So you want to know how to use nukes in Hearts of Iron 4? As the conflict that brought nuclear armaments to the world stage, it makes sense that these fearsome weapons are present in Paradox's popular strategy game.
But how do you get them? How are they used? We've put together a quick guide for you so you know what you need to do to wield the destructive power of nukes. It's worth noting though that, despite being a very serious thing, Hearts of Iron IV's implementation of nukes leaves much to be desired. We'll go over this in more detail towards the end, but for now let's look at what you need to know about building up your nuclear armaments.
To start with, you will need to progress down the short but slow Atomic Research branch in the Engineering research section. There are only three steps, but these steps are spread across a five year period. Hearts of Iron IV heavily penalises the player when trying to research a technology earlier than the year the game places that technology, so it's rarely worth trying to start before then. This means you'll have to wait until 1945 before you can start using nukes, unless you manage to get some specific research buffs.
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