There’s no shortage of strategy games set in World War 2, but Hearts of Iron 4 from Paradox Interactive may likely be the most sophisticated of the bunch. While set in the same era, the game allows players to choose practically any nation in the world to try and dominate the historic conflict. Focusing more on being a grand strategy wargame, players can take minute control of many aspects of their nation’s military - even how things are designed. Players who want to take to the skies can create their own Aircraft Designs, allowing them to tinker with just about any kind of option they have to outmaneuver foes in the airspace.
However, the sheer level of customization Hearts of Iron 4 offers to Aircraft Designs can make the idea quite overwhelming for newcomers. Thankfully, some of the best Aircraft Designs the game can offer are within arm’s reach, provided players use the right approach. In fact, players may even just need to look at some of the best modern aircraft today to create a function schematic - something that may be explored with the right perspective.
Early Game Starter
Players who want to future-proof their Aircraft setups in Hearts of Iron 4 gameplay should opt for an Early Game Starter. This uses the Bf 109 A Fighter as a template while utilizing Quad Heavy Machine Guns for both Main Armament and Secondary Weapon to maximize Air Attack while using the most recent Engine available for the best possible Max Speed.
In addition, the Early Game Starter needs Self-Sealing Fuel Tanks and Armor Plates (Special Features). While these reduce overall speed, they do improve Thrust as well as provide decent Air Defense and Air Attack. Theoretically, this build should be potent enough to let players make progress on the aerial front for a few years before having to transition to upgraded builds.
Range Supremacy
Despite the current aircraft meta in Hearts of Iron 4 revolving around Quad Heavy Machine Guns and Armor Plates, the sheer reduction in Range can lessen Mission Efficiency, practically reducing the number of available units capable of engaging enemies in a mission. Range Supremacy tries to remedy this problem by giving aircraft as many means of getting to a location and engaging enemies as frequently as possible, as sometimes sheer numbers can still dominate tailor-built aircraft.
With Range Supremacy, components are still dominated by Self-Sealing Fuel Tanks and an Armor Plate with the addition of a Drop Tank (Special Features). To further increase Range, players can add Light MG Defense Turret instead of an Armor Plate. Meanwhile, replacing a Quad Heavy Machine Gun with a 2x Cannon I can improve a unit’s capability of trading hits with a triple-Quad unit even when outnumbered.
Naval Bomber Efficiency
Players who want to contend with the enemy navy from the skies would want to rely on Naval Bomber Efficiency, a Naval Bomber build based on the Ar 196. Unlike other builds in Hearts of Iron 4, Naval Bomber Efficiency has less to do with dominating the meta and instead relies more on creating a practical Naval Bomber that achieves its intended goal of destroying naval targets.
In that regard, there’s much less priority in the overall Main Armament save for the requirement that players equip Torpedo Mountings. Other than that, they can opt for a single or a pair of 2x Cannons for extra firepower or could opt without it to gain extra Speed. In terms of defense, aside from the Air Defense of Self-Sealing Fuel Tanks, it’s recommended players get the additional anti-naval targeting of Dive Brakes as well as Floats (Special Features). These units suffer on the speed department, so it’s ideal that their Division comes with assistance in the form of other air units in the area.
Mid-Game Meta
Should players reach 1939, they may want to switch things up by upgrading the kit of their initial Hearts of Iron 4 aircraft. In the Mid-Game Meta, players this time around can use the Fw 190 while still using the best-possible Single Engine they’ve used prior, as this build focuses more on upgraded firepower before outrunning enemies.
In the case of the Mid-Game Meta, players can still use up to three Quad Heavy Machine Gun for optimal offense while adding Self-Sealing Fuel Tanks and twice the Armor Plates (Special Features) for decent Thrust, Air Defense, and Air Attack. The main advantage of this build is that it’s usable for the rest of the game from its 1939 era to the endgame in 1944. Its only setback is that it’s not as optimal in ranged encounters.
Attack Is King
Gamers who want to dominate the air space in their Hearts of Iron 4 gameplay may want to consider prioritizing Air Attack and Air Defense instead of adding to Agility, as air combat is usually dictated by the quality of firepower and not necessarily the ship’s overall performance. To secure this, players can rely on the Attack is King build to outfit a Fighter like the Fw 190 with the best possible configuration to outlast most enemies.
In that regard, Attack is King replaces the traditional triple Quad Light Machine Gun with just one of the former and two 2x Cannons 1 to maximize Air Attack bonuses. Moreover, grabbing the 1940 version of the Single Engine can vastly improve the plane’s speed.
Fighter Domination
Sometimes, the best kind of aerial offense in Hearts of Iron 4 gameplay using any country has to do with the way players maximize the Fighter. In Fighter Domination, players take the Improved Small Airframe and use the Spitfire build to create a kit capable of capitalizing on aerial firepower in the early game.
With Fighter Domination, players build Air Attack via one 2x Cannon I (Main Armament) as well as a pair of Quad Heavy Machine Guns (Secondary Weapons). In terms of defenses, players need two Armor Plates and a Level 3 Engine to boost top speed to maximum possible efficiency. This basic approach to the meta build can create a highly-efficient Fighter plane to best most AI opponents and require only a bit of tinkering to perform in multiplayer.
Late-Game Meta Tweaking
Players who want a straightforward progression through the meta in their Hearts of Iron 4 gameplay can pick the Fw 190 Mid-Game Meta and do a bit of tweaking to reach the Late-Game Meta Tweaking kit. While players can proceed with this at the onset, this is still an optional improvement to its mid-game variant due to how this build simply boosts the aircraft’s potential for close-ranged missions.
With Late-Game Meta Tweaking, players take the same Mid-Game Meta Fw 190 build but replace its third Quad Heavy Machine Gun with a CAS Weapon such as a Bomb Lock or Rocket Rails (Secondary Weapons). The Rails is more recommended as it doesn’t make planes lose Agility in close-ranged missions compared to Bomb Locks, with Agility being an integral component in these missions as aircraft tend to lose them the closer to a target they are.
Close Air Support Potential
Despite the potential of planes providing general air support, there’s value in having aircraft swoop in and give air support to Infantry Divisions or get up close and personal in enemy territories. In this regard, Close Air Support Potential is a recommended approach as it only requires a little tinkering of the existing triple Quad Light Machine Gun setup of staple Fw 190 planes.
This time around, Close Air Support Potential replaces the Quad LMG setup with one x2 Cannon (Main Armament) as well as two Small Bomb Bays (Secondary Weapon), considering how they provide better stats despite the additional Weight. Although it’s tempting to add Special Features to the rest of the kit, the potential to reduce Accuracy won’t improve much when it comes to usability in its close-air support functionality.
Hearts of Iron 4 is available on the PC.