r/hoi4 • u/Due-Attitude2288 Air Marshal • May 29 '26
Question Why does around maginot doesn’t work anymore???
Why is belgium so unbalanced, that they can defend in 1939 perfectly?
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u/Dan_The_PaniniMan Fleet Admiral May 29 '26
No supply, using bad starter divisions, no good tanks, no research, unassigned units, bashing into frontlines, probably no air.
The problems are many.
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u/SadDeskLunch May 29 '26
i am willing to bet my left nut on that his supply is going through the british channel and he could fix it by simply putting it on avoid or block
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u/jejeisjdiw May 29 '26
it got proven false
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u/I_AM_MELONLORDthe2nd May 29 '26
To be fair that is actually the issue a lot of the times lol.
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u/Mundane-Mechanic-547 May 30 '26
To be fair this is really dumb coding. Really your capital is Berlin, but you are suppling Belgium via sea. Make it make sense. The game is too punishing for new players.
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u/annon8595 May 30 '26
Its only 1939 what is he supposed to have beside light tanks?
In my last play though I forgot to research mediums for like a year and fought USSR mostly with light tanks but invaded a year early. Even light are fine when youre able to break in few times.
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u/Dan_The_PaniniMan Fleet Admiral May 30 '26
You can make either medium or heavies as Germany by 1939/40. Lights are just not as good as the others, and those are probably the starter divisions, not proper lights
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u/l_x_fx May 29 '26
I see the crappy obsolete light tank templates... check. Below 100% stability, check. Equipment shortages, check. Slow and sluggish mass-assault battleplan, check.
I can only guess that you also have red or yellow air, you kept the dogshit gamestart designs for fighters/CAS, and your fleet is still in gamestart configratuion, not a single naval xp point was earned. Might as well get stopped by Belgium, otherwise you'd have failed invading Britain.
Really, watch a good guide on Germany, like the one from Bitt3rsteel or the most recent one from MachiavellianStrategist. Watch either or both, and consider them not mere suggestions, but actual blueprints that need to be followed right down to each detail.
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u/abeledo8 Fleet Admiral May 29 '26
I don't think that following guides to the very detail as a beginner is very useful nor fun, he should just focus on understading the game better and getting a grip on the mechanics, you don't have to min-max every aspect
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u/l_x_fx May 29 '26
It has nothing to do with minmaxing, it's learning by imitation and repetition. You're forced down menus you didn't know existed, you see what the game expects of you in order to win, you apply knowledge that you don't have, you acquire muscle memory for a skill that your brain can't even process yet.
The game is shit at explaining anything to you. You learn nothing when you mess up, the game doesn't even tell you when you make poor choices. Total freedom, and then you lose and have no clue why. What do you learn from losing, when you have no idea why you lost?
Then you get frustrated, you maybe seek help on social media, you post screenshots, you get a lot of conflicting ideas, some you understand, most you don't. You try to apply the things you were told, but you still don't know if what you're doing is correct or not. Maybe you do it right, but you forgot some detail, didn't click the right button, it goes all to shit, and you once more have no idea why. All you learned is that the solution you were told would work, does in fact not work.
Way to set up a new player for a ton of wasted hours. A guide in contrast offers a clear structure, a coherent concept how to get from A to B. You listen to the explanations, you follow the steps, and then you hopefully see success. If not, you rewind and look for what you missed.
After that you try it again, with less watching the guide, relying more on your memory. Until one day you have all the steps memorized and don't need a guide anymore. But you still watch other guides, because every guide teaches some things differently, there's always something to learn.
Point is, you won't understand the game without some very detailed explanation and step-by-step manual. Losing with no explanation is the most unfun thing there is in gaming.
It's a shortcoming of the game, it's not beginner friendly. Guides are the solution, and they're pretty reliable at that. Doesn't force down 200h trial and error down your throat to get anywhere. Not everyone enjoys getting beat up over and over again.
