Strategy & Sport Games PC

Age of Empires

Which Civilization is the Best in AOE III?

Age of Empires 3 is the sequel to the incredibly popular and timeless Age of Empires 2. Although the game originally released soon after the turn of the century, a recent remastering of the game has brought it back to the spotlight. One of the strengths of the game is that it is very well balanced. There are not really any overpowered or trash civilizations to play. While this is great for gameplay, especially competitive gameplay, it does make choosing the absolute best civilization quite difficult. Therefore, I have decided on a compromise approach. I will choose what I think are the top 3 civilizations to play in Age of Empires 3. Without further ado, let’s begin! 1. The Dutch The Dutch are a great civilization in AOE3. They can get off to an incredibly fast start thanks to their 400 starting coin as well as the fact that they don’t train villagers with food but rather with coin. This means that they can save all of their food income to move up to the next age very quickly. In addition to their fast start, the Dutch have a great unique building: the bank. The Dutch bank generates 2.75 coin per second. For comparison, it would take almost 5 non-Dutch villagers to produce coin at the same rate. With a building limit of 5 banks, the Dutch civilization can passively generate 13.75 coin per second which is the equivalent of nearly 23 non-Dutch villagers! To further increase coin production Dutch villagers get a +15% mining rate. This is not as useful as it would seem, however, because most players just use the banks to generate their coin so that their villagers can stick to food production which they are most efficient at. However, keep in mind that passive resource gain… Read more →

By Josh Houseworth · Mar 11, 2023 · (DNA)

PC Games

Is PC Gaming Dying?

With the rise of mobile gaming and consoles becoming ever more powerful, sometimes the question of whether or not PC gaming is dying gets tossed around the community. It’s a legitimate question as the only thing in life that is certain, is that nothing is certain. I decided to take a look at the situation myself and decide what I believed the future of PC gaming looked like. While PC gaming has not grown at the same incredible rate as mobile gaming, it is definitely not dying. This (somewhat bold?) claim will be backed up by data and logical analysis below. Show Me the Money $$$ The easiest way to prove that PC gaming is not dying is simply to take a look at sales data. During the pandemic, sales of many things were skewed by the massive shift in consumer demand. Gasoline demand plummeted, and demand for crazy things like Peloton home exercise equipment skyrocketed. The gaming industry as a whole was obviously affected by this, with significantly expanded sales. However, the situation that the pandemic created was never going to last. Eventually, people would have to go back to work/school and their commute/routine etc. With that in mind, I did my best to try to omit the data from the pandemic or, at the very least, acknowledge that any fluctuations would likely be fleeting. 2021’s digital content sales for PCs bumped up 5% to $7.9 billion from 2020. This shows that the industry is maintaining that growth even after the massive spike in demand caused by the pandemic. While there is a -4% sales projection YOY for 2022, it doesn’t look like the PC gaming industry will give up its massive pandemic gains. Another thing to consider is how many new gamers joined the PC gaming community during/since… Read more →

By Josh Houseworth · Oct 22, 2022 · (DNA)

Hearts of Iron

The Best HOI4 Division Templates

Ever since the release of the ‘No Step Back’ DLC, the META (most effective tactic available) for Hearts of Iron 4 division templates has been in flux. Whereas before, players had only to decide between one or two division templates to make the best division possible, now there is much more room for variation. While I am happy to see the game add some strategic depth to give the player more options, it can also be a little confusing, especially for newer players, when trying to decide the best route to take. In this article, I will give you what I believe are the best division templates and why I think so. To repeat: After the NSB DLC, there really aren’t any division templates that are objectively ‘the best’. Each design has pros and cons. The best template for you will depend on the country you are playing and its current situation. ** A great resource when experimenting with division design is this website: https://taw.github.io/hoi4/ It allows you to play around with division composition. You can customize everything including tech level and doctrine. For this guide, I used 1940 tech (usually when the decisive fighting begins) and left the doctrine blank so as not to skew the stats for any battalion type. Combat Width Previously in HOI4 the ideal combat width for division templates was easy to decipher. As the combat width was 80, some multiple of 80 be it 40, 20, or 10, was desirable. Now, all that has changed. Combat width now varies depending on the terrain in which the battle takes place. (For a more in-depth look at terrain, be sure to check out our guide on land combat here. Hearts of Iron IV Tutorial Land Combat) The game devs made sure that there was no one… Read more →

By Josh Houseworth · Sep 22, 2022 · (DNA)

