HOI4 (Hearts of Iron IV): How to Unlock Papal States

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Hearts of Iron IV (HOI4) is an immersive grand strategy video game developed by Paradox Interactive. Set against the backdrop of the Second World War, it presents players with the grand opportunity to shape and determine the course of history according to their own desires. Within this scenario, Italy, for instance, can evolve from a fascist stronghold to the King’s dominion and ultimately hand power back to the Papacy as the Papal States are once again revived. In this article, we will explore the path required to attain this hidden nation, how the player can have the Pope as their leader, and perhaps even launch a Crusade. Here is how to unlock the Papal States as a playable country in HOI4.

How to Unlock the Papal States in HOI4

It should be noted that you should start in 1936 and not 1939, as the latter will lock you into Mussolini’s path, thereby not allowing for the Papal States to be created.

To unlock the Papal States in HOI4, you will have to start as Italy. Your first objective is to move power away from Mussolini and towards the Grand Council of Fascism instead. This means winning the war against Ethiopia either through a decisive victory or a struggle instead.

Whichever the case, proceed down the assigned tree and then select the Convene the Grand Council focus. If you do not have enough balance of power in favor of the council, choose actions that would boost its influence before taking this focus. Afterward, depose Mussolini and get ready to play the long waiting game.

The King

Since we need the King to become the leader of the nation before the Pope does, we need to boost the popularity of the Non-Aligned Party. This means taking Pietro d’Acquarone, who is only available once you take the Convene the Grand Council focus.

While he will continue boosting the popularity of the party daily, you need to focus on other issues, such as Anti-Democratic and Anti-Communist actions.

Avoid taking the Institute Press Censorship focus and boosting the influence of the Grand Council in the balance of power mechanic, as the former will also affect the Non-Aligned party and the latter will just be a waste of your PP at this point.

Once you have enough support (+25%) for the Non-Aligned party, take the Monarchia d’Italia focus to have the King take power. At this point, we can take the Anti-Fascist and Institute Press Censorship actions as they will not negatively impact our ruling party.

The Pope

Once the support for the Non-Aligned party is at least 50%, you can take the Power to the King focus. On this path, you should go along the Seek Papal Support path to replace the Grand Council with the Pope in the balance of power.

After finishing the Papal Influence focuses, you are free to take on any other focuses as you see fit, as we’ll just be focusing on the balance of power. Take all possible actions to support the Pope and avoid taking any actions that would increase the King’s influence.

You should end up with 60% in favor of the Pope, but to actually unlock the Papal States in HOI4, you need at least 70%. One of the liturgical reforms will emerge again after a year since you last took it, so up to that point, you’ll be in a long waiting game.

Once 70% is reached, you’ll automatically trigger the event for the Pope to take charge and replace the King as the ruler of Italy. You’ll even unlock a small path for the Papacy to change its name to the Papal States and demand the obedience of HOI4 Catholic nations across the world.

What’s Next?

The next step is entirely up to you. The Papal path is rather short, but for the spiritual leader of the Roman Catholic Church, there are a lot of options that lead to war. You’ll be able to demand the subjugation of many Catholic nations and gain war goals against them if they refuse to do so.

Likewise, you’ll be able to demand Palestine from the British with an ultimatum much like Germany and Danzig.

Still, with the ‘Hand of God’ artillery, you should be able to recreate the Deus Vult era once more in the Second World War.

And that is all you need to know about how to unlock the Papal States in HOI4. Check out other interesting HOI4 guides and articles: