Team Fortress 2 Medic Guide – Part 2: Advanced Medic Strategies

**Sketch** · 07-07-09, 10:10 AM

Editorial Note: The cross-links between the three articles (near the end of each) are just placeholders. I figure you (the editors) will know the final page links for the articles or I will update them according to what you tell me.

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Team Fortress 2 Medic Guide
Part 2: Advanced Medic Strategies

By Anti-Squeaker & Sketch

Now that almost all the class updates have been released for TF2, an article highlighting advanced healing techniques for Medics is necessary to share with the Texas …Teamplayers… community. Here are some higher-caliber strategies for being a Medic in TF2, and especially for playing at a serious level on TTP servers. The healing role of a Medic is a simple concept, but pulling it off with finesse and competence takes patience and determination. As the saying goes, “Practice makes perfect.” So learn from these pointers to hone your own skills, and then get on the servers and help your team win!

Communicate to Maximize Übers and Kritzs
Knowing “just when” to quietly hit an Über or Kritz may work on many public servers, but this is TTP. If possible, wait for the “Hit it!” mic message from your healing target, who has a better perspective of what you are both about to get into and the hurt you are about to give the other team. If you hit the charge too soon, you will shave off valuable seconds that could be devoted to devastating the opposing team. If you hit it too late, your teammate will get slaughtered and—if you are lucky—maybe you can stay charged long enough to retreat back to the rest of the team and regroup. Otherwise, it will be respawn time for you! It is definitely worth asking Über or Kritz healing targets if they are fully loaded and ready before popping the charge.

"Cleaning house" with a Demo during the first stage of Goldrush.

Avoid Getting Tunnel-Vision
There is a tendency to focus on the objective at hand in TF2, especially once you have built a charge, and to ignore your periphery. Resist that tendency. Check your back every few seconds, especially for Spies. Hang back, protect the charge, communicate how best to use it, and then unleash your wrath!

Use It or Lose It
There is something to be said for a well-timed charge, but please do not run around the map by yourself with a fully charged Über or Kritz! Opposing players on the TTP servers are just too damned good to let a veritable eight-second-long atom bomb remain alive for very long. You will die. You will cry. And after the charge has been wasted, you will have to build it all over again…after you respawn, of course. Besides, you get hella points for all the charges and kill assists you make, so use them! This strategy especially applies with a Kritz since it has such a rapid charge rate—if you wait an entire minute before using it you could have charged another Kritz in that time. Use it early and often.

Kritzing a fully loaded Soldier. One dead Blue Sniper. One dead Blue Medic. Who is next?

Double-Übering
Double-Übering can be very effective and fun once you get the hang of it. Simply switch your Medigun beam rapidly between two teammates during an Über. To be effective when spreading your Über, keep your beam on one target to let him or her do as much damage as possible while constantly scanning the health of the team around you. When a heavier teammate’s health drops, switch the Über to them. This helps them survive any resistance and gives them enough health to survive the push. If no one else is about to die, remain on your second Übered healing target since the first teammate you Übered should still be overhealed. Bear in mind that splitting an Über among two or more teammates drains the charge significantly faster.

Sharing a Kritz
When Kritzing a class like a Demo or Soldier, wait until after he or she has shot all of his or her rockets or grenades, and then quickly switch your beam to another fully loaded teammate nearby—just let them know they do not have the full eight-second charge at their disposal. You can also combine Übers and Kritzs with another Medic for devastating attacks. For example, an Übered Heavy down a long hall is awesome, but that same Übered Heavy combined with eight seconds of crits is a nightmare for the other team.

Use the Medic-Call Icon to Your Advantage
You need to prioritize your healing. It is just an aspect of the game. The Medic-call icon is a great asset for this and indicates how urgently a player needs to be healed. It appears as a big red plus sign (+) above your teammates’ heads who are calling for a Medic via the hotkey. Base your healing on it. Medic-call icons can even be better indicators than seeing teammates on fire since heavier classes may actually remain buffed until the flames burn out—crazy, but true.

A good example of the Medic-call icon—and also of healing while staying clear of the main battle during the second stage of Dustbowl.

Buff Everyone throughout the Map
Not only does buffing (overhealing) every teammate you come across build your ÜberCharge faster but it also gives players a little extra oomph to take on the opposing team. It may also make the difference in a one-on-one fight for a teammate who is no longer in range for you to heal directly, such as in an Engie vs. Spy or a Scout vs. Scout situation.

Other Medics and Health Packs Are Your Friends
Always heal and buff other Medics close to you. Although you will auto-heal over time (Medic is the only class that does), fully buffing other Medics improves the chances that you will both stay alive to heal the entire team. Another little-used strategy: Pick up health drops while Übered, or shortly thereafter. This will add to your health points if you had to hit the charge at the last second or in a moment of desperation. It also denies the opposing team a chance to heal while your teammates pummel them both during and after the push.

Run Backward toward a Single Sentry
Game physics still come into play while you and your healing target are Übered, so do not lose sight of your healing target or the Medigun beam connection might break. Soldier rockets, Demo grenades, Engie sentries, Pyro airblasts, and now that godforsaken Scout Sandman can all thwart even the best-planned Über pushes. One strategy is to run backward toward a single sentry to draw its fire. This way you can keep an eye—as well as your Medigun beam—on your Übered teammate while he or she does their job destroying the Engie buildings. Furthermore, do not jump while Übered or you may get flung across the map by the sentry!

See that puff of sparks, flames, dust, metal, and gibs? Those used to be Engy parts. Now they are just ammo for this Fatty meat-shield. "Mach schnell!"

Help Capture a Point Whenever You Can
If you are fortunate enough to have some ÜberCharge left after clearing a point, switch it off so you can help cap the point while the opposing team respawns. When a capture point has been cleared, an Über will actually hinder you since you and your healing target(s) cannot cap while Übered. If more enemies advance to the point, you may still have a second or two of ÜberCharge left to use if you need it, and in the meantime you have been accelerating the cap meter.

Oktoberfest!
Those wacky folks at Valve included a little present for Medics with the Sniper vs. Spy update. Now with the Kritzkrieg equipped you can use the Oktoberfest taunt and heal yourself for 10 health points. When combined with the Medic’s natural health-point regeneration, you can additionally heal yourself approximately 15-20 HP per taunt. It comes with a cool animation, so at least try it out in spawn. Note that you cannot overheal yourself with it. Also make sure you are in a protected spot since you will be immobilized for a few seconds.

Fear the Jarate
Whenever you or your healing targets are hit by a Sniper’s Jarate, hit your Über. A rocket or pipe you could normally shrug off will be a mini-crit whenever you are covered in piss. Wonky Aussies!

Fire. Bullets. Projectiles. And now piss. This game has it all!

These are just some of the advanced Medic strategies for being a Medic in TF2, and especially for playing on TTP servers. Keep practicing at being a useful Medic because it is a rewarding feeling to help advance your team. If you missed Part 1 of this series, [iurl=#]Basic Medic Techniques[/iurl], be sure to check it out for a refresher. Part 3, [iurl=#]How to Be a Good Medic Buddy[/iurl], provides even more pointers for both Medics and other classes alike who want to improve their teamplaying skills.

Shout-Outs

The excellent previous Medic articles from both Ewok and Gonzo
Comments and suggestions from the Texas …TeamPlayers… community
All the other TTP TF2 article contributors
http://tf2wiki.net, where you can learn more than you will ever want know about TF2