THE TEAM FORTRESS v2.9 MEDIC FAQ
by
Timothy Demorest a.k.a Tickenest.M-MD tdemores@sas.upenn.edu
v1.1 8-12-2000
This document is (C) 1999-2000 Timothy Demorest. Feel free to distribute this
FAQ in whole - NOT in part - to the ends of the Earth. If you wish to include
this FAQ in any form of publication or compilation (newsletter or book;
electronic or paper product, CD-ROM or disk), please contact me first at
tdemores@sas.upenn.edu. TeamFortress is written by Team Fortress Software,
www.teamfortress.com.
Revisions:
v1.1: Cosmetic edits for submission to GameFAQs
v1.0: Original version
The combat medic is one of the most potent classes in TF, the best friend of his
teammates, one of the worst nightmares of his enemies (a kick-ass soldier or
sniper might be scarier, although I personally cringe from a good pyro more than
anything). With the combination of speed, firepower, concussion jumping,
healing, and infecting, the medic is well suited for just about any job.
Offense
The combat medic has the speed to be a flag-runner, and the firepower to frag,
though he lacks the health simply to plow through the enemy defense. His
greatest assets on offense are his quickness and his grenades. In support, a
quick hack of a teammate with his medikit deep within the enemy base can mean
the difference between life and death.
When alone, the medic must rely on quickness more than firepower to survive.
Outrun only by the scout, the medic, once past his enemies, can escape further
injury from them fairly easily. When engaging the enemy, he must use his speed
to evade the enemy fire and position himself well to attack. Later, I'll discuss
specific strategies for attacking individual classes, but some general fighting
tactics will do for now. Usually, the medic will want to use his super nailgun.
It works well in most situations, and can cause a lot of damage in a hurry.
Because the medic doesn't use explosive weapons such as rockets, the high ground
doesn't really help his aim. It can, however, help him avoid enemy rockets.
While shooting his SNG, he should prime a hand or concussion grenade, depending
upon what his purpose for grenading the enemy. If he has softened up the enemy
and wants to finish the job, a hand grenade is better. On the other hand, if he
has just engaged and the enemy is still strong, a concussion grenade might be
better. A concussion grenade is also better for evading an enemy the medic wants
to avoid.
If the medic runs out of nails, he'll probably resort to his super-shotgun. A
strong weapon in its own right, the super-shotgun is most effective up close. A
direct hit right next to the enemy really, really hurts, and there's no way that
the medic can hurt himself with the super-shotgun (or the SNG, or any of his
weapons for that matter, except his grenades). The medic gets 8 shots with this
weapon (2 shells per shot), and then has to wait two seconds for his gun to
reload. He can force a reload of his super-shotgun earlier with the reload
command. This weapon is practically useless at long range.
The medic's shotgun has a clip of 8 shots (1 shell per shot), and takes 1 second
to reload. It has its uses (really, it does. No joke.) For example, if the medic
has been engaging the enemy for several seconds, and has him really weak, but
has run out of nails, and has almost emptied his super-shotgun clip, switching
to the shotgun to finish the job can be the best solution, especially if he's
run out of grenades.
The medic's medikit/bioweapon is unique in the world of TF. Hit a teammate with
it, and he's healed, unless he was at full health, in which case the medic will
add 5 health to the teammate, up to a maximum of 54 health over that class's
maximum. Hit an enemy, and the enemy will take a little bit of damage, and then
lose some health every couple of seconds until he dies or is cured by a medic on
his own team. The bioweapon isn't really useful in most situations, because it
is a melee weapon, and most enemies won't stand still for you. It can be useful
if you manage to hack some unsuspecting snipers who then run into their own
respawn and infect their team, but this doesn't happen too often, and usually
the medic is better served by plugging the sniper with his super-shotgun and
killing him then and there. The medikit can be useful for healing teammates in
the enemy base, but don't do it out in the open, and forget about it during a
firefight. Also, keep in mind that the sound made when the medic heals a
teammate is quiet, but the sound made when a medic gives his teammate megahealth
is much louder.
