Community Medic strategy

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I'm going to saw through your bones! Click to listen — The Medic on "accidental" malpractice

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As a Medic, your primary role is to keep your teammates alive using the Medi Gun. Depending on the particular type of Medi Gun equipped, the Medic is able to provide his patient and himself with invulnerability, guaranteed critical hits, knockback immunity, boosted healing, or resistance from a selected damage type by deploying an ÜberCharge, which can often change the tide of a battle.

Quick tips

• Heal anyone who needs it, but mainly focus on more high damage-output classes like Soldiers, Pyros, Demomen, and Heavies. These classes are the least likely to die from one or two attacks, and deal high damage, enabling them to protect you from enemies more effectively.

• Regularly overhealing nearby teammates will ensure that your team has the upper hand against the enemy, and will additionally allow you to build ÜberCharge faster.

• ÜberCharge is still built when your healing target is fully overhealed, but it charges more slowly, and even slower if the heal target is also being healed by a Dispenser, Payload cart, or another friendly Medic.

• Try to stay with your team at all times. You are not suited to fight any class alone; even a single Spy can easily kill you with his Revolver before you can fight back.

• Move unpredictably and be aware of your surroundings. Medics are a high-priority target for enemies, especially Snipers and Spies.

• Don't be afraid to use an ÜberCharge to save yourself, even if no allies are nearby. It is better to use it too early than to lose it by being killed, and this will allow you to regroup with your team more quickly.

• Always remember that your Medi Gun's heal beam can stretch out a relatively long distance between you and your healing target. This allows you to stay behind cover while continuing to heal teammates.

• A team without any Medics is likely going to lose against a team that does. If your team doesn't have any, switch to Medic to ensure your team has a reliable source of healing and access to ÜberCharges.

General strategy

Survivability

The most important thing for a Medic to learn is how to stay alive. Dying as a Medic is one of the worst things that could happen to your team. They will end up losing their number one source of healing upon your death for up to 20 seconds, which is nearly half the amount of time needed for the enemy Medic to build a full Übercharge. Since Medics lose their Übercharge upon death, you will not be able to counter the enemy Medic's Übercharge, and this ends up being a factor between winning and losing a match. As a Medic, you are deemed number one on every enemy player's priority list, so be sure that you are taking part in each behavior below in order to increase your chances of survival.

• Stay with your team: You never, ever want to be isolated from your team, being cut off from your teammates results in death most of the time. As a Medic, you have very little self-defense options and will have to rely more on your team to protect you since they're usually the only thing standing between you and death itself, so always make sure there are at least two of more friendly teammates who are capable of protecting you before making your way to the frontlines (assuming most of your team isn't fighting there to begin with). If you ever find yourself in a situation where your entire team dies and you're the last man standing, quickly run back to your spawn to wait for your teammates to respawn. You can regroup and recollect yourselves from there.

• Find a good position: Staying with your team is vitally important for your survival, but sometimes just this might not be enough. Positioning yourself appropriately is also a major contributor to your survival. Good positioning involves the following, and you should be absolutely sure that you have them most of the time.
  • An easy escape route: This is the most important aspect of positioning: "If (and when) my patient dies, what will I do and where will I go next?". Since your defensive options are very limited, you will most likely need to run for your life if your team dies and the enemy starts aggressively pushing in. When you are determining which position grants the best escape route, ask yourself this question: "When I'm standing in this location, how much effort would it take the enemy team to cut me off from my retreat route back to spawn?". If the answer to your question is that the enemy team doesn't have to put much effort to cut off that particular position from your spawn, then that is bad position. If the enemy has to put a ton of effort to get in a position where they can cut you off, then that is a good position. A good example would be on the Payload map Badwater Basin, on its second checkpoint there is an area called back roof. If a Red Medic were to position themselves there, the Blu team could rather easily cut off the route to his spawn by simply taking control over the back yard which is in most cases a rather poorly defended area and often overlooked by RED, and in the end the Medic is going to die. However, if that same RED Medic were to position himself on the roof, then the enemy team would have to take the area in front of the roof AKA the capture point itself, and that area is a lot more defended by RED team. Most of the time, the BLU team will have to fight through a layer of Sentry nests and RED players just to even get close to capturing the area in front of the roof cutting it off. So for that reason, the roof is a much better position, as the enemy team has to put a lot more effort if they wish to surround the roof and everyone on it.
  • High ground: Good positioning also involves being located on an elevated position to grant anyone on it Height advantage. Having a position with high ground is optional since having a position that grants an easy escape route is far more important, but if you can choose between two different positions that both have good escape route options, then choose the one which provides high ground to you. Standing on the high ground makes it much easier to dodge a Soldiers rockets and allows you to control how much damage you receive from other enemies since they aren't able to take cover as easily as you can.
  • Access to health packs: Although this certainly isn't as important as the previous two conditions, it's still a good idea to keep in mind where the nearest health packs are. Even though your health slowly regenerates as a Medic, it will never be anything close to what a health pack can offer. Your teammates would much rather prefer a missing healthpack and a functioning Medic, rather than a single healthpack and a dead Medic.

• Gamesense: Having your team nearby and standing on a favourable position is nice and all, but everything can come crashing down on you if you aren't aware of your surroundings. Having a team around you for protection is good, but classes like the Spy and Sniper are equipped to completely nullify your team's protection and kill you directly. Holding a position which has a good escape route is excellent, but it serves you no good if the enemy Medic suddenly charges his teammate with the Kritzkrieg and completely destroys everyone around you. Both of these things could have been avoided by either being more careful or anticipating incoming pushes. This is the reason why you need to have excellent gamesense as a Medic. "Gamesense" is knowing what is currently happening on the map: "Where is my team? Where is the enemy team? What are my team's strengths, and what weaknesses could the enemy take advantage of? Where is the enemy team currently making a push? How much Übercharge does the enemy Medic have?" All of these things you need to keep in mind. Knowing how much Über the opposing Medic have is very important. If you know that, you can predict when their future pushes might happen, allowing yourself to prepare for when it comes and not be taken by surprise. You can know how much Über the enemy Medic has by either using the Solemn Vow or the Über tracking tactic explained below in the Übercharge strategy. Another important thing to keep in mind is the general position of your teammates and the enemy team members. Be sure to keep an eye out for enemies (or lack thereof, which could anticipate a massive push), and take care of your teammates. If things begin to go south and your team is on their last leg, don't be afraid to abandon them; chances are that if you don't, you'll die alongside them. Be sure you are skeptical and paranoid of any suspicious teammates, since a single Spy could kill all of you rather quickly (and you will most likely be his first target depending on the situation). Be sure to keep an eye out for enemy Snipers as well, for a single shot could end your life then and there, of which skilled Snipers could take within a fraction of a second. Be sure you move as erratically as possible so you will be able to throw Snipers and Spies off and have a little more time to react to them.

