COH: Europe In Ruins

Lately, I've been using my pivs a lot, and I've found out just how damn awesome these tanks are when used right.  However, I've seen a lot of my partners use em kinda wastefully, or in ways I don't agree with.  Or maybe some people just struggle to get its cost back out of the PIV, so I figured I'd try and help em out a bit.  This is how I feel a PIV should be used, but feel free to disagree!  Just do it else where  ;)

Using the Panzer IV.

    The PIV should never ever sit at the front of the line.  Its a tough tank yes, but in my opinion, also extremely  easy to put out of action.  A hellcat suprising you will do enough damange, (including the ensuing fight with it) to put your PIV out of action or straight out kill it (with a little help).  Piats eat right through it and RRs do decent damange against it.  Driving into an AT will also hurt bad enough to make fighting other tanks dangerous.    
Now,  you might say, well duh, all of that stuff is obvious, and yes it is, but thats the stuff that should NEVER get you, because your feedervolks and other units are always ahead of your PIV.  Now here is where some players make a mistake.  When that sherman or m10 comes rolling forward.  They instantly move the PIV in to fight it.  Don't use the PIV as your anti-tank!!  Shermans and m10s come a lot cheaper, and the ally will have more of them then you have PIVS!  If you fight them 1 on 1, yes, you will win, but you'll probly be low enough on health to be useless.  Always have a pak, or some shrecks around.  Allow them to fire first, start hurting the allied armour, then move in and use the PIV from its max range, make sure to stop.  If you do this right, you should get a shot or two off before the sherman even aims at you.  You can also drive into range, fire, then back up, the enemies gun swings away, drive in, shoot, back up, ect.  By fighting this way, you keep the PIV with the max hp and ingame for the most amount of time.  This allows it to do its main purpose.

   Eating infantry.  The PIV REALLY shines when fighting infantry.  Since the allied inf is attacking your inf, and their at guns aren't in range.  You can happily sit back and gobbles them up.  Rangers rushing you? no problem, Commandoes killing all your support weapons?  Simple,  You're PIV should easily get 20+ kills.  Getting around 30 before having to pull it off should be your goal.
   
   Remember, always stay as far back as you can.  At vet 2 you get +5 range, and with blitz's +12% it gets even better.  Backing out of bad situations, not getting stickied or bren'd or rearshotted are what keep you alive.


 Overall Goals/Strategy

   I used to run a 4 PIV company, now I run 2 PIV and a tiger, (once that POS is dead, i'm going back to 4 PIVs...) and both use the same idea.  So does anyone using a panther, or KT or have allies with a jag.  Your main purpose is to kill AT.  Start with a fully pimped PIV, this will force your opponents to bring out lots of AT, by keeping PIVs on the field, you force them to continuously keep lots of AT on the field.  Midgame, you can use your less important tanks, again, making them bring out most of the AT in the first 30 minutes.  Remember to destroy all ATGs/paks, and pick up all handheld AT.  Once you feel they are lacking in AT, bring out the big baby or that vet 3.  Without fear of running into 2 at guns, you can really put the pressure on, hopefully winning you the game.  Nothing makes people more mad then when they still have lots of units to call in, but no at, and they are forced to pull back/off.

Happy hunting.
        

i had my fair share of vet 3 p4s even at one point fielding 3 lol when i had 4 total eating my pps away. They take alot of effort and micro to keep alive. They excel at killing infantry yes but i can use my IST to do a better job at it and still fight off tanks with supporting arms. Mark IV is an ok tank at best IMO its at least better than the stug...but not by much. It might be easy to make a guide on how to but the reality is that it takes alot of effort and management to keep a Mark IV alive and that really takes away from other more important aspects.

+1, damn much micro needed

I think upgunned P4 IST with lockdown, 50 range and APCR at vet 3 is gonna be better.

1) keep volks in front of pz iv's

2) wait for 57 at gun to open fire since it has no hold fire option. plan attack accordingly

2a) sherman or m10 or crom comes strolling in to battle pziv. hit with OP faust and perhaps cause a critical or take a good chunk of it's health.

3) finish off allied tank.

4) play 3 games get vet3

yeah vet 3 IST with skirts/42 are fucking beast! they will rape rangers and rrs with ease compared to a mark IV.

you took my nice thread and ruined it...

I can clean it if you want.
This is a guide thread, not a strategy discussion :P.

Good guide.
You should add some screen shots, maybe add in a few more paragraphs and it'll be perfect.

no i layed it down how it is lol. I coulda made a guide too but i know how difficult it is to manage P4s even for me. At least you didnt try to make a stug guide lol

It's a very pretty thread blitzen, I earn vet 3 on a P4 in 2 games, 50xp to vet 2 and 50xp to vet 3.. In my last game my P4 left the field with 41 infantry kills and some light vehicles. I absolutely love P4's and they seem to be the most cost effective tank for me

P4's don't take too much micro, a little attention is all they want. I've gotten into the habit lately of using only Tanks after my core call-in. (which i need to break sometime soon) But i can have all 3 of mine on the field and still micro them all seperately and even then i only feel a little pushed

Infantry scouting should be used with all tanks. Still i see many who really does not scout enough in their gameplay.

Well you can use Auditory cues to scout too, thats what i mostly do. The thing that enables a P4 to rack up so many kills is that by and large players view it as just a tank(because it is) but it doesn't rate any higher then other tanks on a Threat basis. When you see a Panther you call it out, when you see a Jagd or Tiger or Pershing you call it out. Whereas things like P4's and Sherman's are just tanks

And this is how you lose games.

I guess if you just want to vetwhore some P4s you can follow blitzen's strat.  If you actually want to win the game you damn well better be fighting his M10s and shermans with your P4s.   

BTw i just blew up his leaderboard P4 lol

hurray for bugs.  Apperently when a piv gets near storms.  It freezes for 20 seconds.  Then your storms die.