Air Doctrines in Hearts of Iron 4 allow nations to specialize in specific methods of aerial warfare, potentially allowing them to change the tide of battle depending on how their air force adapts to certain situations. On top of the right Aircraft Design and Air Technologies, overall Air Combat can become significantly bolstered with the right Air Doctrine.

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Divided into three major categories, Hearts of Iron 4 players can have Air Doctrines under Battlefield Support, Operational Integrity, and Strategic Destruction - all providing benefits that are technically useful for players, but may become especially useful in specific situations. However, which Air Doctrines should players rely on when certain battle conditions pop up?

1 Multi-Altitude Flying

Makes Planes Combat-Ready For Strategic Destruction

The most important thing about Air Doctrines in Hearts of Iron 4 is how it can secure air war for players, with other effects on the side like neat bonuses. In the case of Multi-Altitude Flying (Strategic Destruction), this provides players with +10% Agility for their Fighters and Heavy Fighters, boosting their chances of hitting opponents. However, with the multi-layered nature of Hearts of Iron 4 gameplay, this Strategic Destruction Doctrine is more useful with what it implies than the base bonuses.

Given the tech tree nature of Doctrines, unlocking Multi-Altitude Flying means stacking all the bonuses of prior Doctrine choices. By the time this is unlocked, players have also likely already acquired +20% Air Superiority Mission Efficiency and +5% Air Wing Mission Experience Gain (Dogfighting Experience), +10% Interception Detection (Home Defense), and +10% Fighter Detection (Air Superiority). Compared to other Doctrines in Strategic Destruction, Multi-Altitude Flying is likely the end-point of all useful direct-aerial combat Doctrine choices in this tree.

2 Fighter Baiting

Prelude To Access To More Aces

Regardless of what Hearts of Iron 4 country players pick for their playthrough, their nation of choice will likely have the gamified advantages, setbacks, and unique properties as their real-time counterparts, especially during the game's setting of the 1930s. Included among these real-life allusions are specializations in certain aspects of the battlefield, as well as skilled ace pilots that can turn around the tide of battle. Aces are a key component of the Operational Integrity tree - something signaled early upon the acquisition of Fighter Baiting (Operational Integrity).

The +10% Ace Generation chance of Fighter Baiting could eventually evolve to +20% with the other half coming from Air Skirmish. At first glance, the odds of Ace Generation don't seem important as only one can be assigned to an air wing. However, the advantages they can provide may turn the tide of an encounter. Depending on the type and the skill level, an Ace can provide combat advantages (Fighter), range (Strategic Bomber), or even naval and ground targeting (CAS, TAC, Naval).

3 Air Skirmish

Get Ace And Better Mission Performance

Should players want to start their Hearts of Iron 4 playthrough with some of its hardest countries, they need all the advantages they can get. In terms of air combat, this may come in the form of Air Skirmish (Operational Integrity). While its placement in Operational Integrity is close to the end of the Doctrine tree, it does come with a lot of advantages. By the time Air Skirmish provides its +10% Ace Generation Chance and +20% Air Superiority Mission Efficiency, it already packs more buffs for aerial missions compared to Strategic Destruction.

Unlocking Air Skirmish already secures +20% Ace Generation, potentially giving specialized air wing benefits. The tree by then also provides +20% Fighter Detection (Dispersed Fighting), +15% Air Superiority (Operational Destruction), +20% Interception Detection and +5% Air Wing Mission Experience Gain (Force Rotation), and +20% Interception Mission Efficiency (Fighter Baiting).

4 Battlefield Support

Secure Ground Combat More Efficiently

Part of what makes Hearts of Iron 4 a compelling strategy experience is its tactical versatility, especially from its grand strategy perspective. This is made more evident with Battlefield Support (Battlefield Support), an Air Doctrine from the tree of the same name that can grant a whopping 20% boost to Air Superiority. At its core, this already stacks with potent bonuses from prior Air Doctrines such as Fighter Detection +15% (Formation Flying), Air Support Mission Efficiency +40% and Ground Attack Factor +10% (Dive Bombing and Hunt and Destroy), Ground Support +20% (Direct Ground Support), Air Superiority Mission Efficiency +15% (Formation Fighting), and the +10% from Combat Unit Destruction.

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Among the buff stacks, Air Superiority and Air Superiority Mission Efficiency are perhaps the most important to Battlefield Support. This stat alone increases the scale through which damage can be dealt to enemy units on the ground. Having the advantage of Air Superiority alone on top of bonuses to Ground Support and Ground Attack Factor can give players dominance in ground combat without having to use their planes for direct assaults.

5 Dispersed Fighting

Optimize Aerial Combat Through Fighter Detection

If there's anything games like Hearts of Iron 4 teach about warfare, it's that sometimes it's more efficient to destroy the enemy's best assets instead of wasting time eliminating their forces. This is what Dispersed Fighting (Operational Integrity) represents, as it essentially paves the way for players to eliminate the enemy nation's best planes in their wing. When unlocked, Dispersed Fighting will have its bonus stack with +20% Interception Mission Efficiency and +10% Ace Generation Chance (Fighter Baiting) as well as +20% Interception Detection and +5% Air Wing Mission Experience Gain (Force Rotation).

With these bonuses in mind, players can enjoy more detection from planes on Air Superiority missions, much in the same way Interception Detection does the same in Interception missions. The bonuses from Mission Experience Gain and Ace Generation can pave the way towards more focus-built air wings.

6 Day Bombing

Cement The Strength Of Bombings

On top of the sheer destructive power of nukes in Hearts of Iron 4 are its Strategic Bombers, especially when used to rain hell on the enemy's valuable supply lines. Players who want to wreak havoc on enemy forces in this manner should pursue Day Bombing (Strategic Destruction). Its +30% Strategic Bombing is a precursor to the Doctrine tree's slate of massive bonuses to the stat, which can make a player's air forces more potent given how it already stacks with Air Superiority (Logistical Bombing), Air Superiority Mission Efficiency (Dogfighting Experience) and Interception (Fighter Sweeps) Mission Efficiency, Interception Detection (Home Defense), and Fighter Detection (Air Superiority).

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From Day Bombing, players can upgrade their Strategic Bombing prowess further down the line. Players can get another +20% Strategic Bombing from Massed Bomber Formation and a final +20% Strategic Bombing from Mass Destruction. By then, players can also enjoy an additional +25% Bomber Defense (Flying Fortress) and go overkill with another +15% Air Superiority (Offensive Formations).

7 Ground Support Integration

Boost The Army's Performance On The Ground

Whether gamers play a solo or multiplayer Hearts of Iron 4 session, it's just as important for their air wings to coordinate seamlessly with their ground forces. This is something that Ground Support Integration (Battlefield Support) does, as its +20% Ground Support totals into a whopping +40% Ground Support when combined with the Direct Ground Support Doctrine. This stacks on other unlocked buffs such as +15% Air Superiority (Formation Fighting), as well as +10% Ground Attack Factor and +40% Air Support Mission Efficiency (Dive Bombing, Hunt and Destroy).

Integral to Ground Support Integration's benefit is Ground Support, which is essentially a buff that increases the number of planes that can participate in CAS Missions during combat. Compared to Air Support which buffs troops when CAS wings support them, Ground Support boosts the damage that planes deal in similar situations.

Hearts of Iron 4

Released

June 6, 2016

Developer(s)

Paradox Development Studio

Genre(s)

Grand Strategy

Platform(s)

PC