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Gidikipper Mar 12, 2020 @ 9:27am
Is it too complicated?
I want to buy HOI4, I've watched videos of the game and I've had an interest in the game for months. However the game looks really complicated from an outside point of view with how much content it has and the ways of playing.

Is it friendly to new players? Is there a Tutorial system or a AI help system like in the Total War Series?
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Showing 1-15 of 23 comments
uncleflagzz Mar 12, 2020 @ 9:30am 
This is nothing compared to Victoria 2 or EU4, I say you give it a try. Also there are tons of tutorials on Youtube that you can watch. And I think they have a tutorial system but I learned from random tutorials on Youtube.
#1
uncleflagzz Mar 12, 2020 @ 9:31am 
Also, when you understand how the game works, it will be like a walk around Maginot. Also there are many cool mods that you can try out
#2
|H|H| Fr3ddi3 Mar 12, 2020 @ 9:50am 
It is not overly complicated, but as you noted, there is just a lot to take on board and unfortunately due to the nature of the game it cannot be drip fed to you, you are essentially thrown in at the deep end and more or less have to get on with it ... which by default means this is not new player friendly.

There is a built in tutorial ... it was not very good to begin with but now it's also outta date.

There is however a pretty dedicated community which provides guides and tutorials to help you get along, unfortunately the best video series to that end is also out of date ... but a lot of the information provided is still useful. There are also a lot people around here which can help if you have questions.

IMHO if you are dead set on buying it I highly suggest waiting for a Steam sale first and only buying the base game to cut down on cost / risk as well as limiting the number of things you have to learn at once (or better yet try it out on a free weekend). Then at a later date if you like the game you can consider getting the DLC's ... again on sale.
Last edited by |H|H| Fr3ddi3; Mar 12, 2020 @ 9:51am
#3
Nine-ball Mar 12, 2020 @ 10:14am 
It's up there in difficulty to learn but only because so much crap has to be taken into account at once and the tutorial is hot garbage.

Once you know all the things you're supposed to look at and why, they become second nature very quickly. This tutorial series helped me immensely and may help you. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_uCwrt-LkA

Yeah, it's seven episodes long but a lot of that is the creator being very clear about what things do. You could watch it while you wait for a sale. And once you understand, you'll want to play even more. This game is awesome. It just looks really intimidating.
#4
Gidikipper Mar 12, 2020 @ 12:32pm 
Alright thanks guys, i'm gonna purchase it soon.
#5
Kaisha Mar 12, 2020 @ 3:14pm 
Don't buy it... it is a mess.

It is complicated, but not in a good/interesting way. There are layers upon layers of inscrutable mechanics. Systems that make no sense. Arbitrary modifiers and buffs, and none of it is explained in any detail apart from deep in old forgotten forum posts.

All the fanboi's going on about how 'simple' it is, really have no clue what's actually going on under the hood.

The only reason its even playable is because the AI is so dumb, that even not having a clue how 99% of the game actually works, you'll still just walk all over it.
#6
Torrens Mar 12, 2020 @ 6:22pm 
It is very complicated. Like riding a bike, it will become second nature to you after you learn everything. You will get your butt kicked a lot and there is no shortcuts to the learning curve.
#7
van61t Mar 12, 2020 @ 7:16pm 
Lol try looking at HOI 3 now that a complex HOI game
#8
Mr_Faorry Mar 12, 2020 @ 10:04pm 
It's the simplest of the Paradox Grand Strategy games but due to being a grand strategy there is still a considerable amount of depth to it and things you need to learn.

Don't expect to be able to just pick it up and know the ins and outs within an hour or so because that won't happen, it'll take you time to learn but compared to the other Paradox Grand Strategy games you'll pick it up fairly quick. It's well worth the time investment though, the game is really fun once you get the hang of it.
Last edited by Mr_Faorry; Mar 12, 2020 @ 10:04pm
#9
Gidikipper Mar 13, 2020 @ 6:54am 
All I need to know is if it's as complicated as EU4... that was just too much for a new player to jump into.
#10
Mr_Faorry Mar 13, 2020 @ 6:55am 
Originally posted by Gidikipper:
All I need to know is if it's as complicated as EU4... that was just too much for a new player to jump into.
It's simpler than EU4 by a fair bit.
#11
SteahmChip Mar 13, 2020 @ 10:46am 
Got HO14 in a fire sale and within a month got ALL the DLC. The ingame tutorial was very helpful for basic concepts especially for how to set up and execute the battle plans and I referred to it a few times before I understood it.

Other questions should be findable online, for example a spy got captured and I had no idea how to start the mission to rescue him, the mission was all greyed out. The heavily advertised ingame Wiki did not give a clue (that Wiki is unfinished).

As it turned out my "spare" spy (if only one spy you out of luck) had to be assigned to the capturing nation and start an intel network there. In a few days ?20? the mission to rescue that jailed spy appeared in that nation next to my spy's list of other actions. I was able to get my captured spy out of there.

If starting out as Germany, it seems daunting with lots of units however the Spanish Civil War allows you to send 2 divisions and an airwing hence one can experiment with how to set-up and execute battle plans and rebase airwings. Moreover from what I gather, if you play a kinder, gentler Hitler, you should not have to face an international conglomerate of nations while learning with all out war with unless you start it first.

Last edited by SteahmChip; Mar 13, 2020 @ 10:47am
#12
DaniTheHero Dec 2, 2021 @ 4:56pm 
Originally posted by uncleflagzz:
This is nothing compared to Victoria 2 or EU4, I say you give it a try. Also there are tons of tutorials on Youtube that you can watch. And I think they have a tutorial system but I learned from random tutorials on Youtube.

False. I've learned Stellaris, CK and even EU4 fairly quickly.
EU4 did require me to find outside help outside the (tutorial), but one long form video was enough to get going.

HOI4 has a terrible tutorial, barely has even 1% of the information needed to play the game, and you could watch guides and replay for literally dozens of hours and still have NO idea what's going on.
Look at how many similar comments are there here about this.
#13
DaniTheHero Dec 2, 2021 @ 4:56pm 
Originally posted by Mr_Faorry:
Originally posted by Gidikipper:
All I need to know is if it's as complicated as EU4... that was just too much for a new player to jump into.
It's simpler than EU4 by a fair bit.

EU4 is far simpler than current HOI4.
#14
Mr_Faorry Dec 2, 2021 @ 5:02pm 
Originally posted by DaniTheHero:
Originally posted by Mr_Faorry:
It's simpler than EU4 by a fair bit.

EU4 is far simpler than current HOI4.
This thread is from March dude.
#15
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Hearts of Iron IV > General Discussions > Topic Details
Date Posted: Mar 12, 2020 @ 9:27am
Posts: 23

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