Game studio Paradox Interactive is no stranger to weird and absurd challenge achievements in its games, Hearts of Iron being no exception. These achievements vary from being absolute sweatfests to being mindnumbing and boring. The achievements on our list are doable by any player no matter the skill level, however there are couple that might be out of your league.
Keep in mind that this list is opinion based so you may or may not agree with our picks. We also include a strategy to some of them, even we have to go touch some grass every once in a while.
Here’s our Part 1 one Absurd Achievements in Hearts of Iron IV
Finnish Him – As Finland, capitulate Soviet Union without joining a faction
This is one of those achievements that sounds hard considering that there’s not much population in Finland. On top of that you only get a small percentage of it to your army. Now, how is this not so hard to crack as it sounds? Well for this one you need to flip to the fascist ideology as fast as possible by going down the relevant path in the focus tree. Finland has a generic focus tree which is actually pretty good, although the country might get its own tree in the future.
While you are getting support to that said ideology, you need to start building up some forts from Oulu all the way to Lake Ladoga. You need to build them between your many, many lakes to really make good use out of the finnish geography.
As soon as you have flipped your ideology, you need to start justifying a war goal on Dutch East Indies. Why? Because they have amazing amount of manpower which will benefit you greatly. You will need to request docking rights from Germany which they will give to you. Now, split your navy into 2, submarines into one and surface fleet into one. You need to manually move those subs to Wemer-Eims naval base next.
The reason why you want to justify a war goal on the dutch puppet instead of the actual overlord itself is pretty basic. First of all, it only generates 1% of world tension and secondly, it takes less time. World tension being low as possible when you finally finish your justification is vital. After the tension hits 25%, the allies will start guarantee independence of nations that are being targeted with a war goal/justification.
You don’t have to worry about the dutch navy as the AI 90% of the time doesn’t even use it. However if in your case they do and they hit your convoys transporting the troops you might have to restart.
That being said, the dutch are pretty weak and you should be more than able to capitulate them really fast. In the peace deal, just take the Netherlands to yourself. (if you puppet them you will get dragged into a war with germany later on)
Puppet the East Indies, copy their thickest template, steal their manpower. This way you can have a massive army. Just be sure that you have researched the maintenance, recon and the engineer support companies, they will be vital in your divisions. AA Artillery is also something you should research as there is no way you’ll ever have the ability to contest the skies.
When soviets declare a war on you, just hold those forts. Eventually when Operation Barbarossa begins, wait until the germans have reached Estonia(ish). Then you start making your push and before you know it, they have capitulated. Finland in Hearts of Iron has potential, it just has very linear strategy.
Just remember, do not join the Axis!
Siberian Tiger – As Tannu Tuva, form the nation of Siberia
This is one of those achievements in Hearts of Iron IV that really tests your nerves. It is boring, it is long at it is painful. Tannu Tuva as a nation is even smaller in size and in population than Finland, but you have a neat perk of being part of the Comintern. This means, free guns and a big brother who will fight your early wars for you.
You start with 1 division which has only 1 infantry battalion and it is already underequipped and undermanned. You can see where this is going, or can you. No Step Back DLC benefits communist nations a lot. Not that you’ll be staying as one, but the Military High Command offers something nice for you. There’s this one thing in the army spirits, the middle one, Ideological Loyalty. This small spirit grants you +500 weekly manpower: This may seem like a small number but it is vital for a nation such as Tannu Tuva.
In the generic focus tree you are again going with the political path first. Here you will need to pick the 2, the starter and the one from the communist side. After that, the army xp from the military path to the left is also vital to get your army in shape as fast as possible.
Political Power must be spent first on you best Military High Command advisor to get that army xp rolling. after that, you must get enough PP to start justifying on Sinkiang and Xibei San Ma. You don’t have to start them both at the same time. There’s also the Chinese-Japanese war in 1937 which will make warlords form the united front.
This is a bit of a hinderance but nothing too serious. Keep in mind that your goal is to puppet Sinkiang and Xibei San Ma. This is again to steal their manpower by using their divisions. Ideally you want to have cavalry divisions.
Around mid to late 1938 is a good time to select the fascist demagogue as an advisor. You’ll need to flip to fascism, but not too fast nor too quick. Optimal time is when soviets are 30% from capitulation. Just flip ideology, join axis, join the war and go. In the peace deal, take the cheapest coastal provinces to the east (including Vladivostok) and close access to SIberia by taking Ural mountains. Then you just take all of Siberia and voilá, form the Siberian nation is available in the decisions.
30 Minutes of Hel – As Poland in 1939 start date, inflict over 1,800,000 casualties to Germany
Now this again, is not that hard when you’ve watched enough FeedBackGaming in YouTube and we recommend to check his old cheese strategy here if you want to try this one for yourself. This achievement was included into Hearts of Iron after the 2018 PDXCON event which had this as a challenge
And this concludes our today’s picks, make sure you check us out every day for new guides and news about games and gaming.