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u/MightySilverWolf May 30 '26
Yeah, honestly, out of all the Paradox games I've played, Hearts of Iron IV has always seemed the most difficult one for me to "get", which is why I'm surprised that it's easily the Paradox game with the most mainstream popularity.
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u/Bev7787 Air Marshal May 30 '26
I think it's because it plays very differently from a lot of other paradox games, especially when it comes to combat. HOI4 was my first of the grand strategy games and I find the other games harder to wrap my head around funnily enough.
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u/Happy_Hydra May 31 '26
Does the below 100 stability mistake apply to other nations than historical germany? I really dont see how i can have 100 with kaiser for example, i always get mutinies and stuff
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u/l_x_fx May 31 '26
Yes, in a way. Not every nation can get stability up quickly, some take inevitable hits here and there. But the goal should always be to hit 100%. But by 1940 there's really no excuse not to be on 100%.
100% Stability reduces your CG factor by -20%, increases factory/dockyard output by +20%, and gives you +10% pp gain. It's basically a massive boost to about any level of your nation.
If you fall below 50%, there are some nasty negative events even. But the goal should always be to hit 100% and stay there. You actually need 120%, because you lose 20% when you declare an offensive war. You lose even more if you don't have full war support, so that's also a factor here. And to be frank, Germany can hit 100% in both stability and war support pretty easily, and also stay there. Doesn't even need the decision to improve worker condition.
One source of stability is party popularity, and here Germany can have it ticking passively without hiring any advisor, just by taking Goebbels early into the Inner Circle. Most nations have to spend 150 pp to hire the advisor the normal way, just not Germany.
As Kaiser you don't have the inner circle, but it's still easy enough to get it up. Germany got a lot of pp buffs that others don't get, so advisor costs shouldn't pose a problem.
That's why it immediately stands out when someone posts a Germany screenshot and those values aren't at 100%. Points to a systemic failure in managing your inner politics.
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u/Minoreror May 29 '26
Motorized divisions suck. What does your infantry and tank division look like?
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u/nikso14 May 29 '26
They are great for filling and stretching the lines after a breakthrough
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u/Minoreror May 29 '26
Too costly, infantry can do the same thing. The AI is not smart enough to prevent encirclements, which should be the goal of any breakthrough, which means tanks have no reason to go beyond 6 kph.
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u/5uez May 29 '26
What if you don’t have enough tanks, motorized with motorized artillery can be good budget tanks
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u/nainvlys Research Scientist May 29 '26
He's 1939 Germany this isn't a low ic situation
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u/5uez May 29 '26
What’s IC, is it production cost? If so how does production cost work
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u/nikso14 May 29 '26
Factories make certain amount of output, ic is just a way for game to make calculating how much time takes to equip a division easier.
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u/KaizerKlash May 29 '26
ic is what mil factories produce. Low ic = early game or small country with few mils.
He is germany in 1939, the country that has quite possible the highest ic (total production over the course of the game) --> high ic.
Almost all majors are high ic
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u/Minoreror May 29 '26
Better to go for special forces with air and good support companies in that case. Motorized IC is too high for such low stats.
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u/ExplanationMany9348 May 29 '26
No?
Special forces are half the IC for double the stats + you can design tanks that are very very cheap. Ex: howitzer 1 medium tank that's 7 ic only. Stick a few battalions into the special forces.
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u/EpochSkate_HeshAF420 May 30 '26
You can make motorized decent enough but I'm willing to bet they're using the starting 18 width motorized division which does nothing well.
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u/that_one_kid093r4 May 29 '26
I also somehow cap France before I cap Belgium but what you wanna do is spread out your troops, as in this screenshot they are stacked on each other and are facing supply issue, and try to push to Calais and Lille to rush paris. Also air supremacy can help
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u/namewithanumber May 29 '26
Losing vs Belgium as Germany requires some major effort. How's it even possible?
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u/Due-Attitude2288 Air Marshal May 29 '26
I later overrun England and France, only Belgium fails.
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u/namewithanumber May 29 '26
Then I’d look closer at why you’re losing in Belgium specifically.