• Additional tips: Here are some additional things you should and should not do as a Medic to maximize your chances of staying alive:
  • Don't overextend: Overextending means going deeper into the enemy territory than you really should be. Flanking classes such as Scout and Spy should do this, as it is their job, but you as a Medic have no right being behind enemy lines without a handful of beefier teammates to make the push. Sometimes, a teammate of yours will get a bit too overconfident for their own good and will try to dive deep into the enemy territory in belief that they are near invincible with a Medic (you) pocketing them. You might be tempted to follow this teammate with their advance, but this will guarantee both of your deaths in nearly every instance. Most enemy spawns have competent Engineers with Sentry Guns set up for you to waltz right into, assuming you make it past the Snipers watching over their no-man's land. Another thing worth fearing is that players respawn in waves, meaning that if a handful of enemies die near around the same time, they will all respawn at the same time. This could lead to you and your fat-egoed war-pig of a teammate running into several enemy teammates at full health, of which will most likely consist of Soldiers, Demomen, Heavies and Pyros since they all tend to either stay alive defending something or all die together trying. Just be sure to decline your suicidal teammate as he bumbles on into the arms of the enemy team and make your way back to your functional teammates as you keep an eye out for the delusional player's name in the killfeed.
  • Avoid Snipers at all costs: As you play Medic, you will soon realize that competent Snipers are the scariest enemies to come across. Unlike when dealing with other classes where simply positioning yourself well behind your team is enough to keep you a valuable asset to your teammates, Snipers can quite literally overlook that fact entirely and try to kill you from any range. If there is an enemy Sniper watching over somewhere you plan to go, be sure to respect him and his sightlines! Snipers have the ability of precision elimination, meaning they can pick their fights without even having to fight. However, the "precision" part is taken quite seriously, since it is fairly easy for them to miss if you move unpredictably, and every one of their shots missed rewards you with around two seconds to run or move as they reload. If you move wildly and have your teammates keep pressure on the Sniper (force him to stop aiming at you so he can dodge incoming projectiles, have a Heavy shoot at him in order to make him flinch and have a harder time shooting you, have a Pyro shoot the Sniper with the Flare Gun to set him on fire and make it extremely hard to shoot anything, have a Scout rush in unpredictably towards the Sniper to either kill him or make him focus on the Scout instead of you, or just have a Spy do his job and kill the Sniper himself). Do keep in mind that if a Sniper is in no immediate danger, they may just take their time to charge their shot and plant it anywhere in your body for a clean kill. If you're ever forced to go through a Sniper sightline by yourself via retreat, just try and move as unpredictably as humanly possible and pray for the best while you pass through to minimize chances of getting your head blown off.
  • Rocket surfing: Rocket surfing is a tricky technique, but is very rewarding. To rocket surf, you need to use an enemy Soldier's rocket knockback to propel yourself away from him. Soldiers have a nasty habit of aiming for your feet so they can blow you into the air and limit your movement options so they can take one last potshot at you, but if you were to jump, crouch and steer as if you were rocket jumping, you can have his rocket blow you to safety instead of bits. This can be done with any class, but it is usually performed by Medics as they can't defend themselves very well and are much better off trying to run away from whatever danger they're in. Be sure to time your jump so that when the Soldier fires a rocket at your feet, you are jumping upward causing the knockback from his rocket to launch you away from him. Once your in the air, do not use the W key, as this will kill all air steering. Instead, use your A and D keys and your mouse to steer yourself in the wanted direction to try and get away (in most cases, you will be blown backwards while rocket surfing. If you want to go LEFT, hold in the A key and slowly move your mouse to the RIGHT. If you want to go RIGHT, hold down the D key and slowly move your mouse to the LEFT. However, if you are shot from behind as you time your rocket surf, hold A + Mouse to the LEFT to go LEFT, D + Mouse to the RIGHT to go RIGHT).
  • Constantly turn around: You want to be constantly looking all around you to not only get a good gamesense, but to also check for Spies. Spies are a very big danger to you, since just like the Sniper, they can avoid and ignore your teammates and focus only on you without having to worry about much of anything else. For that reason, it's a good idea to turn around every once and while and make sure that your back is clear. An important rule when dealing with a competent Spy is to never engage him in melee combat so that you don't get trickstabbed (so you aren't tricked into turning one way so that the Spy can go the other and stab you in the back).
  • Communication: It's important to maintain a good communication between you and your teammates. Since you should be constantly turning around and checking your surroundings, you will often be able to catch and see things that your busy teammates may have missed. As you can't deal with enemies very well yourself, use the voice chat or text chat to alert your team to Spies, Snipers, or enemies trying to flank you so that they can deal with these problems themselves. In return, your teammates will be able to protect you and keep fighting, let alone stay alive longer than they would have, would you have not said or done anything.
  • Using Engineer Buildings for cover: Sentry Guns are excellent stand-ins for your teammates. Unlike your teammates who are usually putting themselves in danger in order to capture or defend the objective and are subject to human error, Sentry Guns are reliable machines which shoot with 100% accuracy, ensuring that anybody unprepared will die before they get close to you. Hiding from time to time around Sentry nests (if they are positioned in a desirable position) to take a small break and recollect yourself before you go out back to the frontlines to continue healing isn't a bad idea. In specific situations where your life is in danger and there are no teammates around to save you, you can hide behind friendly Engineer buildings such as Dispensers, using them as shields against your foe in an attempt to buy enough time for your team to arrive and clean them up (this works especially well against Scouts).

There are many things to be wary of while playing Medic, but it's also important to remember to not be a coward. Yes, your life is precious to your team and dying could make the difference between winning and losing, but you need to understand that sitting at the back of the map and just pocketing a Sniper is not good. A good Medic heals as many people as possible, prioritizing those at the front lines and only buffing those who stay behind them. As a Medic, you need to be with your team and help them out. In order to fulfill your role, you are going to need to take some risks, you just need to recognize the situations when the reward outweighs the risk and when the risk is too great to make the reward worth the trouble. Keep your eyes open, recognize the flow of the game and make good decisions. That is all you need to do in order to stay alive, there is no need to hide in spawn while at least one strong teammate is rolling out to meet the rest of the team at the front lines, there is no need to sit halfway across the map from the frontline where you are needed the most, and there is especially no need to run away from the enemy and hide if you start taking chip damage.

Healing

Now that you managed to successfully stay alive you can move onto doing the task your were originally supposed to do as a Medic, and that is healing and helping your teammates. But here come your second problem you will have to face, you can only heal one person at a time, and that's not it, you usually heal at a flat rate of 24 health per second meaning that even getting that one person your healing to full health is already going to take some time. Duo to these drawbacks you will often be forced to prioritize who you heal to ensure that you can prevent as much deaths of your teammates as possible and save as much friendly lives. This priority list which dictates who to heal and when is called the heal order, and here's how to execute it properly.

• When in combat, heal whoever is currently fighting the enemy team: This is the golden rule of healing, you need to heal who ever is engaged in active combat first and is consequently taking damage. By healing the person who is currently doing something and fighting the enemies, you massively increase they're chances of winning the fight they are currently participating in and thus lowering they're chances of dying which is the whole point of playing Medic, to save lives. If you heal teammates who are not in danger then your letting the teammates who are in real danger face a real possibility of dying which means that you failed your job as a Medic. It also doesn't matter which class the player who us in danger is playing as or how great there skill is or how much unusual hats they are wearing, you always heal the player who is in danger at the moment no matter what. If a Spy is currently in danger and is fighting enemies with his Revolver then heal that Spy, even if he usually doesn't make for a good Medic buddy you still heal that Spy. (Note: don't bite your self if you let a teammate die because he overextended, remember that your survivability comes first and if you didn't save someone from dying because they went somewhere where you determined that it was to dangerous you aren't at fault.)
  • If there are multiple teammates in combat: Prioritizing your healing when there is only one person in combat is easy, but what to do if there are multiple teammates engaged in a fight with the enemy? Its simple, prioritize healing the player who is more likely to be shot at. That player is the closest one to the enemy since the enemy is far more likely to target someone who is closer to them then someone else.

• When out of combat: When your out of combat such as traveling to the frontlines or simply having a small break before the next team fight begins your are going to follow another heal order. There is obviously no combat happening around you so the heal order which dictates that you should heal whoever is engaged in a fight falls out of the water here. According to this new heal order you heal the person who is going to leave you the soonest. For example, lets say that you, Scout and a Heavy are traveling to the frontlines. There is no combat around you yet, so using this non-combat heal order you are going to want to heal the Scout first, this is because the Scout is a flank class meaning when he reaches the front lines he should separate from you and go and do his own thing somewhere behind the enemy lines. Since the Scout is about to leave you soon, you should heal him first so that he doesn't have to spend his time looking for health packs instead of doing his job, meanwhile, the Heavy is going to stick around with you for a bit longer giving you enough time to heal him up before you find a new healing target and combat begins.

• Crit heals: Crit heals are hidden stat inbuilt in all of the medi guns and an important mechanic which the Medic has at his disposal. Crit heals work like this: Stock Medi Gun heals at a rate of 24 health per second or 24 h/s for short. However, if a player who the Medic is healing takes no damage in the last ten second then the heal rate of the Medi Gun starts linearly increasing over time ramping up to a total of 72 h/s (Which is triple of the usual 24 h/s!) after fifteen second of not taking damage. The Crit heals allow Medics to be able to heal both the players at the front lines and the ones in the back. Theoretically, a Medic can heal a patient who is currently in a fight, meanwhile another injured player who is not in direct combat can patiently wait behind the Medic. When the Medics original patient has won the fight he was participating in the Medic can turn around and very quickly heal up the injured player who has been waiting behind the Medic for more then ten second allowing his Crit heals to activate thus making the Medic heal him up super fast. As you can see, Medics can use the Crit heals to execute the "combat" heal order and then quickly heal up the teammates who have been waiting for his attention. Another thing about the Crit heals is that they apply to freshly spawned teammates too, this means that if you see a teammate coming out of spawn, you can, for a brief moment stop healing the patient you were already healing and quickly buff the freshly spawned player to 150% of his max health using Crit heals before switching back to .

