tanks are powerful units in hearts of iron 4. great for dealing with all types of threats and making sick encirclements. following this guide you shall make cool beans tanks.


this guide is formatted for pc view, might be broken for mobile view

please read the whole guide before asking questions. you have no idea how meany people keeps asking me where stabilizers is without reading the research section of the guide.

L+ Ratio + Don't care
full image[i.imgur.com] (opens in browser)
full image[i.imgur.com] (opens in browser)

the tank designer has 6 important common elements, consistent across all tanks.

1. speed : effects how fast tanks go, should be consistent across all of your templates. decide on a number and stick to it. recommended number : 8km/h same speed as mechanized, 6.4km/h same speed as cavalry.
   
2. reliability : TL:DR If you are in area with mediocre supply its worth it to have higher reliability. always have at least 70%, 80% is preferable.
   
   • lower reliability means
     
     • lower org recovery
       
     • more losses during attrition and low supply
       (things like moving and battling create attrition)
       
     • less recovered tanks if you win the battle
   • lower reliability doesn't mean
     
     • more losses in perfect condition (full supply, not moving)
       
     • more losses in combat*
       (accounting for the actual fight, not counting the inharent attrition fighting causes)
       
     • worse battle stats
       
     • loosing to better reliability tanks
3. suspension : there is 3 useful suspensions
   
   • interleaved: more expensive and less reliable it gives breakthrough stats, the only combat related stat suspension gives.
     
     
   • bogie : cheapest ones, doesn't give any stats however. (
     
     
   • christie : it goes fast, but more expensive than bogie. i usually just use this until i unlock better engine techs, so my old tanks can still catch up to ones produced with better engine tech.
     
4. armor : riveted armor is best in my opinion. they provide just as much breakthrough as welded armor and gives the tank -20% production cost. i think they are worth it
   
5. engine : diesel engine so you dont need to research better tank chassis or use other reliability increasing modules.
   
   
6. upgrades
   
   • engine upgrades : only production and reliability cost increase.
     
     
   • armor upgrades : when going over 4 it will cost you 1 extra steel. however going above that cost nothing but reliability and production. either stick to under 4 or go as high as you can.
     

There is no point to research medium 2, researching medium 2 only increases reliability
(medium 1 has plenty) and Armour (literally useless). although there are cost savings that do account for the increase in cost, like switching out Diesel engine for Gas engine, so they end up costing about the same.

waste 200 days researching it if you want but i am not going to.

from my personal experience there has been 2 tank templates so far here is what is different between them
my personal favorite tank template and the original one of the 2 this template consist of 2 types of tank : the breakthrough medium tank and hard attack tank destroyer

they both come to supplement each other's weaknesses and add their strengths. the medium tank has a lot of breakthrough and some soft attack but bad hard attack. the tank destroyer has a lot of hard attack and some soft attack too but no breakthrough. they both come together and give us a well rounded tank with all round good stats.

pros and ♥♥♥♥
+ good stats all round
+ great for dealing with infantry
- requiring balancing 2 separate tank production queue

from my knowledge invented by "Feveros" his tanks only consist of high breakthrough tank destroyers.

they have high breakthrough and use high velocity cannons to get a lot of hard attack. and turret + radios to get the breakthrough. this only needs 1 type of tanks so they need less factory micro. the tank also needs little tech to start producing, only needing high velocity gun 1 and radio to make ok tanks. how ever using high velocity cannons left the soft attack of these units to be desired

pros and ♥♥♥♥
+ high hard attack
+ less tech heavy
+ only need to manage 1 production line
+ great at pushing tanks
- bad soft attack
- mediocre at dealing with infantry

hopefully this explanation helps you pick the right choice for your tanks

original idea from this video by New Sheed

this is my personal tank template the support company and the ratio of mediums can be ajusted to your preference. this is how i do it.

medium tanks has 1 job
provide breakthrough to the template
if you can achieve this job, you have made a good medium tank. this is how I do it.
good tank design :

1. medium cannon : only cannon to give breakthrough
   
   
2. 3 man turret : it has most breakthrough
   
   
3. radio : gives a % modifier to breakthrough
   
   
4. Small Cannon : They give 2 breakthrough and bonus attack, its the best module
   
   
5. Easy Maintenance : -5% production cost
   
   
   • use Wet ammo stowage for substitute until you research Maintenance company II
     
6. Interleaved Roadwheels: for best breakthrough.
   

* note* you can upgrade the armour too if you want but remember not to go over 4

The tank destroyer's 1 job in this template is to get as much soft and hard attack as possible.
MORE ATTACK, MORE ATTACK, MORE ATTACK, MORE ATTACK
they however have -40% to breakthrough in this template you shouldnt focus on breakthrough module
if you just make a unit that has high attack its good, this is how i did mine.

1. gun : heavy guns, they give the best attack. but the high velocity cannons are also good.
   
