🎯 The core idea
You play historical Germany (not the Axis path, no mods) starting in 1936. The entire pre-war phase is about ramping up your economy, industry and army. The goal isn't simply to win the war — it's to land the hardest possible knockout blow on the USSR in 1941, at the peak of your own strength, and to finish that war as fast as you can: a drawn-out war with the Soviet Union works against you, and the US is on the way.
Since the rework, Germany is noticeably stronger: more production points and machine tools, more rubber (⇒ more army bonuses), and the WW2 land doctrine can now be researched almost in full without losing time.
Short version: 3 big phases
- Pre-war focuses (1–35) — militarisation, economy and autarky, army rearmament, the Anschluss, the Sudetenland, and the final push before the war.
- Start of WW2 (36–49) — bypassing the Maginot Line, maximising war production, and preparing directly for the war with the USSR.
- War with the USSR (50+) — logistics and the eastern offensive itself.
Three more "tracks" run in parallel the whole time: research (section 2), division and equipment templates (section 3) and design companies (section 4) — these have to run alongside the focuses, not after them.
1. National focus order (50 focuses)
The exact order taken from the video. Tick them off as you play.
Focus names are translated from the Russian localisation, so a few may read slightly differently in the English client — the order and the timings are what matter.
Pre-war
- 35 days
- 35 days
- 14 days
- 35 days
- 35 days
- 35 days
- 35 days
- 35 days
- 14 days
- 35 days
- 35 days
- 35 days
- 35 days
- 35 days
- 14 days
- 35 days
- 70 days
- 70 days
- 70 days
- 35 days
- 70 days
- 35 days
- 35 days
- 35 days
- 35 days
- 35 days
- 35 days
- 35 days
- 35 days
- 35 days
- 35 days
- 35 days
- 35 days
- 35 days
- 70 days
- 28 days
- 35 days
- 35 days
- 70 days
- 70 days
- 70 days
- 70 days
- 35 days
- 14 days
- 35 days
- 70 days
- 35 days · the moment it's taken isn't shown in the video, so this position is approximate
- 70 days
- 35 days
- 35 days
From here on the video focuses on the fighting against the USSR itself rather than on new national focuses.
2. Research order
Runs in parallel with the focuses, across several slots at once. Follow the order rather than the exact slot numbers — those depend on how many research slots you have unlocked.
3. Division and equipment templates
Points in the video where the exact template layouts are shown — follow the link to see the precise battalions and support companies.
| Time | Template | |
|---|---|---|
| 9:05 | Submarine design | watch ↗ |
| 11:27 | Cavalry ("horses") template | watch ↗ |
| 12:45 | Template for the Spanish Civil War | watch ↗ |
| 29:01 | Infantry template | watch ↗ |
| 29:47 | Tank design | watch ↗ |
| 36:29 | Veteran tank division template | watch ↗ |
| 40:22 | Fighter design | watch ↗ |
| 41:29 | Close air support design | watch ↗ |
| 49:01 | Flame tank design | watch ↗ |
| 49:34 | New tank division template | watch ↗ |
| 59:15 | Medium tank design | watch ↗ |
| 1:15:48 | Medium tank design revision | watch ↗ |
| 1:16:15 | Veteran tank division template revision | watch ↗ |
| 1:16:39 | Light tank design revision | watch ↗ |
4. Design companies
| Time | Company | |
|---|---|---|
| 14:19 | Rheinmetall | watch ↗ |
| 14:24 | Mauser | watch ↗ |
| 20:20 | Junkers | watch ↗ |
| 34:40 | Daimler-Benz | watch ↗ |
| 39:54 | Messerschmitt | watch ↗ |
| 44:20 | Opel | watch ↗ |
5. Extra tips
- Spain (after the Condor Legion focus): send volunteers — 7 divisions plus air (the author recommends tactical bombers and says not to be stingy with planes). For your political advisor, take Göring first (air experience ticks up), then swap to Keitel later (divisions gain experience faster); appoint a separate naval advisor.
- Generals in Spain can be whoever you like (von Bock, for example) — it makes no real difference.
- Fill up the cavalry ("horse") divisions as soon as the deploy button becomes available.
- Rommel alternative: instead of the Luftwaffe expansion focus, you can take the tank focus earlier to unlock Rommel, and send him to Spain for the experience. Once Italy joins the Axis, the Afrika Korps focus opens up — completing it gives Rommel the "Desert Fox" trait.
- Spy operations: tick "Repeat automatically" — the game will then notify you at the moment auto-repeat becomes impossible (i.e. the operation has finished), so you don't forget about your agents.
- Intelligence agency upgrade order: 1) form the department → 2) signals intercept team (into one slot) → 3) suicide pills → 4) interrogation techniques → 5) passive defence → 6) once the war starts — counter-partisan operations → 7) invisible ink → 8) army department.
Sources
- "HOI4 — Guide to the New Germany" — Danil (HeartsOfThisGym), YouTube, 30 Dec 2024 (video subtitles). The video is in Russian.
- Focus order, research order, template and design company timings — cross-checked against detailed viewer comments under the video (including users aquinsky, elpresidente9373, Griffin11811, expensiveclient).
Frequently asked
What is the actual goal of the build-up?
Not simply winning the war, but landing the hardest possible knockout blow on the USSR in 1941, at the peak of your own strength — and finishing that war fast, because a drawn-out eastern front works against you and the US is on the way.
Which phases does the run break into?
Three: pre-war focuses (1–35) — militarisation, economy, autarky, Anschluss and the Sudetenland; start of WW2 (36–49) — bypassing the Maginot Line and maximising war production; war with the USSR (50+) — logistics and the eastern offensive.
Do you follow the focus tree and then do everything else?
No. Research, division and equipment templates and design companies are three parallel tracks that must run alongside the focuses, not after them.
Is Germany stronger after the rework?
Yes — noticeably: more production points and machine tools, more rubber (which means more army bonuses), and the WW2 land doctrine can now be researched almost in full without losing time.
Why do some focus names look different in my game?
The names are translated from the Russian localisation, so a few may read slightly differently in the English client. The order and the timings are what matter.