• Additional tips: Here are some more tips and tricks you can use to improve your healing and save more teammates:
  • Overheal: Overheal is an important aspect for playing Medic. Overhealing is an act where you give more health to and already completely healthy player thus buffing him to 150% of his normal health. In most cases, you don't have time for overhealing as you should prioritize healing low health players first instead of healing already healthy players, but if you currently aren't in combat you can make your team more prepared for the next upcoming fight by overhealing them all to 150% of there health in order to increase they're chances of survival (You of course do this by following the non-combat heal order and by overhealing the players who are going to leave you the fastest). Overheals work best in combination with Crit heals, as mentioned before, you can use Crit heals to quickly oveheal a player and prepare him for combat.
  • Communication: Just like with survivability, communication is also important when it comes to maximizing your healing potential. Injured teammates can tell you where they are so that you can go over to them and heal them up instead of running around the map, wasting time searching injured players. Your teammates can also tell you when they are able to receive Crit heals so that you don't have to keep track of that. You can also tell your team when to play safe because you are temporarily retreating out of an area and won't be able to heal them.
  • Utilizing other sources of health: Sometimes, a Medic just needs a little help with making sure that his team is alive and healthy. Your 24 h/s is in the grand scheme of things very slow and it often takes 5 or up to 10 seconds to fully heal a player. For that reason we have the heal order which ensures that our heals are as efficient as they could be, but sometimes not even that is enough. So its always a good idea to have a Dispenser or another Medic on your team to spread the workload of making sure that your team is healthy more equally. Also, don't be mad when your teammates take a healthpack while your healing them. If you didn't need the healthpack then your teammates are doing you a favor by giving themselves more health in order to shorten the amount of time you need to keep your healing beam on them.

Healing is a rather simple task to do, just hover your mouse over someone, press left mouse button and you will automatically start healing. But making sure that everyone stays topped off on there health and ensuring that one dies while your stuck with your pitiful 24 h/s means that your going to have to employ some strategies to make every heal valuable and not wasted. But no strategy in the world can completely counteract your main downside, and that is that you may only heal one person at a time. And that means that sometimes, there are going to be situations where you will have to make a choice, who lives and who dies. There will be times when everyone one your team is begging for your mercy while an Übered combo is slowly tearing them apart in front of your very eyes. So don't bite your self to much if you can't keep everyone alive, its important that you try your best, follow the heal order, employ the Crit heals and Overheals to get the most your Medi Gun can give to you. You can't save every life...no one can, but you can save just enough lives to win the round. Now, lets move onto the fun part.

ÜberCharge

ÜberCharge is the Medic's most powerful ability, and one of the most powerful mechanics in the entire game. A well-timed ÜberCharge can singlehandedly wipe an entire group of enemies, or completely prevent them from passing through a chokepoint or taking control of an area. However, ÜberCharge can only be used once the ÜberCharge meter is full; it is important to learn how to fill the meter as fast as possible and how to ensure your ÜberCharge is as effective as possible.

ÜberCharge effectiveness

It isn't just important to know how your ÜberCharge works or when to deploy it; it is also very important to know on which classes your different ÜberCharges work best.

• The stock Medi Gun's ÜberCharge is best used on Soldiers, Pyros, Demomen, and Heavies, due to their already high damage output allowing them to make short work of the enemy team. Scouts are also a surprisingly effective ÜberCharge target, as the complete invincibility the stock ÜberCharge provides negates the Scout's main downside of low maximum health.
• The Kritzkrieg's ÜberCharge works well on Soldiers and Demomen, as crit-boosted explosive weapons can potentially demolish an entire enemy position with only a few well-aimed shots. Pyros can similarly damage multiple enemies due to the Flame Thrower's ability to damage multiple enemies at once, but their short effective range combined with the Kritzkrieg's complete lack of damage protection puts both you and the Pyro at a higher risk of taking lethal damage, makes this less effective than other options. Heavy's already-high maximum health helps with the Kritzkrieg's main downside of not providing full invincibility, and since critical hits do not have damage falloff, the Minigun's normally-short range is greatly extended, making the Heavy a threat to almost every enemy within their line of sight.
• The Quick-Fix's ÜberCharge should be treated as a less powerful stock ÜberCharge, with the additional benefit of full knockback immunity. Heavies work best with the Quick-Fix ÜberCharge due to their high maximum health increasing the amount of damage they can absorb and their slow movement speed making them vulnrable to knockback.
• The Vaccinator's ÜberCharges, due to their quick charge speed and the ability to store up to four, should be used on teammates in combat as needed to keep them alive. Alternatively, you can use all four charges on one teammate to make an offensive push, although this is less effective against large groups of enemies than a stock ÜberCharge due to the Vaccinator only providing partial resistance to one damage type.

Über tracking

Über tracking is an act of trying to predict the enemy Medics Übercharge. Über tracking is an important skill to have for a Medic as knowing the enemy Medics Über can help you make future predictions about incoming enemy pushes. For example, if you know that the enemy Medic has a fully charged Kritzkrieg and you only have a half charged default Über, you can expect that the enemy Medic will probably try and make a Über push soon so you'll need to play safe in order for you to not get caught by his Über push. Its the same in reverse, if you have a Kritzkrieg with 100% Über and the enemy Medic is running the Medi Gun for which you know that it isn't fully charged yet, then you understand that if you were to execute a kritz Über push the enemy Medic would not be able to retaliate and would probably be caught out. So that is the reason why you need to know how to track Über's. Luckily, you as a Medic are the best class at doing that, simply use your own Über percentage as a reference to how much the enemy Medic has Über, here, have an example. When the round begins, you and the enemy Medic will spawn at the same time which means that you will start healing at the same time. Since you will start healing at the same time you can expect that both of you will get an Übercharge at around same time (assuming you will be constantly healing), so for that reason, when you get an Übercharge you should assume that the enemy Medic has one too. If the enemy Medic were to die you simply wait until he respawns (you can know when he has respawned by using the mini hud at the top of your screen which tells you which teammates and enemies are alive and which are currently dead) and then when he has respawned you start counting up from 0 to 40 second, once you had reached 40 seconds you can assume that he has Über since 40 seconds is the time it takes to build an Übercharge from 0% to 100%. If you have died then as soon as you respawn assume that the enemy Medic has Über.

Weapon Specific

Primary Weapons

Syringe Gun

Weapon	Kill Icon	Ammo		Damage
		Loaded	Carried	Point Blank	Medium Range	Long Range	Critical
Stock Syringe Gun		40	150	10-12	5-10	5-6	30

• Despite each individual syringe dealing low damage, the Syringe Gun has a very fast rate of fire and quick reload speed, making it deceptively strong at close range.

• Lead your shots when fighting moving targets, as the Syringe Gun's syringes arc over distance and take time to travel.
  • The slow projectile speed can be used to make a "wall" of syringes while retreating. Running around a corner or through a narrow hallway while firing syringes behind yourself can discourage enemies from pursuing.

• Pyros, Engineers, Snipers, and Spies are only slightly faster than you while you're running backwards, and every other class (except Scout) is much slower. Use your speed to keep a respectable distance from enemies.

• You can use the Syringe Gun to weaken enemies so that nearby teammates can defeat them easier. However, keep in mind that your main priority should be keeping your teammates alive. If a teammate is low on health, switch back to the Medi Gun to heal them.

Blutsauger

Weapon	Kill Icon	Ammo		Damage				Effect
		Loaded	Carried	Point Blank	Medium Range	Long Range	Critical	Health On Hit
Unlock Blutsauger		40	150	10-12	5-10	5-6	30	3
Advanced+ Mann Up Reward Australium Blutsauger

The Blutsauger is an unlockable primary weapon for the Medic. Whenever a needle hits an enemy, 3 HP is restored to the Medic, up to the normal maximum health of 150. However, passive health regeneration is reduced by 2 HP/sec, with a total of 1 HP/sec to 4 HP/sec regeneration, depending on how recently the Medic has been injured.

