There are many ways to advance on a frontline in Hearts of Iron 4. You can try to push through the ground divisions, invade navally around the line, or drop right behind them using Paratroopers.
Paradropping is an art that many HOI4 players need to master to sometimes beat hard-to-beat enemies and get to their most important cities in one fell swoop.
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Though you can’t really capitulate the AI anymore using paradrops, you can still get behind enemy lines and confuse the enemy enough to mount a powerful offensive using the other divisions.
To paradrop in HOI4, select an army that has Paratrooper divisions, press the Paradrop Order command, click on an Air Base with at least 50 Transport Planes, and right-click the place you want to drop the troops.
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How to Paradrop in HOI4
The most important step before paradropping in HOI4 is actually unlocking Paratroopers. You cannot use any other troops for this operation.
To unlock Paratroopers in HOI4, go to the Infantry tab and select to research them. Just scroll down to locate them under the Special Forces section and click to learn about them in around 140 days.
A Paratrooper template will be generated by the game and will be available for use in the Recruit & Deploy tab after completing the research.
Here is exactly how you can paradrop in HOI4 once you’ve unlocked Paratroopers:
- Recruit and deploy Paratrooper divisions.
- Select them and combine them into an army (press the man silhouette with the green + at the bottom of the screen).
- In the missions tab above the army generals, click the parachute icon to choose the beginning and landing points for the Paratroop Order.
- To begin carrying out the plan, press the green arrow hanging above the general of the army’s head.
Common Paradrop Problems
The most common problems you will bump into while trying to paradrop in HOI4 are:
- Transport Planes haven’t mobilized.
- Less than 50 Transport Planes in the Air Base you want to use.
- Paratrooper divisions aren’t made solely out of Paratrooper battalions.
- Not at least 70% Air Superiority in the region you want to land.
One of the most common problems you will have is that you can’t select a starting point for the Paradrop Order. When you click on the Paradrop Order, you will have to select a starting point for the Paratroopers to leave.
If you don’t have an Air Base with at least 50 Transport Planes to actually select that province.
Also, if you just selected to deploy planes in that Air Base, you will have to wait a few days for them to mobilize.
Once everything is ready, press the Paradrop Order, and you will see the available provinces have little blue lines over them.
Another issue you might have is that you can’t even select the Paradrop Order. This can happen if you add other battalions to the Paratrooper division, such as tanks or artillery, which makes them impossible to paradrop.
The last thing that can happen is that you selected to execute the paradrop order, and nothing happens. This is due to the fact that you need at least 70% Air Superiority in the region you want to land.
We have a whole guide showing players how to fix your paradrop order if it won’t work in HOI4.
That’s everything you need to know about how to paradrop in Hearts of Iron 4!
Have any input or suggestions for this guide? Let us know in the comment section below.
