Medic (competitive)
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The Medic (oftentimes shortened to "med") is a core member of the standard competitive lineup, valued for his healing and ÜberCharge abilities.
Contents
Information
Health
| Health State | Max Health | Overheal Max | Pill Bottle | First Aid Tin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Normal | 150 hit points | 225 hit points | +31 hit points | +75 hit points |
| Vita-Saw equipped | 140 hit points | 210 hit points | +29 hit points | +70 hit points |
Speed
| Movement State | Running | Backpedaling | Swimming | Crouching |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Normal | 106.67% (320 u/s) | 96% (288 u/s) | 85.33% (256 u/s) | 35.56% (106.67 u/s) |
| Overdose active (100% Übercharge) | 117.33% (352 u/s) | 105.6% (316.8 u/s) | 93.86% (281.6 u/s) | 39.11% (117.34 u/s) |
Speeds written in "u/s" refer to in-game units per second. When running in a certain direction causes slowness, rapidly switching between diagonals usually improves speed.
Weapons
The medic mostly relies on his Medi Guns to keep the team healed. His Syringe Guns are his only source of damage at range, and are mostly used as a last resort. Some of the Medic's melee weapons, such as the übersaw provide useful benefits, but are still auxiliary to the Medic's core; healing.
Secondary
| Weapon | Kill icon | Ammo Loaded |
Ammo Carried |
Damage Range | Notes / Special Abilities |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Stock Medi Gun |
N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |  ÜberCharge grants Medic and patient 8 seconds of guaranteed invulnerability.
|
 Unlock Kritzkrieg |
N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | ÜberCharge grants patient 8 seconds of guaranteed critical damage.
|
 Craft Quick-Fix |
N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Über effect: Megaheal
|
 Craft Vaccinator |
N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Reload: Cycle through resist types.
|
Match the speed of any faster heal target.
While ÜberCharge is active, Medic and patient are not able to capture a point, push the cart, or carry the intelligence.
Usage
Medic is one of two classes (the other being Demoman, and in some leagues Heavy) limited to 1 per team in all major leagues. Also similarly to Demoman, Medic is one of the few classes that is generally always played for entire games on both teams regardless of strategy or lineup however a quick class change in order to delay a final point capture, so the rest of the team can respawn and help defend, is not an unheard of strategy for a Medic to utilize. The Medic's ability to Über/Kritz is a keystone of competitive dynamics, acting as one of the most important factors when teams decide to push, hold, or retreat.
Common Tactics
Perhaps the most important thing for a Medic to remember is staying alive. If a team's Medic is alive, then he can keep his team alive, and prepare to unleash the game-changing ÜberCharge. Rushing forward with the Syringe Gun is thus generally not acceptable in competitive play, even against an enemy player on low health. It is almost always better for Medics to let their Pocket player get the kills and take the damage. A competitive Medic's worst enemies will be the enemy Scouts. They have the ability to reliably kill him with two shots, if their aim is steady, and have the speed to flank the Medic's team and attack him unexpectedly. Medics should warn their Pocket whenever they spot an enemy who may be attempting to kill them, as it only takes him two well placed shots from any combat class to deprive a team of its most important player.
Primary calling
Medics are often used as the primary caller in competitive play due to their overview of the battlefield. This means that the Medic is the ultimate authority on pushing and retreating and on tactical calls (go aggressive, focus on the Heavy, etc). Primary calling requires the Medic to have good game-sense. Therefore, this means that the Medic needs to know roughly what ÜberCharge percentage the enemy Medic has, what players are up, and whether the push has a good chance to succeed. A push has a good chance of succeeding if your team has a combination of these factors: High amounts of Health, Good Support, At least 1 Heavy in the team or an Über advantage.
Healing and Healing Orders
Whilst this may seem simple, there is a bit more to it than meets the eye. At the start of the round you want to make sure that you buff the Demoman up to the full 260 and if you can you want to flash the jumping Soldier up to 300, this will make it easier for you to get both Soldiers to 300 at the mid fight; because all players are fully ramped upon spawning, it should only take a quick flash to get the Soldier fully buffed. As you get out of the spawn you should also be able to get both Scouts up to 185.
During the mid fight it is important to prioritize the players that are under pressure and taking a lot of damage; this takes precedence even over people who are injured, they can get a health kit or wait. After a while they will get critical heals and can be flashed up to full health. Of course you have to apply this sensibly, when you can heal the wounded members of your team then by all means do so, just when a teammate who has gone aggressive is starting to lose health then you need to focus on him and keep him alive. Sometimes as a Medic it's safer to be in the thick of the combat rather than hanging around on the edge. At least that way all of your team can easily access you and get heals.
5-CP Push Strategies
During the race to the mid point that occurs at the start of a round on a 5-CP map, Medics will usually heal their teammates in order of their ability to reach the mid-point quickly. Medics should always heal their team's Demoman first, because the Demoman's sticky jumps use up a good deal of health and can send him far beyond the range of the Medigun, where he will lose a source of health. Getting a team's Demoman to the mid point quickly can enable him to block the enemy team and most importantly the enemy Demoman, allowing the rest of the team to get onto the mid point and push the enemy team back. The more health the Demoman receives from a Medic, the more he will be able to sticky jump, and the faster he will arrive at the mid point. Although not necessary, healing the team's Scouts can prove to be very effective. An overhealed Scout will easily have the upper hand over non-buffed enemy Scouts or negate any buff the enemy Scout has. Next in line for healing should be the roaming Soldier and then finally the pocket. If the team chooses to use the Kritzkrieg at the fight for the mid point, the team must try to kill the enemy Medic and Demoman. If one team uses the Kritzkrieg and the other uses the standard Medigun, it is imperative that the Medic using the Kritzkrieg finds an Über-target (Soldier or Demo) who is fully loaded and unleashes the Kritz charge as soon as possible, as waiting too long may result in the enemy Medic filling up his own ÜberCharge meter. This would be disastrous for the team using the Kritzkrieg, as a standard Über can completely negate the effects of the Kritzkrieg's charge.
Attack-Defend Strategies
When defending on an Attack/Defend map, it is absolutely crucial that Medics watch their backs at all times and look out for any threats. The loss of the defending team's Medic may easily mean the loss of a control point, and a defending team can't simply wait until their Medic respawns to take the point back like they can on a 5-CP map. If the defending team has an Engineer with a Sentry Gun up, it may be a good idea for the Medic to stay close to the Sentry Gun, as it will provide excellent protection against enemy Scouts.
Capture-the-Flag Strategies
As well as the general "keep out of trouble" motivation that all competitive Medics should have, in capture the flag games Medics should be supporting pushes, or defenses, on their Intelligence. Unless the Medic feels confident, he should not pick the Intelligence up as this will draw attention to him and give the enemy the position of the most important player on your team, i.e., you. Because of the likelihood of the enemy fielding an Engineer, it is more common for Medics to play a normal Über as opposed to a Kritzkrieg.
See also
- Medic weapons (competitive)
- ÜberCharge
- Combo (competitive)
- Medic
- Classes (competitive)
- Standard competitive lineup
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