• If you are expecting to use your primary weapon to defend yourself regularly, the Blutsauger's extra healing on hit will significantly increase your survivability in a fight.

• With the Blutsauger, a Medic can be a little more aggressive than usual. Use it to engage enemies that sneak up on you, but only if you can afford to stop healing for a moment. Stay close to your teammates and resume healing as soon as possible.
  • Make sure to communicate with your teammates so they can assist you in killing the enemy.

• The Blutsauger is useful when pocketing; if your patient dies, you will almost always be the enemy's next target. Retreat while firing syringes to both discourage enemies from pursuing and keep your health topped up.

• The penalty to health regeneration can impact your overall survivability. Take note of the locations of nearby health packs or Dispensers in case you suddenly run low on health.
  • The Amputator's increase in health regeneration when held can assist in improving your survivability.

Crusader's Crossbow + reskins

Weapon	Kill Icon	Ammo		Damage/Healing
		Loaded	Carried	Point Blank	Medium Range	Long Range	Critical
Craft Crusader's Crossbow		1	38	38/75	56/112	75/150	113-225
Uncrate Festive Crusader's Crossbow

The Crusader's Crossbow is a craftable primary weapon for the Medic. Unlike the other, rapid-fire syringe guns, it fires a single bolt that deals more damage to enemies the further it travels. Additionally, shooting teammates will heal them.

• The Crusader's Crossbow is completely different from your other primary weapons, which rely on numerous low-damage projectiles. Aim each individual shot carefully, as the slow reload time can make one shot the difference between life or death.

• The Crossbow is great for healing teammates who are dangerous to reach, or who you cannot reach in time, such as teammates who are on fire or about to die of fall damage.

• The Crusader's Crossbow can provide an instant burst of healing. When the teammate you are healing with your Medi Gun is under heavy fire and your healing rate is not able to keep up with the damage, switch to the Crusader's Crossbow, fire a shot at your teammate to heal them, and then quickly switch back to your Medi Gun and continue healing.
  • You can also quickly fire shots at other teammates calling for a Medic, making it easier to keep multiple teammates alive in a fight.

• If you see a cluster of teammates and enemies fighting, shoot into the crowd. Your shot will either heal a teammate or damage an enemy, either way assisting your teammates in the fight.

• The high damage at longer distances can make this weapon a good tool for dealing with enemy Snipers, either forcing them to retreat or killing them outright. Take care not to stand out in the open when attempting this, as the enemy Sniper will likely try to headshot you.

• If need be, you can use this weapon for long-range fire support. The increase in damage over distance can be substantial from a good vantage point, and you can not only deal damage but heal teammates from far away. You may need to ask them to stop moving with voice chat to make it easier to hit your shots.

• Unlike the Huntsman, the Crusader's Crossbow can be fired underwater and in midair.

• Healing from the Crusader's Crossbow cannot Overheal teammates, and while the bolt can contribute to your ÜberCharge meter, it will not build nearly as efficiently as using the Medi Gun.

• Due to the Crusader's Crossbow's low rate of fire and reversed damage falloff, it is less efficient at close-quarters combat than your other primary weapons. If enemies manage to ambush you, it's usually better to take out your melee weapon or try to retreat behind a teammate.

• The Crusader's Crossbow should be used to supplement your Medi Gun, not to replace it. Primarily focus on healing with your Medi Gun in order to build ÜberCharge and provide Overheal.

Overdose

Weapon	Kill Icon	Ammo		Damage				Effect
		Loaded	Carried	Point Blank	Medium Range	Long Range	Critical	Speed at 100% ÜberCharge
Craft Overdose		40	150	9-11	5-9	5-6	27	117.33%

The Overdose is a craftable primary for the Medic. It does 15% less damage than the standard Syringe Gun, but will increase the Medic's speed as his ÜberCharge meter increases. The speed boost caps at 20% faster than the Medic's standard movement speed. However, the speed boost only applies while you are actively wielding the Overdose, and not while using your Medi Gun or melee weapons.

• If your heal target gets killed and you need to retreat, you can use the Overdose's speed boost to escape and regroup with your team.

• The speed bonus at full ÜberCharge effectively eliminates the speed penalty for moving backwards (115% instead of the normal 96%), meaning that you can backpedal while firing and still outrun all classes except for the Scout.

• Considering that you should be rarely engaging in direct combat, the Overdose's damage reduction can be considered negligible. If you do not actively pursue combat, consider utilizing the Overdose's speed boost, and instead rely on your teammates for protection.

Secondary Weapons

Medi Gun + reskins

Weapon	Healing		ÜberCharge
	Normal Healing Rate	Maximum Healing Rate	ÜberCharge	ÜberCharge Time	Charge Speed	Maximum Charge Time
Stock Medi Gun	24 health/sec	72 health/sec	Invulnerability	8 seconds	2.5%/sec	40 seconds (80)
Uncrate Festive Medi Gun
Botkiller Medi Gun
Advanced+ Mann Up Reward Australium Medi Gun

• The Medi Gun's base healing rate is 24 HP/sec. If healing a teammate that has not taken damage in the last 10 seconds, the healing rate increases linearly, up to 72 HP/sec on a teammate that has not taken damage in the last 15 seconds or more.

• When healing a heal target, the Medi Gun will stay "locked-on" to the heal target until the primary fire key is released, or your heal target moves out of range, regardless of the direction you are looking.

• If ambushed, remember that it's better to use an ÜberCharge to survive than to die with a full, unused ÜberCharge meter.

• Be aware that not even the stock ÜberCharge will protect you from environmental hazards such as cliffs, saws, or trains. An enemy Pyro may attempt to Airblast you into these hazards, so take note of their locations and avoid deploying your ÜberCharge near them.

Kritzkrieg

Weapon	Healing		ÜberCharge
	Normal Healing Rate	Maximum Healing Rate	ÜberCharge	ÜberCharge Time	Charge Speed	Maximum Charge Time
Unlock Kritzkrieg	24 health/sec	72 health/sec	Critical hits	8 seconds	3.125%/sec	32 seconds (64)
Festivizer [[Festivized Kritzkrieg|Template:Dictionary/items/festivized kritzkrieg]]

The Kritzkrieg is an unlockable Medi Gun for the Medic. Its ÜberCharge builds 25% faster than the stock Medi Gun's and provides guaranteed Critical hits to the Medic's heal target instead of invulnerability.

• Heavies, Soldiers, and Demomen are among the best classes to deploy a Kritzkrieg ÜberCharge on. Though any class is extremely lethal while crit boosted, these three are far more lethal than the rest. The choice is situational:
  • Soldiers and Demomen are very similar: their explosive weaponry can be used to instantly annihilate clusters of enemies, or make the enemy team unable to stand remotely near Control points or Payload carts.
  • Heavies are great for large, spread-out groups of enemies, as their ability to fire a continuous stream of bullets and quickly switch between targets allows them to wipe enemies too spread out for explosions to be effective. Critical hits also don't suffer from damage falloff over distance, which significantly increases th eeffective range of the Minigun.
  • Although not as effective as a Soldier, Demoman, or Heavy, a Kritzkrieg ÜberCharged Pyro is very deadly at close ranges, as critical point-blank damage from a Pyro's Flamethrower can kill most classes near-instantly. The Flame Thrower can also damage multiple enemies at once, giving it similar crowd control capabilities to explosives. Consider Kritzing a Pyro when the enemy team is tightly grouped up nearby.
  • Scouts have an extremely high movement speed and a high-damage Scattergun, allowing them to quickly move from target to target and kill individual enemies in one or two shots. However, the Scout's low maximum health combined with the Kritzkrieg's ÜberCharge providing no protection from damage at all can result in them dying quickly when dealing with large crowds.
  • If there are no powerful offensive classes nearby to Kritzkrieg ÜberCharge, the Sniper can be an improvised Kritzkrieg ÜberCharge target — every body shot while ÜberCharged does the same damage as a headshot, which can kill a non-overhealed Scout, Engineer, Medic, Sniper, or Spy in one hit.

• The Kritzkrieg excels at ambushes. The sheer damage output from critical hits means that most enemies will be dead before they have time to react to a surprise attack.

