The Panther - A Total Beast. (And Semi build order guide)

I see a lot of people complaining that the Panther is useless now, and I used to agree with them before I learned how to use it since the changes.

You MUST Micro your panther, be sure to have your front armor facing when it gets shot at then immediately micro it so you get a side armor hit, then micro back so you bounce.

Never ever over extend it, even it it means not killing that T34, a Vet/almost vetted Panther is always better than trading it 1:1 for a T34 and having it Die to a Zis or AT grenade when trying to retreat it.

I also believe range now (or always did?) Factor in to penetration, so against T34/76 you can close and not really worry, just pay attention and don't let them get around you. T34/85's keep a little distance but you should still bounce most shots, hell you can even bounce some SU85 shots with a bit of luck.

The panther is fairly nimble too and can flank ISU152's and SU85's with ease if they don't spot you coming a mile off.

What I like to do is grab Lighting War doctrine for the G43's early game, Get a Pak or two if I feel the need, then immediately rush for a Panther, then get a Tiger to support it/tank for it so the Panther can flank with ease.

Using this strategy I have had Vet 2/3 panthers in almost all of my past 10 games, with Vet Tigers too and managed to take out a lot of tanks, including spams of 3+ T34's and Sherman spams.

If they have more tanks than you (if they aren't SU/ISU's) use the Panther as bait and bait them in to the paks/hidden grens to faust. Then rip them apart. - Be sure not to lose your Panther before your Tiger.

Then once you have your Tiger, you can push it forward as bait/to draw fire, cover it with the Pak's and Flank with your Panther/2 Panthers if you get a 2nd (I prefer 2 Panthers for the mobility rather than 2 Tigers and a Panther).

Trust me, Panthers are boss, don't under-estimate them because you cannot adapt to how they need to be used now, instead of just rushing them in.

Panther has great frontal Armor, always have it towards the Zis/Tank/Script AT nade if you can.

Always cover it/it's retreat path with Pak's and/or Grens for faust.

Now just for the way I play it if anyone is wondering.

My General Build goes: Gren, Gren, then either Gren (if car/penal/sniper or Maxims) or MG if script spam. Tech to BP1. When able give one Gren squad MG42 and two G43's Or just two G43 squads. Get PzGrens, and 2 paks if not heavy car/sniper spam, if car/sniper spam get 1 or 2 scout cars as needed Upgun and then get A pak or 2. Then Immediately Rush for a Panther, you should be able to clean up any remaining tanks/light vehicles with this and 2 Paks (Ha unintentional pun) Then when CP/MP and fuel allow get a Tiger and then a 2nd Panther if the game is still going(or 2nd Tiger based on preference I prefer 2nd Panth).

Get fuel build on's as and when MP allows.

I didn't add when to get Med Bunker/when to build fuel addon's this should be obvious when you need them and the fuel is usually when man power allows.

When to use the Loiter strafe - yes the strafe, it could be better for 240Muni but, I had it kill 2 Shermans earlier, one was vet 2. - When you do use the Loiter try to place it so the smoke it drops as a warning is somewhere the opponent doesn't see, the loiter area is very large and covers more than just where you drop it. Only drop it when your enemy is engaging in to you, as if you drop it when you push they are more likely to back out of it before it gets any worthwhile damage done.

Tl;dr - Too lazy to read? Then enjoy being bad with your Panther

And yes I know some of these tips are pretty "Basic" and "L2P Noob" but this is written for everyone not just the Vet/MLG Pro's.

It

is

not

cost-effective.

Really glad you noticed the "Range" affecting penetration, people still like to rush tigers & panthers up close to T34/85´s/shermans and then complain that they get penetrated all the time, when they should shoot from max range and by doing so making the best use of their high armor value

It

is

not

cost-effective.

We might disagree on this and that is your opinion and you are welcome to it, but I believe Panthers ARE Cost effective if used right.

