Hello there, and welcome to my guide!

First off, a little introduction; I am Caldoran, a competitive Medic from Asia who enjoys a variety of formats such as 6v6, Highlander, 4v4 and Ultiduo. I've been playing Medic for over 3 years now, and have participated in several tournaments including UGC Highlander, 6v6 and 4v4, the AsiaFortress Cup, and ETF2L Highlander.

I have written this guide with the intention of making it interesting yet detailed for players who are new to the class to help them on their journey to becoming a better Medic. To hopefully break up the monotony of what could be perceived as long walls of text, I've tried to include some interesting pictures in each section, every one of which has been captured and edited by me.

For experienced Medics and/or players, this guide will be going through a lot of the things you are already accustomed to and aware of, though you may still find some things you have not already known about.

This is in no way meant to be a competitive Medic guide; For that, I recommend Cleric's Guide to Medic[asiafortress.com]. Instead, this guide is meant for public games and players, and so the tips and suggestions are made accordingly.

I fully welcome all forms of feedback and suggestions, so feel free to leave a comment below or add me as a friend on Steam.

The guide's later sections are currently unfinished and are being written. I published this guide to receive feedback as I write the sections along the way to speed up the process of reviewing and polishing. Please leave feedback!

• 20/11/13: Guide published
  
• 23/11/13: Quick Fix portion updated
  
• 26/8/14: Melee portion completed

Please enjoy the guide, and I hope I've helped you learn more about the Medic!

Before we get started (I know you're excited!), it is essential that you optimize your Settings.

While this guide doesn't require any of these Settings, it is highly recommended for you to do so as they greatly improve your effectiveness not just as a Medic, but often as a player as well.

In video games, your Field of View refers to how much of the game world is presented to you at once, measured by angle degrees. The video below fully explains the benefits of having a higher FOV.

• Go to Options
  
• Select the Video tab
  
• Click on Advanced...
  
• Under the Field of View section, drag the slider from 75 to 90

In short, you'll be able to spot more things within your peripheral vision (such as Spies!) and your awareness will hence naturally be higher than a player with a lower FOV.

Think of FOV 75 as looking at the world through a pipe big enough for your head. You get tunnel vision and will not notice a lot of (potentially important) things that are beside you.

Using the same analogy, FOV 90 would be removing that pipe and being allowed to see more of what's going on.

Fast Weapon Switch gets rid of the boxes that appear to your right when you try to switch weapons with either the scroll wheel or numbers. Instead, weapons will immediately be drawn on command.

• Go to Options
  
• Select the Keyboard tab
  
• Click on Advanced...
  
• Tick the box beside Fast Weapon Switch

This allows you to quickly react to situations in which you may need to rapidly switch weapons; For example, a Scout may have just suddenly killed your patient, and you need to retreat while laying down suppressive fire with your Syringe Gun.

In such situations, the time saved in switching weapons could very easily be the defining factor between survival and death.

The Developer Console (activated by pressing ~ at any time in-game) is a very powerful tool that allows you to change options with much more speed or manipulate commands that may not be immediately available.

• Go to Options
  
• Select the Keyboard tab
  
• Click on Advanced...
  
• Tick the box beside Enable Developer Console

As an example, try activating the console, typing in "cl_showfps 1" without the quotation marks and hitting Enter. Your game will now display an FPS (frames per second) counter in the top right corner of your screen.

This display allows you to judge whether or not your current graphics settings are too high for your computer, amongst other things. For reference, 30 fps is considered "tolerable" and 60 fps is considered "playable". Anything lower and you should consider lowering your graphics settings.

To turn off the display, type in "cl_showfps 0" instead.

Perhaps it may sound daunting to you, but don't worry; These options aren't so much "Advanced" as they are "Extra"!

• Locate the button labeled "ADV. OPTIONS" near the bottom right of the Main Menu
  
• Tick the options as I have illustrated in the pictures

Automatically reload weapons when you're not firing does exactly as it says on the tin. There is no downside to turning this on as reloads can be canceled halfway, so this option saves you quite a bit of effort and time.

Fast weapon switch gets rid of the boxes that appear to your right when you try to switch weapons with either the scroll wheel or numbers. Instead, weapons will immediately be drawn on command. This allows you to quickly react to situations in which you may need to rapidly switch weapons.

