I play medic a lot. It's a bloody job but somebody has to do it. I still have few enough hours that I do not consider myself an expert.
- When you want to be healed press your (Medic!) key. By default this is "e".
- Go looking for a medic or find a safe place to hole up and put your back to a wall, preferably a corner. Most medics will be looking for you. Use your mic and tell the medic where you are. The better job you do the more likely a medic is to show up. Medics do not have maps with GPS. They get an idea of the direction but not distance. They cannot see through walls.
- When you see the medic press your mic key and say hello. The medic will see the exclamation point and know you are not an enemy spy. (This is good advice whenever you approach a teammate. If they say hi back or just tap their mic key you know they are on your team).
- Medics should be trying to heal by the following priority:
People on fire.
People with red medic balloons.
People with white medic balloons.
Anyone else on their team.
It is rude to barge in the way of someone higher on the priority list than you. Politeness promotes healing.
(Proven fact. Ask Florence Nightingale)
Spamming for a medic when you don't need one gets in the way of the medic healing your teammates who need it. Remember The Boy Who Cried Wolf? Karma is a stoned cold bit..ter person isn't it.
- When he sees you, the medic will try to lock on with his medigun. If you jump around and dodge left and right he will have a harder time doing this. If you're trying not to be targeted move forward and back instead of side to side relative to the medic. This makes you a harder target for snipers but still an easy target for the medic. If you stand too close to a medic he will not be able to lock on. Don't crowd the medic. If you can't see his head and feet you are probably crowding too close.
- Once he has locked on do not go zipping around a corner or through a doorway until you are healed. If you break the beam its on you.
- When he is healing you your top priority is to keep him alive. Because he can't defend himself while he's healing.
- Say thank you. Remember , politeness promotes healing.
Medics are prefered targets. It is much easier to take out a team who's medics are sterilizing their instruments back in spawn. Do whatever you can to keep the medics alive and they will return the favor.
If a medic is hurt don't use the healing packs. Let the medic use it and ask him to heal you.
If a medic has partnered with you remember to talk to him on your mic and listen for their warnings. If the medic knows what you intend it makes it easier for them to stay with you and watch your six.
When you warn someone with your mic say their name. "Pyro behind you!" may get everyone on your team killed when they turn to look. "Quaffer! Pyro!" gets my attention PDQ. Learn your teammates names and use them. (The harder it is to read your name the less help you will get. Kwa4 is short but too hard to read. Something to think about).
Many new players are encouraged to be medics to learn the game. Even a poor medic can be an asset to the team. If the medic seems clueless give him some advice. Some people might go out of their way to heal people who were helpful or nice to them. Imagine that.
The next time your jumping up and down weaving left and right running back and forth and complaining that the medic isn't healing you ask yourself this; when was the last time I healed him.
For the medics out there:
- Look around and watch the back of the guy you're healing. Give warning when the foe comes calling.
- Your primary weapons are your teammates.
- Remember your priorities. Healing people who are on fire or have red balloons should take precedence over preparing an uber or crit.
Healing other medics on your team is like doubling the power of your healing gun and increasing its range to infinity. If you don't heal other medics on your team who do you think is going to heal you?
Players with white balloons may be injured or may be spamming for an Uber.
Healing injured people charges your Uber and Crit faster than buffing up someone at full health.
Buffing or overhealing can bring your teammate from 100% to 150%. This means you can get a heavy up to 450 health! The effect is temporary and ramps down if you stop healing them. While you are healing you get points for assisting in kills.
- When you are dead and waiting to respawn you are not healing people. This is bad. Watch your health. Memorize the locations of medpacks and remember where the engineers have built dispensers. When you are showing red call for another medic. If you can find an out of the way spot you can hunker down and you will slowly regenerate. Blutsaugers take your enemies health and give it to you. The enemy will try to do something about that so learn to run backwards. Whenever possible heal from cover; around corners, crouched behind rocks and boxes, beside doorways, whatever you can find. It is very hard to backstab someone who has their back against a wall or tucked in corner. Unless of course you like the run from the spawn point to the front line.
- Don't stop moving. EVER. If you do, you will get sniped, backstabbed, or hurt very badly. Don't always look forward, turn around, jump, sidestep. If your back stays in one direction for more than 2 seconds, you will probably be the spies next victim.
- Be aware of your environment, know where the friendly dispensers and sentry guns are. They will save you. If you have a pyro chasing you, lead him into a sentry gun trap.
- Partners
Few things get the other teams attention like a heavy dragging a medic along behind him by his medigun beam like a pitbull yanking at a six year old holding its leash. Medics can effectively pair up with Heavies, Pyros, Soldiers and Demos. While only the Scout is faster than you, Soldiers and Demos can rocket and sticky jump and may leave you looking for another teammate. Scouts move too quick, Engineers have their own dispensers, Spies are loners, and snipers don't need you attracting attention to them. If your going to team with someone the key is communication. Tell your buddy to hold back when your healing or buffing someone else. Don't neglect others on your team just because your part of a buddy pair. If you're healing your buddy keep an eye out behind them and give warning.
- Ubers and Crits
Ubers give you and your uber partner eight seconds of invulnerability. Crits give your crit buddy a critical hit with every shot that hits a target. Crits do not get crits on structures, Sentry Guns, Teleports, Dispensers.
Save your ubers and crits for the team members that can do a lot of damage to a lot of the enemy. Heavies and Pyros fighting multiple opponents, Soldiers and Demos taking out sentry guns.
You can use an uber as a last ditch defense as you run away if you're going to die if you don't. If you die you lose the uber anyway but if your teammates are doing their job you shouldn't need to worry about your own health.
You don't have to use an uber or a crit the moment you get it.
Remember you only have eight seconds. Don't waste them running through a corridor to a fight. If a door closes between you and the guy you're healing you are no longer healing or Ubering him.
Once you've started an uber you can select different people to share it with by targeting them with your left mouse button. This is very important if the beam is broken, you can reaquire an uber partner, or change the uber to someone else who needs it. Do it quick, the clock is ticking.
When you and your partner are ubered you should run in front of the sentrygun and draw its fire. This let's your buddy concentrate on taking it out while you get knocked back by the sentryguns fire.
- Your syringe gun and blutsauger have plunging arcs. You can sometimes hit opponents that can't hit you. You can shoot over boxes and you can stand close to walls and drop your syringes into openings and onto ledges.
- There is a tweak for the medigun that lets you keep on healing without holding down the mouse button. Go to TF2 startup page. Select:
Options
Multiplayer Tab
Advanced Button
Medigun continues healing without holding down fire button check box
One last bit of advice. It's a game. Have fun!
A word of thanks to all the constructive comments from my fellow german friends in white. I have tried to incorporate your ideas in this post. In some cases I have used your words verbatim. In some cases I have used my own. Regardless, your comments have made this a better thread and hopefully made me a better medic. Thank you!
