ÜberCharge strategy

This page lists common strategies for using the Medic's ÜberCharge effectively.

Background

Main article: ÜberCharge

The ÜberCharge is an ability of the Medic that enables himself and his healing target to become fully invulnerable to damage. ÜberCharge is built up by healing teammates and has the ability to turn the tide of the battle when used offensively, and lock down the enemy team when used defensively. There are two variations of ÜberCharge; the standard Medi Gun gives the standard invulnerability (or invuln), and the Kritzkrieg unlock for the Medic gives the Kritzkrieg ÜberCharge (or Kritz for short), enabling his patient to deal guaranteed Critical hits for the duration of the charge.

Strategy

Using the ÜberCharge

• Delay using the ÜberCharge until the last possible moment, try to wait until one or both of the pocket have received damage before activating the charge. The longer you wait, the better, but be sure to deploy it before being killed.

• When ÜberCharged, focus more on clearing enemies and destroying buildings than on trying to achieve an objective, as you cannot capture Control Points, push the Payload car, or take the Intelligence while the ÜberCharge is active.

• Knock back from explosives and compression blast is your greatest opponent, so whenever possible have the Medic go first and draw fire. Both the Heavy and the Pyro are more effective close up against Sentry Guns.
  • Be especially aware of Pyros, as they can easily use their compression blast to delay you or, worse, pin you into a corner and render the ÜberCharge useless. Against Pyros, always remember to kill them first to prevent this from happening.

• If you are not the Medic's patient, follow the ÜberCharged pair using them as a moving shield. Remember that while they are invulnerable, the Medic's patient is still only one person, so be sure to add your own firepower to theirs.

• ÜberCharged pairs attract a lot of fire even while charged, as the enemy will want to take them down as soon as the charge is depleted. Use this distraction to move onto Control Points or take out enemies as they look elsewhere.

• If, in response to your ÜberCharge, an enemy Medic activate his own, try to ignore them. Focus instead on attacking what you can destroy, not what you can't.

• You can use your Medi Gun to ÜberCharge multiple players at once by rapidly switching between healing targets. However, your ÜberCharge meter will drain much more quickly if you switch healing-targets to more than one individual while ÜberCharging due to the April 1, 2008 Patch.

• Watch out for instant death traps, like the bottomless pits around the Capture Point in Nucleus and point E in Steel, since invulnerability doesn't protect against them.
  • Similarly, be sure to destroy Teleporter Exits before stepping onto them. Even while ÜberCharged, it is possible to be telefragged.

• For a Medic on your own with an Über, you can activate the ÜberCharge to avoid damage, then quickly switch to the Übersaw and hit someone to add to your ÜberCharge meter, then switch back to the Medi Gun to avoid damage. This is called the Solo Medic Strategy.

Defense Against ÜberCharge

• The best defense against an ÜberCharge is another ÜberCharge. At least one defending Medic should build an ÜberCharge and save it for when attackers come in with one of theirs. An ÜberCharged pair should try to body-block the opposing ÜberCharged pair (physically stand in their way and prevent them from moving forward) to waste their ÜberCharge time, then finish them off afterward.

• Although you cannot hurt them, ÜberCharged pairs can still be knocked back by Sentry Guns, rockets, either of the Demoman's weapons, or compression blast. Just target the Medic to launch him away from his teammate, and once he has been blasted far enough away, his link with is patient will be broken, rendering him vulnerable to attack.

• Demomen are good counters to an ÜberCharge. As soon as you see or hear the pair coming, lay a string of Sticky bombs on the ground and wait until the first half of an ÜberCharged pair steps on it, then detonate, sending him flying into the air.
  • You can also detonate just before the second half crosses it, hoping to send them flying in opposite directions. This is useful for both eliminating the threat of the ÜberCharge as well as killing an enemy.
  • Remember to use obstacles and terrain to your advantage. Try to blow one or both of the pair into corners, or off ledges.
  • Note that sticky bombs on walls and ceilings do not affect an ÜberCharged pair, they must be on the ground and in close proximity of each other, and you need at least two for a noticeable effect. Different classes have different weights - an ÜberCharged Heavy may take 5 or more stickies to successfully blast away, so it's better to try and blow the lightweight Medic away if possible.

• Soldiers can bounce an ÜberCharged pair around by firing rockets into their feet. Try to push them into corners or off ledges. If you can, try to bounce the Medic so that he cannot follow his patient, leaving the patient vulnerable to attack.

• A very good way to deal with ÜberCharges is to use the Pyro's compression blast. Using the compression blast's knockback, it is possible to delay an ÜberCharge for a significant amount of time.
  • If possible, try to physically separate the Medic from his patient. Most of the time a Medic's patient will push on ahead and not realize that he is without ÜberCharge until it is too late.
  • Against a Soldier or Demoman, the Pyro can simply deflect the explosives to minimize the amount of damage caused by the assault.

