In the grand strategy space, Hearts of Iron 4 might be as grand as it gets.
It’s basically a simulation of WWII, where the outcome isn’t dictated by what’s written in the history books.
Millennium Dawn: Modern Day Mod A collection of mods rather than a single one, Millennium Dawn's most obvious change is that of bringing the modern-day world map into Hearts of Iron IV. Naturally, its set of changes go much deeper than the surface, also introducing new economic and political systems alongside new technologies and focus trees.
And you learn pretty quickly that war isn’t only about shooting soldiers and manning tanks. The true depth of the game lies in how it gives you a bird’s eye view of everything that goes on during wartime –politics, diplomacy, and even economy.
But if you’ve already played through this so many times and really want some fresh campaigns, modding is here to help.
And with this massive list I think you’ll be itching to try out at least a few of these.
As with any game, one of the first things modders always improve is graphics.
Hearts Of Iron 4 is no different.
And as long as your setup can handle it, you’re going to want to download and install all 5 of AdamosTomatos’ texture packs.
The level of detail found in HOI4’s visuals is already amazing. But these just take everything up a notch.
The collection includes texture overhauls for terrain, water, borders, and citylights, as well as a shader pack to make everything look even more realistic.
While the first mod was purely cosmetic, this next one makes some visual changes as well… but to serve a different purpose.
Gundahar’s Coloured Buttons mod simply color-codes the most important buttons on the otherwise dull UI of the base game, making everything much easier to navigate through.
You might have noticed that everything looks alike in the default UI, which can make it difficult to find exactly what you’re looking for.
As advertised, the mod prevents miss clicks and vitalizes a somewhat plain UI.
Graphics aren’t the only thing getting upgraded in HOI4. Cat mario 1 2 3 4 download.
The music and sounds can be altered with modding as well.
This next mod in particular might not seem like much, but you’d be surprised much more immersive the game can feel.
This Battlesounds mod pack changes nearly all animation sounds in HOI4. This way, in-game sounds will actually be interesting. Instead of the repetitive gunfire and explosions you’d normally hear in the background.
Wartime isn’t necessarily all gunfights all the time.
There will be some downtime, especially when carefully plotting political moves or managing funding for military resources.
And what better time to have a good soundtrack to keep you company?
The Hearts of Iron III Music Addon is a great option for additional music, as it doesn’t remove anything, but just adds all the music from HOI3 to the game.
Fans of the series, rejoice!
Speaking of immersion, there are several smaller mods aimed directly at improving that.
They might not seem like much on their own, but trust me: when installed together these will make a huge difference. Especially if you’re at all familiar with history.
The first of these mods is the Historical Flag Mod, which simply replaces the flags for pretty every nation to an accurate depiction of what was actually used during the time.
Right alongside the previous mod you’re going to want Ulmont’s Unique Infrantry Equipment mod.
Like the previous entry, this one replaces all information and icons for infantry weapons in the game.
That’s right, all infantry equipment will now show accurate icons of what was actually used by each country, along with their proper names as well.
A definite must-have. Especially for history buffs.
Another quality of life mod that further improves your UI?
I’ll take it!
Strategic View Adjustments makes several visual changes, all geared towards making things much more readable and easier to understand.
For one, counters are now collapsible. So they don’t obstruct your view at any time.
Several icons have also been colored and tweaked for easier visibility, along with several font adjustments and resizing to make everything much easier to read.
I have to admit, this next one doesn’t really do much. I personally think it’s really cool though, doing a great job at making the game more immersive as well.
Modders lemonporn and LordVarangian felt that HOI4 was lacking when it comes to flavor. Other than the few news and major events throughout a campaign, there isn’t much going on.
As a result, they created the World News mod.
It essentially gives you a weekly newspaper spread similar to Victoria II’s mechanic.
It’s a great flavor mod that adds a total of 165 weekly articles on different ads, historic events, and even everyday news relevant to the time.
If you’ve played through the campaign a few times before, you’re most likely already looking for ways to expand your next session to keep things interesting.
There are several mods that can help. Pne of which is Aerodil’s Realistic Air Missions.
As you probably guessed, the mod focuses on HOI4’s aircraft system, significantly expanding on the base game’s air tech tree.
The improved tech tree includes mission capabilities for fighters, heavy fighters, medium bombers and heavy bombers, new aircraft variants, and more historical researchable aircraft types.
If you enjoy maximizing your air force, you can’t go wrong with this one.
If you want to take things even further, the Expanded Technology + Industry + Equipment mod is worth looking into
The mod enhances the game’s entire tech tree, even taking it into the early 1950’s.
