War Footing tasks you with outfitting an entire military before an inevitable invasion breaks out, making domestic manufacturing your most vital economic lever. Running domestic production cuts baseline equipment costs by roughly 50% compared to baseline foreign market imports, but setting up factories demands significant up-front procurement capital and careful queue management.
Understanding how industrial capacity points convert into field-ready hardware ensures your armed forces enter combat properly equipped rather than starved of vehicles and ammunition.
How Domestic Production Capacity Works
In War Footing, domestic industry represents the factories and workshops within your nation. Every piece of equipment in the game requires two specific logistical attributes: effort, which is the total industrial capacity points consumed to build it, and maintenance, which represents the recurring financial upkeep per turn once fielded.
- Up-Front Expansion: You start scenarios with baseline industrial capacity (typically between 300 and 400 points). You can expand this base via the Industry or Politics tabs. Increasing your baseline capacity costs roughly 1,000,000 currency units per 10 capacity points (or approximately 100,000 per point).
- Compounding Output: Industrial capacity refreshes every turn (representing one in-game week). Points that are not assigned to production queues or manufacturing programs do not carry over into the next week unless actively allocated.
- Mass Assault Synergy: Adopting the Mass Assault doctrine early provides a 20% boost to production capacity, allowing you to rapidly assemble heavy equipment before switching doctrines closer to the invasion date.
| Production Metric | In-Game Mechanics and Baseline Cost |
|---|---|
| Industrial Expansion Cost | Roughly 1,000,000 currency units per 10 industrial capacity points |
| Domestic Price Advantage | 50% off base market price per unit manufactured domestically |
| Standard Queue Processing | Surplus industrial capacity is consumed turn by turn until orders complete |
| 15-Turn Program Discount | Up to an additional 12% scale discount on top of the domestic base cut |
| Licensing Requirement | One-time flat fee to foreign nations; requires minimum diplomatic relation thresholds |
Queues vs. Production Programs
When ordering domestic manufacturing, the interface offers two distinct avenues: standard Queue builds and scheduled Programs.
Standard Queues
Adding items to the standard production queue requires paying the up-front manufacturing cost immediately. Spare industrial capacity at the end of each turn is automatically funneled into items sitting in the queue.
In pre-release builds, players observed that if multiple different items are placed simultaneously in the standard queue, available capacity splits evenly between each line item. If you queue 50 artillery pieces alongside a tiny batch of utility trucks, your capacity divides down the middle regardless of the effort required for each item, potentially wasting excess capacity on small batches. To avoid wasted effort, match the batch sizes carefully or order items sequentially.
Industrial Programs
Programs allow you to schedule large deliveries across fixed timelines, such as 5, 10, or 15 turns. Running a 15-turn program grants an extra 12% scale discount on manufacturing costs. The system prioritizes the exact weekly industrial capacity needed to meet your delivery target each turn. Players can run up to three production programs simultaneously, making them ideal for high-volume items like transport trucks, recovery vehicles, and artillery pieces.
Licensing Foreign Equipment
Before your factories can manufacture foreign military hardware, you must secure a manufacturing license from an allied supplier.
- Diplomatic Relations: Suppliers will not grant licenses unless your relations meet their specific threshold. For example, Russian Ural 4320 trucks require 52 relations, an Israeli Soltam M-71 howitzer requires access to Israeli deals, and heavy Western vehicles like the American M1 Abrams require high diplomatic standing (often 85+ to 90).
- One-Time Licensing Fees: You must pay an up-front procurement capital cost to acquire the blueprint. Licenses range from a few hundred thousand units for infantry kits or light anti-tank weapons (such as 220,000 for Enhanced US Combat Kits or roughly 360,000 to 440,000 for howitzers and TOW launchers) up to several million for main battle tanks, heavy aircraft, or advanced IFVs.
- The Break-Even Equation: Because manufacturing domestically saves 50% on hardware costs, high-effort and high-cost items reach their break-even point very quickly. A licensed vehicle that saves hundreds of thousands per hull recoups its multi-million license fee in just three to eight produced units.
What to Produce Domestically vs. Import
Attempting to manufacture everything in domestic factories creates massive bottlenecks. Because industrial capacity is limited, you must prioritize high-value assets with low effort-to-cost ratios.
Best Equipment for Domestic Lines
- Aircraft and Attack Helicopters: Advanced jets and rotary wings carry multi-million price tags on the open market. Cutting these costs by 50% yields massive financial savings per point of effort invested.
- Tanks and Heavy Armor: Vehicles such as the M1 Abrams, Leopard variants, and heavy combat vehicles yield immediate savings that repay their licensing fees within a few turns.
- Logistics Trucks and Recovery Vehicles: Transport trucks (such as the Ural 4320 or MAN HX) and armored recovery vehicles take minimal effort points (around 2 to 3 points per truck) and are demanded in quantities numbering in the hundreds to keep forward logistics sectors functional.
- Towed Artillery: Licensing standard 155mm howitzers allows you to equip frontline garrisons and brigades with fire support at stable, predictable costs.
What to Buy via Market Deals or Arms Contracts
- Infantry Weapons and Combat Kits: Basic and elite combat kits require substantial manufacturing effort across thousands of soldiers. Players and community testing note that spending industrial capacity on mass infantry kits severely delays armored and air production; whenever feasible, import standard combat kits directly or via 15-turn arms deals.
- Anti-Tank and MANPADS Missiles: High-tech guided systems (like Spike, Javelin, or Stinger systems) have high manufacturing effort relative to their individual purchase prices. Sourcing these through multi-turn arms deals secures volume discounts without tying up domestic factory capacity.
Common Production Mistakes to Avoid
- Splitting the Queue Unevenly: Avoid placing tiny, low-effort orders in the standard queue next to massive orders. Either group items into similar effort blocks or handle long builds through the dedicated Program slots.
- Over-Expanding Past Mid-Game: Turn-by-turn capacity additions cost capital that could otherwise buy immediate hardware. Most players halt domestic capacity expansion between turns 15 and 25 (targeting roughly 900 to 1,200 points, or higher depending on the scenario) to redirect recurring weekly revenue into purchase budgets and program payments.
- Neglecting Hangar and Base Infrastructure: Producing domestic fighters or attack helicopters is useless if you lack the maintenance hangars to handle their complexity ratings or the air base network levels required to field complete squadrons. Build the corresponding infrastructure before your aircraft roll off assembly lines.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I build equipment without buying a foreign license?
Yes. Every nation starts with default domestic blueprints, which include standard utility trucks, basic recovery vehicles, an assault rifle, and light mortars. However, these default weapons feature lower soft and hard attack statistics compared to licensed foreign equivalents like the M777, Soltam M-71, or Western small arms.
What happens if I lack the industrial capacity to finish a programmed order?
If your domestic factories do not have enough free capacity to fulfill a scheduled program alongside other active queues, the program suffers overruns. Delivery of that week's batch will be delayed into future turns until sufficient effort points are freed up.
How does the 15-turn arms deal differ from a 15-turn production program?
An arms deal purchases equipment directly from a foreign government's industrial base, consuming no domestic industrial capacity points and raising diplomatic standing with the selling country. A production program manufactures the hardware inside your own country using your own capacity points, consuming available domestic industry slots in exchange for the 50% baseline manufacturing discount and an extra scale discount.
