I have to disagree with that
the T34-76 is never cost effective at all neither to mass them nor to trade them for a single P4,its always better building an SU-85 and counter pretty much every tank except heavys,the T-34-76 costs too much mp which results in mp bleed and also comes very late,its never a good investment to buy something thats outdated the moment it arrives (unlike before)
its low stats never make it effective at normal tank engagements which results to even more poor performance when it shouldnt(like poor accuracy trying to hit the rear amor)
Whats worse is its ability to ram is also really bad,you sacrifice your t-34 just to stun the enemys vehicles/tanks!!(it could ba a great tool for late game nope...)
also cause it lacks firepower or any good trait to make it unique(being cheap isnt one of them)makes the tank lackluster
i mean why would you build 3 of them when they do nothing(can hardly fight infantry)or(tanks) they are like tank destroyers then only more unreliable at what they do and not cost effective.
some small buffs are neaded,its arrival would be best since it was hit hard when it was placed on T4 which now requires T3 to be build.
Everything the T-34-76 does the entire T3 roster does it even better,cheaper and comes faster(unlike our T-34 friend)
AND if by any chance you need medium tanks then most people would go for the 85 version since its an upgunned 76 one on every stat
the 76 needs a unique trait that makes it viable and unique or small buffs to make it atleast somewhat good at something.
trading a 300/80 tank for a tank that costs much more is not worth it? poor accuracy means nothing when your shooting and close or medium range. as i said before, you have to all in. you cant just peck away at long range and expect to do anything. what do you mean by lack of firepower? the tank has an average reload, and does the same damage as every other medium. the only bad factor would be its penetration.
sure you can play conservatively with su85, and just grind it out. however grinding out battles can be rather risky, and su85s are countered by elefants, mass pak40s, and jp4s. the whole point of doing a fast mass of t34s is to crush enemy axis armor one by one before they can achieve critical mass. literally every axis tank is more expensive than a t34, so trading 1 for 1 is always worth it, but youll never beat an axis tank 1v1 so thats why you need 2+
see most people want a tank that functions more as a typical panzer4-esque medium tank. decent armor, decent gun, good veterancy. the t34 is not that kind of medium tank. its a swarm unit. if you dont want to use it that way, dont use it at all. you can get a t34 85 that fits that role, or you can play passive and use the su85
also a quick note about your critique on ram, there is two uses for it and thats to hold an enemy tank in place. wether it be for other tanks to get around it, or for an offmap bombing run/artillery strike. its very dependent on where the tank your ramming is though, if its on the edge of the map the bombing run will come in much quicker than if the tank was in the middle of the map. another use is to finish off very low hp tanks. since the ram is a guaranteed 100 damage, you can use it to knockout tanks that are trying to get away. either way, its a really last ditch thing and i dont often use it myself.