Hearts of Iron II

[Dell19]

I decided to finally buy it today with the expansions however I'm a little lost about what I am meant to be doing so would welcome some hints and tips from people.

I don't have a specific topic in mind however briefly when I started as France I seemed to run out of cash and production appeared to be slow so I am wondering how I can correct these two factors and whether I would be better off starting with a different nation.

 

[Kan' Sharuminar]

If you've never played HoI2 before then the best beginner nation is the United States. It pretty much has all the resources it needs from the get go, and allows the player to make the most horrific mistakes yet still carry on. Germany is another excellent choice, especially if you play it historically.

I can't comment much on the expansions. I still can't play them

 

[IronMan2055]

Have you tried trading for the money?

If you don't have enough resources your factories won't be able to function properly.

Or you might have just the standard democracy drain that restricts production in peace time. I'm not sure how slow it is.

 

[Godwynn]

I decided to finally buy it today with the expansions however I'm a little lost about what I am meant to be doing so would welcome some hints and tips from people.

I don't have a specific topic in mind however briefly when I started as France I seemed to run out of cash and production appeared to be slow so I am wondering how I can correct these two factors and whether I would be better off starting with a different nation.

I always let the AI handle resources (there should be a checkbox under the sliders.) When you run out of money your Tech Teams work at a slower pace.

You accumulate money by "consumer goods" which is the very top slider.

 

[potatokiosk]

If production seems slow make sure that you're committing enough of your industrial capacity to whatever you chose to build to cover the cost. If it still seems slow, it may only seem slow because the game proceeds hour by hour rather than day by day, so a couple months can seem like a long time.

Also to maximize production speed, make sure you move the hawk lobby vs. dove lobby slider towards hawk lobby because it reduces time and cost.

Starting with France will be difficult but I think France is a decent country for a first game since all you really need to worry about is a front that's only four provinces wide. Make sure you build plenty of infantry and consider changing some of your ministers. Ministers that provide a manpower bonus, make infantry cheaper, or provide a boost to IC will be good for France.

 

[Captain2]

yeah France isn't ideal, I've been playing the game for year(s) and I've never been able to do well with them

Germany is ideal, America is good but that requires you to spend a couple years building up while Germany is already fighting, while you could be learning

 

[Dell19]

Ended up playing as Germany in 1939 and managed to conquer Poland and France although France did break through at one point and ended up annexing Hungary and Slovakia. Still not exactly sure what I am doing.

 

[potatokiosk]

Still not exactly sure what I am doing.

Conquering Europe?

 

[Maniacal]

And Then The World!

 

[Dell19]

If anyone is interested this looks like quite a good AAR which gives out tips for new players like myself:
http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/showthread.php?t=378841

 

[Dachs]

Kanitatlan's two AARs (Germany and USSR) are also quite good.

 

[Ondskan]

There's a tutorial...pff.t.

 

[Maniacal]

It's not goodenough though.

 

[Dell19]

There's a tutorial...pff.t.

There is one for EU2 as well... Doesn't mean that its going to help with actually playing the game.

 

[Dell19]

Quick question, is it possible to get the UK to send troops to northern France or will the AI decide it is not worth it?

 

[potatokiosk]

I don't think there is a way to get the British to send an expeditionary force to France. I don't think the AI knows how.

 

[carmen510]

Yeah, Paradox has absurdly bad tutorials in terms of actually helping a new player understand the game. They make great games, but it takes a lot of time to master.

 

[Serutan]

I don't think there is a way to get the British to send an expeditionary force to France. I don't think the AI knows how.

The only way to do it would be to take military control of Britain, then you can
send the force to France yourself.

 

[Dell19]

The only way to do it would be to take military control of Britain, then you can
send the force to France yourself.

Thanks just tried that and found that the UK had pretty much solely built garrisons and then they have 1 tank division and two 1939 infantry divisions so it probably wouldn't be worth it.

 

[Dell19]

It might not be particularly amazing but I'm quite happy with only losing two provinces after nearly a year of war given the real life outcome. The UK did land some troops but they have evacuated whilst I took control of the Belgian troops once Belgium was lost. How long am I going to need to hold out until one of the other allies actually commits troops?