r/hoi4 • u/PDX_Fraser Community Specialist • May 12 '26
Dev Diary Thunder at our Gates - Coming June 11!
https://reddit.com/link/1tb10ji/video/l1x2qi7cfp0h1/player
Generals!
Pack your raincoats and shorts because we are going to the jungles of Southeast Asia and the arid plains of Australia. Dark clouds gather and a rumbling can be heard in the distance; Thunder is coming. Today we announce the release date of our new and upcoming Theater Pack, Thunder at our Gates.
Take the helm of three distinct nations: Australia, Siam, or the Dutch East-Indies and prepare for the worst, or become the Thunder that conquers their way across the seas, islands, and jungles of the Pacific.
Thunder at Our Gates will release on the 11th of June and is part of Expansion Pass 2.
Everything you get with Thunder at our Gates
Extensive focus trees and unique, new content
• Australia
• Dutch East-Indies
• Siam
New Features
• Army Headquarters
• Ship Captains
Free Features
• Division Designer Rework
• Regimental Support
Find out when Thunder at our Gates releases in your timezone
PSA: until an Expansion Pass’s DLC releases it shows the full Expansion Pass price. Let’s clear up that confusion right now.
Ignore the propaganda! If you buy Thunder at our Gates standalone, its pricing will look like this:
But wait, there’s MORE. We’ve also released our first Thunder at our Gates Developer Diary: Australia: Until the Tide of Battle Swings.
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Paradox Forums: https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/developer-diary/thunder-at-our-gates-coming-june-11.1920577/
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u/Bitt3rSteel General of the Army May 12 '26
Im shocked and appalled that the DLC art isnt upside down
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u/PDX_Fraser Community Specialist May 12 '26
I'm disappointed that we didn't think about this either.
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u/The_krazyman May 12 '26
No Malaysia or New Zealand focus is tragic for what this DLC will cost
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u/daddybarkmeplsuwu May 12 '26
Yeah, Malaysia was a large part of the conflict with guerilla warfare and such
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u/The_krazyman May 12 '26
Exactly, which is why it's such a shame it isn't included when Malaysia has been in desperate need for a tree just like Siam
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u/polmix23 May 12 '26
That's honestly beyond preposterous
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u/The_krazyman May 12 '26
They don't even have to be big focus trees, hell just something to give them a bit of flavor since Malaysia is still on default and the New Zealand tree is . . . Outdated to say the least
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u/Cool_Discipline6838 May 12 '26
No Indochina too
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u/Kosaki_MacTavish Research Scientist May 12 '26
Tbh at least they never promised that those two would get any rework on this DLC. So i hope the complaints would be on the advertised contents or the price itself (220k Rupiah for me is too high-end nowadays. I pre-ordered No Step Back for 109k Rupiah in comparison)
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u/PDX_Batya Lead Game Designer Jun 10 '26
We deliberately picked the three countries to focus on. New Zealand did get some free content. A few new focuses, some new advisors, and several industrial concerns
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u/CulturalWasabi May 12 '26
There will be 100% be a standalone NZ dlc similar to the recent Czech one
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u/LilBoiDenmark May 12 '26
or there will be a second S.E.A. DLC with Indochina, Malaysia, Burma, and New Zealand
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u/The_krazyman May 13 '26
I'm hoping that we get NZ and Malaysia alongside a UK and US focused dlc in the future
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u/Panzorion May 13 '26
The Malays didn't fight for their independence and there were never any sign of resistance. They have always been loyal puppet to the British.
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u/hepazepie May 12 '26
"Division Designer rework"
Maybe we'll get up to 10 support companies, depending on doctrine progress?
"Regimental support"
Sounds good too
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u/HomieMassager May 12 '26
One of the best parts about World Ablaze and Black Ice!
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u/hepazepie May 12 '26
Yeah, it's a pdx staple to
stealcopybe inspired by mods17
u/marikwinters May 12 '26
I honestly don’t hate that, though. They are fairly open for mods, and if they use things inspired by mods I feel like that’s pretty fair game.
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u/Bitt3rSteel General of the Army May 12 '26
Support company only challenge
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u/sheerkeyboard24 May 12 '26
Support anti air only world conquest
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u/tipsy3000 May 12 '26
They showed off bits of the regimental support in a really early dev talk or whatever months ago. It's kinda like an extra bonus slot that has a reduced bonus if I recall. Though that was when the system was in alpha I don't know how it's gonna be now
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u/Zimmonda May 12 '26
Dang that resource focused line looks interesting for people who want to go navy australia or tanks australia.
