WEAPONS: 3
SPEED: Fast
CATEGORY: Support
- WEAPONS
- HEALING
- ÜBERCHARGE
- MISCELLANEOUS TIPS
- TIPS FOR MEDIC BUDDIES
- CREDITS
SYRINGE GUN
- Clip/Total Capacity: 40/150
- Rate of fire: Very fast
- Long range: 5-6 dmg
- Medium range: 5-10 dmg
- PB range: 10-15 dmg
Needles are projectiles and lose altitude over distance. Shoot higher to compensate for distance, and shoot ahead of targets ('lead' them) to compensate for their movement speed.
Like all other projectile weapons in TF2, this gun shoots from the right of your character (where the weapon is held). At close range, shoot to the left of your intended target. Or take out the bonesaw. At mid-range, you shouldn't have to adjust too much - the needles will meet up with the crosshair. At long range, shoot to the right of your intended target (at that distance, needles will be shooting from your right, crossing your crosshairs, and striking to the left of the crosshairs).
It sounds complicated, but it isn't. Practice a bit and you'll get the hang of it.
MEDIGUN
- Rate of fire: Continuous
If the medigun ever crits, I have no idea what they are - faster healing, perhaps? This isn't something you can test easily. In any case - this gun is in no way an assault weapon. You can't even club people over the head with it. Its sole purposes is to connect you, the healer, with another person (the 'target'), and give them glowing healthy goodness.
For more information, see HEALING.
BONE SAW (MELEE)
- Rate of fire: Slow
- PB range: 45-85 dmg
The attack animation shows the bone saw sweeping up from the bottom right in a short arc, connecting with your intended target about halfway (where the saw crosses the crosshairs). There is no special animation for critical hits; you merely hear a slightly buzzy, zappy sound when you land a crit. It's kind of like a 'whoosh', only... more robotic. Hard to explain, but anyway - you're probably not going to notice when it occurs.
MEDIC CALLS
When people require a medic, they can press E (by default) to activate a voice command that makes their character call "MEDIC!" or "Doctor!", etc. They will also automatically call for a medic if their health is at dangerously low levels. Whenever someone calls for a medic, a little red cross icon will show up in a white speech bubble above their heads, and their name will appear in the chat box like so:
(Voice) [their name]: MEDIC!
If there are obstacles between you and that person (e.g. part of the terrain, a building, other people, etc.) you may not be able to see the person calling, but you'll still be able to see the speech bubble with the cross. This icon fades after a short time, so ask them to keep calling for you if you are having trouble finding them.
Note that disguised enemy spies can also call for healing, and their calls will look and sound exactly like a teammate's. And yes, you can heal disguised enemy spies. Always spycheck! The second picture on the left ("Someone calling...") is a spy calling for a medic, but the medic has no way of telling the difference. There's nothing quite as embarrassing as being killed by the spy you were just healing.
Disguised spies will also produce the chat box line when they call for a medic. This can be a dead giveaway - if a teammate sees their name in the chat box calling for a medic, and they're not actually doing so, they'll know that there's a spy disguised under their name.
Note that if an enemy spy cloaks or undisguises whilst you are healing them, the medigun beam will automatically disengage.
Finally, medic calls are affected by distance. If someone who's calling for a medic is sufficiently far away, you will see the chat box line, but not the speech bubble. The idea is that you're too far away to be of much help to them ANYWAY, so don't drive yourself to distraction trying to find them. Focus on the people you CAN reach and see, first, always. Then go hunting for those you can't see.
HOW TO HEAL PEOPLE
- Equip the medigun.
- Point it at your desired target.
- Press primary fire (left-click).
- A red/blue (dependent on team) glowing beam will uncurl from your medigun and 'lock on' to your target if you are in range. If you are NOT in range, it will make a 'doonk' sound and nothing will happen - you must get closer to them before it will work.
- A label will appear in the middle of your screen with the word "Healing:", your target's name and their health status (the cross to the left of their name fills up vertically until they're at full health).
- KEEP PRESSING primary fire for as long as you wish to heal them.
If your target kills someone whilst you're healing them, you will get an assist kill (0.5 points per assist). This is an added incentive to make sure that you heal lots of different people - you've no obligation to stick with one person 100% of the time, so keep an eye and ear out for anyone who might need you.
You can also help to put out the flames on burning teammates. It takes about a second for your medigun's beam to extinguish fire (as opposed to the supply cabinet or medipaks, both of which do so instantly), so keep pressing primary fire until the flames go out.
BUFFING
The term 'buffing' refers to the action of healing teammates to 150% of their normal health and/or keeping them at that 'super-health' for any amount of time. 'Buffed' is a descriptor for a player who has been healed to any level above their normal maximum HP; 'fully-buffed' is a descriptor for a player who has been healed the full 50% above their normal max HP. For example, a heavy normally has 300hp, but a fully-buffed heavy will have 450hp.