   
2. turret : fixed super structure, so you can have the cool gun
   
   
3. secondaries : the canon gives extra 5 soft and 3 hard attack.
   
   
4. mg : machine guns give soft attack
   
   
5. easy maintenance
   
   
6. interleaved roadwheels/bogie
   
   

basically we replace the medium tanks in the first template with tank destroyers

this design you basically want to maximise hard attack and breakthrough

1. High velocity cannon : gives the most hard attack
   
   
2. 3 man turret
   
   
3. radios
   
   
4. secondary turrets : to get more attack becouse TD
   
   
5. Easy Maintenance : so it cost less
   
   
6. interleaved roadwheels
   

Since flame tanks designation provides -70% stats, flame tanks are really not worth investing stats into, however 1 stat is not effected with the -70%, Fuel capacity, so we should invest into fuel capacity
!!!!!!! interwar medium tank chassis : Its the cheapest hull

1. Flamethrower
   
   
2. 1 man light turret : Its the cheapest turret and it can still mount a flamethrower
   
   
3. Easy Maintenance : so its cheaper
   
   
4. Fuel drum : so we have oil
   

recon light tanks are a way to buff your unit's stats. its main job is to do as much damage and as much breakthrough as possible.

1. gun : choose high velocity cannon they give the most total attack.
   
   
2. turret : choose 3 man turret for the most breakthrough.
   
   
3. radio
   
   
4. attack modules
   
   
   
5. easy maintanace
   
   
6. interleaved roadwheels
   
   
7. gas engine : reliability doesnt matter for support companies
   

I always say bad tanks is better than no tanks. and even better,
you know how the best industry tech is dispersed industry? you know how that let's you keep production efficiency when switching models? these "bad" tanks are also building efficiency for better one later on.

you need the speed to be the same and maximize the stat that the tank is made for while basically ignoring reliability. since these are going to be replaced with much better tanks why worry about loosing them.
example

my medium tank progression :
(click on it to make it bigger)

this is not supposed to be set and stone, please don't take this as a bible. we research things differently. all players will have their own upgrade path.

instead of just researching for tanks before No step Back. now you have to research the part that are spread through in different tabs. here are the tabs that have important research on them
support tab is key to getting flame thrower for flame tanks.
located in engineer company 2.





it is also where the most important module lives, Easy Maintenance.
located in Maintenance company 2

1. engine upgrade : gives you the ability to upgrade the engine to 14,
   
2. Basic medium hull : Best tank hull as discussed earlier at the bottom of the basics of tank designer section
   
3. armour upgrade : gives you access to armour skirts, they give good breakthrough, its not that meta nowadays though
   

the artillery tab is where your tanks get their punch from here are the most important upgrades.

• 1. anti-tank upgrade : where medium cannon 1 come from.
  
  
• 2. Improved anti-tank : gives you access to improved heavy cannons.
  
  
• 3. Improved anti-tank upgrade I : gives you improved medium cannons.
  
• 4. advanced anti-tank : gives you advanced high velocity cannon and heavy canon 3.
  

the electronics tab gives you access to 2 very important techs.

• 1. radar techs : gives you access to radios and their improved variant. they give a modifier instead of flat number of breakthrough.
  
  
  
  
• 2. improved computing : gives you stabilizers.
  (NOT WORTH THE RESEARCH TIME, DON'T DRINK THE STABILISER COOL AID).
  

support companies provide valuable stats for our tank units there are some basic setups for support companies in all good tank unit

1. recon company : while the recon stat is nice, the great advantage recon company gives is that its basically another slot where you can fit either a motorized battalion or a light tank battalion.
   ups and downs of motorized
   
   • + cheap
     
   • + more recon stat
     
   • + no need to design and produce tank
     
   • - worse stats
     
   ups and downs of light tank
   
   • + great stats
     
   • - more expensive
     
   • - need to design and produce a design
     
   • - less recon stat
   
   pick which one you like best
   
2. flame tanks : they give buffs for attack in rough terrain always have em.
   
   
3. anti-air : reduce damage done by cas by a lot, always worth it.
   
4. engineer : you get more movement and defense in "harsh" terrain, getting engineer company 3 you get a 10% attack boost for going over river too.
   