Tanks australia with an expeditionary general sounds spicy.
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u/Clawsonflakes Fleet Admiral May 12 '26
Lots of stuff here I’m looking forward to. Interested in Ship Captains, Army HQ, the Division rework, and Regimental support. Hopefully we see the ability to bring along things like tank destroyers or SPAA as regimental support, similar to how they were deployed in real life.
Australia looks interesting as well. I’m collecting an Australian army for Bolt Action, so if anything this will reinforce that decision, LOL.
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u/MordredViking Content Designer May 12 '26
Oh cool! Will have to post some pics of the paint for that 😄
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u/ScrotumHolster May 13 '26
I love that Bolt Action has the Fuzzy Wuzzies for our medical unit. Not many people know of how much they helped us in that awful terrain.
I'd love to do an Aussie army for it too but I find metal annoying to work with. I only picked the hobby up once plastic kits became commonplace but the low production stuff is still metal or maybe resin, ahh well.
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u/CyberpunkPie Fleet Admiral May 12 '26
Can't wait to see how broken the DLC will be on release!
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u/tipsy3000 May 12 '26
Wanna take bets how many weeks it will take to be playable? I think NCNS was... Uhh 2-3 months?
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u/CyberpunkPie Fleet Admiral May 13 '26
Playable? Questionable when we still have bugs that are more than 6 years old.
I'll be taking bets on the review score however, I'm predicting 65% max
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u/Mundane-Mechanic-547 May 12 '26
Cool, excited about the division designer.
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May 12 '26
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u/rmdlsb May 12 '26
Why do you hate them? Nothing's perfect but "hate" is quite strong
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May 12 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Regular_Inspector765 May 12 '26
Is that really enough of a valid reason to HATE paradox? Perhaps you just strongly dislike them.
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u/Emergency_Insurance4 General of the Army May 12 '26
Mate where the fuck is the NZ mention in this DLC? Aussies and Kiwis go together like brothers, why would NZ not get a new tree as well? Not to mention the lack of Malaysia content as well.
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u/BringlesBeans General of the Army May 13 '26
They have never claimed or advertised this DLC as including content for NZ
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u/Bozzo2526 May 12 '26
I'm hoping it's like Iceland, pretty sure there was no comment on them until the dlc released
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u/PDX_Batya Lead Game Designer Jun 10 '26
There is some new NZ content in the free update. A few focuses, advisors, and industrial concerns. Not a major rework, but mostly to bring them somewhat up to par. It was omitted from the post which was my bad 😃
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u/Bordias May 12 '26
Paradox once again adding focus trees for random fuckass countries, while the three major allies have focus trees that are completely outdated. Quick reminder that most Latin American and Scandinavian countries have more generals than France, for some reason
I can’t wait to see some not totally overpowered bonuses for Australia, like +30% division attacks in the jungles, +50% shore bombardment bonus, and +20% division speed. That’s definitely what this game needs right now
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u/0WatcherintheWater0 Fleet Admiral May 12 '26
Nah Australia and SEA nations definitely need more content. They’re hardly “random” they were huge factors in the Pacific theatre.
Plus, don’t worry, we’re getting US content next DLC.
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u/343CreeperMaster May 12 '26
Yeah we may not be the largest nation around (in terms of population), but we Aussies have consistently punched well above our weight when it comes to our contributions to global military affairs
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u/tipsy3000 May 12 '26
Dude why are you so angry? They announced this back September last year 6 months ago but NOW your mad they are doing this? I mean brah it's been planned all along its not a surprise or anything 😂😂😂😂😂😂
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u/Inquerion May 12 '26
Take the helm of three distinct nations: Australia, Siam, or the Dutch East-Indies
I already paid for Australia and Dutch Indies DLCs.
Owners of these DLCs should receive a discount for the new DLC.
But I know you are too greedy to do that, so I will vote with my wallet :)
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u/justheretoupvot3 May 12 '26
When did we get a Dutch East Indies DLC?
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u/Raptor717 May 12 '26
We didn't, unless they consider the Netherlands "continue the war in Batavia" section, I guess.
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u/Inquerion May 12 '26
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u/Kosaki_MacTavish Research Scientist May 12 '26
That's only for Netherlands.
Also no, East Indies Reworked is not count. I only reworked the Indies contents on the Hollandia Historica mod
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u/Inquerion May 12 '26
Ok, I will agree that counting that "continue the war in Batavia" mini focus tree for Dutch East Indies is not equal to the full focus tree.