All you have to do in order to buff someone is keep your medigun on them until their health surpasses their normal maximum HP. As soon as their health level exceeds their normal max HP, a faint white outline will begin to flash around the cross next to their name. If you stop healing them, their health will slowly decrease from its buffed level until it reaches their normal max HP.
Buffing can help the weaker classes, especially, to survive shots that would otherwise kill them. It will not, however, make anyone invulnerable. A fully-charged headshot from a sniper rifle will kill even a fully-buffed heavy - so if you're healing someone who suddenly drops dead, it would be a good idea to run, since the sniper can probably see you, too.
WHAT IS IT?
Whenever the medic has his medigun out, he will see in the bottom-left corner of his screen an Übercharge meter. This meter builds up gradually as he heals others with his medigun, and when it is full: the meter will begin to flash; a crackling, 'zappy' noise will accompany the medic's presence whenever his medigun is out; and the end of the medigun will also sport a crackling lightning-like animation. His character will also say something like: "I am fully charged!" When all of this occurs, 'uber' is at 100% charge and ready to use.
Uber, when activated, grants the medic and his target (if he has one) complete invulnerability for ten seconds.
Uber builds up at one of two or three different speeds (not counting medigun crits, if they exist):
- SPEED 1 (slower): Healing a fully-buffed player (150% HP).
- SPEED 2 (faster): Healing anyone with less than 150% HP.
- SPEED 3 (?) [UNVERIFIED]: Switching between two or more non-fully-buffed targets; OR healing someone who hasn't taken damage for ~8 seconds or more.
With regards to the actual time taken to build up uber:
- 1 medic healing a soldier/demo who's at/over 100% HP = 1:20
- 1 medic healing a soldier/demo who's damaging himself = 40 seconds
- 2 medics healing a soldier/demo who's at/over 100% HP = 2:40 (both medics)
- 2 medics healing a soldier/demo who's damaging himself = 1:20 (both medics)
Note that there is no difference in uber buildup time between healing a soldier and healing a demo. There is also no time difference between a target damaging himself against a wall, and a target damaging himself against a resupply cabinet.
HOW TO ACTIVATE UBER
- Equip the medigun.
- Heal people until your uber meter is full and flashing.
- Press alt fire (right-click).
- Uber will begin immediately and you and your target will become invulnerable.
- You do not need to keep pressing alt fire; uber continues automatically. You DO, however, need to keep healing them in order for uber to continue to work - uber is dependent on the healing beam, so if you stop healing someone, they will cease to be ubered as well.
- Uber counts down from the moment it is activated; you can see the amount you have remaining by looking at the bar of the uber meter.
* See also the extra note in LIMITATIONS for what happens when ubering a disguised enemy spy.
MULTIPLE UBER
Another important point is that you can uber more than one target at once, which is helpful when you and an entire group of teammates are pushing into a large group of enemies or a strong defence. To do this, activate uber on one target, then just left-click on as many other targets as you want to uber. Usually this works best with a maximum of two targets, although three is possible if you're quick on your feet - more than that, and you're going to find that your first target runs out of uber before you can get back to him.
Another note about ubering different people: If your target runs back, out of the line of fire, because they're out of ammo or whatever, switch to someone else. You're not obligated to keep uber on one particular person once it's activated, but it USUALLY works better that way.
For more info on targets, see TARGETING.
TARGETING
- You do not require a target in order to activate uber.
- If you activate uber without a target, you alone will become invulnerable.
- If you have activated uber without a target, and then FIND a target and heal them, they will gain invulnerability for the remaining length of ubertime.
- If you switch targets during uber, there will be a slight delay whilst your medigun beam reaches out to the new person. The further away they are, the longer that delay will be.
* Note that when uber is wearing off, either because the beam has been broken or because it is simply running out, the medic (and his target, if any) will 'flicker' in and out of invulnerability. It is possible to be killed between these flickers if one is not careful.
LIMITATIONS
- CPs cannot be captured by anyone who is under the influence of uber - medic OR target.
- If someone is in the process of capping and is ubered, their capping influence will be suspended (i.e. they will no longer contribute to the speed at which their team is capping the point) until uber wears off.
- Nobody who is ubered can pick up the intel in CTF maps (e.g. 2fort).
- If someone has picked up the intel, they cannot be ubered until they drop it.
- If you are a medic and you pick up the intel, you cannnot activate uber at all unless you drop it.
- If you are a medic and you try to uber someone carrying the intel, only you will be invulnerable - they will not.
