an alternate history timeline where Germany had won WWI. Defeated, France had fallen to syndicalism (which is more or less the mod’s version of communism) and now attempts to spread the revolution across the globe. Kaiserreich is a well-made and polished mod that receives regular updates. Even minor nations have their custom focus trees and tech, unique events, and 3D models.
Main mod features:
- A balanced and immersive alternative history scenario
- A new political system and nation-specific events
- A reworked map
- Custom, easy-to-navigate UI
- More than 100 focus trees
- Colored portraits
- A game experience centered on replayability
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