There are so many added options for research here, which means you’ll have to be more careful about choosing what you get. Don’t worry too much though, as an additional research slot is also granted to make room for more technological advancement as well.
IR Sanguinem et Lacrimas is another fantastic mod if you’re looking to expand on HOI4’s research options.
Except this time, modder Araxiel did his best to stay as close to possible to the vanilla tech tree.
Instead of making large changes, he focuses on keeping it realistic and historically accurate so as not to break the game’s immersion.
It’s definitely similar to the previous mod. But does have a unique flavor to it.
This one covers everything from amphibious tanks all the way to chemical warfare – which should make for an interesting WWII campaign.
New World Order is another wonderful expansion option which offers its own unique approach to enhancing HOI4’s gameplay.
Modders Pearl and Protroid decided to place their focus on improving political systems instead of tech trees, with the ultimate goal of changing how you make decisions for your nation during your playthrough.
Manpower laws are heavily expanded here, as well as the introduction of press and women’s rights laws – making for a wider range of possibilities within the game’s politics system.
This should make for some interesting changes in how the war pans out for sure.
The Road to 56 is widely considered to be the best HOI4 expansion mod available. And it takes it even further than tech tree enhancements.
While the mod does expand the tech tree, it also extends the entire game’s timeline all the way to 1956.
With that, The Road to 56 then classifies itself as an alternate history mod, as it also makes way for outcomes that wouldn’t be possible in vanilla.
That’s not all: as the mod features new units, a new troop experience system, and expanded difficulty modifiers, among other changes.
If you’re still enjoying vanilla HOI4, you might want to consider taking the difficulty level up a notch.
Expert AI 4.0 is the perfect way to do so, bringing a much more aggressive AI to your campaign experience.
Galactic monster quest credits hack. You’ll find that the enemy AI is much less predictable with this installed, as they’ve been given enhanced decision-making skills covering everything from division designs, research, diplomacy, construction, and even combat strategy.
It won’t be an easy playthrough for sure.
But if you’re up for a challenge, go ahead and give this a shot.
There are always the mods for players who are looking for a much more extensive overhaul of the game.
We read you loud and clear.
And there are loads of options for HOI4, each having plenty to offer – which only means you’ll have lots of options for when you feel like the game you’re playing just isn’t as exciting as it used to be.
Endsieg: Ultimate Victory already gives you a number of options once you get this installed, allowing you to choose between 8 different starting points. But that’s just the beginning.
You’ll be able to start as early as 1910, just at the eve of WWI, or all the way up to 1945 as WWII is coming to an end.
Similar to Endsieg, Hearts of Iron IV: The Great War takes you all the way back to 1910.
The difference is mainly that this mod places all of its focus on the events of WWI.
With that, you get a much more detailed playthrough of the era.
This is achieved through overhauled focus trees for relevant nations as well as new weapons, doctrines, and technologies that are all relevant to the time period.
The mod looks great as well, as it includes custom 3D models for infantry and vehicles.
Now that you’ve played through WWI, why not spice things up with another alternative history mod?
Führerreich: Legacy of The Great War takes you to the events directly following The Great War, where Germany has lost to the Allied powers.
While the next decade was relatively peaceful for most of the world, it appears as though another global conflict is brewing in the 1930’s.
Other than the alt-history scenario, the mod comes with a completely overhauled political system, a reworked map, and new ideologies, events, focus trees, and more. Check it out!
While we’ve gone all the way back to the beginning of the first World War, The New Order: Last Days of Europe takes the opposite approach.
This time we’re thrown all the way to 1962, twenty years after the events of WWII.
The German Reich still reigns supreme. But Hitler is seeing his last days on his deathbed. Meanwhile, events across the United States, Asia, and Europe are struggling as well.
Tensions are high and the balance is about to be tipped – who knows what could happen next.
This mod contains tons of new content, including 10 years’ worth of content for the German campaign, and another 5 for England.
Equestria at War is surely the strangest entry you’re going to find on this list – or even on the entire Steam Workshop, for that matter.
Visual basic examples pdf. As explained in the description:
“Equestria at War is a mod that tries to recreate the fantasy world of Equestria from My Little Pony franchise in a slightly darker setting with industrialization, corruption and political disagreements.”
Wait, what??
Don’t let the ppearance fool you. Many consider this to be one of the best mods you can get for Hearts Of Iron 4.
But it will not feel anything like a typical HOI4 playthrough, that’s for sure.
Now here’s another unique one – End of a New Beginning.
The team features too many names to mention, which isn’t surprising considering how big this mod is.