1. A RED medic ubers a disguised BLU spy. The medic will see the usual "Healing: [name]" label. The medic and all of his teammates will see them BOTH (the medic and the spy) as glowing red.
2. The spy and HIS teammates, on the other hand, will be able to see the spy glowing blue and the medic glowing red.
3. If the spy undisguises for any reason during uber (usually by attacking), he will revert to his true team colour, and the medigun will break the connection immediately, but the spy will still retain flickers of invulnerability for a second or two afterward, just like any other person to whom the beam's connection is broken.
As per the note in MEDIC CALLS, if the enemy spy cloaks whilst under uber, your healing beam will disengage and he will lose uber.
WHEN AND HOW TO USE UBER
A) Use it to charge enemy defences or a lot of enemies at once.
B) Use it to save yourself and/or your target (if your respective health levels are low) as you retreat from an attacking enemy force.
C) When ubering an offensive target, run in front of them to take the brunt of knockback from sentries, stickies, etc. You yourself are not attacking, so you might as well let your target do so in peace, without having to worry about his footing. DO NOT JUMP whilst doing this - the sentry fire can pick you up and pin you to the skybox or a far wall - far enough away that you can't heal/uber your target any more. Be VERY careful about this - strafe around, but don't jump, particularly if the sentry is on a lower level than you.
D) You cannot cap a hostile or neutral CP whilst ubered, so use it to take out the enemy defences.
E) Your mere presence on a friendly CP (irrespective of your class) will halt the progress of the enemy's capture. As an ubered medic (see picture at left), you won't be able to do anything else unless you have a target who can attack the enemy, but you can at least give your team more time to take them out.
PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT
Voice commands can make it easy to coordinate uber if you happen to land a target who knows what they are.
Keybind X8 allows you as a medic to tell them that you have uber (no chat box line for this one, just a voice call, but if they're close enough to uber, they're close enough to hear you).
Keybind X7 allows them as a target to ask you to use your uber (see picture at left).
Though the above are helpful guidelines, in the end, a medic has to work out his own method for when and when NOT to use uber. Mostly, if you're advancing into enemy territory, it's best to save it until you really need it. Don't waste it on a tiny sentry gun unless you're about to die, and don't waste it on a single enemy if your target can take them on without it.
As a general rule, it usually won't matter when you use your sparkly invulnerable goodness - it will almost always be "the wrong time", either too early or too late. You'll have to develop a thick skin to get over the amount of people insulting you for being a noob, using uber at inappropriate times, or for not using it at all (e.g. you have it, but then you get killed before you've used it - targets hate that, and will almost inevitably blame you for not using it earlier).
Sometimes you'll do it at a good time; sometimes you won't. Don't stress over it, but learn from your mistakes. You'll begin to get the hang of when's a good time and when's not, but only with practice.
STAYING ALIVE
A) You should always be moving. Dodge, jump, crouch - don't stand still. You're a favourite target for both spies and pyros, and pretty much every other class will see you+target and go for you first. Get used to being attacked, and learn to anticipate and avoid it.
B) Always be on the lookout for spies. As stated earlier, once your medigun locks on you can look in any direction, so make sure you do - it could save both yourself and your target from an untimely end.
C) Pyros are bad news for you. Even though you have passive health regeneration and thus take less overall damage from burning than other classes, being on fire is still not nice. It's even less nice when you don't have full health to begin with. If your target is relatively healthy and/or safe, and you're on fire, break for a medipak. Don't hang around trying to be a martyr whilst slowly melting into a puddle - you'll be of more use to your team if you don't die. See picture to the left (top). Go and do likewise. Good medic.
D) In general, let others trailblaze. Whilst you might be bored in the enemy base waiting for respawning teammates to come join you again, it's not a smart idea to head out on your own and get chewed up by sentry fire just as your team arrives - they're not going to thank you for it.
E) When healing the beefier classes, don't just dodge - use your target as a meatshield (see picture at left - bottom). They have the HP to take on attacks - you don't. If they're any good as a target, they'll be TRYING to absorb all the damage they can - both to protect you, and to help you build up uber more quickly. LOVE these targets. Thank them, develop a good relationship with them, and (where applicable*) choose them over other players. You'll be helping both yourself and your team.
F) Learn when to keep healing your target, and when to attack. If you get good with the syringe gun or bonesaw, you can easily become an extra, needed damage dealer in situations where your target isn't in too much danger on his own. As a general rule - don't disengage and start hitting/shooting at people unless you know you're good enough to actually hit them and do damage. If you miss with every hit, you're neither healing your target nor attacking with him, thus you're completely useless except as a distraction.
* "Where applicable" refers to situations NOT in the heat of battle, or when a 'good' target is of a class that generally makes 'bad' medic buddies. The point is - use good judgement, but cultivate a relationship with people who respect what you're doing and work with you.
