History Videogame / HeartsOfIron

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.
* GideonPloy: In IV, The ''La Resistance'' DownloadableContent added the ability to create mock divisions of troops as part of its espionage mechanics, reflecting RealLife.

** One decision that was added for postwar flavor was the ability to form UsefulNotes/NATO, which is available to all of the founding members. However, the decision only checks the country, and doesn't take into account the ideology (or, for that matter, what faction the player is a part of), meaning it's entirely possible for a Fascist Italy to form the NATO while part of the Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere, a Monarchist United Kingdom to form it while part of the Axis, or most amusingly, for a Communist United States to form the faction '''while part of the Comintern'''.

** ''IV'' has this for light tanks combined with NotCompletelyUseless in late game. Light tanks are tin-can popgun go-karts compared to medium or modern tanks, and are absolutely crushed by heavy tanks made even less useful in No Step Back update as their armor is more and more penetrable by a few upgrades. But as technology marches on, late-game engineering research can have them be fitted with a flamethrowers, armor skirts and dozerblades and turned into a very specific support unit with ''murderous'' levels of combat bonuses to a division up to 40% in urban terrain, turning run-of-the-mill garrison material 18 width infantry squads into armored EliteMooks with just a few cheap tiny tanks which can be produced faster than pizza by the time flamethrowers are developed. Better yet, old captured light tanks and former older tanks can be retrofitted as well, making excellent efficient use of junk materiel.

*** Going through the fascist British path not only results in bad relations between the [[TheEmpire British Empire]] and Germany but outright leads to war when finishing the focus tree. Which is very questionable at best, regarding that Britain's new leader, Oswald Mosley, was on really good terms with ThoseWackyNazis to the point that his Black Shirts were inspired by the German SS and he married his second wife secretly in [[PropagandaMachine Joseph Goebbel's]] private house with {{UsefulNotes/Adolf Hitler}} as his guest of honor. Needless to say, Mosley suddently hating his ideological allies, let alone declaring war on them and vice-versa, seems unrealistic.

* JackOfAllTrades: Tactical Bombers do a little of everything close air support, strategic bombers, and naval bombers do, but not as well as any of the more specialized air units. While they make expensive substitutes for CAS and NAV planes, their range may make them worthwhile over large or deep sea air zones.

*** Subverted in ''IV'' when heavy cruiser is instead turned into a floating light artillery platform, and it turns from the most useless to the most powerful capital ship, for it shreds through enemy screens and making easy openings for torpedo attacks.

* HeavilyArmoredMook: Consistently, this is how [[TankGoodness armor]] and mechanized or otherwise combined arms operate on the battlefield. Armored vehicles have a much higher Hardness and Breakthrough rating than regular leg infantry, which means that they're great for punching through enemy lines without taking significant losses but aren't so adept at holding a position from attackers. Ideally, armor works best as a backbone to a healthy and plentiful infantry which can reinforce the armor after it surges forward and gains ground in order to prevent territory from being immediately lost.
* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: Kenneth Althaus – in real life he was a very obscure U. S. Army tank commander with no ties to Fascist or Nazi groups. In ''II'' he is a National Socialist chief of army minister if the US slider goes right/authoritarian enough. It led to [[https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/index.php?threads/kenneth-althaus.347709/#post-8588786 a complaint]] from a grandson.

** ''No Step Back'' (23 November 2021), the ''Barbarossa'' update, which adds/revises focus trees for the USSR, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, as well as a completely overhauled logistics system and a new Tank Designer.
** ''By Blood Alone'' (27 September 2022), the ''Avalanche'' update, which adds/revises focus trees for Italy, Ethiopia, and Switzerland, as well as an overhauled peace deal system, adjustments to the Ship Designer (again), and a new Plane Designer. With this update, every major nation from game launch has finally had reworked content.
** ''Arms Against Tyranny'' (10 October 2023), the ''Stella Polaris'' update, which adds new focus trees for the Nordic countries (Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark[[note]]Iceland is given a focus tree, but is not considered an "Interesting Country" by the game's menu[[/note]]), as well as a new Military Industrial Organization system and an international arms market mechanic.

** Denmark, a nation hit extremely hard by the Great Depression and with an underfunded, almost symbolic military historically, being able to core all of Scandinavia, the Baltics and ''Great Britain''[[note]]Coring Great Britain and the Baltics are mutually exclusive, likely as an ObviousRulePatch[[/note]], potentially becoming a SpaceFillingEmpire to rival the ''Soviet Union'' in terms of manpower and industry.

** Denmark, a nation hit extremely hard by the Great Depression and with an underfunded, almost symbolic military historically, being able to core all of Scandinavia, the Baltics and ''Great Britain''[[note]]Due to the island once being a part of the Danish Kingdom in the days of the Vikings[[/note]], potentially becoming a SpaceFillingEmpire to rival the ''Soviet Union'' in terms of manpower and industry.

** ''Arms Against Tyranny'' (10 October 2023), the ''Stella Polaris'' update, which adds new focus trees for the Nordic countries (Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark), as well as a new Military Industrial Organization system and an international arms market mechanic.

* HoldTheLine: Naturally, UsefulNotes/{{Finland}} is all about this, based on the historical precedent of the Winter War. Finland may not have anything close to the industry and manpower of their immediate neighbors, the Soviets, but they make up for it by being able to give themselves a truly staggering amount of buffs and National Spirits which increase their ability to survive longer against an overwhelming foe. They also have a unique spirit, "Sisu", which gives ''massive'' defensive modifiers if the public trust in the government is high. Of course, if you want a real challenge, there's always the opportunity to try and ''defeat'' the Soviets rather than outlast them.