You have to remember that it isn't just tanks it kills, any Infantry they rush at it to try to AT nade it that get killed, that's more Manpower. Any Muni such as AT grenades or other such things they fire at it, that's more Muni invested in to dropping this one tank. And if used properly it will MORE than pay for itself, the battle phase requirement and Structure cost. You could argue to just get 2/3 Tigers instead, but then you have no tank to rush forward and get flanks with, Pz4 can work in this role but it dies really fast now and almost always gets Crit'd by At Grenades, Panther has a very good chance to bounce them now.

Really glad you noticed the "Range" affecting penetration, people still like to rush tigers & panthers up close to T34/85´s/shermans and then complain that they get penetrated all the time, when they should shoot from max range and by doing so making the best use of their high armor value

Yeah Most people are ignorant about it and about frontal Armor value's and I believe Panther is sloped too so it's even better (if that is even taken in to account)

Knowing about Range affecting penetration is a huge game changer IMO, it really changes how you should play with your tanks.

The only reason why the panther is bad is that you can get a tiger for much less resources. Why tech all the way up to T4 when you can just spam T1+2 units until you can call in a heavy? Heck, for the cost of BP2&3+T4building+panther you can get 2 tigers.

On it's own the panther is good for its cost. However, this is Company of Call-ins, and as such every tank that is not a call-in tank is a waste of resources.

Yeah Most people are ignorant about it and about frontal Armor value's and I believe Panther is sloped too so it's even better (if that is even taken in to account)

Knowing about Range affecting penetration is a huge game changer IMO, it really changes how you should play with your tanks.

There is no armor adjustment based on slope. But it's sloped armor is represented by the fact that his frontal armor value is very high.

so 3 grens 21 pop ,1 mg 6 pop, 2 scoutcars 8 pop,2 paks 18pop, 2panthers 32pop and 1 tiger 24 pop makes 109 even without 2 scoutcars it isnt possible and you must have very long games to get t4 2 panthers and then a tiger

The only reason why the panther is bad is that you can get a tiger for much less resources. Why tech all the way up to T4 when you can just spam T1+2 units until you can call in a heavy? Heck, for the cost of BP2&3+T4building+panther you can get 2 tigers.

On it's own the panther is good for its cost. However, this is Company of Call-ins, and as such every tank that is not a call-in tank is a waste of resources.

The tiger is a commanderchoice. It may be stupid but imo there are other commanders that are good that dont have the tiger.

so 3 grens 21 pop ,1 mg 6 pop, 2 scoutcars 8 pop,2 paks 18pop, 2panthers 32pop and 1 tiger 24 pop makes 109 even without 2 scoutcars it isnt possible and you must have very long games to get t4 2 panthers and then a tiger

That was a ballpark figure and if you notice there are / for and/or in there, so I wouldn't get scout car's and 2 paks. Generally, 2 cars and a Pak an use the Car's to Flank anything armored that rushes the Pak, and Odds are you will lose an infantry squad at some point in the game due to the amount of instant wiping stuff there is in this game and odd's are you will also lose 1 or both scout car some where mid-late game before the Tiger comes in, usually from some small arms fire and a Zis shot out of the Fog of War, or a Tank chases it down.

As I said, it is a General Build order, it is not 100% what you should do.

Anyone who says they never lose a squad is either VERY Lucky, or full of it. With the amount of instant wipe and bad RNG that can happen odds are you will Always lose 1 or 2 squads/vehicles per game on Average, No matter how good your micro is (Remember Unit AI can and WILL run those 2 gren squads you micro'd out of that Molly straight back in to it, because "Auto run for Cover")

And I can see peoples points about Tigers being more cost effective, which in a way yes they are, the armor is (or should be) a little thicker, but it lacks the speed of the Panther, which is why I like the Panther first, if you get it in a bad spot, you can get out, and in my build, get out with PAK cover and punish over extending enemy tanks. Tigers, not so much, especially if you get Engine crit'd.

About Company of call-in's. This would be "fixed" if they added a minimum building/tech level requirement on top of the CP. So you can't just go from T1/2 straight in to Heavy tanks. You should at least be forced to get that Tier building for Russians, or Battle Phase for Germans.

