Since then, it has become the most played game in the grand strategy game genre (more in the article Why HOI4 is so popular). One of the elements of its success is how Paradox takes care of the game and how it gradually brings the game to life with more DLC. This article will give you a basic overview of the DLC available for HOI4 to date.
Tables of all HOI4 DLC
There are major DLCs that could be called full DLC. They have a lot of improvements in games and bring new mechanics. These DLCs aren’t just cosmetic things.
| DLC name | Date of publish |
|---|---|
| Together for Victory | December 15th, 2016 |
| Death or Dishonor | June 14th, 2017 |
| Waking the Tiger | March 8th, 2018 |
| Man the Guns | February 28th, 2019 |
| La Résistance | February 25th, 2020 |
| Battle For The Bosporus | October 15th, 2020 |
| No Step Back | November 23rd, 2021 |
| By Blood Alone | September 27th, 2022 |
After major DLCs, there are “minor DLCs” which doesn’t change game mechanics or they aren’t adding new focus trees. There are music packs that extend the radio with more songs or there are armor packs that add new 3D models to the game.
How many DLCS are there for HOI4?
In summary, there are 16 DLCs for now. There are 7 major published DLC, for now, we know that 1 major DLC is developed now and when we look at minor DLCs there are 5 sound packs and 3 armor packs.
Which HOI4 DLC is best?
For me, the best DLC of HOI4 is No Step Back because this change a lot of game mechanics which are focused on supporting your divisions.
There is the list that orders the best DLCs by added game mechanics:
- No Step Back – with support game mechanics
- La Résistance – with spies and new mechanics of occupation
- Together for Victory – with improvements of starting mechanics about war and map
- Man the Guns – with new mechanics about navy
- Death or Dishonor – with new diplomatic and puppet Interactions and Central Europe trees.
- Waking the Tiger – some improvements of war mechanics and new trees in Germany and Japan.
- Battle For The Bosporus – new (focus) trees in the Mediterranean.
But there isn’t one list of best DLCs because DLCs usually bring game changes in focus trees and new game mechanics. So I could order by added game mechanics (which I do above) but you must think about what countries the DLC will expand to and if you’re playing it. Otherwise, you’re just buying the game mechanics…
… so my second favorite DLC is Death or Dishonor because this DLC extends focus trees in central Europe which I play most. But this depends on every player.
How much do all DLCs for HOI4 cost?
The cost of the ultimate bundle is $190 in full price. But you don’t need to buy all DLC so you could wait until Black Friday Sales or Steam Summer Sales when you could buy more content to HOI4 which is in the sale from 20% to 80% down.
But if you want to play the full game you could go to HOI4 subscription in which you could buy all content for $4,99 per month and you could play the full game with all DLC so if you don’t have much money or you just want to try this game you could.
| Months | Price ( per month ) ( sale ) |
|---|---|
| 1 month | $4,99 ( $4,99 ) ( – ) |
| 3 months | $13,99 ($4,66) ( -7% ) |
| 6 months | $26,99 ($4,49) ( -10% ) |
So if you want just to test it I’ve recommend you 1 monthly subscription and if you want to own all DLC you could buy just 3 months and you could waiting for sales.
Is HOI4 getting a new DLC?
Yes, now is announced and developers are working on a new DLC which will is called Arms Against Tyranny. First I must show you announce trailer to get a feel for what the atmosphere will be like.
This DLC will be the next big DLC in which we will get 4 new focus trees from 🇫🇮 Finland, 🇸🇪 Sweden, 🇳🇴 Norway and 🇩🇰 Denmark. Also we will get new international market. Also I expect that there will be rework stats of army. So it will be more important to play more with your head.
I am very much looking forward to this update.
There you could find more details about Arms Against Tyranny in HOI4
Is Hearts of Iron worth it without DLC?
Yes, if you are new in grand strategy games or you just start with vanilla HOI4 without any mods…
… game mechanics are complex so you will need to have time to learn. And with DLC you could have problems because the game is more complex thanks to them and I think it’s good to gradually add more and more DLC depending on what you like.
Simple answer >> Hearts of Iron 4 will be a lot of fun even without DLC
What HoI4 DLC should I get first?
For me first DLC which I could recommend Together for Victory makes the game more intuitive and after that when you will search for new mechanics there are No Step Back or La Résistance.