Play a hit sound everytime you damage an enemy plays a little chime when your attacks connect with an enemy (but not for disguised enemy Spies and Engineer buildings). This allows you to stop guessing, amongst other things, whether your syringes are hitting the enemy or not.

Display damage as text over your target creates notifications above an enemy when you damage them, letting you know just how much damage each attack did. Additionally, the amount of HP you heal will also be displayed as the same such text above your teammates when you heal them, whether it's through a Medigun, the Crusader's Crossbow, or the Amputator.

Medigun continues healing without holding down fire button allows you to click on teammates just once to have the beam stay on them, as opposed to keeping your finger down on the left mouse button.

Display a maker over the player you are healing simply places an arrow above your teammate when you are healing them, allowing you to quickly identify exactly who you're aiming your Medigun at.

Injured teammates automatically call out is a tool to help you decide who needs healing but aren't quite telling you about it. What happens is that when your teammates' health percentages drop below the specified threshold, they will emit a beeping noise and an indicator will appear above them automatically, so you'll know who on your team is on low HP. I recommend setting the percentage anywhere between 40% to 80%, depending on your preference.

So now that we've covered optimally configuring your game with some basic tweaks, let's move on to the properties of the Medic class!

Now that you have (hopefully) set up your game to be optimal, let's begin the guide!

First, let's explore some basic information about the Medic.


The Medic's health (150 HP) is in fact quite respectable for a support class. Consider that the Engineer, Sniper, Spy, and even the Scout have only 125 HP. Additionally, take into account the passive health regeneration the Medic possesses, and it becomes clear that the Medic is at least capable of taking quite a beating.

However, in comparison to the combat classes, the Medic's damage output is extremely low, and it is therefore neither efficient nor logical to play as a dreaded "Battle Medic". Additionally, being able to take a beating does not mean that you should; A Medic should not have to make a rush for a health kit every few moments.

In a standard game, the only weapon that can affect your max health is the Vitasaw. In exchange for a meagre 10 HP, an insurance of 20% Ubercharge is granted to the user.

I will go more in-depth on the Vitasaw and taking damage later on in the guide.


This 107% is in reference to base speed, which is treated as 100%.

For reference, the Pyro, Engineer, Sniper and Spy run at base speed, or 100%. The Scout runs at 133%, the Soldier at 80%, the Demoman at 93%, and the Heavy at a snail's pace of 77%.

You may have noticed this places the Medic as the second-fastest class in Team Fortress 2, if only by a slight, but noticeable increase over most of the classes.

One extremely important mechanic in Team Fortress 2 is that players are 10% slower when running backwards. So while it may seem like a good idea to run backwards while filling a chasing Scout or Pyro with syringes in bodily areas unfamiliar to them, it is important to be aware of your slower movement speed while doing so.

If there isn't enough distance between you and your pursuer, you'll soon find yourself face-to-face with them with nothing but your piddly Syringe Gun (or Crossbow) while they challenge your sanity by chomping down on over a 100 health in a single hit.


Health regeneration is another feature unique to the Medic class. On initially taking damage, the Medic will regenerate 3 HP per second. After 10 seconds, this will increase to 6 HP per second.
This can be negatively affected by the Blutsauger to a measly 1 (up to 4) HP per second.

This unique feature allows Medics to focus on healing at the front lines instead of scrambling for a health pack each time they get damaged, provided they are not actively being attacked.

It is helpful to note that Medics are extremely resilient to afterburn from Pyros with this feature. You can read about the data collected here[asiafortress.com].

In short, Medics with normal health regeneration require 30 health to survive a full bout of standard afterburn, while Blutsauger Medics require 50.


Otherwise known as "buffing", overhealing is an essential function of the Medic that all Mediguns can deliver, with the Quick Fix's and Vaccinator's being limited in their own ways.

When healing a patient who is at full health, health begins to visibly "overflow" from the usual limits, up to a total maximum of 150%, or 1.5 times the usual health a patient can have. Overheal fades in 20 seconds, regardless of class, so a 450 HP Heavy is reduced back to 300 HP in the same time as a Scout from 185 HP to 125 HP.

Do note that when your patient's health is affected by their choice of loadout, their overhealed health would change accordingly. For example, a Sniper using the Darwin's Danger Shield is granted a +25 HP bonus, boosting his health to 150 HP. His overhealed health therefore increases from 185 to 225.

