What Are The Most Powerful Hearts of Iron 4 Division Templates?

 

15. Soft Bombers

For want of soft attack. 

If you have an abundance of artillery production capability, leaning heavily into this template can allow you to steamroll most A.I. infantry divisions. With the heavy amount of soft attack, you can catch other players off guard, especially if you can roll with this early in the game.

If you can get enough military factories for the needed production, make sure to take the logistic support since a decent amount of supply will be required to uphold your armies since you’ll need large amounts of artillery. 

• 268.8 Soft Attack.
• Can inflict heavy casualties.
• Decent 91.7 Breakthrough.

 

14. Speed Panzers

I am speed.

For speed junkies and blitzkrieg lovers, invest heavily into light tank technology to get the best out of this build.

If you can manage that, any lightly equipped infantry units in your way will be struggling to keep up with the speed that you're putting up. Encircling units with this division is critical to get the most out of it, especially since it only has 12 division widths.

Suppose you can support this template with infantry and maybe other mobilized divisions. In that case, enemy armies may be unable to compensate or adjust in time. Ensure your blitzkrieg isn't too fast, or your tanks might accidentally isolate themselves deep behind enemy lines.

• Decent 155.8 Breakthrough.’
• Has a Max Speed of 6.8
• Excellent for quick encirclements.
• Especially dangerous with infantry support

 

13. Speed Backers

The backup for your speed.

Acting as the perfect compliment to the Speed Panzers, this template is to help support and assist a blitzkrieg by ensuring you have the proper troops to assist your fast tank Korps.

Your aim with this build is to either keep a fast tank Korps or to simply outspeed your opponent and overwhelm their maps before they can even blink.

They’re best used in wide flat terrain where there is plenty of maneuverability, like in Eastern Europe, America, or China. Make sure you attach anti-air and artillery support to neutralize the effectiveness of troops or enemy air that tries to slow you down because the moment your opponents stop your first few punches, this template won’t be as effective.

• Excellent Tank support
• 6.8 speed.
• Decent 131.6 Breakthrough for pure motorized.

 

12. Cheap Lines

Affordable destruction.

If you’re afraid of being attacked in the early game and you’re not sure if you have enough to make a 30 or 40-width division that can survive your opponent, this infantry template offers a good mix of everything on short notice.

Suppose you focus on building artillery, light tanks, and anti-air. In that case, this build can complement your soldiers perfectly by making a stout, high-organization unit that can outlast your opponent.

Many players underestimate how valuable light tank support can be, so why not make them pay and cry for their mistakes by giving your ground troops some armor on top of the artillery and anti-air support that they will already have?

So long as you put the proper amount of military factories on what you need most, you’ll ensure your enemy bleeds on your battle lines, giving you a chance to throw a good counter-punch. 

• Having 5 armor can make a huge difference
• Helpful 32.5 Piercing for infantry.
• Decent 425 Defense.
• 55 Organization rating.

 

11. C-Space Marines

The cheaper space marines.

An even better version of the Cheap Lines that can be more versatile is the classic Space Marine build with some support units to give it that extra edge. For those new to template building, Space Marines in Hoi4 are infantry divisions with tanks inserted into the combat portion of the template.

It’s highly effective since, in this specific build, you’ll have 18.1 armor to increase your capability and adequately curb stomp anyone foolish enough not to build a counter to your template. This build isn’t too common because heavy tanks are a pain to mass produce, but if you have the mils, you should go for it ASAP.

• 18.1 Armor.
• Offers a great combo of hard and soft attacks.
• Offers fantastic stats for a 20-width infantry template.

 

10. Mech Drivers

Beasts of the East.

Speaking of Armor, if the previous build doesn’t have enough of it for you, then this combination of tank and mechanized can satisfy that desire.

The template above boasts not only 40.2 armor but 6.8-speed thanks to its mix of heavy and medium tanks and mechanized. Some support of motorized and logistical assistance boosts the aforementioned speed and keeps the supply use manageable.

So long as the supply is manageable, the only thing that will stop your piercing and breakthrough stat is poor management, enemy CAS or heavy anti-tank divisions specifically built to stop your build. 

• 40.2 Amor
• 418 Soft Attack
• 195.7 Hard Attack
• Excellent for those invested into tank tech.
• Perfect for surprise line breaches.

 

9. Panzer Korps

The swiss army knife of tanks.

However, making a heavy and medium tank Korps with mechanized can be a little resource intensive for less fortunate nations, so why not go with a simpler, achievable, yet effective template like this Panzer Korps build? Using a combination of medium tanks, motorized, and possibly some german engineering, you have a tank that offers great breakthrough and piercing and is fast enough to outrun most other tank korps.

Use this template, as you would most other tanks, to punch lines into your enemy’s defense and flood the whole with your troops to get great encirclements.

Do this, and you’ll have made a sound investment that won’t cost you nearly as much as other templates. Make sure you build the right tank for this in the tank designer. Otherwise, it won’t matter.

• Not as expensive as other tank templates
• 43.9 Piercing
• 349.4 Breakthrough
• An irresistible 7.1 max speed.

 

8. Mobile Oppressors

Yes. You are indeed being suppressed.

Resistance propping up is an empire builder’s most distracting headache. For anyone that loves making large and expansive maps of their favorite color, seeing skyrocketing resistance can induce a headache thanks to the drain on manpower and resources, especially if they start sabotaging you.

