In this guide, we’ll be going through 10 of the best commander traits (for generals and field marshals) and seeing why all of them are must-haves in your quest for world dominance. We’ll be excluding personality traits as we have no way to properly acquire them without relying on RNG.

As always, please bear in mind that the choices made are the editor’s personal picks.

1. Logistics Wizard (Field Marshal)

Why Logistics Wizard is Great:

• It will reduce the amount of supplies (in both supplies and fuel)
• Grants you the  ability to gain extra supplies for a short period of time, giving you a small window to attack and accomplish your objectives
• Very useful in areas with few supply points like Russia, North Africa, and China

There’s a saying that men win battles but logistics wins wars, and this could not ring truer in Hearts of Iron IV as it did in the actual battles.

In short, this trait is a must have for all field marshals or those you plan to send into terrain that is hard to resupply. Think of the mountains of Italy, the huge sprawl of the Soviet Union, or China with its underdeveloped supply bases. You’re basically giving your army a chance to continue engaging the enemy at full bonus.

Honestly, it’s pretty self-explanatory, as fighting a battle with a low supply means that not only will you suffer from a debuff to both your combat and base stats, but also to your speed and organization, which are always vital to maintaining a front line.

2. Improv. Expert (General)

Why Improv. Expert is Great:

• Allows your units to move quickly around any terrain
• Grants the ability to build bridges and negates river crossing debuffs
• Can be used in any situation to quickly and strategically move troops around

When Napoleon lorded over much of Europe, he placed speed as one of his military tenets, and even a century later, this remains true.

Acquiring this trait would allow your troops to move 10% faster on land. While 10% may sound low, it’s vital to remember that since it mentions land, it will work on any terrain even if you’re using an unsuitable division (think an armored division crossing the alps).

You’ll be able to move units around to reinforce key points, encircle the enemy, or redeploy to quickly face a new foe.

Additionally, you get access to the makeshift bridges ability, which will give you a small window to negate river crossing penalties (well, most of the penalties) and attack the enemy as if you were nearly at full strength.

3. Panzer Leader (General)

Why Panzer Leader is Great:

• Is a bridge to either Panzer Expert or Combined Arms Expert
• Gives bonus attack and speed to your armored units
• It increases the chances of your commander’s attack improving once they level up
• Unlocks the Armor Specialist role in High Command

World War 2 is where tanks finally began to shine through as a decisive unit that can inflict serious damage towards its enemies on its own, a far cry from its infantry supporting days during the Great War.

This trait is great as not only does it grant your armored units more benefits (especially against nations with no early anti-tank capabilities and especially if you’re playing Germany), but it also heavily realigns your commander as an offensive juggernaut where his offense is already miles above that of the opponent.

A higher attack means better stats for all units under his command, which is never a bad thing.

4. Combined Arms Expert (General)

Why Combined Arms Expert is Great:

• Grant defense (and, by extension, breakthrough) to your motorized and mechanized battalions
• Increase the chances of blitz and encirclement tactics
• Allows your commander to enter High Command as a Combined Arms Specialist

If you remember, infantry (either leg or motorized) is the backbone of every division as they grant the highest amount of organization and are needed to keep your army going.

As such, you want to keep your infantry well protected, and this is where combined arms expertise comes into play. Assuming speed is your favorite stat, you will need motorized and mechanized infantry to keep up with your tanks.

Plus, you get a better chance of using blitz and encirclement tactics during battles, which are never something to regret.

5. Adaptable (General)

Note: there are more terrain traits than the ones shown

Why Adaptable is Great:

• Reduces penalties for terrains
• Allows your troops to better acclimate to hot and cold weathers
• Can be applied in multiple terrains

The main reason why this trait is so nice to have is simply due to how much of the terrain it can negate. Imagine instead of being good in one terrain, your commander is able to negate 30% of the desert, mountain, forest, and urban terrain. That’s basically having a swiss army knife in your pocket.

Additionally, you’re getting a bonus acclimatization bonus which can never be a bad thing especially when your troops are fighting in the extreme weather.

6. Infantry Expert (General)

Why Infantry Expert is Great:

• Can be utilized by all nations, especially if you don’t have the industry to go armored or motorized
• Grants extra attack for your infantry divisions, allowing them to do more damage
• Unlocks the Infantry Specialist role in High Command

Personally, you can make a case for the ambusher trait, as its extra entrenchment of 5 means a lot when on the defensive, as it allows your units to be fortified even more.

But enough of that, the reason why I selected it up here is because it’s usable in all nations, as leg infantry is the default template, so no matter which nation you go with, you’ll be able to utilize this.

As for the extra attack, I find that having the extra attack can be used in both offensive and defensive situations, which gives it the edge for me over the ambusher trait.

7. Offensive Doctrine (Field Marshal)

Why Offensive Doctrine is Great:

• Gives an instant +1 to the attack of the Field Marshal
• Reduces organization loss when moving
• Unlocks the Army Offense Specialist in the Chief of Army role

If you have any doubts, attack.

I believe that the offensive doctrine is better than the defensive doctrine as while defense will slowly tire the enemy out, you’ll need to conquer their cities in order to fully capitulate them, hence why offense is king.

The fact that organization loss when moving is negated is an additional benefit, as it will allow your troops to enter any battle with their organization still at a good level. This will prove crucial as you look to either attack an enemy right away or defend a key tile.

8. Skilled Staffer & Expert Delegator (General & Field Marshal)

Why Skilled Staffer or Expert Delegator is Great:

• Increases army size for generals and maximum armies for field marshals
• More likely to gain a logistic skill point when leveling up
• Unlocks the Logistics Specialist for High Command and the Army Drill Specialist for the Chief of Army roles (General and Field Marshal, respectively)

This trait is fairly simple, as it will allow for more of your best troops to be assigned to your best commanders, thereby allowing these units to share in the buffs your commander provides.

Gaining logistics is always an added benefit, as it will also reduce supply consumption for the entire army or army group. Similarly, assigning your commander as a logistics specialist will do the same, while the army drill specialist will reduce training time for your divisions.

9. Fortress Buster (General)

Why Fortress Buster is Great:

• Gives a bonus attack against forts
• Grants an ability to do even more damage to both the fort and the troops occupying it
• Unlocks the Artillery Specialist trait in High Command

This trait can be considered situational, but given the existence of some forts like the Maginot Line, they can be a huge obstacle to your advance as attacking a fort will grant debuffs to your troops (depending on the level of the fort). The higher the level of a fort, the greater the penalty for attacking it.

That’s where the fortress buster comes in, as it will grant you the ability to do 200% extra damage to both the fort and 20% more to the units surrounding it, allowing you to demolish it and put it out of commission for a good period of time.

Moreover, gaining the Artillery Specialist role in High Command will prove extra useful as it will also apply to rocket artillery (which has a higher soft attack than normal artillery) as well.

10. Fast Planner (Field Marshal)

Why Fast Planner is Great:

• Unlocks the Army Reformer role, allowing you to gain more army XP
• Increases planning speed for your entire army group
• Its prerequisite unlocks the Army Regrouping Specialist, providing a bonus to organization recovery

If you are aware of what planning does in the game, then you should know that having a plan that is fully maxed will give your units bonuses in attack.

Imagine now increasing your planning speed, allowing you to attack the enemies right away after regrouping, all while your foes are still catching their breath. It’s simply massive in the right hands and with the right plans.

Furthermore, the two roles unlocked are quite useful, as the Army Reformer role will allow you to gain more XP at an early stage and progress through the doctrines faster than anyone else. The Army Regrouping Specialist ties in really well to the Fast Planner as both organization and fast planning combined can punch through enemy lines.

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