• The Kritzkrieg's ÜberCharge is useless against a Medi Gun's ÜberCharge due to the stock Medi Gun ÜberCharge providing invulnerability. However, the faster charge rate allows it to be deployed before the enemy's Medi Gun charge, and it can be deployed more frequently.

• Since the Kritzkrieg is the only secondary weapon that does not protect the Medic during a ÜberCharge, it is encouraged to use the Vita-Saw to preserve some of your ÜberCharge meter in the event you die mid-charge.

• Critical hits deal no additional damage to buildings, making the Kritzkrieg the weakest secondary weapon to use against an enemy Engineer's nest. However, a Kritzkrieg ÜberCharge on a Soldier or Demoman allows them to utilize the splash damage from their rockets and grenades to easily kill an Engineer hiding behind their Sentry Gun. Once the Engineer is dead, the Sentry Gun will not be receiving healing and can be easily destroyed with normal weapons.

Oktoberfest

	Weapon	Healing	Duration	Details
Oktoberfest	Kritzkrieg	11 health	4 seconds	The Medic takes a brief whiff out of the barrel of his weapon.

• Due to the long duration of the taunt, the low amount of health recovered, and the fact that you cannot move or defend yourself for its duration, you should only use this taunt when safely behind cover and while backed up against a wall. In such situations, however, it's usually far better to simply seek out a better source of healing.

• In dire situations, such as being on fire or bleeding, it's possible that using this taunt can prevent death.

Quick-Fix

Weapon	Healing		ÜberCharge
	Normal Healing Rate	Maximum Healing Rate	ÜberCharge	ÜberCharge Time	Charge Speed	Maximum Charge Time
Craft Quick-Fix	33.6 health/sec	100.8 health/sec	Megaheal	8 seconds	2.778%/sec (1.389%/sec)	36 seconds (72)
Festivizer [[Festivized Quick-Fix|Template:Dictionary/items/festivized quick-fix]]

The Quick-Fix is a craftable secondary for the Medic. It has a 40% faster heal rate and a 10% faster charge rate than the Medi Gun. The Quick-Fix's ÜberCharge is the "Megaheal", which increases healing speed to 300% and negates movement-impairing effects, such as knockback, the Natascha's slowdown and compression blasts. In addition, it will mirror your patient's explosive jumps, shield charges, and, in Mannpower, Grappling Hook grapples. However, it can only Overheal teammates to 125% of their max health, as opposed to the other Medi Guns' 150%.

• The Quick-Fix and its Megaheal are meant for keeping many teammates alive at once. It's best to stay with a group of teammates to maximize the Quick-Fix's effectiveness.

• Try not to deploy your Megaheal if you and your heal target are alone and only fighting one or two enemies. The Megaheal is best used to support large pushes and keep teammates alive while under heavy fire. However, don't be afraid to use it to avoid death.

• Because this weapon cannot Overheal past 125%, this means you do not hit the threshold for slowing the rate at which you build ÜberCharge (142.5% Overheal). With no other factors in play, you will typically build ÜberCharge with this weapon faster than the Medi Gun or the Kritzkrieg, and you can be somewhat laxer in healing surrounding teammates; even sticking to just one patient (pocketing) will still build the ÜberCharge in a short span of time. Keep in mind that keeping all your teammates in good shape is still important, as multiple healthy players are more dangerous than one extremely healthy player.

• The ability to use your teammates' explosive jump can allow you to stay with them when they jump to the front lines or to areas that you could otherwise not access. Your patient will be able to make more jumps than normal due to being healed during flight, and in combat, your presence should keep them alive longer. Be aware that you can easily become separated from your patient, especially if you have little experience with explosive jumping. If you suspect your teammate is going to explosive jump, stand nearby and be ready to air-strafe to control your jump. Keep in mind that although you take no damage from the initial jump, you will still take fall damage.

• A Demoman using the Chargin' Targe, Splendid Screen, or Tide Turner can be a useful class to pocket with the Quick-Fix. The Quick-Fix will allow you to keep pace with the Demoman during his charges, and the extra healing combined with the shields' damage resistance will make him extremely difficult to kill.

Vaccinator

Weapon	Healing		ÜberCharge
	Normal Healing Rate	Maximum Healing Rate	ÜberCharge	ÜberCharge Duration	Charge Speed	Maximum Charge Time
Craft Vaccinator	24 health/sec	72 health/sec	75% resistance to a selected damage type	2.5 seconds/resistance	4.175%/s	24 s

The Vaccinator is a craftable secondary for the Medic. It has a 67% faster ÜberCharge rate while healing non-overhealed players, and using the reload key allows the Medic to cycle through three damage resistance types: Bullet Damage, Explosive Damage, and Fire Damage. Both the Medic and his heal target are provided 10% resistance to the selected damage type passively while the Medic is healing, and the Vaccinator's ÜberCharge provides 75% resistance to the selected damage type for 2.5 seconds, even after the Medic stops healing the patient, as well as immunity to bonus critical damage from the selected damage type. ÜberCharge rate is boosted temporarily when you or your patient are damaged by the currently resisted damage type. As a drawback, it overheals at a 66% slower rate compared to the Medi Gun.

• The Vaccinator builds ÜberCharge at a very fast rate when healing injured players. If paired with the Overdose, you can easily build an ÜberCharge and then use the Overdose's ÜberCharge-based speed boost to your advantage.

• Use the Vaccinator to prevent incoming damage, similarly to a normal ÜberCharge. Judge what is the biggest threat to your patient and apply resistances accordingly.

• Knowing when to change resistances is crucial. A wrong choice can lead to death. Whenever you are not in active combat, use bullet resistance, because all classes except for the Demoman have a bullet weapon in their stock loadouts, and many bullet weapons strike instantly, meaning that it’s too late to switch once the enemy starts firing. If you feel there is a high chance of a Soldier, Pyro, or Demoman ambush, you can switch to explosive or fire resistance while not fighting. During combat, watch your enemies' weapons and switch resistances accordingly.
  • Bullet resistance applies not only to literal bullets, but to similar projectiles such as syringes, arrows, or laser beams.

• The Vaccinator can stack multiple ÜberCharges of different types at once, allowing you to protect you and your patient from two or even three types of damage at once. However, keep in mind that this strategy uses significantly more ÜberCharge than just using one resistance at a time.

• Keep in mind that when healing a fully overhealed Heavy with bullet resistance, he can survive a fully-charged headshot from any Sniper not using the Machina. You as a Medic can also survive any fully-charged bodyshot or uncharged headshot.
  • Note, however, that having the Vita-Saw equipped still leaves you vulnerable to a fully charged bodyshot and uncharged headshots.

• If an enemy Sniper is causing trouble, considering ÜberCharging a friendly Sniper to safely take care of the threat. As headshots are considered critical hits, the Vaccinator's ÜberCharge can aid your Sniper in killing the enemy. The enemy Sniper will be completely unable to kill yours in a single shot for the duration of the ÜberCharge.
  • Activating ÜberCharge on yourself can also ensure a safer escape from enemy Snipers.

• The Vaccinator generates ÜberCharge at an extremely fast rate while blocking damage, and can continue to generate ÜberCharge even when using its own ÜberCharge. Furthermore, damage blocked by an ÜberCharged patient counts towards the boost, even if the Medic is healing another patient at the time. With clever use, these factors can be used to almost perpetually have an ÜberCharge at the ready for when it's needed.

• The Vaccinator provides absolutely no protection against melee weapons. While healing a patient, stay away from classes with strong melee weapons like Demoknights and Soldiers with the Market Gardener, who can kill you as normal. Communicate with your healing targets to prevent dying to a melee attack.

• In the common possibility that you encounter someone who is cheating, the Vaccinator is potentially your greatest weapon against them. Typically, those who cheat use an aimbot on hitscan classes such as the Sniper, Heavy, or the Spy with an Ambassador. The bullet resistance the Vaccinator provides can give your patient the edge needed to outperform the cheater and secure victory for your team.

Melee Weapons

Bonesaw + reskins

Weapon	Kill Icon	Attack Interval	Damage
			Point Blank	Critical
Stock Bonesaw		0.8 seconds	65	195
Promotional Saxxy
Drop Conscientious Objector
Promotional Frying Pan
Promotional Freedom Staff
Drop Bat Outta Hell
Drop Ham Shank
Achievement Necro Smasher
Uncrate Crossing Guard
Uncrate Festive Bonesaw

• The Bonesaw deals more burst damage than the Syringe Gun but suffers in terms of damage over time. This makes it good for getting in the first strike on a distracted opponent, or to finish off an already-weakened one. Like other melee weapons, it also has a higher critical hit chance than the Syringe Gun, which can potentially result in instantly killing an opponent with the first strike.

