The game Hearts of Iron IV is all about finding the right balance. You have to learn how to balance the attacks between several types of strikes to win the game, either against real opponents or just AI.
The airdrop is the best illustration of this. You might be a ground combat expert, but your global ambitions will still require you to learn the art of dropping armies into other nations. This necessitates learning the usage of paratroopers.
Are you looking for a solution on how to utilize paratroopers in HOI4? Continue reading to learn more through our extensive guide!
All About the Paradrop
The phrase “paradrop” is among the Hearts of Iron IV words you’ll hear all the time. This, obviously, refers to the paratroopers being dropped inside enemy territory.
It’s important to remember that not all forces can be deployed as paradrop forces. Line battalions, for instance, would be unable to fly on transport aircraft. Pay close attention to the screen of your unit developer to see whether the division may be employed as paratroopers.
Paradrops, like many other aspects in HOI4, are simple to learn but difficult to implement. This article will teach you all you need to know about paradrop fighting, from the fundamentals to more complex techniques.
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Paradrop Basics
In order to start a paradrop, you’ll need an airstrip with transport aircraft. You’ll also have to be certain you have adequate transport aircraft to accommodate your soldiers’ weight (keep reading to understand this concept).
You can’t simply go into any region whenever you want. Instead, you’ll need to command at minimum 70% of both the airzones surrounding your initial airport and your targeted drop point.
The paradrop mechanism is indeed quite basic. Once you have control of those airzones, all you have to do now is move soldiers from one spot to another using transport planes. However, if you’re not cautious about the place you drop the paratroopers and what commands you provide them, they could end up leaping to their deaths.
Air Superiority
Earlier in this article, we spoke about how you will need to command at minimum 70% of both the airzones surrounding your initial airport and your targeted drop point. How precisely do you handle this situation? It all boils down to having an advantage in the air, aka air supremacy.
Using your country’s aerial fighters seems to be the easiest method to gain air superiority. You may build air superiority as well as keep the air safe for your shipments by guiding them to the correct zone.
While aircraft are the easiest way to gain air supremacy, you may also clear the area with close air support and non-naval bombardment. It is only a case of using the full potential of all resources you have at your disposal.
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Transport Planes and Weight
Remember how everyone claims you don’t need math in your everyday life and that it’s useless? Unfortunately, getting the most out of cargo aircraft requires completing some rapid arithmetic on the go.
The maximum capacity of each cargo aircraft is 2.0. In the meantime, paratrooper infantry weighs 0.5 tonnes, and parachute support companies weigh 0.1 tonnes.
This is a relatively straightforward math problem. Each transport aircraft may transport four paratrooper units if you choose to concentrate only on them. Alternatively, you are free to move any number of units and supporting soldiers (although we suggest packing a minimum of three units per transport).
Whatever you choose, don’t attempt to transfer more passengers than your aircraft are capable of carrying. This will lead the aircraft to make several flights, interrupting your strategy and increasing the danger to your men.
Where To Land
You should be able to store your transport aircraft with soldiers and start a paradrop. That raises the obvious issue of where your forces will land. One of the gaming aspects that closest resembles genuine military strategies is this one.
Once you land your paratroopers, you’ll discover they’re running short on supplies. You must assist them in locating supplies as quickly as possible in order to provide them a chance to fight. As a result, you’ll have to land near a supply source while seizing it as quickly as possible.
You may even set up an air distribution system for the infantry soldiers if you have purchased the Waking the Tiger DLC. This way, even though you haven’t seized any resources on the ground, your troops will continue fighting for extended periods of time.
Coordinating With Ground Troops
So far, we’ve just looked at the paratroopers. Yet, in HOI4, coordinating your paratroopers about any current ground troops is one of the greatest methods.
You might, for example, station your soldiers on the frontier of a nation you want to invade. The adversary will retaliate by deploying soldiers to the frontier to confront your soldiers. While the opposing ground troops are busy somewhere else, you may deploy paratroopers into crucial regions and gain victory.
You’ll have to do some “trial and error” workouts, just like with some other technique, to figure out what works better for your unique play style.
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Advanced Strategy
You might want to attempt a more complex approach if you have a strong grip on paradrops and paratroopers. Selectively dumping your soldiers into various provinces is one of the more complex methods.
Instead of sending everyone to a single province, consider sending a battalion to each province you want to assault. This allows you to swiftly seize enemy-controlled territory.
You may be able to employ this tactic to loop around the opposing front with some luck. You may utilize this technique to rapidly achieve victory when coupled with a ground troop strike.
Troubleshooting
Your greatest adversary as a player is always the computer. It’s not only the A.I. that’s to blame. You must be aware not just of hostile forces but also of game faults!
Despite the fact that you do have air superiority, you might well have trouble descending into a region. This may happen if you attempt to arrive in a region whose central node is truly out of range for your transport aircraft. You won’t be able to finish the paradrop if you attempt to land in this province since the whole procedure is trapped in an eternal loop.
Luckily, this is a simple problem to solve. Simply select the paradrop arrangement on the Air Map, left-click its order’s circle symbol, and afterwards right-click and reassign it. Now that you have successfully reassigned the central node, you can finish the drop as directed, but don’t forget to stay within its range.
