Hitchiker's Guide to a Medic

[FireBirdX]

(1) Don't Panic (of course)
(2) Please see above.

Hello all, new to Edge. Go by the nick "FireBirdX", but been playing on the Edge servers for a while under my old SteamID "trauschu". My best medic jaunt to date was on Warpath where I managed 11,000+ heal pts in 12:05 and 8 ubers in one life. (Yeah I know it's not bad-a$$, but it ain't bad). !shy

Been playing a medic since I started playing TF2, and I find it the most enjoyable. GOOD medics never get the credit they deserve. They are definitely one (if not THE) hardest class to play. Why? Because other classes just have to be concerned with watching for enemies. We have to watch all the same enemies, AND we have to watch all the teammates around us. A good frontline medic should be able to keep 3 teammates healed up to +150% to help push the line.

I know, I'm really nobody, but here are my thoughts on good medic tactics.

- Keep moving. If you stand still you become and instant target for spies. If you move, you become a lot harder to hit.

- Find a teammate, make a friend. This may sound cheesy, but I think this is the big secret to medics. When you get to know someone and heal them for a while (over multiple rounds etc), you get to learn the way they play, and they get to learn the way you heal. You learn what risks they will take, what they do with your ubers, etc. I've ubers heavies I've never played with before and came away only being killed, and then I'll uber a heavy I know and come away killing 8-10 folks.

- It's better to release the uber a second early. I can't tell you how many times I've tried waiting till the last moment to release the uber only to have an errant bullet kill me. Remember if you're dead, noone gets the uber.

- Heal another medic who is main on a offensive class. I also can't tell you how many times I see 2 medics on a single heavy. The scouts/pyros/etc come around back and pick off the medics. Chain the medics. If you are not the primary medic on the heavy, and they start to push, heal the primary medic to make a chain.

- To build on the last, unless in a battle situation, don't heal someone who is already being healed. You're not going to get credit for the assist since you're #2 medic, and it seems to slow down the building of the ubers from the original medics. Find another target.

- In a pinch uber a medic. If your uber target dies, and you need to uber, don't hesitate to use it on a medic. Medics can kill if needed, and it's better to both escape behind the lines to pick up your next friends to help push, then both die.

- As a medic yer gonna die a LOT. Just face it. You are a paper doll. And yer gonna get one-shotted/backstabbed a lot too. One-shot kills do suck, but it's part of life.

- Get 12 achievements to get the new medigun. It's worth every CENT of the patch. I've tanked quite a few enemies with a medic healing me with the new gun.

Thanks for taking the time to read some of my thoughts. Hope it helps anyone looking to be a medic, or maybe some good idea for existing medics. I'm sorry if they are duplicated from other posts, etc.

 

[>:| Face]

I'd like to add one.

Don't be afraid to use your bonesaw. Now by no means should you go Leroy Jenkins with it, but if someone is attacking you and your patient isn't in combat, you're better off sawing them then dying while healing your already over-healed buddy.

 

[Goretex]

also another point is when using the normal ubercharge, it is not necessary to always die with the person you have ubered. There have been many many times where i uber the person, we go in, do what we have to do, and i tell them to back out over the mic while the uber is flickering off.

It's pretty stupid to expect to die everytime you uber someone. It's more important if you uber, take out a few sentries, and retreat so you can get right back to healing instead of waiting 20 seconds to respawn again. You can still stay at the front lines and your uber is going to be back up alot quicker.

 

[Ducttape]

Medic question: Can two medics uber the same person, say a heavy, if one of the medics used the crit-uber and the other used the invulnerable-uber, would the heavy fire crits while in invulnerable mode?

 

[Notorious]

[quote1209931214=Ducttape]
Medic question: Can two medics uber the same person, say a heavy, if one of the medics used the crit-uber and the other used the invulnerable-uber, would the heavy fire crits while in invulnerable mode?
[/quote1209931214]


Yep it works, I just tried it yesterday. I had the critzkrieg and another medic gave him a regular uber. Sadly the heavy straight up sucked and we got no kills but i saw all the bullets were crit.

 

[UN4M3D]

no doubt valve will update it so you can only either crit or uber at a time

 

[Notorious]

[quote1209933551=UN4M3D]
no doubt valve will update it so you can only either crit or uber at a time
[/quote1209933551]
Why would they do that, it makes perfect sense and enhances team work if anything.