OFFENCE OR SUPPORT?
Whilst the medic can be a powerful offensive force in his own right - his weapons are nothing to sneer at, despite him being the healer class of TF2 - he's called the medic for a reason. He's the only class that can heal people on the run, and keeping your team alive is, one might argue, actually quite important.
You can get a real thrill out of bonesawing a sentry gun or needling several dozen people to death. But don't forget your wounded teammates. Even if they're all jackasses and never thank or protect you.
You'll get revenge in the next match when you swap teams and bonesaw their sentry.
MEDIC CALL ETIQUETTE
It is acceptable to call for a medic when:
- You are wounded, preferably MORE so than the person I'm currently healing.
- You want to be buffed for protection.
- You want to make a push and require healing support as you go.
- You are damaging yourself in order to help your team's medics build up uber.
- Call for a medic unless at least ONE of the above points is true.
- Yell at me for not answering your medic call - find out why.
- Spam "MEDIC!" for no reason, for fun, or to annoy me.
- Spam "MEDIC!" when I'm surrounded by wounded teammates - I'll get to you.
- Spam "MEDIC!" when you're already being healed. Honestly, why would you?
- Spam "MEDIC!" when you know your team doesn't have a medic.
If your team lacks a medic, type or say, "Can someone on our team go medic, please?" The medic call button is there to request help from a medic - not to tell everyone you think the team needs one. Even if YOU use it that way, most people won't recognise it as such. Just ask for a teammate to go medic - it's much more effective, and less likely to piss your teammates off.
And in general:
If you call for a medic, and after a decent interval (say 15-20 seconds) I have still not arrived, you can call again. But if it's obvious that I'm either dead or otherwise occupied, get yourself out of the line of fire, and head for a medipak/supply cabinet/dispenser. You're not helping anyone by standing on the front lines getting damaged and spamming "MEDIC!" when I'm nowhere near you and/or can't get to you.
BEING HEALED
GETTING AND USING UBER
BUILDING IT UP: As of 20th Dec 2007, soldiers and demomen need no longer damage themselves during the setup phase in order to help build their medic's uber faster; simply healing anyone continuously during that phase will build it up to 100% before the round begins.
The speed at which uber builds up has been altered, but ONLY during the setup phase - so once the round has actually BEGUN... Soldiers and demos, if you're being healed, please try to damage yourselves on the way to the action, or soak up as much damage as you can in battle, to assist your medic in building up uber.
For more information on how quickly uber builds up under different circumstances, please see section What Is It? above.
GETTING IT: Under no circumstances should you ever EXPECT a medic to use uber on you. There may be other teammates around who are better suited to the situation than you are, so please communicate with your medic and work out whether or not he's planning to use it on you. If you coordinate uber with a medic, you're much less likely to run in, find that you're not being healed, and subsequently die.
USING IT: Usually, a medic will uber you for one of two reasons: A) There is a CP/intel or big group of enemies nearby and you can and should now make a charge for it/them; or B) You, or he, or both of you, are about to die, and you need to make a retreat.
If A) is not true, retreat NOW. Even if you're okay, your medic may not be, and when he dies, you're not going to last long. Using uber to retreat is not a 'waste' - living to fight another day is a very useful tactic.
Even if A) IS true, if he ubers you without warning, check his health - it's right in the middle of your screen. If you think you can still make it or at least do something useful, push on, and he will probably stick with you.
PROTECTING YOUR MEDIC
COMMUNICATING WITH YOUR MEDIC
STANDING OUT FROM THE REST
If you happen to say "thank you" to your medic (keybind: Z2), you will very likely endear yourselves to them, and you may also then find that they prefer you over other targets. Saying 'thanks' shows that you recognise and appreciate their efforts, which is just a nice thing to do, and with TF2's built-in voice commands, it costs less than half a second of your time.
More importantly, when thanking a medic who has just STOPPED healing you, it says, "I recognise that you're no longer healing me. I'm not going to do anything now that I WOULD do if I had a healer, i.e. I will play more carefully until I am healed again." This helps both you and the medic to avoid the situation where the latter ceases to heal you, but you don't notice, and subsequently die in your forward charge - whereupon you blame the medic. A little communication goes a long way to stop teammates yelling at each other.
If it is clear that you have your own agenda, and that that agenda doesn't take into account the person who's healing you (and is thus getting less points AND being put in the line of fire without defence), you're probably not going to be very popular with medics.
In general, if you thank your medic, protect him, don't take unnecessary risks that will wind up with him getting killed for no good reason, tell him what you need, etc. you will become what's affectionately known as a 'good target'. Here's to more of those!
TIPS & TESTING
SCREENIES
Last updated: 27 December 2007
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