• When Spy-checking teammates, using the Bonesaw is more reliable due to the difficulty in aiming with the Syringe Gun. Spies will often try to attack you whenever possible, so always be prepared to take out the Bonesaw in order to deal with them, or other sudden threats.

• You are faster than most other classes; your greater agility can put you at an advantage in melee combat. That being said, your main goal as a Medic should be self-preservation, so avoid engaging in melee combat outside of self-defense.

• Your other melee weapons provide additional helpful effects that the stock Bonesaw just cannot match. Use another weapon if you can.

Ubersaw + reskins

Weapon	Kill Icon	Attack Interval	Damage
			Point Blank	Critical
Unlock Ubersaw		0.96 seconds	65	195
Uncrate Festive Ubersaw		0.96 seconds	65	195

The Ubersaw is an unlockable melee weapon for the Medic. It has a 20% slower attack rate than the Bonesaw, but will add 25% to the ÜberCharge meter for each successful hit. In addition, taunting with the Upersaw will perform the Spinal Tap kill taunt.

• Rather than using the Ubersaw for killing enemies, try to use it with the mindset of building up ÜberCharge. If possible, try to simply land a hit and retreat safely, rather than fighting an enemy to the death.

• If fighting an enemy with the ÜberCharge meter almost full, try to use the Ubersaw to finish up the charge and quickly switch to the Medi Gun to activate it. In desperate situations, the protection of an ÜberCharge can allow you to safely escape from a situation where you would have otherwise died.

• The Ubersaw is especially useful for taking out Spies that may be attempting to backstab teammates, as it will not only kill the Spy in two hits, but also build the ÜberCharge meter more safely than if attempted on other enemies. However, be aware that experienced Spies may attempt to trickstab you if you try to engage in melee combat with them. If you know an enemy Spy is capable of trickstabbing, it is safer to attempt to use your primary weapon to kill him from a safe distance, or alert one of your teammates and ask them to take the Spy out.
  • Hitting disguised Spies will not give you ÜberCharge; however, the melee damage will still hurt them.
  • Your ÜberCharge meter does not increase upon killing a Spy that is using the Dead Ringer. If a Spy appears to have died, but the hit that killed him provided no ÜberCharge, be aware that the Spy has feigned their death and will likely return shortly.

• The Ubersaw will still add to the ÜberCharge meter if you hit a Scout under the effects of Bonk! Atomic Punch.

• Using the Ubersaw and the stock Medi Gun in conjunction with another Medic with the same loadout can be very effective. (See Chain Über.) The first Medic can ÜberCharge the second while the second approaches an enemy with the Ubersaw equipped. Over the course of the ÜberCharge, the second Medic should aim to get in enough hits to fill his ÜberCharge, allowing himself to grant the first Medic an ÜberCharge so he can do the same thing. However, be aware that the enemy team will usually take quick notice of this, and attempt to counter your strategy, usually with a Pyro's airblast.

Vita-Saw

Weapon	Kill Icon	Attack Interval	Damage
			Point Blank	Critical
Craft Vita-Saw		0.8 seconds	65	195

The Vita-Saw is a craftable melee weapon for the Medic. It allows the Medic to retain up to 60% of his ÜberCharge meter upon death. However, it also reduces the Medic's maximum HP by 10, to 140 HP.

• Due to being able to retain up to 60% of the ÜberCharge meter, it's possible to deploy ÜberCharges faster upon respawning. This will allow you and your team to put more pressure on the enemy team.
  • This will also allow you to move 12% faster with the Overdose, allowing you to reach your team more quickly after reapwaning.

• Remember that if you're killed during an ÜberCharge, up to 60% of what charge you had left will still be retained.
  • It is best to pair the Vita-Saw with the Kritzkrieg, as the Kritzkrieg is the only Medi Gun that does not protect you at all during an ÜberCharge.

• In game modes without respawning, such as Arena or Sudden Death, the Vita-Saw is a straight downgrade to the default Bonesaw and should not be used.

Amputator

Weapon	Kill Icon	Attack Interval	Damage		Healing
			Point Blank	Critical	On Taunt
Craft Amputator		0.8 seconds	52	156	75
Festivizer [[Festivized Amputator|Template:Dictionary/items/festivized amputator]]

The Amputator is a craftable melee weapon for the Medic. While being actively held, it increases health regeneration by +3 HP/sec. It also allows Medics to perform the Medicating Melody taunt. However, it deals 20% less damage than the stock Bonesaw.

• The extra health regeneration can be used to offset damage from afterburn, giving you more time to find a source of healing to extinguish yourself.

• The Amputator's damage penalty is enough that most classes will take at least one extra swing to kill. This makes the Amputator less reliable as a self-defense tool.

Medicating Melody

	Weapon	Healing	Duration	Details
Medicating Melody	Amputator	25-75 health	4.2 seconds	The Medic brings his weapon up to his shoulder, leans on his right foot, and plays a soothing melody, healing all allies within a certain radius while causing them to emit a team-colored glow around their feet.

• Upon taunting, all teammates within 450 units of the Medic are each healed for 4 seconds at the same rate as healing as the Medi Gun.
  • The purpose of this taunt is to multiply your healing power when several teammates are injured and are in range.
  • Since you cannot Overheal with this taunt, do not use it when nearby teammates are not injured.
  • An ideal situation for the taunt is when several teammates are close together, are receiving heavy damage, and you have a safe place to taunt that can reach them all.

• Unlike with the Crusader's Crossbow and the Medi Gun, you cannot "miss" your teammates; healing is automatic for all teammates in range, including any that enter the range during the taunt.

• During your taunt, the camera will switch to a third-person view, allowing you to better see the battlefield and judge whether you should repeat the taunt, move, and/or switch weapons.

• Only use this taunt when standing in a location where the enemy cannot see (and therefore shoot) you, and where you cannot be ambushed.
  • Remember that you cannot heal around corners. Players must have unbroken line of sight to you to receive the healing effect.

• You cannot move for the entire duration of the taunt. If your team is moving as a group, it's better to just keep using the Medi Gun.

• The healing from this taunt builds ÜberCharge substantially slower than your Medi Gun. If you are able to keep your teammates alive by healing them individually, doing so is usually a better choice, as you will build ÜberCharge faster that way.

Solemn Vow

Weapon	Kill Icon	Attack Interval	Damage
			Point Blank	Critical
Craft Solemn Vow		0.88 seconds	65	195

The Solemn Vow is a craftable melee weapon for the Medic. It allows you to see the opposing team's health and enemy Medics' ÜberCharge meters, at the cost of a 10% slower swing rate.

• The Solemn Vow offers the ability to see enemy health, allowing you to inform teammates whether a retreating enemy is heavily wounded or not.
  • If an enemy Medic is spotted, it may be worth communicating how much ÜberCharge they have.

• The Solemn Vow can also be useful for judging whether to flee or fight. Being able to see the health of attackers will let you detemrine whether it's better to go for a few quick melee swings or to focus on making an escape.

• Unlike several other weapons with passive effects, you do not need to be actively holding the Solemn Vow to see enemy health values. Take advantage of this by informing your Medi Gun patient of enemy health values to aid them in combat.

• The Solemn Vow is most useful when actively using a microphone to relay important information your team. Otherwise, it may be better to use an alternative melee weapon with more immediate effects.

• In Mann vs. Machine, all classes can see the health of giant robots. It is therefore advised not to use the Solemn Vow over other choices such as the Ubersaw or Amputator.

Taunt attacks

Spinal Tap

	Kill Icon	Weapon	Damage	Duration	Details
Uberslice	File:Killicon spinaltap.png	Ubersaw	500	4 seconds	The Medic throws his coattails back and enters a combat pose before thrusting his Ubersaw forward and retracting it, killing any enemy player in the way. Gives 100% ÜberCharge if successful.

