Observations on the Panther "G".

[SmokinLoon]

First off, it is great to have this beast in the game.  Those who were worried about it, don't be.  Those who were thrilled to have the "best" tank in WWII at their disposal, be guarded.  For the most part treat it like a Firefly but you may cringe less at incoming rounds to your front due to the far better armor.  Below are a few of my observations:

The main gun has a reload rate of 6 seconds.  That is on par with the other heavy hitting tank guns in AH (Tiger, Firefly, T34/85mm). The HE round from the main gun produces 163.6 points of damage.  That is 4th in line behind the Tiger (234pts), T34/85mm (231pts), and M4A3/75mm (173pts) respectively.  

It has a speed of 29mph.  Right on target with historical data.

The MG34 gun mounted on the commanders cupola is near worthless vs aircraft only for the fact that it has very little elevation.  I did not accurately measure the angle, but I bet 30 degrees would be generous.  Also, it does not have 360 degree traverse, but about 270 at best.  The MG34, at least the one on top of the Panther has been given a face lift.  The new model is much nicer!!!

Currently, it is perked at 22 (?).  I didnt double check the ENY, but it must be close.

Feel free to add in your own opinions and observations. 

[Lusche]

Currently, it is perked at 22 (?). .

Close

It's 20.
(For comparison: Tiger 30, Firefly 15)

[BigKev03]

I did a test in the DA and the weakness of this tank is the side armor either on the turrest or the sponson.  It also is weak on the rear engine deck.  Can we say IL2 bait??  Other than that the Panther is hard to beat.  All around a good vehicle.


BigKev

[Lusche]

What a start for the Panther. After one day it's at K/D 2.92... and that with lots of players fooling around in it to see what it can do, which leads to a low initial K/D most of the time. Currently the Panther is  at 3-1 vs the Tiger even 

[sky25]

I killed 4 Panthers last night.  I also got killed 4 times by one because my rounds bounced off of it..
A good solid side shot at close range only disabled it. Took a second shot to kill it.. Killed one with a rear shot easy.  This while using an M76. My front shots bounced off. To me it looks like a well placed side or rear shot works best.. Each time one killed me it was because I missed my first shot..
Currently, I am 50 50 against the new Panther..

Nice addition to the game I think.. It is nice to see the changes taking place on a regular bases...

[chris3]

What a start for the Panther. After one day it's at K/D 2.92... and that with lots of players fooling around in it to see what it can do, which leads to a low initial K/D most of the time. Currently the Panther is  at 3-1 vs the Tiger even 

moin lusche

i still doesnt played AH since the new patch, but it sounds logicaly because.
-the panther canon should have a better penetration than the old tiger 8,8
-higher speed of the 7,5cm bullet that rice the first hit chance
-better turret roatation.
- better driving speed

only the side armor is weacker than the tigers.

that means that the panther well used could be better than a tiger in tank vs. tank.
question is how his survivelability in compartion to the tiger is in the standart AH base battel.
im sure tiger can take more IL2 shoots and droped ordenance than the panther.

so every tank driver should knew what he want to do with his tank.

im looking forward to use this tank at the weekend :-)

cu christian

[TDeacon]

FYI, I just posted a bug fix request on the Panther's AAMG. 

[WWhiskey]

Well  my first day with the panther was not to bad,, I got 25 kills and only lost one panther to a bomb!
 I was surprised at how fast it comes onto target and how flat the shot trajectory is, I tried to drive it as it is supposed to be driven, keeping the front toward the enemy in this tank will be a very important part of staying alive.
the gun has a great deal of up and down travel as well!  the suggestion boxes must have been full when they started building this tank as it addresses almost every complaint I would have had with the panzer or tiger!
it moves very well and has darn good speed, combined with its gun and someone who is aware of his surroundings and doesn't let the enemy get around the side or flanks, this tank will be number one for a while!

WTG   HTC   another awesome addition to the game!

[R 105]

 I too am disappointed with the turret mounted MG-34. I was hoping for the anti air craft ring mounted MG. I have only used it off line so far and I like the tank. It has a fast turret and road speed plus a great gun. I did kill three Panthers with one shot each from an M-4/76 at fairly close range at v135 yesterday. However the 76 had little effect of the front armor.
 
It seems the Panthers turret is even harder to disable than the Tigers from the front with the 76.  I am happy with it and the perks are about right.  It is nice to get new armor to play with. Great job HTC.

[whels]

the panther gun was considered the best main gun of WW2, even better than the tiger 88.

[JOACH1M]

I my opinion it's a bit over priced, should be the same as a VC firefly, but that's just my opinion

[321BAR]

the panther gun was considered the best main gun of WW2, even better than the tiger 88.

but wasnt the tigerIIs gun a stronger penetration than the 75mm and 88mm? (just a question, i honestly think the panther's gun cannot be outdone due to its weight and punch.)

I my opinion it's a bit over priced, should be the same as a VC firefly, but that's just my opinion

it has stronger armor than the firefly. the frontal armor of the panther is devastating. 20 seems fine to me because the 75mm can punch through armor out to 2400 easily and still get tanks at further out with some accuracy needed.

[R 105]

 While the Firefly has a good gun it does not have the armor the Tiger or the Panther has for a long range slug fest. So the perks on the panther is about right. The thin armor and slow fire rate of the Firefly makes its perk cost high to me. I would jump over the Firefly to use the M4/76. It has a great reload rate and I can kill any tank in the game a close range with it.

 I think the new Panther will be a harder tank to beat than the Tiger in an M4/76 now. The turret speed on the Panther will change the fight to its advantage. So running at an angle at shot range while pumping 76 rounds into it will not work like it does on the slow Tiger turrets. Now if it had the same commanders hatch mounted MG that the Panzer has that would be great. I found that any tank in the game can kill the Panther from the rear or sides.

 On the frontal armor of the Panther you will see a seam where the armor slops back under the tank and is a darker color. I found I can one shot kill the Panther from the front at close range with the M4/76 kind of like the front seam on the T-34/76. Other wise the 76mm is about worthless against the front armor of the new panther. The Panther was the best tank of WWII and I think it will turn out to be the best in the game if used right. It is a great addition for us tankers.

[Pongo]

but wasnt the tigerIIs gun a stronger penetration than the 75mm and 88mm? (just a question, i honestly think the panther's gun cannot be outdone due to its weight and punch.)
it has stronger armor than the firefly. the frontal armor of the panther is devastating. 20 seems fine to me because the 75mm can punch through armor out to 2400 easily and still get tanks at further out with some accuracy needed.

Yes the 88mm L71 cannon on the Tiger II ,Jadgpanther,Ferdinand and Nashorn is far better then the 88mm L56 on the Tiger 1 and quite a bit better then the 75mm L70 on the Panther.

[TDeacon]

And the 17 pdr with APDS (Firefly) was better (at least in penetrating armor) than all of them.  However according to my books, the 17 pdr was not quite as accurate as the German guns at long range, and the German optics were better.  (I'm not really sure what "better optics" means, but extrapolating from rifle scopes, perhaps they transmitted more light in lower light conditions).