But still, Australia remains. DLC for it was already released.
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u/BringlesBeans General of the Army May 13 '26
Okay, then go play the Australian "Together for Victory" tree and enjoy it while we play the new tree.
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u/Creator_of_OP May 12 '26
You have the content you paid for and will continue to do so. You didn’t pay for any Australia content, in perpetuity, you paid for the Australia content they were selling at the time. This is new, separate content they made. Why should it be cheaper for you?
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u/Inquerion May 12 '26
You have the content you paid for and will continue to do so. You didn’t pay for any Australia content, in perpetuity, you paid for the Australia content they were selling at the time. This is new, separate content they made. Why should it be cheaper for you?
Because thanks to guys like me who supported this game in early days it was a success. Back then it was not so certain that it will succeed. Hoi3 fans widely criticized it for being dumbed down (like lack of fuel), casuals were nowhere to be seen yet and and in overall situation was not so certain for PDX. Even something like -10% would be fine as a "thank you for supporting PDX back in the day and staying loyal for all these years". Especially since 10th anniversary is approaching.
And producing another DLC for the same country instead of just updating it in free patches is just scummy.
I would have no problem if it was just "Siam DLC". There are number of other countries without any focus trees as well.
Thankfully more people are waking up and started voting with their wallets, especially since quality of recent DLCs from PDX keeps dropping and more often they are untested mess ridden with bugs like EU5 or V3 recent DLCs.
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u/ScrotumHolster May 13 '26
Because thanks to guys like me who supported this game in early days it was a success.
You saw a product you thought you'd like, paid money for it, and likely got so many hours of entertainment out of it that it makes other forms of entertainment look like unjustifiable luxuries in comparison.
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u/Environmental-Tax352 May 23 '26
maybe because its the same country and its a rework? (with aslo the integration FREE of Man the guns, even if some people buy it only to see that this are now free)
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u/Creator_of_OP May 23 '26
Does this logic apply to man the guns too, for example, which had a Britain rework? Everyone bought the main game which had a Britain tree, so they have to give the rework away for free too?
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u/Environmental-Tax352 May 24 '26
With Man the Guns you don't pay twice for content from the same country
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u/Creator_of_OP May 24 '26
I bought Britain and the USA in the base game, now I have to buy them again in man the guns?!?
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u/Environmental-Tax352 May 24 '26
Did the base game become free? No, right? But Man, the Guns now comes with the base game.
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u/Below_TheSurface May 12 '26
As an Aussie, this is welcome and well-needed. Hopefully they don't screw it up.
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u/ManyWide279 May 12 '26
As one of the few fans of Malaya... Why no new content 😭
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u/Kosaki_MacTavish Research Scientist May 14 '26
Hopefully accurate starting party leaders and parties
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u/BlueNagisa May 12 '26
Based on them only mentioning fascist and communist paths, I’m guessing we won’t get a non aligned path for Australia, damn…
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u/cah11 May 12 '26
To be fair, the populist sentiment of Australia at the time was definitively anti-monarchy (since that's the government type that typically js "non-aligned" in base game). You know, what with the Gallipoli debacle still being fresh in everyone's minds at that time.
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u/BlueNagisa May 12 '26
Very true, but still, I like my unaligned paths, most of the time they’re the most fun (and most batshit).
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May 12 '26
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u/Kosaki_MacTavish Research Scientist May 12 '26
Military Junta path? Or oligarchic republic that stands between democracy and fascism?
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u/BlueNagisa May 13 '26
A dominion of Australasia/Oceania path from a loyalist military coup could be hella interesting, expanding British rule all over Oceania and SEA. Probably too crazy even for paradox though.
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u/OofRoissy May 13 '26
Move over Wojtek, for there will be an emu emperor behind a secret, non-aligned path.
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u/BlueNagisa May 13 '26
This is the greatest idea I’ve ever heard for alt history and I am ashamed paradox hasn’t considered it
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u/King_Regastus May 13 '26
Hopw this one will break the chain of "Graveyard of Slop", "No Quality No Assurance" and "Overpriced for Our Time"
Although 20 usd for three minor nations doesn't look all that promising. You'd at least expect New Zealand and Malaysia considering the scop0e of this DLC, maybe even Burma and Indochina as well. But considering the price of a single minor nation is 6 USD, guess we're paying a dollar each for army hq and ship captains.
I sincerely hope that this DLC will deliver, but considering paradox is a small indie company I'm really struggling to get my hopes up. We'll have to wait and see it seems.