• Remember that, like the Skewer taunt, an enemy does not need to be stunned by the initial thrust in order to kill them. They simply need to be in front of you during the retraction part of the animation.
  • Similarly, stunning an enemy doesn't necessarily guarantee a kill, as explosions, airblasts, or even just your target's existing momentum may move you or the target outside of the kill zone before the retraction.

• The initial thrust can be used to stun ÜberCharged enemies and waste their time. The taunt won't kill the ÜberCharged player, but it will still give you 100% ÜberCharge.

• If you find an unguarded, active Teleporter exit, then you can use this taunt in front of it to kill the next player to use the Teleporter and get full ÜberCharge. Be careful when positioning yourself, or you could be telefragged instead.

• This taunt can synergise well with the Heavy's the Holiday Punch, as critical hits from that weapon will force the enemy to perform the Schadenfreude taunt, giving you a chance to perform this without interruption. Try to do this on enemies separated from the rest of their team.
  • Giving the Heavy a Kritzkrieg ÜberCharge will ensure every single punch is critical, and a successful Spinal Tap will refill your ÜberCharge meter instantly.

• Due to the length of the taunt, Spinal Tap is ineffective unless enemies are unaware of your presence, such as enemy Snipers focused on distant targets.
  • The Medic will loudly announce "I'm going to saw through your bones!" before the thrust, which can alert foes to your presence.

Weapon combinations

Example Combinations
Combo			Usage
Syringe Gun or Crusader's Crossbow	Medi Gun	Ubersaw	One of the most commonly used setups, and generally the best for most situations. A Medic with this setup should focus on healing teammates and keeping them in combat, rather than fighting the enemy directly. The stock Medi Gun is the most versatile of the 4 Medi Guns, as it gives the team access to default ÜberCharges. Because you won't be focusing on direct combat, the stock Syringe Gun and Crusader's Crossbow are good choices, as unlike the Blutsauger, they do not lower your health regeneration rate, and the Crusader's Crossbow provides the additional ability to heal at long range. Finally, the Ubersaw can be used to build ÜberCharge off of unaware players, vulnerable Spies, or flanking classes that get too close.
Overdose	Medi Gun	Bonesaw or Vita-Saw	This setup is ideal for Medics whose priority is on survivability and building ÜberCharges. Holding up to 20% charge after death makes up for the Medi Gun's relatively slower charge speed compared to other secondaries. While the Vita-Saw reduces the Medic's maximum health by 10 HP, it allows you to preserve some of your ÜberCharge after death, which allows you to build ÜberCharge back faster after a death. However, having reduced maximum health can result in you dying faster and more often, so stick with the stock Bonesaw if you wish to avoid the health penalty. The Overdose ensures that you'll be able to move faster when your ÜberCharge meter is filled, enabling you to move faster to stay with your team or to escape if the situation goes south.
Blutsauger	Kritzkrieg	Solemn Vow or Ubersaw	This combination is more suited to an offensive Medic, though not necessarily for offensive pushes. The Kritzkrieg builds up its charge 25% faster, allowing you to use its effect more often than other ÜberCharges, or to rebuild charge faster after a death. The Blutsauger provides healing during combat and is thus more useful to a Medic who engages in fights regularly. Because the Kritzkrieg already charges fast, the Solemn Vow's faster swing speed makes it more viable for direct combat than the Ubersaw, as well as allowing you to identify weakened enemies to finish off. However, players who wish to focus even more on offensive combat can use the Ubersaw to build up ÜberCharge faster. In Mann VS Machine, most of the Medi Guns are considered superfluous, as the stock Medi Gun's ÜberCharge can be purchased as a canteen effect (and shared with your teammates via the Canteen Specialist upgrade), and the Quick-Fix's healing rate can be easily matched with Healing Mastery, without the detriment of having reduced Overheal. One of the few ÜberCharges that can't be easily duplicated via upgrades is that of the Kritzkrieg, due to its increased recharge rate and ability to give a decently long duration of critical hits. Since your primary and melee weapons are often left un-upgraded, their use is more based on versatility. As such, the Blutsauger can be used in a pinch to quickly regain lost health, with the reduced passive health regeneration of the Blutsauger being negated by the Healing Mastery upgrade for the Medi Gun. For the melee slot, the Ubersaw is by far preferred to the Solemn Vow, since striking an enemy returns 25% ÜberCharge, allowing the Medic to give his team critical hits more often, especially given the relative obliviousness of MvM bots compared to real players. However, the Ubersaw is best used against robots that are not in a group, as the sheer number of robots in MvM will likely result in you dying extremely quickly.
Blutsauger	Medi Gun	Ubersaw	This setup is primarily designed with personal survival in mind. The Blutsauger, when aimed well, offers much higher survivability in a direct confrontation, and ÜberCharge from the Ubersaw can be used not only to push, but also as a shield by switching quickly between the Medi Gun and the Ubersaw while attacking. The use of Ubersaw can help build up ÜberCharges, and if used skillfully, allows players to extend their ÜberCharge durations significantly.
Blutsauger	Vaccinator	Ubersaw	This combination is suited to a Medic who wants protection against lone enemies. The Ubersaw, on hit, will give you one Vaccinator ÜberCharge immediately, which can be used to protect yourself from an ambushing class's main damage type. The Blutsauger can be used to protect yourself during a retreat. The main downside to this strategy is that you can struggle to protect yourself from multiple damage types at once, due to each additional protection requiring an additional 25% of your ÜberCharge meter.
Syringe Gun	Kritzkrieg	Vita-Saw	This setup is ideal for greatly enhancing the firepower of your team while allowing Medics to focus on healing rather than combat. The combination of the Syringe Gun and Vita-Saw gives players survivability and the ability to retain part of an ÜberCharge meter. The faster charge rate of the Kritzkrieg and the ability to retain charge on the ÜberCharge meter after death allows Medics to deploy Kritzkrieg ÜberCharges very quickly. If the player is killed in the middle of a Kritzkrieg ÜberCharge, the remainder (up to 60%) will still be retained, allowing enterprising Medics to quickly build the next ÜberCharge faster as well.
Overdose	Quick-Fix	Solemn Vow	The Clinical Trial This is the Clinical Trial setup, good for a support Medic who wishes to heal people quickly and effectively. The Overdose is not a good weapon for personal defense due to the damage penalty. Instead, use its passive effect to quickly run to injured teammates after attaining a full ÜberCharge. The Quick-Fix is useful for quickly healing multiple patients because of its accelerated healing rate. Though the Quick-Fix is unable to provide invulnerability, the greatly increased healing rate and immunity to knockback allows it to excel at quickly destroying sentry nests, or taking out large groups of enemies. The Solemn Vow allows you to see the enemies' health and point out weakened enemies for your patient to kill.
Crusader's Crossbow	Quick-Fix	Amputator	The Medieval Medic - with Quick-Fix This setup is useful for an offensive, mobile Medic who focuses on healing as many teammates as possible using all three of his weapons. The Crusader's Crossbow, while weak in direct combat, provides an extremely useful secondary source of healing that will help you keep the entire team alive; you will not need to defend yourself at close range if you are surrounded by your teammates. When your patient is at full health, you can take the opportunity to shoot a few crossbow bolts at long range toward your teammates and then resume healing your pocket. Taunting with the Amputator can provide healing for everyone nearby at the expense of ÜberCharge build speed. The Quick-Fix gives you a significantly increased healing rate and the ability to explosive-jump with your patient, so you can support even your fastest teammates.
Overdose	Medi Gun	Ubersaw	This setup is for a support Medic who focuses on healing and deploying ÜberCharges as quickly as possible, at the cost of minimized personal defense. The Medic can hit enemies a few times with the Ubersaw, before switching to the Overdose to use the speed boost to escape. Once your Übercharge is built, this is the preferred setup for a Chain ÜberCharge. One Medic can ÜberCharge another, which attacks enemies with his Ubersaw to build up his ÜberCharge, and then the medics switch roles. The Overdose is helpful, as during a Chain ÜberCharge you are likely to have some charge built, so you can switch to it to chase down fleeing enemies.
Overdose	Quick-Fix	Vita-Saw	This setup focuses entirely on speed, not granting a Medic much direct strength or survivability. The Quick-Fix rapidly gains ÜberCharge, incidentally healing allies much faster than other Medi Guns, as well as pulling you alongside explosive-jumping Soldiers and Demomen. The Overdose allows you a higher degree of mobility, complimented by the Quick-Fix's rapid ÜberCharge build speed. Should you perish, the Vita-Saw will allow you to roll out faster by retaining up to 60% of your unused ÜberCharge to power your Overdose. This can make you a good companion for a Scout, as the Overdose and Quick-Fix allow you to keep pace with him, and the Vita-Saw potentially allows you to catch back up to him faster upon respawning.
Overdose	Vaccinator	Bonesaw or Solemn Vow	This set up focuses on defense from a specific damage type. The Vaccinator provides the Medic and its teammate a 10% resistance from a select damage type, a 75% resistance when ÜberCharged, and a 25% heal from the matched damage taken. Having the ability to build an ÜberCharge at a 50% faster rate then normally, paring this weapon with the Overdose enables you to efficiently use the speed boost provided to quickly get to teammates. Having 4 separate ÜberCharge times, a Medic is able to quickly deploy an ÜberCharge at any time if the meter is filled over 25%. This provides an immediate defense from any enemies that may be lurking. The Solemn Vow allows you to see enemy health, thereby enabling you to make a decision whether a short or long ÜberCharge is necessary. However, if the ability to see enemy health is not your priority, simply stick with the Bonesaw, as it lacks the 10% slower firing speed the Solemn Vow is stuck with.
Unless marked with a †, all weapons can be substituted with reskins.

