Puma underpowered?

[Niroc]

So I recently swapped over from US to Germany and have been working on maxing out the modifications for the Puma and even after doing so it just feels..under preforming?

I am keeping within it's BR range with the rest of my line up but even with flanking shots it's best ammo will just bounce on anything thicker than paper. Maybe I am just not used to it's gun yet but shots that would have normally killed a T-34 or Sherman with any other tank in my lineup simply fails to pen or does minimal damage. Any advice?

[Chaoslink]

The 50mm gun is good, but you have to work with it a lot. Unlike other German guns that just chew through most targets, this one needs to be aimed. If the Puma is giving you trouble, try the Panzer III J or M variants. They get a spaced armored plate on the front that can help them absorb rounds better than most other German tanks of the BR and use the 50mm as well. Can possibly help you get used to the gun in a more sturdy platform.

Given the main advantage of the Puma is speed, you should be hitting everything side on, not frontally. Side shots with the 50mm should eat through most targets. Shoot low on T-34s, aiming for that gap between the track and hull if possible. That shot typically hits ammo.

That 50mm can perform even into 5.0 once you know what you're doing with it. Though I kinda prefer it on the Me410 as nothing beats a tank cannon in the sky and frankly the 410 is so much better than the HS129 that everyone fawns over. That thing is a brick in the sky and can't defend itself. The 410 at least has defensive armaments and can fly when mildly damaged.

Distracting thoughts aside, just flank and get used to aiming for weakspots. The 50mm is basically a US 75mm but with less punch after penetration. Wherever you would aim with a 75mm Sherman is where you want to aim with the Puma typically.

[Niroc]

I mean, I do love the speed but I have been aiming for the weak spots and not getting results, so either I am worse at aiming than I thought or I am using the wrong ammo type. I am using the PZGR.40 which on paper should preform better than anything else the Puma has and competes with the M4A2/A1's ammo types, but I hit the same tank on the same spot with the puma that I would a sherman and it doesn't get me results.

I may try the PZ lll like you are suggesting.

[Chaoslink]

I don't have a ton of experience with the 50mm Puma as I don't really have a lineup I want to fit it in aside from my Pak Puma lineup because I own that one and its hard not to use the 75mm gun that thing offers. You definitely want to aim for more "clean" shots though as the 50mm does tend to get eaten up in situations where it barely pens.

[Niroc]

Yeah, and honestly I think I have gotten "spoiled" on the american 75mm with their APHE. Despite it's relative shortcomings compared to other nations when it comes to raw punch.

[Chaoslink]

I end up missing that low speed stabilizer personally.

[Khergit Horse Archer]

it has a minute amount of tnt, iirc its like 12 or 28g just like panther, you gotta aim ammo or else its not going to kill in one shot. its pretty good to bring into heavy tiers like the 6.0-7.0 cuz those tonks take forever to react to you. in it's own tier, it's fine but you dont want to be seen at all and the tonks can react quite fast to you becuz they aren't all that heavy.

[j.yellow28]

USe the APHE shell that has explosive mass not the APCR, And use its sped to flank and get behind the armor of ur targets and disingage tagrtes that u have trouble with. T34s u can pop threw turret cheel most of time near the mantel.

If u want Raw punch power the panzer 4's punch super hard.

[76561199241541439]

Volumetric, german shell, etc thats the why. Now instead of usa or ger go play ussr t34, both br A and br B ammo are insane you will quickly realize they ignore armor at angle while every other shell doesnt.
Anyone calling skill issue is clueless or full of ****, it is clear as day that soviet ammo APHE is ignoring armor while others struggle a lot and bounce a lot.

[Fr4ntic]

Good gun with good pen and its extremly fast , I use it as br 6.0 and still do well with it.
Use its speed , never stand still for to long.
Its weakness is a hit on the turret so you want to make it hard to hit.
Circle tanks when your close quarters.
Either cap early or keep distance and scout vehicles long range.
You just have to put some time in that thing is a beast.

