World War 2 will always be remembered for the creation of the worst weapon in human history, the nuclear bomb. In Hearts of Iron 4, where you simulate your own conclusion of this horrible war, you can also learn how to make and use nukes as well.
Though we all know the real-life effects of nukes, what would actually happen if you dropped one in HOI4 on top of your enemies?
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Are there any strategic reasons why you would use the nukes, or is it just a demoralizing tactic to use to lower war support and force a capitulation?
Well, in this guide, we will tell you exactly what nukes do in HOI4, as we will list all of the effects one of these bombs has on the province, country, and troops in the destroyed region.
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What Do Nukes Do in HOI4?
There are quite a lot of things that will happen once you drop nukes on a province in HOI4:
- All buildings in the province will have 0% HP.
- All state buildings (Infrastructure, Air Base, Anti-Air, and Radar Station) will lose a random amount of levels.
- Depending on the amount of Victory Points the province has, the enemy country can lose up to 20% War Support.
- All units in the province will take a random amount of damage to organization and equipment, from 10% to 90%.
- All planes in the airport of that province will instantly be destroyed.
- Two nukes on Japan after you’ve captured Okinawa or Iwo Jima and you’ve reduced their navy to less than 40 ships will give them a decision where they can instantly capitulate.
Probably the most useful aspect of nukes in HOI4 is the ability to wipe out full air wings instantly. If you manage to catch an airport with a lot of planes in it, you can get rid of the whole air power of a country.
This is an especially powerful move in multiplayer if you manage to get that far in your session.
The way nukes work makes players consider more carefully around 1945 how they place their planes inside the airports, making sure they don’t have too many planes in a single province.
If you manage to get a lot of them, you can also use them to destroy armies and easily form encirclements.
Since you can drop them like crazy, you can lower the power of troops around the frontline and easily push them back where you want to.
Making Japan Surrender
Since Japan is the only country in history to have gotten hit with a nuke, in HOI4, you can force them to surrender by repeating Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Players will help Japan unlock a surrendering decision if they hit them with two nukes on the mainland after they’ve conquered either Okinawa or Iwo Jima, and they made sure that Japan has less than 40 ships in their navy.
This can help you quickly take out one of the largest empires in the game as the United Kingdom or the USA since these powers usually don’t have what it takes to land in Japan.
So, besides making Japan capitulate, this means that nukes in HOI4 are just another weapon you can use to lower the power of enemy armies and destroy planes.
It isn’t as big of a game changer as it was in real life, but it will surely make you feel like you are playing in easy mode.
That’s everything you need to know about what Nukes do in Hearts of Iron 4!
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