Class Cooperation Strategies

 Scout

• When healing a Scout, your base speed is raised to whatever his speed is. A Scout can help a Medic get to the front lines or out of danger more quickly.
• Scouts equipped with the Back Scatter and/or Mad Milk are some of the more efficient spy-checkers on their team, and should be sure to make use of this to protect their team's Medic(s).
• The Boston Basher's self-inflicted damage is extremely useful for building ÜberCharge quickly.

 Soldier

Soldiers are one of the more common pockets for Medics, and with good reason.

• A Soldier's high health pool and firepower allow him to protect an allied Medic well.
• By using the Quick-Fix, a Medic can mirror the Soldier's rocket jumps.
• A Soldier will often be taking lots of self-damage from rocket jumps. While this will mean the Medic is crit-healing him less often, it'll also keep him wounded, allowing the Medic to build ÜberCharge faster.
• Using the Black Box or Concheror as a pocket is not exactly recommended, as they'll keep the Soldier at full health often and thus make the Medic build ÜberCharge more slowly.
• All mediguns raise the Medic's speed to that of the heal target's; this allows low-health Soldiers using the Escape Plan to get their Medics out of danger quickly.
  • The Escape Plan does, however, reduce the amount of healing the user recieves (though only while it's active). On the other hand, that also means the target doesn't get overhealed for longer, allowing the Medic to build ÜberCharge quicker.
  • It also means that heal targets using the Disciplinary Action don't have to worry about outrunning their Medics.
• The enormous damage dealt by critical rockets makes the Kritzkrieg a favored medigun for Medics following Soldiers.
  • Kritzkrieg ÜberCharges are especially effective on Air Strike, Beggar's Bazooka, or Liberty Launcher Soldiers whose primaries don't need to reload often (or, in the case of the Bazooka, can keep up a reasonable rate of fire anyway). On the other hand, the Cow Mangler 5000 and the Rocket Jumper are 'very. subpar launchers for Kritz über targets, as the Kritzkrieg's criticals will be downgraded to mini-crits for the former and will deal no damage for the latter.
• Of the Soldier's secondaries, the Medic will benefit most from a shotgun or the Battallion's Backup. Shotguns allow the Soldier to defend his Medic even when rockets would be a poor option (e.g., against airblasting Pyros), while the Backup gives the Medic much-needed resiliency.
• Soldiers under the effects of the Vaccinator will take less damage from rocket jumping, though the Medic will probably not be able to follow the Soldier after the first jump.
  • With a Vaccinator ÜberCharge, however, the Soldier may be able to get a second jump in before the resistances wear off.

 Pyro

• As usual, the Pyro is pretty much the best bodyguard in the game, between reasonable health, efficient spychecking, and airblast.
  • Sticking around the Pyro may, however, slow the Medic down. This can be alleviated if the Pyro uses the Powerjack to increase his speed, which will actually increase the Medic's speed as well.
  • As airblasting is part of why the Pyro is a good bodyguard, the Dragon's Fury and Phlogistinator are subpar flamethrowers for bodyguarding Pyros. The Backburner also is, unless ammo packs are plentiful.
• Generally, Pyros are a decent über target, but not a high-priority one. That said, there are a couple special things to note:
  • The Pyro's flamethrowers have the somewhat unique attribute of never needing to reload, allowing the Pyro to put out a constant stream of damage for the entirety of an über.
  • A Pyro using the Phlogistonator with full Mmmph! can taunt to gain 8 seconds of guaranteed critical hits. While this is redundant with the Krtizkrieg, any other medigun turns such a Pyro into a crit-boosted and resilient waking nightmare for your enemies.
  • A Pyro with the Homewrecker can take out Sentry Guns fairly efficiently while übered. The sentry will inflict significant knockback, though, making it advisable to approach from around a corner. Alternatively, even a level 3 Sentry Gun's DPS won't outmatch a Quick-Fix über's heal rate, making that medigun viable for taking out lone Sentry Guns in this manner.

 Demoman

The Demoman is another common pocket for Medics.

• The Demoman's damage output is high enough that he doesn't really 'need' damage boosts to become terrifying, he just needs resiliency.
  • That said, a Demoman under the effects of a Kritzkrieg über is still probably the most terrifying sight in the game.
• With the Quick-Fix, a Medic can mirror a Demoman's explosive jumps or a Demoknight's charges.
• It's worth noting that, although a Demoman is great at dealing damage, he's less effective at protecting the Medic at close range, since he himself is weak there.
• Demoknights are less efficient pockets for Medics than normal Demomen, as they are less able to dish out outright carnage; however, a Demoknight can help a Quick-Fix Medic get to the front lines at blinding speed.
• An explosive jumping Demoman will take less self-damage from the explosions while being healed by the Vaccinator.

 Heavy

The Heavy is the most iconic Medic patient, and for good reason.

• A Heavy can protect a Medic with nothing but his large hitbox and equally large health pool, simply by standing in front of the Medic.
• A Heavy's minigun is effective enough at mid-range to deter most opponents, and can take out any class (even another Heavy, if the other one doesn't have a Medic) at close range. A Medic next to a competent Heavy has little to fear from anybody other than a Sniper.
• The Heavy's miniguns don't need to reload, allowing him to put out a constant stream of damage for the entirety of an ÜberCharge.
• A Tomislav Heavy with good aim and the effects of a Kritzkrieg ÜberCharge can pose a threat to Snipers from unreasonably far away.
  • Other than that, though, a Heavy has trouble taking advantage of a Kritzkrieg ÜberCharge the way a Demoman or Soldier can.
• A Heavy with the Fists of Steel being pocketed by a Vaccinator Medic is nigh-impossible to take out with bullets.
• A Heavy with a Medic buddy will do well to bring along a Sandvich to keep him topped up on health. At 150 health, a Medic doesn't benefit significantly from the small health pack dropped by other lunchbox items - only gaining 30 health. The Sandvich, however, drops a medium health pack, which will restore a sizeable 75 health to the Medic. The Heavy doesn't really need the Sandvich for himself, as the medigun will generally keep him topped up.

 Engineer

The Engineer is generally a subpar heal target, as he usually won't be on the front lines and will have a Dispenser with him.

• Teleporters are useful for allowing the Medic to get to the front lines quickly.

 Medic

Other Medics typically work separately with their own patients, but they should heal each other if they're injured.

• A particularly bold strategy is to ÜberCharge a Medic with the Ubersaw, gain Über with four hits, and deploy that charge on the other Medic. (See ÜberCharge strategy)

 Sniper

Overhealing your Sniper to at least above 150 health allows them to deal with the enemy Sniper much more comfortably, as they can resist a headshot. However, he is not the highest priority healing target.

• The Sniper can kill classes like the Heavy and Soldier to help protect a Medic should he be threatened by an enemy.

 Spy

Spies typically should not be healed while disguised, as it can easily blow their cover.

• The Spy can be healed behind enemy sight to help him survive an enemy encounter should he be caught.

See also

• ÜberCharge
• ÜberCharge strategy
• Team strategy
• Medic buddy