• The most common target for an ÜberCharged pair is a Sentry Gun. The Engineer has two choices: hide behind his gun and frantically whack it with his Wrench hoping to repair it faster than it gets damaged, or flee and be ready to rebuild as soon as possible.
  • If the ÜberCharged pair includes a Heavy, and they are not too close or the ÜberCharge is almost done, the Engineer can probably survive if he stays protected behind his gun and has a Dispenser behind him to keep healing him and supply him with metal. If they get close, however, it is better to flee.
  • If the ÜberCharged pair includes a Pyro and he gets close, the Engineer will certainly die, and the gun a few seconds later if the Pyro has enough ÜberCharge time left. Consider fleeing if they get close.
  • If the ÜberCharged pair includes a Demoman, the Engineer should stay if the Demoman is firing regular grenades. He may die but he will probably keep his gun alive long enough to survive the ÜberCharge. However if the Demoman gets three sticky bombs under the Sentry Gun, the detonation will be enough to destroy even a Level 3 non-wrangled sentry.
  • Using the Wrangler, it is possible to save a Sentry Gun from some Übercharges and it is particularly useful against Über Demomen planting stickies since it allows the Sentry to survive more damage and it can also be used to shoot the stickies. It may also be possible to shoot away the stickies in time with the Shotgun, if the Demoman is firing them slowly enough or is very inaccurate, but generally after the second bomb lands, the Engineer should flee from the Sentry Gun and either Wrangle or retreat to rebuild. See Engineer Strategy for more information.

• You can also try to slow an ÜberCharged pair down by body-blocking them (physically standing in their way and preventing them from progressing). Chances are that you will die quickly, but your sacrifice could cost them one or two seconds of precious Über time, especially if they are not focused on you. If you keep moving, and/or if you manage to block the Medic and separate him from his buddy, you may even survive. Scouts armed with the bullet-dodging effects of Bonk! Atomic Punch are especially effective at this, and can waste up to 6 seconds of an enemy's precious ÜberCharge.

• Although the opportunity rarely presents itself, it is possible to Telefrag those under the effects of an ÜberCharge. If both the Medic and his target are standing on the exit at once, both will indeed by killed by the telefrag. When this occurs, it is usually due to sheer dumb luck.

Using the Kritzkrieg

See also: Kritzkrieg

• A Soldier is often a good target for a Kritzkrieg ÜberCharge, due to the Rocket Launcher's significant damage and splash radius. A properly timed attack can wipe out a crowd of enemies before they realize what happened.

• During setup time, try to help a Demoman deploy Critical sticky bombs near the enemy spawn. The blast radius should be enough to kill most of the opposition. If possible, try to find one carrying the Scottish Resistance, so that the Demoman can separately detonate his bombs.

• If fighting on wide-open and outdoors map, a Heavy can make a good target for a Kritzkrieg ÜberCharge. Remember that the Minigun is a hitscan weapon and that Critical hits do not suffer from damage falloff; a Heavy is extremely dangerous even at long ranges.

• When defending a point, wait until the enemy ÜberCharge runs out before activating your Kritzkrieg. Otherwise, they will be invulnerable to the effects of your Kritzkrieg ÜberCharge.

• Watch your back! You will be a prime target when you have deployed your ÜberCharge, as you will not have the invulnerability that the Medi Gun provides. Spies can easily stop the charge abruptly with a backstab.

• On an individual case-by-case basis, the Kritzkrieg's charge generally isn't as useful as the regular ÜberCharge. However, the Übermeter increases faster by 25%, making it more likely for you to get a full charge before dying as compared to the standard Medi Gun.

• Due to the Kritzkrieg's faster charge time, it is possible to use it to kill enemy Medics who are using the standard Medi Gun before they can fully build up an ÜberCharge.

• Remember that Crits don't affect buildings, which makes the standard Medi Gun a better choice for destroying Sentry Guns.

Defending Against Kritzkrieg

• If a Soldier has the Battalion's Backup, try to activate it if you are anticipating a Kritzkrieg. The Battalion's Backup neutralizes all Critical hits within a certain radius of the Soldier, negating the Kritzkrieg within that radius.

• As a Pyro, it is possible to deflect incoming explosive projectiles if the Kritzkrieg target is a Soldier or Demoman. If possible, try to deflect any explosives back at the Medic to end the Kritzkrieg charge as quickly as possible.

Chain ÜberCharge

Chain ÜberCharge is a tag team technique that allows two Medic players, equipped with the Übersaw and Medi Gun, to maintain a constant state of invulnerability.

To successfully perform this technique, at least one player must have built up an ÜberCharge beforehand. The first player must then deploy his charge on the second, who in turn must use his Übersaw to attack enemy players and subsequently build up his own Übercharge meter. Once it is ready, the second player must then quickly deploy his ÜberCharge on the first Medic, who in turn switches to his Übersaw and attacks enemies to build up his ÜberCharge meter. If this chain can be repeated successfully, both Medics can remain invulnerable for extended periods of time whilst killing a multitude of enemies.

The technique requires good communication between the two Medics. Both should be aware of the status of both ÜberCharges in order to continue the chain uninterrupted, as well as knowing when to break off the chain should something go wrong.

Chain ÜberCharges can be an effective strategy for clearing a certain area of enemies, pushing through a strong defense or heading off an incoming attack. It is less effective, however, against buildings or for completing certain objectives such as capturing a point. The chain can be easily broken by Pyros utilizing the Compression Blast ability to separate the Medics, or with Scouts luring the chain into chasing them and wasting time. The attacking Medic, though, is not limited to using his Syringe Gun or Blutsauger to fend such classes off. Slower classes are a priority for the chain, as the Medics can easily reach and attack them.

Should the chain be broken, both Medics should escape the area and regroup later with another ÜberCharge ready.

Demonstration

Medics using the Chain Über tactic on Badwater Basin.

See also

• Medic strategy