The Quick Fix's overheal is halved by 50%; In other words, a Quick Fix Medic can only provide 1.25 times the maximum health of a patient when overhealing. For example, where a normal Medigun would provide a Heavy with 450 HP, the Quick Fix only provides 375 HP although it does so faster.

As you can imagine, overheal plays a major role in the combat of Team Fortress 2. A Scout with 185 health naturally trumps over an enemy Scout with only 125.

Hence, it is important to overheal as many people as you can whenever possible.

A hidden mechanic that is a point of confusion for many people who may not even be aware of its existence. Understanding and being aware of the healing ramp would be a great asset to your knowledge of the Medic.

What is known as the healing ramp or "critical heals" is the phenomenon when the Medigun heals three times faster than usual. Like the health regeneration the Medic has, this occurs after ten seconds of your patient not taking any damage.

For the stock Medigun, this means a boost from 24 HP/sec to a considerable 72 hp/sec.

It is therefore recommended to prioritize injured teammates benefiting from the healing ramp when deciding who to heal next.

Another hidden mechanic that many are unaware of. The rate at which Über charges for all the Mediguns (except the Vaccinator) is not always at its peak.

There are two factors that halve the Übercharge rates, and they are your patient's health and multiple healing sources.

When your patient's health is above 142.5%, or close to being fully overhealed your Über rate would be halved. Therefore, there should be no reason for you to be healing your patient when he or she is not in combat, and they are already at full overheal. Instead, search around for nearby teammates who you could quickly overheal not just to maximize your Über rate, but also to improve the effectiveness of your teammates by giving them more health.

It is important to note that the Quick Fix is unable to provide overheal beyond 125%, and is therefore usually exempt from the above clause.

The second factor is multiple healing sources. You may or may not have seen other Medics who refuse to heal the same person as you, or may tell you to stop doing so. This is due to the fact that an additional healing source healing a single target, whether it's a Medic or a Dispenser, once again halves the Uber rate for all Medics involved, for each additional healing source.

As such, avoid healing the same patients as other Medics and patients who are currently being healed by a Dispenser.

The Vaccinator is programmed to never have a slowed down Übercharge rate, and therefore always charges at its blistering maximum rate.

And now we come to the Loadout Choices a Medic can make. This is a topic that is easily affected by opinions, but I will try my best to keep it as unbiased and objective as possible, only injecting my own recommendations on the side.

In this section I will go through the Primary weapons that the Medic possesses.

The table below summarizes what I'll be going through in the section below, for easy reference.


The Primary weapon equipped on all Medics by default. As with most stock weapons, the Syringe Gun is the most reliable choice a Medic can make, offering up respectable self-defense capabilities by deterring or outright killing pursuers if they aren't careful to not follow the Medic down a path.

Each syringe does roughly 10 damage at close range and this weapon fires around 10 syringes per second, making for a potential DPS (damage per second) of ~100, which is nothing to scoff at. Syringes fall-off to about 5 damage at long range, so it is not recommended to attempt to fire at enemies at long range.

Syringes travel in an arc and are relatively slow to travel. This means that you will need to predict where your enemy would be instead of firing straight into them like you would with say, for example, the Pistol.

The most common use for this weapon is firing down hallways or tight corridors. While holding down the S (walk backwards) key, spam some syringes down the path you think your enemy is going to pursue you in. If your enemy does not suspect it, he'll walk straight into your syringes due to the travel time. This will heavily weaken or outright kill your pursuer.

Another usage is for direct self-defense. If there are no teammates close by to help, close corners for you to run around and you are being hounded by, for example, an enemy Scout, it is time to whip out your Syringe Gun in a desperate attempt at survival. Remember to always fire where you think your enemy will be, instead of where they are at the current moment, to compensate for the travel time of the syringes.

I'd recommend the Syringe Gun to both new and experienced Medics for its reliability, ease of use and versatility.

Probably the least used option amongst all the weapons present in this section, and with good reason. The Blutsauger stunts the passive health regeneration of the Medic down to a mere 1 HP/sec (down from 3 HP/sec), in exchange for 2 HP per syringe hit.

As such, this promotes a "Battle Medic" style of gameplay which many players, especially your teammates, would disapprove of. The crippled health regeneration that comes with this weapon also adversely affects your survivability and staying power, forcing you to retreat and scour for health packs instead of being able to rely on your powerful passive regeneration.