[Chaoslink]

Originally posted by j.yellow28:

USe the APHE shell that has explosive mass not the APCR, And use its sped to flank and get behind the armor of ur targets and disingage tagrtes that u have trouble with. T34s u can pop threw turret cheel most of time near the mantel.

If u want Raw punch power the panzer 4's punch super hard.

On speed and flanking, it’s also important to know the role of the light tanks like this. Not every target you see should be a target you engage. I’ve taken top of the team with tons of rewards by just getting like two kills and something like 14 assists through hits and spotting. Sometimes a light vehicle deep in enemy territory just marking the enemy is more valuable than one trying to get kills, revealing their position then dying. Don’t be afraid to let tanks drive by and pick which ones you destroy. If you see 4 players driving down a road, the best one to shoot is just the last one so the others might not see it happen. Shoot the first and the rest will see where the shot came from and hunt you down.

[Ansaraina]

Yea. if more light tankers would push in deep, and simply focus on scouting. This game would be much easier to play out with all that added intel. and potential crossfire that they can give.

On the topic of columns. it depends on circumstance. If their getting pushed in from the front.
shooting the front guy to kill will allow your own teammates to push the corners aggressively, even more so if it alerts the tank behind. If they look behind, the front pushes in and picks up the kills. if they dont look behind, great. Those are all free picking.

This also gives info on their state of awareness or vision state. If no one reacts to a obvious, the person infront got shoot from the back, then their all tunneled vision on something. Free picking.

Damned if you do, and damned if you don't. is the desired position you want all these tanks to be in.

If you see reinforcements, and the FRONT can potentially collapse from their involvement. get their attention, scout, and let them chase you to irrelevant parts of the map. 4 people chasing 1, is better than 4 people reinforcing the front line and potentially swinging the favor to their side.
positioning to make shorter routes to front equivalent to death is also valid. To get a group to chase the puma that's being annoying.

A lot of times, if players give chase, it open's up a ton of opportunities to get series of 1v1, with really good setups to fire a round without retaliation. even if it doesn't kill.

If the map is a pushing map; Each side gets a cap close to them.
Force a match into a ticket bleed victory by tapping their cap, reinforcements will recap instead of moving to the front.Following the decap with a good setups for some stander-ed hammer and anvil opportunity near the center of the map.

Repeat this if the fight returns to bravo. eventually fast ticket bleed to kick in. if they dont hold a cap. its a done deal.

[Shyue Chou]

This is a good vehicle that does require skill to play, meaning it requires situation awareness and also good positioning besides good aim. I don't have it in me to play it.

[Commander359]

The Puma? The Puma is a great vehicle, as far as early scout cars go anyway. Its a fast, all terrain, vehicle that, unlike most early scout vehicles, still packs enough firepower to kill most medium tanks pre-4.0 BR rank if shooting at their sides. Combine this with their ability to spot targets through your binoculars, which you can use while still in cover, and they become one of the most valuable tools in early ground RB.

Are they deadly? No, not really, but they are extremely versatile and useful for maps with good flanking routes. Just don't use them in arcade, where scouting is redundant anyway, and you should be fine.

[Khergit Horse Archer]

Originally posted by Commander359:

The Puma? The Puma is a great vehicle, as far as early scout cars go anyway. Its a fast, all terrain, vehicle that, unlike most early scout vehicles, still packs enough firepower to kill most medium tanks pre-4.0 BR rank if shooting at their sides. Combine this with their ability to spot targets through your binoculars, which you can use while still in cover, and they become one of the most valuable tools in early ground RB.

Are they deadly? No, not really, but they are extremely versatile and useful for maps with good flanking routes. Just don't use them in arcade, where scouting is redundant anyway, and you should be fine.

na definitely use them in arcade, i often do well in lights in arcade lol. and spotting does help, becuz peeps often have subpar crew and radio isn't always sufficient. however, key thing to note is you always need to go for the extreme flank and in some maps, that is basically sewerside.

there are instances where i used lights in frontline/frontal assault but not explicitly puma, but the similar m24 in a 7.0 match to good effect, although rarely does it go well.

[-=GHS=-BoonDock™]

the gun on the puma works just fine