General information | Nations Hearts of Iron IV Guide

Selecting a nation is a very important decision that should be made at the beginning of the game. It determines a number of factors that will influence the latter part of the game. Depending on the ideology of a specific nation additional bonuses and restrictions that will affect global politics and diplomacy may appear. You should select a country in accordance to your own preferences about the political system present in a country. The type of government of a specific country is not fixed and can be changed by selecting specific national focuses and political advisors. You must remember that if you decided to play with the most complex faction, you will be facing with a lot more factors than during the standard gameplay.

The game gives you access to any nation - select the one that suits your needs the most.

Depending on the size of the land under the control of the nation you've decided to play, you will be faced with problems associated with governing specific provinces, especially if most of them are located on separate continents, like in the case of the United Kingdom. On the other hand, a large number of provinces is an evidence of economic prosperity, as each one of those at the beginning of the game has limited options when it comes to starting new constructions. Smaller country means smaller chance for an economic stability because your country won't have enough provinces to construct factories in. If your country doesn't have access to see, it will have reduced trading capabilities.

Below you can find comments on different types of governments that you will stumble upon during the game. Countries that are the most complex because of their significant roles in the World War II will also be described. Remember that each nation represents different national focuses that it must achieve in order to maintain balance and have a chance in the upcoming global conflict. If you select a technologically advanced country you will have a technological advantage over the remaining nations, which can in turn make the gameplay a little easier. Each day in Hearts of Iron IV is crucial and only with the proper time management you will be able to succeed. If you are starting your adventure with the game select a country that will provide large bonuses from the beginning, or a small one that will be easy to govern given a small amount of provinces.

Democracy

Traits
Can declare war on democratic countries without a wargoal	NO
Can guarantee countries with other ideologies	YES
Lowers World Tension with guarantees	YES
Can puppet a country in a peace conference	NO
Can justify wargoals against countries that have not generated World Tension	NO

Modifiers:

Declare war tension limits: +100%

Tension limit - join faction: +80%

Tension limit - Lend-Lease: +50%

Tension limit - Send volunteers: +50%

Tension limit - Guarantee: 25%

Take states cost: +25%

Annex cost: +50%

4-year government cadency

Commentary: pay attention to the amount of factors that influence a country with the democratic government. Note that democratic countries can't wage wars against each other which points you in the direction you should choose allies from. You can try to remain neutral by ensuring other countries about your lack of invasion plans on their territories, but because of the way the game works there's a very small chance that none of them will demand a portion of your terrain in return. Also, remember that through guarantees granted to other countries you will be able to decrease the level of World Tension. This in turn will allow you to seize control over territories belonging to other countries while exerting a low amount of pressure on your allies. Additionally, democracy-oriented countries have elections every 4 years. It can lead to an imbalance in the current government when a party with a different attitude than the one that reigned before it comes to power. What is more, democracy-oriented countries can't create puppet countries. Playing by using a democracy-oriented country comes with a degree of complexity because of the fluctuations of the government each time a new party comes to power. Additionally, you will experience some limitations when it comes to foreign politics.

Fascism

Traits
Can force government of another country to adopt the same ideology.	NO
Can send volunteer forces	YES

Modifiers:

Time to justify war when at war with major power: -80%

Commentary: in the case of fascism, the thing that strikes the most is the modifier that significantly decreases the time to justify war when at war with major power. If the country is at war with a major power, it can almost freely move its units across other countries and doesn't have to wait long for the results of its decisions. In case of a fascism government you don't have to worry about elections and the chances for a change in the ideology are practically nonexistent. On the other hand, the developers of the game made it clear that fascists can't force other countries to change their ideologies, which is why you must focus on conquering the unconquered lands in your line of sight. Note that you can send volunteer forces to help other countries belonging to your faction. A volunteer group is an army that can be send to an ally that is at war to help them succeed in their actions.

Communism

Traits
Can impose its ideology on other countries	NO
Can send volunteers	YES
Can occupy territory owned by neutral countries	YES

Modifiers

Puppet cost: -30%

Commentary: communism is very similar to fascism when it comes to the traits. There's no chance to impose your own ideology on a different country and there's no chance for a change of government in your own country. Although you can't force a country to change ideology, note the costs of creating a puppet country. Given a reduced cost of the said process, communism-oriented countries (according to the history as well) are perfectly suited to create their own branches in other countries. Similarly to fascism, communism countries aren't limited in any way when assisting allied countries from same the same faction. On the other hand, note that communism-oriented countries can report their claims to a portion of the territory of a country even if they aren't at war with the said country and aren't planning to be at it as well. If you are bordering a communist country make sure to keep a lot of forces across the said border to prevent them from a sudden invasion. In case of the USSR you expect an overwhelming amount of soldiers that will literally flood your country before you can do anything.

Non-Aligned

Traits
Can impose its ideology on other countries	NO
Can puppet countries in a peace conference	NO

Modifiers:

Declare war tension limits: +50%

Tension limit - join faction: +40%

Tension limit - Lend-Lease: +40%

Tension limit - Send volunteers: +40%

Tension limit - Guarantee: +40%

Ideology drift defence: -30%

Commentary: non-aligned country gives a lot of opportunities to change the ideology, but similarly to other authoritarian systems will not allow you to force your ideology on others. Additionally, you won't be able to create a puppet country, which significantly decreases your diplomatic capabilities during conflicts. What is more, non-aligned countries are by nature non-aggressive. It means that every war-related activity will significantly increase the level of the World Tension. It's not the level of the democratic countries, but every attempt of aggression will increase the chances of the global conflict. On the other hand, non-aligned countries have the same restrictions, as democratic ones. Some diplomatic actions, such as Land-Lease, significantly increase the level of World Tension.