For Example: SU85 building (forget it's name) to be able to use Heavy tank and ISU152 call in's.
And the T34/76 (or SU85 building) to call in T34/85's and/or Shermans. Again either of these restrictions could be placed on building of Howitzers as well, and lower tier buildings for Mortar/shock/guard call ins.

And for German's: Battle Phase 1 for Mortar Halftracks, Mechanized Pzgrens and Artillery field officer. Battle phase 2 for Stug E (maybe Battle Phase 1) and PzIV Command Tank, could also apply to Howitzer/Pak43 as well. Battle Phase 3 for Tiger/Elefant/Pak43

(Few call in's I have probably forgotten about)

^ The above changes would also provide a new Meta to the game as well.

And I can see peoples points about Tigers being more cost effective, which in a way yes they are, the armor is (or should be) a little thicker, but it lacks the speed of the Panther, which is why I like the Panther first, if you get it in a bad spot, you can get out, and in my build, get out with PAK cover and punish over extending enemy tanks. Tigers, not so much, especially if you get Engine crit'd.

Safe for speed the tiger is vastly superior to the panther in nearly every way. it starts with the fact that tigers now regularly cripple soviet infantry as each shot can kill up to 4 man in a squad. When it comes to fighting medium tanks the tiger is way ahead of the panther. a tiger can easily take 3 t-34 like a boss because it can survive 3 more penetrating shots has a higher rof and much better armor. the panther can be destroyed by 2 t-34's if your not careful. the tiger can solo the is-2 ,fat chance with that if you use the panther. only the su85 and isu152 needs to be flanked (and depending on the map this doesn't always apply to the tiger as he can tank the damage like a boss) but both have heavy crush and the su85 and isu152 are simply to slow to avoid a flanking tiger or panther.

All the tactics you have given is what any decent player would have done.In short you have said nothing new. So it indeed boils down to cost effectiveness. is it worth it to get to tier 4 and buy this very overpriced heavy tank? no is not and tier 3 units are simply much more cost effective.

We might disagree on this and that is your opinion and you are welcome to it, but I believe Panthers ARE Cost effective if used right.

You have to remember that it isn't just tanks it kills, any Infantry they rush at it to try to AT nade it that get killed, that's more Manpower. Any Muni such as AT grenades or other such things they fire at it, that's more Muni invested in to dropping this one tank. And if used properly it will MORE than pay for itself, the battle phase requirement and Structure cost. You could argue to just get 2/3 Tigers instead, but then you have no tank to rush forward and get flanks with, Pz4 can work in this role but it dies really fast now and almost always gets Crit'd by At Grenades, Panther has a very good chance to bounce them now.



Yeah Most people are ignorant about it and about frontal Armor value's and I believe Panther is sloped too so it's even better (if that is even taken in to account)

Knowing about Range affecting penetration is a huge game changer IMO, it really changes how you should play with your tanks.

I don't care even the Panther stat is like a Panther Ace or not (which is totally not), it is

NOT

FUCKING

COST

EFFECTIVE

because of the combination tech cost, risk of forgoing Tigers and T3 Panzers, or Elefant.


Why should I get a nerfed Panther, which is way more expensive and weaker than a buffed Tiger?


You are talking about, "if used right".

If used right, Stug and Tiger can 1vAll Sovjet throw at the Reich, sorry, Panther can't.

The fuel cost and manpower cost to reach the panther is higher than alternatives.

It's not viable to "rush to panthers" because they are too expensive. It's better to rush to a heavy tank and then maybe think about panthers after 30 minutes.

Panther pushes are only decent when you get atleast 2 anyway, so u'll have to wait for the 2nd.

The teching path to germans needs to be cheaper (the manpower + fuel to build the building and research T3+T4 is very high). OR make it compulsory for the elefant to have T4 tech, and tiger to have T3 tech. Similarly, the IS2/ISU-152 needs to have soviet T3/T4.

Basically OP is implying that it may be viable to rush to panthers if you outplay the opponent and punish yourself by sticking to the strat.

I believe the concept behind the new German T4 is to make it less reachable/desirable than it was before so the Soviets would be more balanced with the Germans.

If you look at it this way, the doctrinal Tiger is a real bargain.

I personally think that the elbe day T4 is fair.