One further aspect of a medic's offense is his ability to concussion jump. This
is done by using a concussion grenade to propel the medic far and high to reach
otherwise-inaccessible places and to bypass defenses. I'll cover concussion
jumps later in this document.
Defense
The combat medic serves multiple purposes on defense. Most obviously, he should
make every effort to protect his flag. The medic also looks to heal his
teammates whenever they need it. He can act as a delivery service for teammates
(engineer in particular hate having to go far from their guns to get cells), and
heal any ailments they may suffer from (especially concussions. Concussions are
a defender's worst nightmare. Healing teammates' concussions are one of the
medic's most important roles). With his quickness, he can keep up with enemy
scouts longer than any other defender (save another scout), and forces other
enemies to kill him to get by him (they certainly can't outrun him). With his
firepower, he can engage most enemies without being overwhelmed. The combat
medic should look to assist his fellow defenders whenever possible, and should
be almost like a parent to his teammates (more on this later).
Class Tactics
In this section, I will discuss strategies for engaging each enemy class.
Scout
Forget the super nailgun. The nails are far too slow to hit the scout
consistently. If the scout is up close, a few super-shotgun blasts will put him
away. Otherwise, different tactics are needed. If he's far away, but coming
towards you, use your shotgun (see, this is one of those times to use your
shotgun. It's better at long range than the super-shotgun, and reloads quicker,
too), and prime a grenade if you think the scout will try to run past you. When
he arrives, switch to the super-shotgun, and toss him the present you primed for
him. If he gets past you, switch back to the shotgun and just pray that he was
weak enough that you can kill him this way. It might be the only thing that
saves your team from being capped upon.
Sniper
Long-range nightmare. If he's on his nest on 2forts, spray him with nails if
you've got them. You might kill him, or you might make him have to dodge them,
giving you time to run across the bridge. If you don't have nails, use the
shotgun (another use for the shotgun). The super-shotgun won't make him blink,
but the shotgun, if the sniper was weak to begin with, just might bag you a
kill. If you're up close, use your super-shotgun instead of your nails, since
just a few blasts from your super-shotgun will kill him.
Soldier
Annoying bastards, they'll pummel you to death in moments if you're not careful.
Avoid the walls (avoiding the ground would also help, but that's kinda hard) and
try to dodge his rockets. Remember, if the enemy soldier fires four consecutive
rockets, he has to reload for six seconds. In this period, get in really close
and SNG him to death, or use the super-shotgun if you have no nails. The key
point to remember is that during this reload period the soldier will probably
have primed a grenade to explode during this time. By closing tight with him, he
won't be able to injure you without injuring himself, and most soldiers would
rather throw the grenade where it will hurt no one than hurt themselves.
Meanwhile, you should have your own grenade primed, and just before you want to
throw it, back off to give yourself some space. It is important to back off at
just the right time to avoid injuring yourself with the grenade. A concussion
grenade is also effective against the soldier, as his aim with his rockets will
become erratic, and he may even become bored with life.
Demoman
Attacking demomen come in two flavors: grenade-launchers and pipebomb-launchers.
Grenade launchers fire normal grenades, which explode after 3 seconds, unless
they hit something. These guys aren't hard to deal with. Prime a grenade coming
in if you can, get close, but not so close that you can't avoid his grenades,
and SNG or super-shotgun him to death. A concussion grenade might help, but you
should probably save them for more worthy opponents. Pipebomb-launchers are much
harder to deal with. They fire pipebombs at you, and will try to detonate them
next to you. If you're not careful, one of these guys will bounce you around
like a pinball and won't give you a prayer of victory. Try to keep your distance
and use your SNG (the super-shotgun isn't terribly effective at medium range,
and the shotgun probably won't do enough damage), as well as a grenade or two
(give him a lesson or two in the use of grenades). Demomen have clips of 6
grenades or pipes. If they exhaust their clip, use the tactics mentioned above
for fighting a soldier reloading.