As opposed to other mods who choose to focus on specific time periods of history, this one aims to cover a whole three centuries between the American Civil War and the modern era.
While the mod is still in its early stages, the mod team has loads of content planned for a future release. So it might be a good idea to keep an eye on this one.
Hearts of Oak takes yet another approach, this time focusing on improving what Hearts Of Iron 4 already has to offer instead of expanding anything and everything…
We get these improvements mostly by touching up the tech trees, focus trees, designers, and advisors, among other changes to make for a more balanced HOI4 experience.
Another major change here is that the AI has been tweaked to keep your playthroughs as engaging as possible.
If you don’t want to change things up too much, but still want the feeling of fresh eyes, this is a great way to go.
Many fans would argue that any HOI4 mods list isn’t complete without the mention of BlackICE.
Before we get into it though, BlackICE is mainly targeted towards the more seasoned HOI4 players. As it offers a difficulty level that beginners probably won’t enjoy.
With that, the mod is a complete overhaul that adds in tons of new units, equipment types, and vehicles.
Beyond that, focus trees and the political system have been enhanced as well to provide players with more options when it comes to managing their nation during wartime.
The mod team warns that the amount of content available here will demand dedication and attention from any player, so be sure you’re ready before heading into a game of BlackICE.
Old World Blues is another mainstay towards the top of most HOI4 mod lists. It aims to merge the game with another popular video game series: Fallout.
While you might be thinking that that would make for a pretty strange combination, it actually works out pretty well.
The mod takes us way forward to year 2275, and places us directly into the Fallout universe.
As expected, the world is in a post-apocalyptic state. But the conflict is far from over.
You’re given a completely reworked map of North America as your setting, along with a couple new unit types, an overhauled tech tree, and tons of new gameplay mechanics to explore.
If you’re a Fallout fan, or a fan of anything with a post-apocalyptic theme for that matter, you should definitely give this one a go.
We get yet another unique experience here with Millennium Dawn: Modern Day.
It aims to combine all of the best modern mods for Hearts Of Iron 4 into one complete package. And I’d say it succeeds!
This is probably the best modern HOI4 experience you’re going to get, with completely new tech trees, economic and political systems, and mechanics to match the timeframe.
You’ll have to worry about things like national taxation and debt, as well as international influence. This all adds depth to the game that’s hard to find elsewhere.
All in all, if you’re looking for a modern HOI4 experience to get you playing again, this is where to start.
And taking the top of our list we have Kaiserreich.
There’s no question that Kaiserreich is one of the most well-loved mods in the HOI community, and with good reason.
Kaiserreich has been around since Hearts Of Iron II, each time posing the exact same question: what if Germany had won World War 1?
This mod is packed with content. It offers a rich alternate history with tons of possible outcomes that you probably can’t even begin to imagine.
Finding out what might happen next is already so interesting… but the mod features lots of other changes to discover, including a new political system, focus trees, and even unique graphics upgrades.
Browse:Hearts of IronVideo GamesOf all the Paradox titles to deploy massive Mods libraries, none might compare with the whopping collection of over 20,000 Hearts of Iron IV Mods. Trying to pick and choose mods through this white-out of vast choices can be as daunting as Operation Barbarossa.
Still, let's ride this tiger of selection and focus on four salient categories to encircle some of the best mods out there. And yes, there is a Battle Royale mod.
This is a new mod that's risen in popularity since we last did our checks. As implied by the title, it changes the setting to the Cold War period, with start dates ranging from 1949 through to 1970. There are plans to extend the timeline into the 1990's. This mod features between 10-20 years worth of content for all the major powers, including some minors. It also has thousands of new events, new units, new mechanics including DECON and MAD. You can purchase equipment from the private sector, a new economic system.
Many nations have their own unique mechanics as well. Make sure you don't accidentally download the old version of the mod. You want this one here.
Compatible of Collie 1.10.
This mod caught our eye recently via our Discord sever, as it appeared to offer a Victorian-era experience wrapped in Hearts of Iron's shenanigans. We immediately sent our resident HoI 4 mod guru, Timothy, to check it out and answer one simple question: Is End of a New Beginning the Victoria 3 we've been looking for?
Short answer, probably not. The mod is still in relatively early days, and there's only dedicated content up to 1885. Furthermore, we're worried its commitment to extending the timeline from 1857 through to 2050 is a bit ambitious, given the vastly different worlds represented in that start and end date. They might as well just ask Paradox to make a new game. Also, warfare in EoanB isn't that satisfying as it still uses the mechanics from vanilla HoI 4, more or less. Waging war in the 19th century feels no different than waging war in the 20th, so there's still plenty of work to be done. That said, this is still a fascinating project, and one to keep an eye on!