   
5. free slot! : you can put the other support companies in this slot, list is favorite to least favorite
   
   • Logistics company : they lower the consumption of supply and give a little breakthrough
     
     
   • signal company : it gives initiative , which let your division focus their firepower to 1 unit instead of spreading it out. also worth mentioning it only takes away -0.1 insted of -1 org of logistics
     
     
   • field hospital : you get some manpower back if you loose it, but it also looses less xp when you have to reinforce a unit, quite handy but doesn't effect direct combat
     
     
   • maintenance company : gives extra reliability, this stat doesn't effect combat directly, it just reduces losses after the battle is won
     
     
   • artilly : they give attack boost but take away -2 org, not worth in my opinion
     
     
   • military police : why, just why
     

this section is talking about the in game tactic that the commander chooses, not tactics as how to play.
the best attacking tactic for tanks is breakthrough.it gives the most attacking modifier of 25%





the second best is blitz. it only gives 15% but it does counter delay so there's that.
best defending tactic is guerrilla tactics. they give the enemy -70% attack but it also gives you -60% attack. but the important thing is it reduces your combat width and makes neat division people design to fit in the terrain not fit anymore, thus giving them debuffs.

there are only 2 doctrine in no step back that are any good when using tanks, mobile warfare and superior firepower.
in my opinion the best option for any tank nation. mobile warfare provides good breakthrough and let's you use blitz and breakthrough tactic the earliest. this means you need to spend less xp overall for your doctrine. most of the good buffs are also located early in the tree compared to superior firepower.

• 1. armored spearhead : for the tank breakthrough stat buff and the blitz tactic
  
• 2.blitzkrieg : for the breakthrough tactic and organisation to tanks.
  
• 3. desperate defense or modern blitzkrieg : modern blitzkrieg is much better but desperate defense is really funny.
  
• trolling. werwolf guerrillas : unlocks guerrilla tactics, best defending tactic in the game.

the other "viable" option for doctrine. it used to be meta before no step back comes out. superior firepower provides more attack, compared to mobile warfare. however it provides less breakthrough overall and takes longer to get to the good buffs. in that time you will lose to a mobile warfare build. but if you prevail until unlocking the techs for higher breakthroug.h SF might just beat MW, its personal prefrance.

• 1. mechanized offensive : for armor breakthrough and the blitz tactic.
  
• 2. concentrated fire plan : for the 10% hard attack
  
• 3. combined arms : for the breakthrough tactic and +10% attack to tanks.

commanders are an important part of making a tank unit good. these are important traits for a general to command a tank effectively.

• adaptable : adaptable reduces the turrain penalty, making tanks more effective at attacking in forests and hills.
  
• panzer leader : to increase the soft and hard attack on tanks.
  
• panzer expert : not only does it increase defense, it also increases breakthrough too.
  
• improvisation expert : improv. expert gives +10% to land movement speed and also let you use the "makeshift bridges" ability.
  

here is an example of a great general for tanks.

tanks are a great unit to attack with, with a combination of high attack and breakthrough they thrash anything on the attack. however they are terrible on defense, a tank will (in most common situation) lose on the defense against other tanks.

tanks have high attack, and with the bonus from planning and veterancy they gain an even higher modifier. if we to stack all these bonus the tanks attack would be very high, potentially above 1000 attack.

with tanks being terrible at holding gained ground, it might in some situation be beneficial to start out the battle by using a tank to attack without moving than move in infantry afterwards. like the video below:
in case video links doesnt work
note : to attack without moving press ctrl+alt+right click without a front line assigned to the unit.
as mentioned before, tanks suck on the defense. to hold ground with tanks, have them sit behind the line. when holding infantry looses the battle, attack the units that just moved into the tile. demonstrated below:
in case the video links didn't work

this section is highly theoretical. you will not and cannot achive the maximum results shown.

attack modifiers in this game help each other reach a higher number. the more modifiers you stack the higher the number goes. here are some modifiers that increase attack:

• experience : there are 5 levels of experience each increasing the modifier in combat
  
  • green : -25%
    
  • regular : 0%
    
  • trained : +25%
    
  • Seasoned : +50%
    
  • Veterans : +75%
• Planning bonus : the theoretical maximum planning bonus for the useful doctrine is 70% with the help of commander skills
  
• commander skill : skill of commanders effect the bonus for attack and planning, these are the one i found to help:
  
  • planning skill gives 2% max planning per level, up to +20% max planning.
    
  • thorough planer gives +10% to max planning.
    
  • attack skill gives 2.5% per level, up to +25% attack bonus.
    
  • panzer leader gives +16% to tank attack.
    
  • cavalry leader gives +12% to mechanized attack
    
  • a field marshal gives half of their bonuses to the unit
  if you have the theoretical best commanders your tanks would get a +59% attack bonus.
  
  
• military high command : high command buffs +5%,+10%,+15% for each level. 3 types are useful, attack chief of army, armor high command and combined arms high command.
  
  
• tactics : covered in another section. +25% attack.

now time to bring it all together:
this is the theatrically highest modifier I can think of, but more realistic modifiers might look like this (recreated general from a real game)

we are done, thanks for reading and leave suggestions or questions in the comment below, so i can implement them into the guide, and make it the best it can be.

this is a revised version still made by me, steam removed the old one becouse of the hungarian porpaganda poster that contained the naz* symbol.

The guide has been updated as of the 1st of may 2023