Medic
When fighting your counterpart on the enemy squad, try to get close to him and
use either the SNG or the super-shotgun, depending upon how much ammo you have
and what your preference in weapons is. A hand grenade or two can turn the tide
of the struggle, and concussions can help, although against a good medic
concussion grenades won't be too helpful, unless you're on offense and simply
trying to run past him.
Heavy Weapons Guy
Far away, SNG him to death. Up close, run around him in a circle (a technique
known as circle-strafing), SNG him to death, and chuck a grenade or two at him.
Concussion grenades used to mess up the heavy weapons guy majorly, but in TF 2.9
he can stabilize himself by firing his cannon, reducing their effectiveness.
DON'T STAND IN FRONT OF HIM!
Pyro
I don't like pyros. No one does. They're the most annoying class in TF. Stay far
away from them. SNG them from a distance, toss hand grenades, toss concussion
grenades, or, the best tactic, simply run from them if you can help it. If the
pyro gets close and starts torching you, the only advice I can give is to keep
your wits about you and pray that he's weak enough for you to take out before
you burn to death.
Spy
One of the reasons that the medic should always look to heal teammates is that
he can detect spies with his medikit. If he hits an enemy spy, he'll see a
supposed-teammate yell in agony. This is the clue that he's a spy. If you're
already this close, SNG him to death, and try not to let him escape. Hopefully,
your teammates will realize that if they see a friendly medic shooting what
looks like a teammate, the teammate being shot is a spy. Spies aren't much of a
threat if they choose to engage you, as they have as much health as you do, but
you outgun them. If they tranquilize you, remember that you can still fire your
SNG at the usual rate, although your other weapons and your running speed will
slow.
Engineer
About as weak healthwise as the scout, they aren't much of a threat as long as
you make a point to discard rockets as much as possible. Engineer rely heavily
on their EMP grenades, but if you discard often, you'll only be carrying shotgun
shells, and the EMP won't hurt much. Discarding is extremely important in the
enemy base. If you kill an enemy and take his pack, discard to a teammate, or
into a dark corner if alone. There is nothing more annoying that having ammo you
picked up from an enemy detonated by an enemy engineer. Otherwise, you outgun
and outrun the engineer, so you can be aggressive with the engineer, although
you must keep a sharp eye out for the engineer's sentry gun, as good engineers
will try to lure you into its line of fire.
Sentry Guns
Not an enemy class, but a target for you nonetheless. Sentry guns cannot hurt
you unless they can see you, so hide behind cover as much as possible. Use your
SNG to take them out if you can get into a position where you can hit the gun
but it can't hit you, otherwise use pre-primed hand grenades and pop out for
just a moment to toss them at the gun. An unguarded sentry gun isn't hard for a
medic to take out (or hard for most classes, anyway), but if you're being
hassled by enemies while hiding from the gun, the best strategy is to prime
grenades to take out the gun, and use your SNG or super-shotgun to keep the
enemies at bay while staying behind cover.
Concussion Jumping
The scout and the medic are the only classes that use concussion grenades. Their
primary purpose is to disable enemies for awhile, but they have a secondary use.
Concussion grenades throw players within its blast radius a distance. A player
farther from the center of the blast (but still within the blast) will be thrown
farther, and a player moving towards the grenade (but still within the blast)
will be thrown farther. Scouts and medics can harness this power and use it to
propel themselves to new heights and distances unavailable to other classes.
I prefer concussion-jumping as a medic to concussion-jumping as a scout for one
big reason (and this fact probably isn't as well-known as it should be): a medic
suffers from the effect of a concussion grenade for only half the time of the
other classes, meaning that the medic gets normal viewing and movement back
sooner than other classes.
2forts
There are numerous concussion jumps to do on 2forts. My personal favorite is one
of the simplest. This is the concussion jump from the bridge to the enemy's
sniper's nest. Toss a concussion grenade so that it lands about two-thirds of
the way between your end of the bridge and the enemy's end, near one of the
sides of the bridge, then jump up onto the ledge, run a few feet (roughly) past
the grenade, and then jump just before it detonates. If you do this right,
you'll be thrown onto the enemy's sniper's nest. After some practice, a good
medic will prime his grenade so that he can run forward, throw it, and then,
without stopping, jump onto the ledge, and jump forward as the grenade
detonates.
