Can you make a free discord.
The forums will always be the go-to place for bug reports as it allows for future linking back to resolutions (should someone in the future have the same issue), conversations to be kept separate (e.g. if you have an issue with the focus tree tool exporting for the wrong nation, and another person has an issue with the country tool), and for issues to be tracked better (it is much harder to keep track on which issues have been responded to on Discord than on here).
The Discord access does mean you can drop a message and potentially get an instant response, but it doesn't necessarily mean faster response for help. The Discord access is mainly for updates on upcoming things for the site, and to ask questions/make suggestions on said updates.
The average response time is the same on both the forum and Discord. Many people have sent me PMs on Discord too (outside the Patreon server), and they will all tell you the same thing, if I am at my PC I will respond somewhat quickly. But if not, it will be potentially 12+ hours. The same goes with the forums; I get an email whenever a bug report is filed. If I am at my PC/available to answer the question from my phone (if available) I will do so within a few minutes - If I'm not available, then it will be when I next am.
TL;DR: The forums are easier for bug report tracking, and ensuring each report is dealt with. Discord may occasionally be faster, but it is not worth it, in my eyes, due to the potential for some issues to be missed.
Feel free to convince me otherwise, I may just be being old-fashioned here, and am missing out on something obvious.
HOLY4G
As said from the last suggestion about this, There should be a discord so we can communicate better when there are bugs and needed help from the creator and the rest of the community on this site. Forums just make everything harder and If im hearing whats true, the discord that you have now shouldnt even exist whatsoever because its not freely accessable for help which alot of people need on the site since, there are alot of bugs that need fixing on this site and forums just delay it by alot. And restricting faster help by giving 5$ a month is pretty bad ngl. The discord should really be free to use. At least make a VIP chat for whoever donated 5$. But make the whole discord accessable with a good help section, general chat and this could actually thrive and spead awareness more to this hoi4 mod creator. Introduce people to the modding scene more of hoi4.