Spain usually doesn’t get much love in Hearts of Iron IV, but this new Spanish Empire mod finally gives the country something fresh. Instead of running into the same shallow focus tree, the mod rebuilds one path completely, adding more decisions, better bonuses, and a lot more room to play around.

Why the Vanilla Spain Tree Feels Flat

Anyone who has played a Spain run in HOI4 knows the struggle. At first glance, the vanilla focus tree looks huge, but once you pick a path, it dries up fast. There’s filler everywhere — a few modernization bonuses here, a couple of unique focuses there, but nothing that really changes the game.

This mod fixes that. It takes one of Spain’s existing paths and makes it feel like a proper alternate-history route, giving players new tools and events that make empire-building actually fun.

Building the Spanish Empire

The biggest shift with this mod is how much faster Spain can grow. Compliance bonuses are strong enough to integrate territories without slogging through years of waiting. Forming Iberia becomes a real strategy — uniting Spain and Portugal sets up a solid industrial base to push further into Europe.

The empire-building tools go beyond Iberia, too. With better options for subjugation, managing puppets, and setting up viceroyalties, Spain can expand while staying stable. It creates a different kind of power curve compared to the base game, letting players dominate without joining the Axis or Allies right away.

Naval Power and Military Upgrades

Spain’s navy finally matters here. The mod gives access to better cruisers, destroyers, and naval bombers, which makes challenging the British more realistic than ever. With radar tech and air superiority, Spain can break blockades, intercept invasions, and secure sea lanes — all while preparing for a larger war.

Spanish Full Graphical Rework Mod
byu/fint3 inhoi4modding

On land, the modernized army makes a big difference during the Spanish Civil War and beyond. The path pushes you toward reorganizing divisions, upgrading equipment, and managing supply lines more effectively, which is crucial once expansion begins.

Taking Spain Global

Once Iberia is secure, the mod opens up big possibilities. Expanding into Northern Ireland, setting up bases in the UK, or even striking at colonies becomes viable thanks to faster compliance mechanics and a stronger economy.

Alliances are more flexible, too. Players can temporarily side with Germany or Japan, grab what’s needed, and then break away to lead a new Spanish faction. It turns Spain from a forgotten minor into a serious global contender, giving players multiple ways to shape Europe’s balance of power.