Officially compatible up to Patch 1.9.3. Does not require any DLCs at the moment, and users are reporting that it seems to work fine with 1.10 Collie anyway.
One of the more famous mods from the days of Hearts of Iron 3, BlackICE is an immersion & realism mod aimed at making the game more challenging & historical. It's actually recommended that you play with 'Historical Focus' switched on for this mod, as it caters for the crowd who specifically want the challenge of WW2 as it unfolded, as opposed to the growing alt-history/sandbox crowd. Everything from new units and equipment, to new national Focus Trees (many borrowed from other mods that have done good work in this area), to expanding on the Law and Politics mechanics has been looked at. The AI is more challenging, there's more breadth and depth of options, and generally speaking this an excellent historical immersion experience.
BlackICE is compatible with Husky 1.9.3 and there's a test version for 1.10 Collie currently live here.
Why fight WW2, when you can fight WW1 instead? The Great Wardoes exactly what it says on the tin - Hearts of Iron 4 has been transformed to the world of 1910, where old-fashioned imperialistic powers jockey for supremacy at the dawn of the 20th Century. The game & mechanics have been completely overhauled to fit the period - that means that innovations like Tanks and Planes will take a while to enter the fray, so you'll mainly be looking at infantry tactics. The team is currently at work on bridging the gap between the First and Second World Wars, with work being done on the interwar tech and decision trees.
Fun fact, the developers of this mod have actually launched a Patreon to fund development of their from-scratch WW1 game, Fields of History: The Great War.
This mod is compatible with Version 1.10 Collie & all DLCS.
More than just extending the timeline to 1956, this mod peppers the entire world with greater detail and complexity. Not content to wait for Paradox to release content packs for various countries, The Road to 56 provides deep and sometimes quirky focus trees for dozens of countries overlooked by the base game. The most amazing part about this deeper focus on different countries is that it offers choices that go to the very heart of the focus system: the ability to choose a nation's destiny does not need to be an exercise in strict historicity. The creativity that the team places on the focus trees is bolstered by upgrades and expansions to the technologies, political mechanics, laws, etc. This is a one stop shop for a total enhancement of the game.
This mod is compatible with Version 1.9.2 Husky & all DLCS. At the time of writing, an update to 1.10 Collie is expected within the next week.
Sometimes totally overhauling the game requires a subtle touch. In this case, Hearts of Oak does not attempt to change the base game into something unrecognizable but enhances and re-balances technologies, industries, wars, events etc. in areas where the Paradox team may have glossed over. Complete with a much improved AI, playing HOI4 no longer feels like a “solved” game as most playthroughs can be like but is a dynamic and challenging foray into the dangers of Global Total War. With a keen focus on deepening historical accuracy with challenges for the player, this mod succeeds in bringing more life to this cacophony of death.
This mod is compatible with Version 1.10 Collie & all DLCS.
Winner of the 'Outstanding Modding Achievement' at the 2018 PDXCon, Millennium Dawn delivers exactly what one would imagine: the modern world set in stunning detail on the HOI4 Engine. This mod will be the closest we'll get to a global geopolitical grand strategy set in contemporary times and its fantastic depth makes it an exciting if not eerie look at today's world. One of the best examples of the impressive capabilities of totally overhauling the game, this mod promises political intrigue that's worthy of network news.
Last time we checked, this mod is compatible with Husky 1.9.1. We're not sure about later versions at this time.
The veteran alternate history mod on the block. This mod can trace its origin back to Hearts of Iron II. Kaiserreich asks the daring question of: “What if Germany won WWI?”. A deeply rich world fourteen years in the making, every aspect of this alternate history is fully fleshed out in this latest incarnation to delight fans of the legacy of this mod as well as new players.
Tackling an entirely dynamic yet strangely parallel political landscape boasting thousands of unique events, fully fleshed out focus trees, and quirky interactions, this mod gives the player a tantalizing taste of living in an alternate timeline. A true joy to experience for the story and drama with brand new ideologies and situations based on all of the consequences of this “what if”. The visual appeal is impressive as the custom models and graphics add true immersion to this other world. If you're interested in learning more, we did a more in-depth analysis into what makes this mod so compelling.
This mod is compatible with Version 1.10 Collie & all DLCS. Please note that a new version of the mod has been uploaded under a new entry, and you'll need to unsubscribe and re-subscribe to the new version.