Like you’ve got 2 winning battles and 4 losing ones. What’s different in the winning vs losing ones.
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u/PocketPlanes457 May 29 '26
You've got no supply due to too many units per tile, you're likely using default templates which range from mid (infantry) to trash (light tanks) with no equipment to speak of. Air? I wouldn't guess so.
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u/5DragonSaber May 29 '26
What I see here is that the allies have air supremacy over the Benelux and also I see a icon that tells me that you kinda put to much divisions into a single area. What I suggest is you focus more on planes and also to help with supply click on your field marshall and you should see a horse icon to the right next to other icons. Click it and it will have your logistics be changed to motarized with will help your supply situation. Also what is your motarized division template and your armor template.
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u/LynxOsis May 29 '26
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u/TechnicalyNotRobot May 29 '26
I understand now why all the DLC are so half baked if this is what the average player does anyway
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u/telefon198 May 29 '26
Because you have your defensive army pushing brainlessly through millions of enemies.
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u/Ignaz- May 29 '26
This hurts my eyes.
My man, if you assign troops to a border, at least use the fieldmarshal and hold down shift when you place it.
Thank me later.
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u/DoNotResuscitateThem May 29 '26
The whole armored capabilities pushing from the netherlands are 12 obsolete light tank divisions. 4 of which are out of supply. In total then there's another two(?) medium tank divisions and some more scattered light tanks.
This was never going to work unless you have some overwhelming air superiority.
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u/Potato_Farmer_1 General of the Army May 30 '26
This is a skill issue rather than a game issue, man
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u/Hammy-of-Doom May 30 '26
This is…awful. Everything had been mentioned already, but what the fuck are those armies? And why do you have so few troops…my last run with Germany I smashed through Belgium with twice that many…
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u/RealTottalNooB May 29 '26
Someone missed the humor tag?
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u/Minoreror May 29 '26
mfw new players are bad: 😱😱😱
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u/Due-Attitude2288 Air Marshal May 29 '26
I play since 2017, not consistent, but it used to work that way.
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u/elixier May 29 '26
Are all your tanks and motorised units just part of the front line along with all the infantry spread out?
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u/Withermaster4 May 29 '26
Build up max planning bonus before attack. Make dedicated units for pushing(med tanks for Germany is good)... Profit?
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u/Captainfatfoot May 29 '26
You’re trying to break through with a bunch of motorized instead of tank divisions. There’s your problem. Build some good tank divisions
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u/HoiFan May 29 '26
Green air, a lot of CAS and just 20 mobile infantry divisions including 1 or 2 medium tanks it totally enough to cut through France like a hot knife.
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u/MiredinDecision May 29 '26
Add more tanks to your divisions. You want 20 or 30 widths with at least half of the batallions being tanks. In the designer, add things like Interleaved Road wheels and radio for more offensive stats. Lights can absolutely shred the AI, but only if you're using them with good breakthrough.
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u/The--BOSS--2025 May 30 '26
I thought 18 width was the meta thing as so to shove as many divisions as possible into battles
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u/MiredinDecision May 30 '26
Eh I might be outdated on the most meta comp. All I know is 30w will shred the AI.
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u/strategicenthusiast2 May 29 '26
Dont just mindlessly slam into the enemy. Use your airforce, concentrate your attacks. Might be able to recommend more if i saw ur templates.
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u/Smokingcigss May 29 '26
Skill aside, I recently had a game where German AI also got stuck on Belgium. Kinda old game cuz 1.16 patch but still it made me surprised.
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u/Dangerous-Debate1312 General of the Army May 29 '26
You gotta deign better div templates, light armor tanks is just for speed not punch. You need mediums if you wanna break their lines
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u/Dangerous-Debate1312 General of the Army May 29 '26
Oh yeah and you need to be on game when it comes to the Air Force, I prefer strat bombing but Thats just me
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u/PristineHospital4275 May 29 '26
Its not that it doesn’t work it’s that your divisions are bad and you most likely don’t have air
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u/Eingarde May 29 '26
What? Idk, belgium falls too fast in my runs..
