Finding Hearts of Iron 4 best plane designs can be tricky at first. You have to find the best modules and combine them with available plane parts. Additionally, you also have to ensure that your nation can produce the finished designs.
You must also be patient while building plane designs. Some modules take some time before they are available, so you need to settle for starter templates for a few years.
If you’re eager to find the Hearts of Iron 4 best plane designs, you don’t have to look further. We’ll show you the best HOI 4 plane designs and templates to help you achieve full air superiority.
What are the best plane designs for Hearts of Iron 4?
Hearts of Iron 4 plane designs are a mixture of specialised and generalised roles. Some designs are best for support, while others can raise hell against fortified territories through strategic bombing. You will definitely want to employ a mix of both.
Take a look at some of these exceptional plane designs:
Ranged Specialization
A fighter squadron with a superior range can fulfil different roles like support, suppression, and air patrol. It’s a wise decision to prioritise range supremacy for your fighter squadrons, especially if you started with an isolated nation.
By focusing on range supremacy, you may need to let go of the battle-trusted Armor Plate module. This will reduce the toughness of your planes, but it will give you the option to outfit planes with long-ranged weaponry like a machine gun turret. Drop Tank modules can also boost the survivability of planes.
Midgame Supremacy
In Hearts of Iron 4, you must be prepared before 1939 hits the calendar. This year marks the start of WW2, and the major powers will immediately carve their territories. One of the best ways to prepare is to calibrate your planes for a mid-game supremacy build.
The base design of a mid-game plane build is the Fw 190. This plane has superior speed, strong attack, considerable defence, and a high reliability rate. The Fw 190 fighter is also single-engine, allowing it to reach target areas faster than other planes.
It’s always best to outfit Fw 190s with quad heavy machine guns, sacrificing a bit of range and maneuverability. The setbacks are minimal, however, because a fully upgraded Fw 190 can support your nation until 1944 or beyond.
Efficient and Effective Naval Bomber
Sometimes, the only way to counter a competent navy is to deploy naval bombers. However, you shouldn’t just send your bombers without modifying their designs.
The base design of the efficient naval bomber is the Ar 196. Designed to destroy capital ships, the Ar 196 has decent survivability, strong thrust, and acceptable air attack rate. You can further boost Ar 196’s combat stats by outfitting Torpedo Mountings and extra cannons. Just be wary of the Ar 196’s subpar speed.
The plane designs that we’ve suggested are enough to start your bid for air domination in HOI 4. You can even test crazy designs with the help of HOI 4 console commands. Also, don’t forget to check out our collection of HOI 4 tips and tricks for beginners.