Good vs: Infantry, Paratroopers and AT-guns during mid drop Cost: 280 Manpower, 35 Fuel, 3 Pop. Build time: 45 seconds Health: 310 Upgrades: 50mm gun: 75 munitions Veterancy: bought (Light Vehicle Veterancy) Level 1: 15% reduced damage received Level 2: 20% more health Level 3: 25% penetration reduction
Unit Description: The Puma is a great light vehicle, one of 3 available to Wehrmacht commanders. Rated a 6 against infantry, a Puma can very easily decimate squads in no cover with a single volley. With it's 50mm cannon upgrade, it has the speed to hunt motorpool units like the Quad .50cal and M8 Greyhounds; unfortunately, it loses much of it's anti-infantry capabilities. The best thing about the Puma though is that it costs zero munitions. Unlike the Flammenwerfer Halftrack, the Puma can be "spammed", which means to build several units of the same type to overwhelm the opponent. Two or three Pumas can quickly overwhelm even the mightiest of Allied infantry. It's especially effective against weapon teams. Just a single burst can often times kill a weapon crew such as the .30cal or the 60mm mortar. The Puma's quick speed allows it to respond rapidly to counter-capping. Counter-capping is where a player will send one unit to cap vital points on the opposite of the map, thereby provoking a response. The Puma can quickly deal with this on every 1v1 map and most 2v2 maps before the unit has a chance to cause significant damage.
Very few units can flank the 57mm AT gun as well as the Puma. The Puma has excellent speed and acceleration which allows it to quickly circumvent Allied defenses and will usually kill the AT gun crew in 2 volleys. The best way to use the Puma is to learn the cooldown of the 20mm cannon and try to position the Puma in a favorable position so that the gun is reloaded and is ready to shoot when the Puma is standing still. This way, the 20mm cannon does not incur a 50% accuracy while on the move. The Puma's 20mm cannon works best when in short-mid range. The cannon has good accuracy at those ranges and the Puma has the speed to back up from sticky bombs. Finally try to keep a squad or two of infantry with the Puma. This allows the Puma to provide fire support for infantry in cover and the infantry to cover the Puma should the Riflemen charge the Puma to sticky it.
Protecting Pumas is extremely vital; the entire middle game can depend on how well the Pumas are used. Be conservative with the Puma; it doesn't have the HP nor the Armor to effectively take anti-tank fire. You can lose the Puma in as little as two 57mm shots. Learn to recognize the sound the 57mm makes when it fires and immediately back the Puma up. Likewise, Riflemen with sticky bombs can deal significant damage, sometimes even killing the Puma with 2 sticky bombs. The best way to deal with this is to simply back the Puma up whenever Riflemen charge. As long as you stay at the outermost edge of the sticky bombs range, the Riflemen will not have enough time to complete the animation and lob a sticky bomb. Remember, the Puma has only light crush, even the smallest of carts, barrels, trees, shrubbery and other small objects on the battlefield may be enough to hinder it. Try to back it up through as little of those random items as possible. Finally, the M10 Wolverine can kill a Puma in 2 or 3 shots. It also has the speed to catch and hunt down your Pumas. Try to keep an AT gun or shrek'ed Storms or Grenadiers nearby to deal with chasing M10s. M10s have great damage output, but they lack the armor and HP to effectively over-extend in most situations.