Damage dealt is identical to the Syringe Gun.

I would highly recommend against using this weapon, even for experienced Medics, unless you have an extreme amount of confidence in your dodging and survival skills.

As already mentioned in the Speed section, this popular choice grants the user a 1% speed boost per 10% Uber when wielded. In exchange, syringes receive a penalty of roughly 1 damage per syringe, which most users of the weapon would (justifiably) pass off as inconsequential.

Regardless, some Medics (including myself) prefer the stock Syringe Gun, whether due to the Overdose making a very distinct and audible noise when firing potentially alerting enemies that the firer is under attack and vulnerable, or just plain old habit from using the stock Syringe Gun. Additionally, having to take out the Overdose to receive the moderate speed boost while potentially carrying a high amount of Ubercharge can be seen as a large risk to take.

Whether or not the damage decrease is placebo, or the speed boost significant, I would recommend the Overdose just as much to both new and experienced Medics. Just have to take note that the Overdose has to be wielded to receive the boost, and that there is a slight but potentially make-or-break damage penalty.

The most unique weapon in the Medic's primary arsenal. Instead of firing syringes, this weapon fires gigantic syringes that damage enemies and heal teammates. In addition, this weapon deals more damage/healing the further it travels, instead of diminishing over distance like almost every other weapon in the game.

In exchange for this utility, a sacrifice of self-defense is made. With its one-shot mechanism and low damage, this is not a weapon you'd want to be caught alone with. Also consider the bolts of this weapon are considerably hard to aim, whether on enemies or teammates, and asking teammates to "stand still" for just a moment so you can land a bolt can either be unfeasible or fall on deaf ears.

An update buffed the Crossbow to allow for it to passively reload, vastly increasing its power and usefulness. This change allows the Crossbow to be fired, switched away from, and then switched back to again later fully reloaded, akin to weapons like the Flare Gun.

I recommend this weapon for Medics who are reasonably experienced as the Syringe Gun is, in the end, still the most reliable primary choice, especially for a new Medic as you'll inevitably find yourself in sticky situations where the Crusader's Crossbow would truly prove unideal.

For experienced Medics, you will find the Crossbow provides incredible utility and its self-defense shortcoming able to be overcome by good positioning, aim and dodging.

Now that we've covered the Medic's Primary weapons, let's move on to the stars of the show; His Secondary weapons!

Ah, yes. The choice of Medigun. The core of the Medic class. Like the Sniper Rifle to the Sniper, the Knife to the Spy, and the Hat to Team Fortress 2. Perhaps the trickiest section in the guide to write about without having my own opinions and bias injected into, but I'll try my best.


The Stock choice. As with the Syringe Gun, this is invariably the most reliable choice you can make. Iron defense with a Sentry nest? Enemy push incoming? Ambush by enemies? Ambushing enemies? No matter the situation, there is not one in which this Medigun would be unsuitable.

As with the Kritzkrieg and Vaccinator, this Medigun heals at a rate of 24 HP/sec. That is quite a considerable amount, by any standards. However, remember that with burst damage being commonplace in Team Fortress 2 (the Sniper being the cornerstone of this), the healing rate, regardless of its speed, can easily be overwhelmed. Therefore, careful treading by both you and your pocket is necessary to ensure success.

The Ubercharge on this weapon is perhaps the most terrifying and gamechanging force in Team Fortress 2. For 8 seconds, your patients are completely invulnerable to all forms of damage, except for insta-kill map hazards such as cliffs and saws. As such, you and your lucky patient(s) are able to merrily breeze through enemy defenses, unfazed by Sticky traps and Sentry Guns, amongst other things that would otherwise have been virtually impossible to break into. Additionally, what better way to stop an enemy advancing into your territory than having your teammates impervious to all forms of damage?

It is important to take note that you and your patient will still take knockback. That is, you will still be flung around by explosives and pushed back by bullets. And, of course, juggled in the air by the dreaded Pyro's airblast. As such, a common tip for Medics is for them to stand in front of their pocket when they're invulnerable to take the knockback from Sentry Guns so their patients can fully concentrate on mowing down the Sentry.