 

[Ducttape]

wow, that actually works? ...so now there is a legit reson to have multiple medics on a heavy !shy being ubered with the critzkrieg takes some getting used to. anyone i've seen it being deployed on so far has walked out into the open like they are invulnerable...kinda defeats the purpose, eh? B)

 

[blackhawksniper]

[quote1209951366=Ducttape]
Medic question: Can two medics uber the same person, say a heavy, if one of the medics used the crit-uber and the other used the invulnerable-uber, would the heavy fire crits while in invulnerable mode?
[/quote1209951366]


I had that happen when I was heavy on the start of dustbowl stage 2, I got 12 kills within the 10 seconds of my uber. Needless to say the area was clear. lol

 

[cccp]

[quote1209955498=Ducttape]
wow, that actually works? ...so now there is a legit reson to have multiple medics on a heavy !shy being ubered with the critzkrieg takes some getting used to. anyone i've seen it being deployed on so far has walked out into the open like they are invulnerable...kinda defeats the purpose, eh? B)
[/quote1209955498]
It doesnt, it makes them give my points after I headshoot the guy who ran out...Plus love watching the medic run around trying to find a person to use whatever is left of critz

 

[Dr.Waffles]

May I add that I think its very important for a would be medic to think about self preservation, the longer you stay alive the more people you can save. If a situation looks like its about to hit the fan always have an escape plan.

 

[wasawiki.]

Thanks for the tactics, Im a very bad medic, I only have played 5 hours on medic

 

[AzzNik]

I know we have lots of new players trying medic. Here is a few suggestions that may help you improve: Medics should think about what is happening in the game when their uber comes up. I can't tell you how many times I see a medic uber the wrong class at the wrong time. Sometimes, it is funny to do it, like ubering a scout or a sniper but when the your team is trying to win, you should try to make the best decision possible. I know you have to uber odd classes sometimes just to keep from dying to, that is not what I am talking about. Medics should live above everything else. You are not allowed to die....lol.

If the other team has no sentries up and your team needs to make a big push, then uber a pyro or worst case a heavy. Heavies are slow and this is why they are not the best, first option. Pyro's can run fast and make a huge push. As many of you know, I will rush in targeting medics and snipers. This allows the rest of the team to move up quickly. Ubering a demo or soldier when their are no sg's to take out is not the best strategy. This works both ways...don't waste an uber on a pyro when there are sg's up, unless it is on the ground but even then, I say demo's and soldiers are better at this function. Medics should also remember to run in front of any ubered player when there is an sg up to keep the player you have ubered from being pushed back by the sg.

At the last cap on Warpath, look for soldiers and demo's for uber so that they can sticky/ rocket jump up to the capture point.

I'm sure there are tons of tips. I am by no means an expert. I just try to play the best team strategy I can to help my team win. Post your tips here to help our medics improve. If any of you have pyro tips, I'll gladly check them out.

 

[FireBirdX]

Good point on the medic running in first on uber to take the knockbacks from guns/stickys. Forgot to mention that.

 

[sneakaduck]

Lots of good info here for aspiring medics, one thing I agree with the most...

MAKE A FRIEND! I can't tell you how many times my score has jumped up just because I made a friend with a heavy or pyro over a round or two. As a medic, get to know your team when playing so you know who is a good player for an offensive uber and who would be good for a defensive uber. Its just how people play, use them to the advantage of the team!

As a medic, one of the hardest times to decide what to do is when you and your uber partner are charging but running out of uber charge...as mean as it sounds...if your partner won't back off, run. A dead medic heals no one. You are MUCH more usefull alive! Don't feel bad for dieing, as a medic you will die most often. Just remember that each time you die you have to run back to where you were, and chances are the team was wasted while you were gone.

and one last random tip...Use teleporters if you know they are safe! Lives are saved because of well placed teleporters!

 

[!Woodstock!]

FireBirdX, that is a good list. Having 54hrs of medic I consider myself a decent medic. Finding a good teammate is crucial to making a good Uber run. Just ask AzzNik, we make a great team. As someone else said "the medic is the QB of the team" don't be afraid to lead the team to victory. Those are your Ubers and you need to decide what to do with them. If there are 2 sg, don't follow a pyro who crys for an Uber. Find a demo and tell him what you want to do.

 

[Kinetic22]

I agree with everyone, and like was said before, if your trying to become a crit uber medic, make sure the guy being crit realizes it. Reason people think crit uber "stinks" is because no matter how good the medic, the player being ubered has to know what to do with the crit uber.

Its a much different-type of play with crit uber, and people just aren't used to it yet.

 

[Nstg8R]

I have just recently started playing medic (after the achievements came out ). What I hate is when you uber another player and they stand behind cover and fire. I always seem to find the player who doesn't know what to do with an uber.

 

[FireBirdX]

Nstg8R: It's just like real life; ya gotta weed out the stupid ones.

 

[sneakaduck]

Yeah, like I said, look for the aggressive players and use them to the teams advantage! Don't be affriad to ask for a fellow team mate to take out those pesky engies and their toys with your uber! Just be sure you both understand the goal if you have one in mind!