Hearts of Iron

How to Encircle in HOI4

Hearts of Iron IV is set during the Second World War. That war was a war of maneuver. Fast, armored divisions breaking through enemy lines to encircle and destroy enemy divisions was the basic strategy during this war, and for HOI4, it is no different. In order to maximize your army’s effectiveness, you should aim to create encirclements and avoid broad, slow-paced offensives like in the First World War. This guide aims to teach you the best way to do that. In order to create encirclements in HOI4 you need to penetrate the enemy line, breakout from your penetration, envelop the enemy using pincers, and then defend and reduce the created pocket. *A quick disclaimer; encirclements in HOI4 are notoriously difficult to achieve using the battle planner. Although the battle planner works reasonably well for broad offensives, for encirclements it is advised to use manual control. Battle plans can and should still be used to get the planning combat bonus, but the player should handle actual control of the divisions. Penetration Picking the right location is the first step when trying to create an encirclement. Ideally, you want to penetrate the enemy line at a weak point. Plains tiles without rivers are ideal for this, as they offer no defensive bonuses to your enemy. Avoid starting a breakthrough against a mountain tile or large river if possible. Remember the basic strategy axiom “attack the enemy where he is weak; avoid him where he is strong.” To achieve penetration, you will need to use divisions which have a high breakthrough stat. It also helps to use hard, armored units to avoid high casualties when making the penetration. Tanks have a very high breakthrough stat as well as armor which makes them hard. Thus, they are ideally suited for the role… Read more →

By Josh Houseworth · Aug 15, 2022 · (DNA)

Hearts of Iron

Using Paratroopers in Hearts of Iron IV

Using paratroopers in Hearts of Iron 4 can be a tricky affair. It is something that many players struggle with or fail to understand completely. This mini guide aims to fix that. Below, we will go over the basics of using paratroopers in HOI4. To use paratroopers in HOI4 you need to have researched the paratrooper tech, made an appropriate division template, trained that division, have transport planes, and finally perform the airdrop mission over your desired target. The Tech The paratrooper tech can be found in the ‘infantry’ tab in the tech tree. The first tech unlocks paratrooper battalions. Subsequent techs increase their damage and organization. The tech that unlocks paratrooper battalions. When researched, it gives a free template as well. The Template Once you have researched the paratrooper tech, you will need to create an appropriate division template to use. After researching the first tech, you will get one for free that you can then modify. Remember that while you can add whatever support companies you want, adding any line battalions other than paratroopers will result in the loss of the ability for the division to paradrop. Make sure that this tooltip is always checked. Otherwise your paratrooper division will not be able to perform its primary function. The Training Contrary to real life, paratrooper divisions in HOI4 require no special training. Simply queue them up in the ‘recruit tab’ as you would for any other division and wait for the training to complete. Keep in mind, however, that paratroopers are considered Special Forces battalions, and as such, the number of them that you can train is limited by your nation’s Special Forces cap. To increase the cap, increase the overall number of divisions in your army. The Logistics Each transport plane can carry 2.0 units of weight.… Read more →

By Josh Houseworth · Jul 24, 2022 · (DNA)

Best Games

Hearts of Iron IV Attrition and How to Avoid it

Attrition in Hearts of Iron 4 can be challenging to understand and deal with. The in-game tooltips don’t do a great job of explaining why it is happening, how you can prevent it, or even what it is. Well no more. This mini guide aims to fill in the gaps on attrition. Attrition in Hearts of Iron 4 is the loss of equipment due to non-combat reasons. There are three types of attrition: supply attrition, terrain attrition, and weather attrition. Attrition does not cause a loss of manpower, only equipment. Attrition Types Supply attrition is dynamic and is shown by a small red skull on your division’s icon. It occurs when your divisions are undersupplied. Units can be undersupplied for many reasons, but it is usually due to having too many divisions in a given area or the area having poor infrastructure and railways. To deal with supply attrition either remove divisions from the area or improve the logistical capability of the area by building higher level railways, naval bases or supply depots, and improving the infrastructure. Additionally, adding the logistics support company to your divisions can make a big difference by reducing their supply draw requirement. Finally, field marshals with the supply wizard trait reduce the supply draw requirement for units under their command by 15%! Terrain attrition is static and is shown by a small white skull on your division’s icon. There is nothing that can be done about terrain attrition other than avoiding fighting in tiles that have it. Certain terrain like marshes, deserts, jungles, and mountains have a substantial terrain attrition rate. You can check the attrition rate for each terrain type in our land combat guide here. Weather effects like mud, deep snow, and extreme cold and hot can also cause attrition. Having troops that… Read more →

By Josh Houseworth · Jul 19, 2022 · (DNA)

Hearts of Iron

Hearts of Iron IV Tutorial: Part 4 Sea Power

Previously, we examined air power and its role as a force multiplier for your military. This time we are diving into the depths of naval power. Naval Power in Hearts of Iron 4 is all about power projection. With sea dominance, you can threaten invasions, choke off trade, and/or protect your own lines of supply and communication. While in the game, sea power isn’t quite as crucial as its real-life counterpart, it still plays a vital role and cannot be ignored. If playing as Great Britain or another maritime power, it is the most important aspect of the game. In this part of the tutorial, we will discover what it takes to build and use a world-beating navy. We will look at the different ship types, the ship designer (assuming you have the Man the Guns DLC), mission explanations, a stat breakdown, as well as an overview of how naval combat works in the game. Planning: What do I want my Navy to Do? He who commands the sea commands everything.Themistocles, Athenian politician and naval strategist Naval strategy is different from land and air strategy for one reason; building ships takes a very long time! Most Hearts of Iron 4 games start in 1936. This means you only have a little more than 3 years before the war breaks out if playing on historical. You must make a sober assessment of what your country’s naval requirements and capabilities are and get to work implementing them straight away. To do this most effectively, you need to know how to construct a navy. Taken from the HOI4 wiki, you can see how long the build times are for capital ships. Planning is crucial! Ship types * If you own the Man the Guns DLC, the capabilities of all ships is mostly determined by the modules you… Read more →

