If somebody believes that there's any single datapoint missing from my table,
please, state, concretely what that is (e.g., "why didn't you include the performance of Command Panther without mark target on?" -- in fact I have; it performs exactly the same as the vanilla Panther). I believe I have included the performance of all mentionworthy tanks, when both when their abilities are used, and without.
To my knowledge, Brit Tank commander is the only upgrade that affects tank-killing performance. Given that the upgrade is such a no-brainer, it makes no sense to present tank-commander-free tanks.
This, I would hope that turretless TDs that can only do AT would be better in that role than med+ tanks with anti-inf capability.
These stats go to show just how great the StugIIIG is at dealing damage. However what they don't show is how much it starts to struggle once firefly, Jackson, SU-85, and even comet (which Stug has no range overmatch against) hit the field, or how much the Stug relies on spotting scopes to really shine.
On the subject of panther, I think it would be alright with a small straight buff to its reload time. I think the intended role of the unit is clear enough: a highly mobile, reasonably durable counter to enemy tanks, which is itself vulnerable to enemy TDs firing at long range. It just can't do that role very well right now due to its low lethality and buffs to allied TDs which have diminished its durability advantage.
With the exception of Panther, Pershing, Comet and M10, neither turreted TD is actually able to flank. The jackson is way too fragile, and the firefly is, also, relatively fragile with a terrible turret traverse. In fact, the Panther also completely sucks at flanking, due to its low rate of fire, and the fact that it will sacrifice its armour (its only saving grace) when diving in.
Thus, the Jackson, the Firefly and the Panther will have to engage the target from the front, just like the Stug.
Yes, the Stug does have the issue of short range. However, even that is not a problem with the TWP. The TWP ability will completely disable the maingun of the target for 15 seconds, thus allowing the Stug to close in fearlessly.
In fact, the Stug is safer to use than the Panther when the dedicated TDs start rolling in. That's due to TWP and the price of the Stug. When the enemy masses their TDs, so can you your Stugs, and then you can bumrush them.
To me, the travesty is that the Stug doesn't require any sort of dedicated investment from the player, yet performs nearly the same as the dedicated turreted TDs:
- It costs nearly half the resources as the dedicated TDs
- Even if you buy it too early, it costs 8 popcap, thus you don't miss out much, by having it around.