Then whats your opinion about the us flak track? I think people complain a bit to much about its ai abilities but to be honest the ai abilities of the puma are not worth mentioning to anyone who uses some form of AT.
it just means even if you are to use counters like bazookas/ptrs + AT nades, infantry will still get cut down by the pintle mg. so considering the time it takes for infantry AT to deal with the puma, the puma can reverse away after inflicting some model losses and go back for free repairs. its an effective bleeding tool.
it can also circle AT guns and gun them down. 8-11 dps is pretty significant considering pumas have the speed to flank and smoke to gtfo. so long as it has no engine damage, pumas are generally difficult to take down with just infantry+AT guns.
well considering its timing and cost, it should function like a beefed up 222. also, why would a medium tank be its hardest counter? the puma is actually meant to be a counter to medium tanks in my opinion. its penetration makes it way overkill for light vehicles.
i think the puma does need a nerf, but these arent the reasons why.
timing/cost wise is a bad argument. assuming a puma rush strat, considering the building is only 40fuel + the unit itself at 70fuel. taking into account the 1st 40 fuel is going to be used to tech, a puma only really costs 70 fuel. with 66% okw fuel rate, 70 * 1.33 = 93.1 fuel. 93.1 fuel for a such an efficient unit is a steal. the timing to get pumas can be extremely early.
compared to the 1st medium tank that the soviet gets using a t1 strat, initial 40fuel gone to t1, additional 15 fuel gone to scout car. thats 55 fuel lost to crucial structure and unit. now to tech for t3 which is 120 fuel and finally the t34 itself at 100 fuel, it takes 120+100+15 = 235fuel for the 1st t34, compared to 93.1 fuel for the 1st puma.
now it really depends on how the early game is played out. if the okw is a fairly newbie player, an experienced soviet player can easily deny him fuel and push him back, the puma wont save him. if both sides are experienced, the okw player can fight an equal battle using volks, rakenten and sturms, stall out for 94 fuel and the puma is out which can be used to counter surviving scout cars, immune to sniper fire and provide infantry support fire.
which now the soviet is forced into an uphill battle, if he were to play a t1 t2 build, he will have no mobile counters to the puma, the okw will still have initiative and field control and gets stuka next to counter support teams/infantry. if he opts for a t34 to counter it, pumas can still maintain field presence with schreck support and be a credible threat to the t34. just up to here, there is a huge fuel cost that the soviet player must cough out just to maintain his position against the puma or get rolled over. all these, not taking into account manpower differences.
experienced okw players know this and they take advantage of it.