Anti-Medic strategy

“

Your doctor is dead! Click to listen — The Heavy

”

The Medic is the main source of healing for his team and deploys game-changing ÜberCharges. This almost always makes him the highest priority target. He moves somewhat quickly and has a decent health pool, but his poor personal firepower means he relies on his team's protection to survive. The Medic's unique ability to overheal teammates means that a team without an active Medic is at a severe disadvantage, as the bonus health and constant healing guarantees that his team will outlast yours in a long battle.

If a Medic stays alive long enough to build up his signature ÜberCharge, he can grant a game-changing effect such as invulnerability, 100% critical chance, or a powerful healing buff and immunity to knockback for eight seconds (For Vaccinator, each ÜberCharge lasts for 2.5 seconds). As such, it is generally a good idea to kill the enemy Medic at any cost, even if it means sacrificing your own life.

General

Attributes	Anti-Medic strategy
Role	Killing the Medic should be top priority when fighting multiple enemies so that the enemy team cannot recover from injuries. The Medic is typically found behind his teammates, but can be ambushed and defeated when on his own. The healing connection between a Medic and his patient can be broken using Knockback.
Health	The Medic has a moderate health pool and natural health regeneration. Combined with his speed, he can flee if his teammates die. The longer the Medic is out of combat, the faster his health regenerates. Consistent damage will keep his health regeneration rate low.
Speed	The Medic has the second highest base speed of all classes, making him agile in firefights. If he flees, you'll have to use alternate movement options. The Scout's agility, Soldier's rocket jumps, or Demoman's Sticky jumps are great options to chase him down.
Power	The Medic's weapons deal only fair damage at close range and are ineffective further out. Most classes should be able to take out an unassisted Medic with little trouble.

Weapon-specific

Main article: Medic weapons

Primary weapons

• Needles fired from Syringe Guns are individually weak, but can quickly add up for huge damage. Don't underestimate the Medic and blindly rush towards him.
• Needles fired from Syringe Guns travel slowly and are ineffective at medium range; zig-zagging lets you avoid most of the syringes.

Weapon	Anti-Medic strategy
Syringe Gun	A Medic will probably take out his Syringe Gun when there are no teammates to protect him. A Medic with the Syringe Gun out is likely retreating. Take care not to chase him into too many enemies.
Blutsauger	The Blutsauger's syringes restore health to the Medic on-hit; zig-zag at medium range so the Medic does not heal from shooting you. The Blutsauger decreases the Medic's regeneration rate, making him more susceptible to afterburn and bleed. The Blutsauger can be hard to distinguish from the Syringe Gun since they share the same sound effects. Take a good look at his hands or know what you are dealing with before attacking.
Crusader's Crossbow + reskins	The Crusader's Crossbow deals more damage the further away a target is. Close the distance to reduce the damage a bolt will deal. The Crusader's Crossbow, unlike Medic's other primaries, deals burst damage and travels very quickly, making it difficult to dodge. However, it has a slow reload, giving you many opportunities to retaliate. Bolts from the Crusader's Crossbow can also heal the Medic's teammates. Long range shots heal up to 150 health but are difficult to aim; keep up pressure on the Medic and his faraway healing target so each shot misses.
Overdose	A Medic with the Overdose can be harder to catch up to, especially if he's had time to build up his ÜberCharge. Pursuing this Medic may not be worth the risk of leaving your post or running into enemy forces. A Medic using the Overdose is slightly easier to attack when he is separated from his team, as the weapon does 15% less damage than the default Syringe Gun.

Secondary weapons / ÜberCharge

Weapon	Anti-Medic strategy
Medi Gun + reskins	See Defense against ÜberCharge.
Kritzkrieg	See Defense against Kritzkrieg.
Quick-Fix	See Defense against Quick-Fix.
Vaccinator	See Defense against Vaccinator.

Melee weapons

Weapon	Anti-Medic strategy
Bonesaw + reskins	The Medic has above-average movement speed, a slight advantage in melee combat. Use a gun to keep a ranged advantage. He will usually take out his Bonesaw as a last resort in close quarters.
Ubersaw + reskins	The Ubersaw grants the Medic 25% to his ÜberCharge meter per melee hit. Stay outside melee range when attacking a lone Medic. If the Medic lands multiple hits with the Ubersaw, he can use the invincibility-granting Übercharge to retreat safely. He will already be in attacking range if attempting this, so use knockback to pin him down. As a last resort, you can kill yourself to deny the Medic extra ÜberCharge. The Ubersaw has a 25% slower firing speed, making it worse at close-range combat. The Ubersaw has access to the Uberslice taunt kill. Don't blindly rush around corners when chasing any enemy.
Vita-Saw	The Vita-Saw's melee attack harvests Organs that let the Medic retain up to 60% of his ÜberCharge upon death. Stay outside melee range when attacking a lone Medic. If the Medic landed a few melee hits before dying, tell your team to expect an enemy ÜberCharge sooner than usual. A Medic using the Vita-Saw has 10 less maximum health, making him slightly more vulnerable to chip damage. Depending on respawn and travel times, your team's Medic can get still ahead on his ÜberCharge, even if the enemy Medic harvests an Organ before dying. Similar to the Ubersaw, it is sometimes worth it to kill yourself and deny the Medic of any potential organs.
Amputator	The Amputator grants extra health regeneration and access to an area-of-effect heal through its taunt. A Medic who takes out the Amputator alone is likely fleeing - keep up the pressure. If you know the enemy Medic is using the Amputator's taunt, he is stuck in place for 4 seconds, long enough for many classes to close the gap and kill him. The Amputator has a 20% damage penalty, meaning it takes 3 hits to kill a light class and makes him much worse at defending himself overall.
Solemn Vow	The Solemn Vow allows a Medic to see his enemies' health, even when it is not his active weapon. The Medic typically uses this information to direct his teammates to finish off a damaged target. The Medic must get a direct line of sight with you to view your health. If he exits cover too often, target him. Knowing what the enemy Medic knows can help you anticipate his team's movements. For example, if the enemy sees you are heavily damaged, they are more likely to pursue you or fight back. The Solemn Vow allows a Medic to see not only health, but an enemy Medic's ÜberCharge as well. Keep this in mind if you are a Medic, and try to avoid being seen by him to conceal how much Über you have. The Solemn Vow has a 10% slower firing speed, making it marginally worse in close-range combat.

See also

• Team strategy