* MegaCorp: The Military Industrial Organisations introduced in ''Arms Against Tyranny'' can eventually become this. As you, the Government, lease out research contracts and production licenses to these private companies, over time their funding will swell and they will increase in size, allowing you to allocate Trait Points which improve the equipment they build. The possible size caps out at 10, but to get an Organisation to that size will require you to be well into the late game.

* RedBaron: {{Ace Pilot}}s always come with nicknames. If they are a historical figures, it's their real call sign

** Similarly to France, Italy has the distinction of being a "major" nation that barely even looks the part. No matter which game in the series is being analysed, Italy is a complete pushover in AI's hands and severely underpowered for a major even in the hands of a competent player. And it's also incredibly easy to mismanage it into being ''even weaker'', particularly in ''Darkest Hour'' and ''IV''. All there is to say is that Italy can't even reliably win the war against Ethiopia, a semi-tribal country with close to no military and hardware.

** ''Arms Against Tyranny'' (10 October 2023), which adds new focus trees for the Nordic countries (Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark), as well as a new Military Industrial Organization system and an international arms market mechanic.

* ''Hearts of Iron IV'', released on 6 June 2016. It currently has 9 major expansions.
** ''Poland: United and Ready'' (6 June 2016), a free DLC pack available on launch day that includes a new focus tree for Poland.
** ''Together for Victory'' (15 December 2016), the ''Torch'' update, which adds new focus trees for the [[UsefulNotes/TheCommonwealthOfNations Commonwealth nations]] (Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the British Raj). Also adds a new system for puppet nations.
** ''Death or Dishonor'' (14 June 2017), the ''Oak'' update, which adds new focus trees for many of the Balkan nations (Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Yugoslavia). Also adds new diplomatic options for fascist countries and new equipment production options.
** ''Waking the Tiger'' (8 March 2018), the ''Cornflakes'' update, which adds/revises focuses trees for Germany, [[UsefulNotes/SecondSinoJapaneseWar China, and Japan]], including the [[UsefulNotes/NoMoreEmperors various Chinese warlords and Manchukuo]]. Also adds new General abilities to add more flexibility to combat.
** ''Man the Guns'' (28 February 2019), the ''Ironclad'', ''Hydra'', and ''Fork'' updates, which adds/revises focuses trees for the United States, the United Kingdom, Mexico, and the Netherlands. Also revises naval combat and the Ship Designer.
** ''La Resistance'' (25 February 2020), the ''Husky'' update, which adds/revises focuses trees for Spain (including every faction in the [[UsefulNotes/SpanishCivilWar Spanish Civil War]]), France (including [[LaResistance Free France]] and [[LesCollaborateurs Vichy France]]), and Portugal. Also adds a brand new system of espionage to uncover enemy intel.

** ''No Step Back'' (23 November 2021), the ''Barbarossa'' update, which adds/revises focus trees for the USSR, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Also completely overhauls the logistics system, and adds a new Tank Designer
** ''By Blood Alone'' (27 September 2022), the ''Avalanche'' update, which adds/revises focus trees for Italy, Ethiopia, and Switzerland. Also overhauls the peace deal system and revises the Ship Designer (again), while adding a new Plane Designer. With this update, every nation with a focus tree at launch will has gained reworked content.
** ''Arms Against Tyranny'' (October 10 2023), which adds new focus trees for the Nordic countries (Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark), as well as adding new ways to improve your industrial companies and an international arms market mechanic.

** Mexico, which was not a participant in the war at all, becoming a Troskyite superpower that can take over the US.

** Yugoslavia easilly becoming more powerful than neighbouring Italy, while getting cores all over the Balkans, all by spring of 1938, about two years before Italy can even consider attacking it.

** ''IV'' confuses the fascist faction of China's Kuomintang, the Blue Shirt Society, with Wang Jingwei's collaborationist faction of the KMT, the Reorganization faction. BSS serves as the in-game Chinese fascist party, but has Wang as its leader; Wang never associated himself with the BSS in real life, and the BSS was an ''anti-Japanese'' fascist party.

** ''Arms Against Tyranny'' (Autumn 2023), which adds new focus trees for the Nordic countries (Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark), as well as adding new ways to improve your industrial companies and an international arms market mechanic.

** Yugoslavia easilly becoming more powerful than neighbouring Italy, while getting cores all over the Balkans, all by by spring of 1938, about two years before Italy can even consider attacking it.

* PowerCreep: The DLC system for ''IV'' has supplied ever-increasing power creep for whichever nation(s) get a new focus tree or tag-specific decisions. In fact, eventually ''major countries'' required an overhaul of their original focus trees to at least somehow match the resulting disparities - and then became outpaced by new focus trees anyway. Notable examples include Mexico, which was not a participant in the war at all, becoming a Troskyite superpower that can take over the US and Poland being able to reform the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth four different ways and become genuinely able to fend off Germany's invasion.

* PowerCreep: The DLC system for ''IV'' is infamous for the ever-increasing power creep for whichever nation(s) get a new focus tree or tag-specific decisions. In fact, the creep was so bad, eventually ''major countries'' required an overhaul of their original focus trees to at least somehow match the resulting disparities - and then became outpaced by new focus trees ''anyway''. Since the focus trees are given to smaller and smaller nations with less and less impact on real-world events of [=WW2=], the issue is even more prominent.

** ''Arms Against Tyranny'' (Autumn 2023), which adds new focus trees for the Nordic countries ([[Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark), as well as adding a new industry designer and an international arms market mechanic.