Another concussion jump is from the water outside the forts to the enemy's
sniper's nest. This is probably the most spectacular jump a medic can make. To
perform this one, jump into the water, put your back to the wall, face the
enemy's nest (you want to be looking right at one of the entrances to the enemy
base, as those are the only places to jump up onto the nest). Align your
crosshair with the junction between the bottom of the pond and the wall that you
are facing. Then, prime and immediately throw the concussion grenade forward.
Just as the grenade stops bouncing, swim forward, then a second or so later swim
up (use your jump key) as your swim forward. As the grenade detonates, you want
to be right at the surface of the water, moving forward, and somewhat ahead of
your grenade. Again, practice makes perfect.
Then there's the famous concussion jump up the elevator shaft. This jump will
surprise any defense if you can pull it off. To perform this jump, you will need
two concussion grenades (unless the server has extremely low gravity set). Stand
facing the elevator, a few feet away from it. Prime and immediately toss the
first concussion grenade so that it stops either on the elevator, extremely
close to the wall, or wedged between the elevator and the wall. 1 and 1/4 to 1
and 1/2 seconds after PRIMING (not throwing) the first grenade, prime the second
grenade and throw it in the same place. Now, the tricky part. Run into the wall,
keep running forward, and jump just before the first grenade detonates. Your
goal is to have just begun descending from your jump as the first concussion
grenade detonates. This way, the first grenade will throw you almost out of the
shaft, but not quite. You may even be able to see into the enemy's ramp room,
but you won't quite make it to the top. But that's ok, because you have your
second grenade still waiting to detonate. If your first jump was good, you'll be
quickly descending towards the ground as the second grenade detonates, which
will have the force to thrust you out of the shaft. It is important that you
continue to run forward this whole time, so that you don't stumble back down the
shaft once you've made it out. This jump, along with the water jump to the
sniper's nest, is the hallmark of an elite medic.
One further jump I'll mention here. This is the jump from the narrow hallway
leading into the ramp room up to the elevator. This jump operates on the same
principles as the jump from the bridge to the nest, but there's no ledge this
time to jump onto. This one takes practice to nail, but it can be a life-saver
for bypassing a tough ramp-room defense. This one will take any defense by
surprise.
There are further applications of the concussion jump on this map and others,
but these are the most important jumps.
How to Be a Good Medic
In this section, I will discuss how to be a good medic. Now, when I say a good
medic, I mean a medic who will be loved by his teammates on a public server (the
ones that care, anyway). After all, in a clan match his teammates will love him
anyway. Basically, the medic should be selfless. When he respawns, he should
stock up on medikit ammo if possible and check to see if anyone in the resupply
room needs healing. He should then hack everyone of his teammates he sees in his
own base if possible before heading out to attack (unless he's playing defense
for the time being, in which case he should stay in the base helping as much as
possible). On the attack, he should assist any teammates engaged in battle
(unless he has a more pressing matter to attend to, such as a loose flag in the
enemy's base), healing them up and resupplying them after the enemy is defeated.
While in the enemy base, he should always be looking to assist his teammates
whenever possible, healing and resupplying.
I mentioned earlier that the medic should act like a parent to his teammates.
When I say this, I mean that he should take it upon himself to look after his
teammates and his flag. If you see a teammate under attack, help him out. After
all, the bastard attacking him is attacking one of your boys. One of YOUR boys.
Don't let the bad guys punk your boys. Take it personally when your guys get
attacked. Show the bastard who's boss, and then heal up and resupply your boy.
The enemy is evil. They're trying to kill you and your boys. Don't let them.
Take care of your boys.
Conclusion
Medic is my favorite class to play in TF. Want speed? Got it. Want firepower?
Got it. Want mad skills to use? Got it. Want to help people? Got it. Have fun
playing medic, because if you're not having fun, what's the point?
