Basic Medic strategy

The Medic is a fast, fragile support class. He can rescue and fortify his teammates using his Medi Gun, provide invulnerability with his ÜberCharge, and critboost a teammate with the Kritzkrieg. These abilities are invaluable to his team both offensively and defensively, and can easily make the difference between victory and defeat.

General

• A Medic must survive. Teammates may die, pockets may die, ÜberCharges may be spent, but as long as you're alive and building a new ÜberCharge, your teammates will have the advantage.

• The Medic can Overheal. Follow the link and learn how it works.

• Avoid damage. You are a prime target. Jump, duck, and strafe. Be hard to hit.

• You regenerate between 3 and 6 health per second, so if you're being attacked, run. You have a good chance to survive.

• Always ask your allies to leave Health pickups for you, then heal them in return.

• If you are threatened by an enemy and your teammates aren't aware, communicate, run, and fight in that order. All fights should be fighting retreats.

• Memorize the map. Know where all the pick ups are on the map and all the routes through the map. A smart Medic will use them to survive and sometimes kill a persistent enemy.

• Strike a balance between pocketing and team healing. To pocket someone is to follow them around and continually heal them. Team healing is to heal various players as they run back to you for support. A rule of thumb is stick to your pocket without fail if you or he is taking enemy fire. Only heal your team whenever there is a moment of downtime.

• On occasion, aid the pushes of other players besides your pocket. Don't make the common mistake of huddling near your friend when a timely heal could stop your enemies.

• Whenever it comes time to unleash a charge, inform your team. You'll want as much support as possible following you and your target.

• If an enemy Medic ubers before you, maximize the effectiveness of your counter ÜberCharge. Preferably, begin your ÜberCharge just after the enemy's ÜberCharge finishes.

Weapon Specific

A list of useful tidbits about the Medic's tools.

Syringe Gun

• Remember to lead your targets. The needles travel slowly.

• The needles from the Syringe Gun travel in a gentle parabolic arc. Over distance, remember to move your aim upwards slightly.

• The Syringe Gun fires rapidly and deals fair damage. If you need to retreat, the Syringe Gun will slaughter enemies chasing you.

• The Syringe Gun has a better passive heal than the Blutsauger.

Blutsauger

• This weapon reduces your passive healing. You will only regenerate between 1 and 4 health per second, making it a riskier weapon.

• Each needle heals you for three health, so you're vastly more likely to survive a fighting retreat with the Blutsauger.

• If you're exposed without a buddy, fire the Blutsauger at anyone you can see while retreating. Even if you're taking enemy fire, you may regenerate just enough health to get away safely.

• If you're on fire or bleeding, you can stop healing and attack with the Blutsauger to restore some health. Consider this an emergency tactic, since you won't be healing your friends.

Crusader's Crossbow

• You can heal at very long ranges. However, you won't build ÜberCharge with the Crossbow, so stick to your Medi Gun whenever possible.

• Your bolts arc over distance. Adjust your aim.

• This is the only weapon that directly heals teammates in Medieval Mode.

• This weapon heals faster than the Medi Gun if your friend was hurt in the last 10 seconds.

Medi Gun

• Once locked on with your Medi Gun, it doesn't matter what direction you face, so turn around frequently to watch for Spies and other ambushers.

• The Medi Gun beam can bend around corners. Use this to your advantage to heal your target while being protected from fire.

• The ÜberCharge bar fills up faster if the Medic heals wounded allies instead of focusing on healthy ones.

• If you have an ÜberCharge and are in any danger of being killed, activate it. It's better to survive and potentially ÜberCharge an ally than to die with a full ÜberCharge meter.

• If you are forced to choose between keeping any other player alive and another Medic, generally choose the Medic.

• When team healing, heal damaged players first. Even if you heal them a small amount, it is better to heal someone low on health than to boost another to 150%.

• While Ubercharging, it is possible to change Medi Gun targets. If you do this quickly enough, both targets will be invincible at once, but your charge will drain faster.

• The longer a Medic waits to heal an injured teammate, the quicker they will be healed. Prioritize teammates you haven't healed in a while first.

• If you suspect you are healing a Spy, the quickest Spy check is to try running through them.

Kritzkrieg

• The Kritzkrieg relies a great deal on the skill level of your patient. If your friends panic under pressure, use the Medi Gun instead.

• The Kritzkrieg's ÜberCharge charges much faster than a Medi Gun's. If you have the chance, fire first and kill enemy Medics before their ÜberCharge is ready.

• Heavies, Soldiers and Demomen are the three best classes to kritz. Though any class can be lethal while kritzed, these three are far more lethal than the rest.

• A Kritzkrieg ambush can eliminate almost an entire team before they can fire back. Look for the element of surprise.

• If on fire and low on health, hit the Oktoberfest taunt ('G' key). It can save your life.

• Remember that unleashing a Kritz charge does not protect you. Use the critboost earlier rather than later, and you're more likely to survive a fight.

Bonesaw

• The Bonesaw has more front-loaded 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.
• The Übersaw and Vita-Saw are usually seen as straight upgrades to the Bonesaw, because Ubercharges are valuable and melee fights rarely rely on attack speed.

Übersaw

• The Übersaw has a 20% slower attack rate than the Bonesaw, but will charge your ÜberCharge meter by 25% per each hit.

• Use your Übersaw only for filling your ÜberCharge, not for repeatedly slashing enemies to death. If you can escape, you will have a substantial advantage due to your filled Über.

• If trapped behind enemy lines, a few hits with your Übersaw may allow you to build up an ÜberCharge and escape back to your teammates. Do not count on this strategy, though, since you may need to survive long enough to hit an opponent four times.

• If a Spy attempts to backstab you and fails, use the Übersaw to finish them off. Even one hit will vastly decrease the time it takes to build up an Über, leaving you at a tactical advantage.

Vita-Saw

• With the Vita-Saw you can attempt riskier tactics while carrying a small charge, since you're less likely to lose a large amount of charge if you die.

• Due to the slight decrease in your health, you will die faster to lighter classes such as Scouts and Pyros. Remember to flee earlier when being harassed.

• 20% saved charge will produce more successful charges if you are dying often.

• The Vita-Saw has no advantages over the other saws in Arena maps or during Sudden Death, as respawning is impossible, and you do not retain Übercharge between rounds.

Amputator

• This weapon is a direct upgrade of the Bonesaw.

• Use the taunt-heal only when your team is clustered up and there are no enemies in sight.

• If you taunt in combat, the enemy is likely to kill you and reset your ÜberCharge.

• Healing one or two players with this weapon is less efficient than using the Medi Gun, and it doesn't fill your ÜberCharge meter.

The Medieval Medic

• With this set, you can survive longer as you will regenerate health significantly faster.

See also

• Community Medic strategy
• ÜberCharge
• Medic match-ups
• Medic buddy
• Team strategy