Directly comparing p4 and panther hp is silly.
The Panther's strength has always been its armor type.
A panther can defeat two shermans at once, so long as it uses its advantages of range front armor and heavy crush. and 2 shermans costs 50% more popcap than a panther. you could field a panther, a grenadier squad and a HMG for the pop cap of 2 shermans.
and how often are there 2 76mm shermans in the same place? if axis see 2 shermans in the same place, they will immediately rush PaKs and Shreks there. even if shermans get an advantage over the panther they will have a tough time finishing the job.
for all of its vaunted penetration boost, a 76mm sherman still only has a 30% chance of penetrating a Panther from the front. This is low enough that 5% panthers can and have won against shermans and m10s in much better condition.
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there might be a case for a panther price decrease, but the scenarios given arn't it.
i hate to be a one track record, but the Panther's biggest problem is probably that noone wants to take it over the TA
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Conviction, pfft. Conviction let panthers rack up 4-5 tank kills without dying. I really don't think that's the standard we should be measuring Panthers by. :p