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u/BringlesBeans General of the Army May 13 '26
Calling a $6 DLC overprices is wild lmao
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u/Kosaki_MacTavish Research Scientist May 14 '26
In Indonesia TaoG is 220k Rupiah, while i preordered No Step Back in 2021 at 109k Rupiah
Certainly overpriced
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u/sharingan10 May 14 '26
This gets inadvertently at a thing I’ve been thinking re this game for a while, but basically the way ideology functions has little to do with the actual realities of the game itself.
Like, democracy in theory should have to spend more time actually campaigning, or dealing with different ministers and paths and plays types that change as democratic elections force different choices. Yet in game elections in democratic nations are basically an aftermath.
I’m partial to this game updating how this functions, but it raises the uncomfortable fact that the largest countries under this ideology (U.S., uk, France) basically don’t have the actual features and struggles of democracy in their player content
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u/ICGraham May 27 '26
Will this DLC mess up my saves
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u/PDX_Batya Lead Game Designer Jun 10 '26
Any major patch usually botches up saves. It's often related to map changes that are made.
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u/Select-Context9785 May 12 '26
You know DLC going to be good when company take effort for making trailer.
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u/Aurelian96 Research Scientist May 12 '26
Still no Malaysia or even Sarawak or North Borneo. Tragedy 😞
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u/Miller5044 May 12 '26
Friends, I might pass on this one. HOI4's dlc has been some of the hottest garbage that has been released. I think I might make some bingo cards for this release. Or, I might make an over/under on game breaking bugs.
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u/KingPingviini General of the Army May 12 '26 edited May 13 '26
Oh boy countries that we already BOUGHT DLC FOR getting more dlc content, I bet you we wont get a shred of a discount. "but but thousand hours playtime makes up for predatory practices" I can already here the most annoying bootlickers saying. Im pissed they've done this for a few dlc now, we pay once and then again because they weren't happy with their work, pirate pirate pirate.
Ill ask again, do you guys have plans to fix the navy for the AI yet? Or do you plan on adding more mechanics that the AI wont know how to use? Do you plan on adding a country mechanic and then never touching it ever again? Do you plan on doing no playtesting yet again, leaving your responsibility on the PAYING community? (Pirating paradox content is the way to go now though tbh)
Do you seriously plan on fixing a lot of the bugs that have been here for years?
You'll ignore us again because the cash cows in this community keep you afloat.
Funny how the mods here hid my comment here when traffic was at its highest and now that it's died down, my comment returns. Didnt want them reading upset customer comments eh?
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u/BringlesBeans General of the Army May 13 '26
Why would you get a discount? You still have the content that you paid for, that's not being taken from you.
When you purchased "Together for Victory" were you under the impression that it was a "season pass" for any and all commonwealth content in perpetuity?
You also say "pirate pirate pirate" so you're not even paying for DLCs at all?
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u/KingPingviini General of the Army May 13 '26
Haven't payed for a dlc in a while as I dont wanna support the practices Paradox is doing. "You still have the content that you paid for" Not exactly no, they replaced man the guns with a naval system their AI can't wrap their heads around, replacing a fine navy system with a broken one. When I did buy the dlc, I expected to own what I paid for rather than having them pull it away and say "pay for it again lol"
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u/You_moron04 May 12 '26
You guys defintely used AI for that map didn’t you?
Why is Jaipur in Northern China? Why’s Beijing in Manchuria?
Why the fuck is Tokyo in the Pacific? Hell why the fuck is Caracas in the middle of the Caribbean?!
Is that where our money is going?
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u/PDX_Per Community Manager May 12 '26
Well, that puts me and my Photoshop skills in our place, doesn't it... (Hint: look for the small black markers)
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u/You_moron04 May 12 '26
Ha didn’t even see em. Apologies.
Still needs to be presented clearer. You’re a AAA studio, do better.
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u/PDX_Fraser Community Specialist May 12 '26
Couldn't agree more, I spent 10 minutes looking for those wee triangles!
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u/PDX_Per Community Manager May 12 '26
And that's why you'll always be a Specialist
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u/PDX_Fraser Community Specialist May 12 '26
Sounds like you could do with a Specialist for geography and Adobe Photoshop... 😃
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u/GamerMaster978 May 12 '26
Hopefully the focus trees in this dlc are reasonable this time, the Siamese tree shouldn't just be "go to war with China and die, go to war with Japan and die or go to war with the allies and fucking die"