Cheats have always been a big part of strategy games. Maybe it’s because the games really test the abilities of the player, or maybe it’s because the sandbox encourages players to find new ways to play. Regardless, some of the best strategy games also have some of the best cheats. Hearts of Iron 4 is a strategy game that definitely hearkens back to the old days of console cheats, with commands that can do just about anything. If you’re looking for Hearts of Iron 4 console cheats, you’ll find some of the best – and some of the weirdest – right here.
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Toggles
Many of the Hearts of Iron 4 cheats are less true cheats than mere toggles. Some of them have a huge impact on gameplay, while others have a much bigger impact on the game’s performance. These can be very useful if you are playing a game on its lowest settings, but they can also be even better if you’re looking for a way to get a better look at the terrain. To access these cheats, you’ll need to go to the command console and enter the following commands:
debug_terrain: toggles terrain on/off
debug_water: toggles water on/off
debug_borders: toggles borders on/off
debug_trees: toggles trees on/off
debug_rivers: toggles rivers on/off
debug_sky: toggles sky on/off
Resources
If you’re looking to add resources in terms of items, experience, or other metrics you’ll find those codes here. These experience codes can drastically change the course of a game and will give you a leg up when you’re falling behind.
gain_xp <amount>: gives XP to a general or leader
cp [<amount>]: gives command power
st [<amount>]: gives stability
ws [<amount>]: gives war support
add_equipment [amount][name]: adds equipment
add_latest_equipment [<amount>]: adds the latest equipment
manpower [<amount>]: adds manpower
nu [amount]: adds national unity
nuke [amount]: adds nukes
Pure Cheats
Of course, some of the cheats in the game are just that – cheats. They allow the player to mess around with game systems and ultimately decide what they’re going to use and not use. These systems speed up various processes and take a lot of the tedium out of the game. They’re also absolutely game-breaking, as they give the player a huge advantage over AI opponents that simply cannot be matched by the game itself. These cheats include:
winwars: Gives the maximum war score
research_on_icon_click: allows automatic research on a single click
Focus.AutoComplete: Instantly finishes national focus
Decision.NoChecks: Ignores all tech decision requirements
instant_prepare: All naval invasions are instantly prepared
yesman(ai_accept): AI automatically accepts all diplomatic offers
teleport(tp): Activates teleportation
instantconstruction(ic): turns on instant construction
Other Cheats:
There are also a few cheats that aren’t quite so easy to classify. They impact a number of areas of the game, some of which matter quite a bit. Other cheats just change the way the game looks or plays. If you need access to these cheats, you might want to start by looking here:
observe: allows the player to watch the game as an observer
help [command name]: gives a list of all console commands
time: tells you the time
theatersrebuild: clears out all the orders in the world
building_health(bhealth) [<building type=”type”>] [<state or=”or” prov=”prov” id=”id”>] [<building level=”level”>] [<health to=”to” add=”add”>]: changes specific building health
debug_crash(crash): crashes the game
As you might be able to tell, some of these cheats are more useful than others. Hearts of Iron 4 actually allows players to go in and view a great deal of information from the debug menu, leading most to believe that the cheats are less an easter egg and more a part of the game that was left over from testing. The good part about this is that most of the cheats are incredibly stable, but the bad part is that you’re going to have to do a lot of work to figure out which commands actually work and which commands are just going to give you information about what’s going on behind the screen.
Note that all of these cheats can be used during your game after it starts, so it’s entirely possible to erase all your progress with a single click. Make sure to save your game before you try a code just in case it manages to destabilize anything else. The vast majority of these codes will do nothing more than give you more power as a player, so feel free to mess around with them and see how you can change the world of the game.