Old World Blues brings the Fallout universe to HoI4, which makes for a surprisingly solid combination. The research tab has been replaced by a new tech tree, reflecting the state of the Fallout universe in 2275; some of the 'tribal' factions will be equipped with spears and scavenged firearms, where the more advanced factions can research and deploy the vaunted Power Armor that has been on the cover of most every Fallout release in the last few years. Many of the factions will have their own unique decisions and focus trees. Much of this will be familiar to players of New Vegas, but there is plenty grabbed from the lore of the first and second Fallout games as well.
There is a lot of depth here, and more on the way, as the modding team is looking to expand the map eastward past the plains and to the Atlantic coast, where we will see the Capital Wasteland and the Commonwealth of Boston represented as well. Keep your eye on this one.
This mod is compatible with Version 1.10 Collie & all DLCS. There is a legacy version here.
This could also be considered an 'overhaul' mod of sorts given the extensive work done with the AI, but it's not meant to necessarily give the player an alternative scenario or a more immersive experience. Expert AIputs in a lot of behind the scenes work to make the AI a more challenging opponent for the players, specifically with the 1936 start with Historical Focus mode turned on. It's not able to address everything, but it touches a wide range of AI behaviours & decision making systems so that computer opponents fight smarter & harder. It's also not recommended you use this mod while playing minor nations.
This mod is compatible with Version 1.10 Husky & all DLCS, although it has some very specific compatibility requirements. If you don't have Man the Guns, the mod will also cause some unexpected AI behaviour.
The amusingly accurate name delivers on its promise. Cities are now expanded into several provinces ramping up the siege drama of urban warfare. Single points and single army combat is expanded into a truly epic battlefield that does away with another layer of abstraction. A small change, but an incredibly rewarding one when such battles as Stalingrad and Moscow are finally more representative of their real history counterparts.
This mod is compatible up to Husky 1.9.2., but it doesn't work with other non-graphics mods.
Never to trust the AI to have our best interests at heart, it's time to take full control of the peace process through the Player-Led Peace Conferencemod. The obvious drawback is that this is not at all 'historically accurate' but it does offer the player the choice to roleplay their way into a more reasonable peace table if they so desire or just greedily skew everything in his or her favour. Simple yet this mod fixes one of the most annoying things about playing with AI allies.
This mod is compatible with Version 1.10 Collie & all DLCS. A Legacy version for Version 1.9 and below players can be found here.
Have you ever thought, “Gee, HOI4 goes way too fast for me! If only there was something more immersive!” Well you’re in luck! With HOI4 In Real Time!, the game takes a full 60 real-life minutes to process one in-game hour at the slowest speed. You read that correctly. Don’t use this mod. Or do. If you're reading this and the 2020 COVID-19 crises is still on-going, you’ll certainly have time to now with us all quarantined.
This mod is, unfortunately, fully compatible up to 1.10 Collie.
While the epic tones of HOI4 may be great for the high stakes drama, it's still rewarding to sit back and listen to the music of the era and of the common soldier. Highly immersive and strangely sombre, this music pack of over 600 songs (though not all are historically accurate) aims to create a certain atmosphere that reminds the player that he's leading millions to death, heartache, and immortal glory.
With the addition of the new in-game radio, now is a better time than ever to try this mod out!
Currently compatible with 1.10 Collie.
The nitty gritty of realistic global warfare is reflected in this meticulous reworking of the terrain textures into landscapes that not only look more realistic but speak of the startling scope of the conflict. A gorgeous tour de force, no one is the poorer for this graphical upgrade which brings an added level of immersion to the rampaging divisions vying for global control. One of the best things about this mod is that it does not sacrifice performance allowing the player to enjoy a greater expanse of visual goodies without any added lag.
Currently compatible up to 1.10 Collie.
One of the things HOI4 lacks is the view of how the general population fares when the world is in turmoil. World News brings back the newspaper feature of Victoria II, giving a glimpse into the life of the average person during wartime. There are some recycled items from Victoria II, but this mod goes a ways towards breaking up the monotony of the early game slog where all you can do is wait for foci to finish and factories to be built.
Fully compatible up to the current version and all DLCS.
Modding has never been easier as the Steam Workshop literally makes adding a mod as easy as clicking the subscribe button on the mod's respective page. The mod will be automatically downloaded and will populate the mods section in HOI4's launcher. Here are some tips for first timers:
Keep in mind that not all mods might be found on the Steam Workshop even if the vast majority are. Simply check the Paradox forum for their listed mods and follow their instructions on their respective threads to download them. While the kinds of mods people want to look for is up to them, let's go through some key categories that will help catalyse that modding experience that has become such a staple for Paradox games.
Do you have any mod suggestions or personal favourites we can add to our list? Let us know in the comments!