Thankfully this template solves that issue thanks to calvary being relatively cheap and having an excellent suppression stat. If you include military police support, then oppressing the masses becomes much easier. So long as you have the equipment to support this template, civilian uprisings will become a distant memory to you. 

• Cheaper equipment than other garrison builds.
• 70 Suppression ranking.
• Excellent for limiting resistance.

 

7. Tredders

Expensive yet deadly.

On the Eastern front, this can be a nightmarish build, whether you're with the Axis or the Comintern. This is because Mechanized can offer a combination of high defense, Armor, and Breakthrough offering a decent challenge to whatever armor they bring onto the battlefield.

Not many players consistently use mechanized because they might not have the military factories for it.So if you use this template when they least expect it, you can make them wish they did by steamrolling their infantry and stopping their armor in their treds.

This can be resource intensive, mainly if you go for a 40-width build instead of the 30-width you see before, but it can be advantageous if accomplished.

• 42.6 Piercing.
• 963.8 Defense.
• 60.7 Organization.

 

6. Elite Mountaineers

Hannibal's dream come true.

As we take a detour into the special forces section, this template can significantly benefit countries traversing or defending mountain ranges. Since mountains can cause high attrition for those involved with this specific terrain, this template can allow you to attack or defend it as you please.

With the extra soft attack granted by the artillery you’ll include, high casualties will be inflicted on anyone you’re fighting. With the extra entrenchment afforded by engineering support, it’s going to be tough to dislodge your soldiers short of using nukes. 

• Can easily attack or defend mountains.
• High 641.5 Defense rating.
• 344.4 Soft Attack rating for inflicting damage.

 

5. Tank Busters

Stalin's Best Bet.

To combat tanks, having anti-tank weaponry is a must, and this template offers you enough to make a difference. Whether you’re trying to D-Day or fight in Eastern Europe, the Tank Buster Template offers a great combination of Soft Attack, Defense, and Hard Attack to neutralize the strengths of armored divisions.

When engaged in combat, this division will be primed and ready to counterattack against divisions that break their teeth on your defenses, allowing you to put them on the back foot during battle. 

• High 520.2 Defense.
• 106.3 Breakthrough is perfect for counter-attacking.
• 311.2 Soft Attack.
• 89.2 Hard Attack.

 

4. Uber Marines

The more expensive marines.

Whether you're aiming to conduct a successful D-Day, Pacific, or Mediterranean Campaign, to bust through coastal defenses, you will have to throw everything and the kitchen sink to break through and get what you need.

This 36-width division offers excellent upside with the inclusion of soft attack to whittle down defenders even if they have what they need to turn aside standard troops.

Once you get the resources to pump out these divisions in force, it will take enemy naval superiority to stop you. Even better, the defense on these marines ensures you'll be able to hold onto what you capture and leave enemy nations to simply pull out their hair at the futility of their counterattacks. 

• 318.2 Soft Attack.
• Excellent for breaking through coastal defenses.
• 129.8 Breakthrough.
• 635. Defense.

 

3. Frog Hoppers

You must really want that beachhead.

But what happens if the marines aren’t enough to break those defenses? What if you need more punching power and armor to help with this goal? If so, a combination of mechanized and amphibious tanks can help give the bonuses necessary for a successful coastal attack.

This is a more expensive version of what you would be getting through the marines, but it would be beneficial for any naval invasions you want to support properly.

What makes this template especially helpful is that you can still use it to make further inland invasions thanks to the dual nature of this combination of mechanized and amphibious tanks.

• Can still be useful after the initial naval invasion landing.
• 5.8 armor support. (Even more with the right designs).
• 36.9 Piercing.

 

2. Panzer Smashers

Perfect for reenacting the battle of Kursk.

The high rating combination of Soft and Hard Attack makes the Panzer Smashers so effective, particularly in the late game. Armor templates are always enjoyable for the average tank lover, but an extra helping of soft attack can make their day by inflicting grievous casualties.

The addition of motorized ensures that you’ll push at a steady pace when moving through enemy lines, which provides your opponent doesn’t have any reprieve.

The use of mobile rocket artillery helps elevate this template to increase the soft attack, making this 31-width division a lethal one for anyone that doesn’t have enough anti-tank or CAS to put up a decent fight. 

• 307.8 Soft Attack.
• 140.7 Hard Attack.
• 485.3 Breakthrough
• Good for those who want to run through divisions as if they were going over roadkill.

 

1. Jack of all Trades

The Magruder of templates. 

With all of the different builds we've gone over thus far, you must be racking your brain on how you can possibly have a counter for any situation you're confronted with.

In this case, why not go for a straightforward approach in terms of having artillery and rockets for soft attack, Anti-tank for armor, and anti-air for enemy planes?

If you play a major like Germany or the Soviet Union and have the military industry to support this, then you will have a soft counter for whatever division you come across while leaving your opponent unprepared for the diversified approaches you have for attacking or defending. 

• For those who don’t want to commit to a specific build style.
• Excellent for nations with large military factories.
• Can counter different situations.
• Decent 575.8 Defense for a 32-width build.

You may also be interested: 

• [Top 25] Best Hearts of Iron 4 Mods For A New Experience
• [Top 10] Hearts of Iron 4 Best Countries That Are Powerful
• [Top 10] Hearts of Iron 4 Best Infantry Templates That Are Powerful
• [Guide] Hearts of Iron 4 Best Air Doctrine - What To Choose