Best Rangers Template 2026
Article · Rangers template
Best Rangers template in Hearts of Iron IV
Three working Rangers templates for Forest and Jungle: a light one at 15 Combat Width, a mid one at 20, and a heavy one at 30. Not the Rangers role — finished templates.
Forest, Jungle and Combat Width
A Rangers battalion gives 2 Combat Width and eats 140 Infantry Equipment — like Mountaineers, not like line infantry with a hundred rifles. A line Artillery battalion is 3 Combat Width. Support companies add no Combat Width.
Forest and Jungle tiles both give 60 Combat Width. So the tidy numbers here are not the mountain ones: 15, 20 and 30. Four divisions at 15 fill 60 flush. Three at 20 — also 60. Two at 30 — 60 again. In HoI that matters more than a pretty designer grid: the overflow penalty hits everyone in the tile, not just the extra division.
Rangers on this terrain are not merely “unpenalized”. The battalion gives bonuses: in Forest +10% attack and defense, in Jungle +20% attack and +10% defense, plus movement. Do not drag them onto Plains: no terrain bonus, and you already paid special-forces prices for the rifles.
And do not skip the research tree. Rangers II gives the battalion +5 Organization and +5% Soft Attack. Without it all three templates stand and hit noticeably softer — especially the thin ones, where Rangers are few and Artillery is heavy. Level one unlocks the battalion; level two already makes the division pleasant to use.
Rangers — 2 Combat Width per battalion, 140 rifles instead of 100 on line infantry
Which template to use
Three templates, pick by country. The first is for a minor and a long front. The second is for a major or a strong minor. The third is for very fat industry: the USA, the Soviet Union, Germany and similar — if you actually fight in Forest, not collect divisions in the Division Designer.
6 Rangers + artillery, Combat Width 15
This is the template I build when I play a minor or I need a long Forest front. Simple, fairly cheap on Manpower, and the special forces cap usually lets you field four of them from any opening.
Rangers are the spine. Line Artillery plus Support Artillery give Soft Attack: the division does not only sit in Forest — it can punch through if the enemy is “just infantry” too. Engineer Company — entrenchment, defense, and terrain buffs. No Trucks — nice for an early game or a country with no rubber.
Only six special forces battalions. Any country can usually field at least four of these divisions. A Forest or Jungle tile takes exactly four — no leftover width, no penalty. The division is fairly cheap on Manpower (7100), but it already wants 36 Artillery per division: 24 from the line and 12 from the company.
| Resource | Per division |
|---|---|
| Manpower | 7100 |
| Infantry Equipment | 850 |
| Support Equipment | 30 |
| Artillery | 36 |
| Combat Width | 15 |
| Per tile with no penalty | 4 in Forest and Jungle |
Total for all divisions
Totals from the table above, for the chosen number of divisions of this template.
- Manpower
- 28,400
- Infantry Equipment
- 3,400
- Support Equipment
- 120
- Artillery
- 144
Pros
- Little special forces in the template — four divisions from almost any opening.
- Decent Soft Attack from line and Support Artillery.
- Perfect fit in any Forest or Jungle: four per tile at 60 Combat Width.
- Fine from the start of the game: no Trucks, the tree does not need to be polished to 1943.
Cons
- No crazy stats — everything in moderation. This is not a tank fist.
- A lot of Artillery for the division size: 36 on the template.
- Without Rangers II, Organization is not pleasant.
Short version: it holds well and, thanks to Soft Attack, sometimes pushes in Forest on its own. Enough for a long front or a small major. The tech is reachable before the war. No insane tree — just do not forget Rangers II, or the division is worse.
7 Rangers + two artillery, Combat Width 20
Already a moderately expensive template. Three of these fit a tile with no penalty. Most of the time this is a major or a strong minor: seven special forces battalions and the cap starts to care.
7× Rangers
2× Artillery
Support Artillery
Engineer Company
Two Artillery battalions plus the artillery company — that is already 60 Artillery per division and clearly nicer Soft Attack. In Forest this division can force a breakthrough and hold while outnumbered. Engineer Company still gives defense and terrain buffs. No Trucks — a plus for 1939.