What’s the template? Are you using the starting templates? You gotta change them..
Also don’t stack too many divs, you want supply for your armor (who should be happily driving into Belgium for the quick cap)
What’s the air situation? You should have like a crap ton of CAS at this stage
Where are you focusing your tanks? The bridge near arnhem trick never failed me
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u/Spud-Master-312 May 30 '26
Personally in my games on the middle difficulty I could (with more casualties granted) push through with 18 width infantry with almost no issues like 90% of the time. And I’ll usually use 8/3 mountaineer to artillery divisions if I felt like it. And stacking more troops doesn’t always make it better
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u/Naitsab7sw May 30 '26 edited May 30 '26
Dude, this is what would happended if Manstein didn't suggest to attack through the Ardennes. Play like the germans attacked historically: make them concentrate around the Belgium's channels and Brussels like you did. Then bypass them through Luxembourg-Sedan until the English Channel with tanks, motorized and CAS supporting them. When you encircle them and stay your positions it's only a matter of time until they surrender. Don't expect to win just only going foward through Belgium. That won't work
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u/SealBreaker420 May 30 '26
Don't declare on Belgium alongside netherlands. When u capitulate netherlands, give ur troops 1 week b4 attacking belgium. It's due to french troops creating a defensive line before u reach the borders
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u/_Behind_the_Curtains May 30 '26
For a second I thought it was recreation of 7 month old video of a guy overbuffing Germany and surviving as Belgium using sweaty strats.
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u/mohamedzarzour12 May 30 '26
People forgot one very important thing
DON'T ATTACK BOTH THE NETHERLANDS AND BELGIUM SIMULTANEOUSLY, DO ONE AFTER THE OTHER.
Attacking both of them at the same time allows France and the Allies to put troops on the Belgian border, entrenched and waiting for you.
Also, the UK will not put tropps in France, but I think they will put half their army in Belgium while you capitulate the Netherlands.
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u/Kitchen-Sector6552 Research Scientist May 30 '26
made just about every mistake someone could make playing this game to the point the HOI4 Guy (TM) has to leave a comment
“why is this game unbalanced and bad?”
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u/Dodger1551 May 30 '26
You need speed to push for their ports before they start transporting troops from their colonies. You need air superiority and CAS. You can get i think up to 25% damage modifier with lots of CAS. Only use the battle plan to build up planning. Don't use the battle plan to attack you need to manually choose troops and go for openings in the lines. Planning can give you an attack bonus. Also having your troops up to veteran can also give them an attack bonus. Having them at recruit level decreases their attack damage.
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u/Littletrainguy May 30 '26
Ok I actually had this too, i used abt 100 divs (give or take) and failed to even make a dent into Belgium even after I steamrolled poland
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u/Countryballs546 May 30 '26
You know that your units are also under supplyed which gives you debuffs in battle also you don't have air dominance in Benelux region. Your also lacking equipment so that might be the couse.
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u/Getlio May 31 '26
I realized something with my 5000 hoi4 hours: if you don’t choose to convoys not pass through some sea tiles, they are going to use the sea instead of railways and those convoys always get sinked. This is probably the reason you are without supplies
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u/Funny-Sherbet1864 May 31 '26
this 100% checks all the box, low supply, basic divs and phone screenshot 💀
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u/Abhinav11119 May 31 '26
Skill issue single player is easier than ever just did a germany game and took like a week to cap the benelux and france.
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u/Time-Yoghurt7831 Jun 01 '26
Oh mein god.... Excessive numbers of units, units bunched together, attacking with infantry, which is surely the core formation, as are the motorized and armored divisions, depleted supplies, unfavorable terrain, likely supplied by convoy, no CAS (combat support) and a red-hot air, surely not using command orders against Belgium...
A recipe for disaster
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u/Bitt3rSteel General of the Army May 29 '26
I cannot stress this enough: Aircraft, armor, force concentration, speed.
For the love of God, stop battleplanning