By Josh Houseworth · Jul 15, 2022 · (DNA)

Hearts of Iron

Hearts of Iron IV Tutorial: Part 3 Air Power

In part 2 of the tutorial (Land Combat), we examined land combat. Land combat is probably the most important aspect of the military in Hearts of Iron 4. However, one should not underestimate the importance of air power. Air power serves as a force multiplier for your land forces and as such, can be the difference between victory or defeat. In this section of the tutorial, we will examine all of the basics of air power so that you can take advantage of all of your country’s potential. Planning: What do I want my Air Force to Do? There are several important aspects to consider when planning and building an air force in HOI4. Plane types, their stats, what missions they can perform, as well as basing and logistics all need to be taken into account if one is to utilize air power effectively. Stats Here we will go over some of the more important stats for planes. Speed – Speed is important for almost all planes. Having a speed advantage over enemy planes reduces their ability to damage yours. It also increases your own damage against enemy planes. Agility – Agility is how difficult your plane is to hit. Higher agility combined with high air defense will make your planes very resilient. Agility also affects how easy it is for your plane to damage an enemy plane, thus having high agility for fighters is key. Range – Range is simply the operating radius of the plane. Planes assigned to air regions that are larger than their range will suffer mission efficiency penalties, which can be substantial. Air Attack – Air attack is a measure of how much damage your plane can do to enemy planes. Air Defense – Air defense is how much damage your plane can take before… Read more →

By Josh Houseworth · Jul 6, 2022 · (DNA)

Hearts of Iron

Hearts of Iron IV Tutorial: Part 2 Land Combat

While part 1 of this tutorial guide looked at the economy as the foundation of your country’s power, parts 2, 3, and 4 will focus on the military: the primary application of your country’s power. {If you haven’t checked out part 1 of the tutorial, you can access it by following the link here.} Having the strongest economy in the world doesn’t mean much if you can’t leverage it with a competently designed, well-trained military. In this guide, we will look specifically at land combat. Land combat is by far the most prevalent form of combat in the game. As such, it will be the largest of the military guides. We will look at basic combat mechanics, combat width, logistics, an overview of unit stats, as well as terrain modifiers. Combat Mechanics Combat in HOI4 is a combination of unit statistics, modifiers, and dice rolls. Understanding how these all interact with one another is vital to finding success on the battlefield. Cardinal Stats: Organization & Strength Organization is the single most important stat for your divisions. It represents the willingness and ability of your units to fight. If your division’s organization is at zero, it can’t fight. Organization is lost from movement, combat, and lack of supply. If your unit is in supply, it will recover over time. Your unit’s organization cap can be increased with various doctrines that can be found in the officer tab and unlocked with army experience. Strength represents, well, the strength of the division. It is always represented as a percentage of 100. Strength includes both a division’s manpower and, more importantly, its equipment. If your division is not at full strength, its stats will be lowered accordingly by whatever equipment it is missing. If divisions are in supply, they will reinforce automatically as long… Read more →

By Josh Houseworth · Jun 26, 2022 · (DNA)

Hearts of Iron

Hearts of Iron IV Tutorial: Part 1 Economy

Economy is first up in this tutorial and that is no accident. Your economy is the foundation that your country is built upon in Hearts of Iron 4. Without it, you will struggle to conquer anything or worse, find yourself easy prey to be conquered by someone else. I have divided this economy guide into 4 subsections: constructionproductiontechnology and politics. go to Part II of Hearts of Iron IV Tutorial: Land Combat Construction Hearts of Iron 4 Construction We will begin first with construction. You can access everything construction by clicking on the ‘construction’ tab at the top of the screen. Here you can decide which buildings to construct and where. You can queue up multiple buildings at once or build them one by one. Constructing buildings doesn’t require any resources. Buildings can be broken down into two basic categories: production buildings non-production buildings. (There are also specialist buildings such as rocket test sites and nuclear reactors but these aren’t useful until the late game and even then on a limited basis). Production Buildings Production buildings consist of civilian factories (civs)military factories (mils)and synthetic refineries (synths). These buildings all produce something. Civs Civs are what you build with. They are expensive to construct (10,800 construction industrial capacity – CIC) but essential if you plan on building a lot. Each civ provides 5 CIC (Construction Industrial Capacity = what you use to build.) each day and you can have up to 15 civs working on constructing a single building at a time. This means that with 75 CIC, it would take 144 days to build another civ. (This doesn’t factor in any modifiers like techs, advisors, infrastructure, etc). Civs are also used to trade for resources needed for production, but more on that later. Mils Mils are factories that produce equipment… Read more →

By Josh Houseworth · Jun 13, 2022 · (DNA)

Author: Josh Houseworth