Seven special forces battalions. A minor without a large army will usually get three of these from the cap — exactly one tile. Organization without Rangers II is again not great: lots of Artillery, and not many more Rangers than the cheap template.
| Resource | Per division |
|---|---|
| Manpower | 8600 |
| Infantry Equipment | 990 |
| Support Equipment | 30 |
| Artillery | 60 |
| Combat Width | 20 |
| Per tile with no penalty | 3 in Forest and Jungle |
Total for all divisions
Totals from the table above, for the chosen number of divisions of this template.
- Manpower
- 25,800
- Infantry Equipment
- 2,970
- Support Equipment
- 90
- Artillery
- 180
Pros
- Good defense and decent attack — the sweet spot.
- Perfect fit in Jungle and Forest: three divisions at 60 Combat Width.
- By 1939 you can already afford this template if Artillery is coming off the lines.
Cons
- Needs a lot of Artillery: 60 per division.
- Without Rangers II, Organization is unpleasant.
A fairly strong division, a solid middle. Weak minor — three of them and stop. Major with lots of Forest — this is already the workhorse, not a “later” sketch.
12 Rangers + two artillery, Combat Width 30
A thick template. Excellent stats, and exactly two of these fill a Forest tile. A minor on the default special forces cap usually gets only two — and the “cover the front” talk ends there.
Rangers hold Organization and the terrain bonuses. Two line Artillery plus the company — 60 Artillery again, but on a thick spine: Soft Attack and defense are already “king of the tile”, not “fine for a minor”. Engineer Company and Cavalry Recon Detachment stack Forest and Jungle buffs. Field Hospital recovers losses — on a 14,600 Manpower template that is not cosmetics: after each scrap you leak less experience.
Organization is already fine here even without the second research: twelve special forces battalions are enough that Artillery does not “eat” the division. Rangers II still lifts it further — and gives the same +5% Soft Attack. The downside is obvious: Trucks for the hospital, a pile of Support Equipment, twelve special forces battalions.
| Resource | Per division |
|---|---|
| Manpower | 14600 |
| Infantry Equipment | 1730 |
| Support Equipment | 70 |
| Artillery | 60 |
| Trucks | 20 |
| Combat Width | 30 |
| Per tile with no penalty | 2 in Forest and Jungle |
Total for all divisions
Totals from the table above, for the chosen number of divisions of this template.
- Manpower
- 29,200
- Infantry Equipment
- 3,460
- Support Equipment
- 140
- Artillery
- 120
- Trucks
- 40
Pros
- Strong Soft Attack and defense — you can push and hold.
- King of Forest and Jungle: two divisions fill the tile exactly.
Cons
- A lot of Artillery and Support Equipment.
- Needs Trucks for the Field Hospital.
- Twelve special forces battalions — a minor fields two divisions and hits the cap.
The strongest division in the article, and the most expensive. If factories and the cap can digest it — arguing with it in Forest is painful. If not — the mid template in the next tab is more honest than one fat division and holes on the front.
Which of the three to take
The question is not “which template hits harder on paper”. The heavy one always hurts more. The question is whether you can field two to four divisions, the Artillery, and the special forces cap without stripping the rest of the front.
| Parameter | For a minor | For a major | For a mega-major |
|---|---|---|---|
| Line | 6 Rangers + 1 Artillery | 7 Rangers + 2 Artillery | 12 Rangers + 2 Artillery |
| Companies | Support Artillery, engineers | The same | The same + cavalry recon and Field Hospital |
| Combat Width | 15 | 20 | 30 |
| Per tile | 4 | 3 | 2 |
| Special forces in the template | 6 battalions | 7 battalions | 12 battalions |
| Manpower | 7100 | 8600 | 14600 |
| Artillery | 36 | 60 | 60 |
| Who | Minor, long front | Major or strong minor | Very fat industry |
Rangers can attack — in Forest and Jungle that is their job, not “stand under the trees and wait”. The cheap template attacks “sometimes with confidence”, the mid one “already for real”, the heavy one “the tile is yours, unless tanks”. None of the three belongs on Plains.
Bottom line
For Forest and Jungle you build a template to 60 Combat Width on the tile. Six Rangers, line Artillery, Support Artillery and engineers — the working answer for almost everyone. Seven Rangers and two Artillery — if guns are coming and the cap still allows it. Twelve Rangers, Field Hospital and cavalry recon — if the factories can digest it, and you actually fight in Forest, not collect divisions in the Division Designer. Rangers II is worth it on all three: Organization and Soft Attack there are not cosmetics.