As mentioned, the most irritating and effective way for enemies to disrupt an Ubercharge is to have a Pyro using his/her airblast to blow back either you and your patient away from each other, ending the Ubercharge for your patient while you can only helplessly watch as you are pinned into a corner. The best solution for this is to communicate to your pocket through a microphone you are being disrupted by a Pyro, or if that's not possible, tell them beforehand to be wary of enemy Pyros attempting this technique.

It is worth noting that so far, this Medigun is still the only one with an Ubercharge that could be "flashed". What this means is that when you Ubercharge a teammate and take the beam off them, they would still be invulnerable for about one second. This allows you to keep multiple people Ubercharged.

Do not do so whimsically however, as there is a penalty in place for this on all Mediguns. Basically, the more people you "flash", the shorter your Ubercharge will be, from 8 seconds down to a measly 3 seconds if you do it excessively. As such, the section below titled "Understanding, Deploying and Maximizing Ubercharges" will provide you insight on how to use "flashing" to its maximum potential, but we'll get to that later.

I recommend all beginner Medics to learn how to use the Medigun properly, as there often are situations in which this Medigun's powerful Ubercharge turns essential for the success of your team.

Arguably the most blindingly impressive Medigun by a long shot when in the right situation, this widely-used weapon functions exactly the same as the Medigun with the only difference being its Ubercharge.

Instead of granting invulnerability to all forms of damage, the Kritzkrieg, as its name suggests, forces your patient's weapons to deal devastating critical hits for 8 pain-filled seconds. Combined with the Stickybomb Launcher, I'm not even joking when I say a single Kritzkrieg charge can easily wipe out an enemy team of 12 people before it even ends.

Critical hits are 300% or 3 times the base damage of a weapon, with no heed to damage fall-off or ramp-up. That means a critical rocket exploding on an enemy 1 cm away from the Soldier deals 270 damage, while another critical rocket striking an enemy 6 km away also does 270 damage.

As you can imagine, very few things can survive critical hits. Combine this with the 25% faster charge rate of the Kritzkrieg and weapons like the Stickybomb Launcher with its ludicrous amounts of damage, splash and high clip size, and you may begin asking in your mind; "Why then, do you say the Medigun is more reliable than the Kritzkrieg? Isn't it better in every situation since you can just wipe your kitchen floor with your enemies?".

It is important to note that there exists a massive barrier that is almost always present when trying to break defenses in Team Fortress 2. The Sentry Gun. The dreaded, 216 HP monstrosity with one of the highest, if not the highest DPS (damage per second) in the game that easily stops uncoordinated pushes in their tracks and presents a major hurdle to coordinated pushes. Combine all of that with the Wrangler which gives Sentries an effective HP of 648, and you may just begin having nightmares of them as you sleep.

They wouldn't be a problem for the Kritzkrieg, of course, if it wasn't for the fact that Sentry Guns, like every other Engineer building, do not take critical hits in any form. That's right; critical hits do absolutely nothing to them!

This is but one situation in which the Kritzkrieg is at a major disadvantage. With the normal Medigun, you can pop an Uber to save yourself in situations such as being ambushed, while being caught unaware with the Kritzkrieg by a high damage class such as a Scout or Soldier means that you are almost certainly doomed because the Kritzkrieg does not offer any form of self-protection on Uber unlike all the other current Mediguns.

Last but not least, enemy Medics. One of the most terrifying things to run into is enemy Ubercharges. What's worse than running headfirst into a Heavy-Medic pair with glowing, metal-coated skin, taking absolutely no damage from your patient's shiny, pulsing projectiles? That's right; nothing.

I recommend using the Kritzkrieg if there is a good Soldier/Demoman/Heavy on your team to be the recipient of your charge, and if there aren't any problematic Sentry nests or chokes where you could be focus-fired to disrupt your spree.

This section has been split in two due to length limitations.


What was once the weakest Medigun in the Medic's arsenal has blossomed into a powerful and interesting alternative to its older brothers, the Medigun and Kritzkrieg, thanks to the addition of 50% overheal.

A Medigun that emphasizes on speed and mobility, it allows Medics to zip across the battlefield by latching onto a faster teammate (Scout, Powerjack Pyro, etc.) and spread healing around, which also happens to be a whopping +40% faster, from 24 HP/sec to 33.6 HP/sec. Ubercharge rate is also bumped up at +25%, the same as the Kritzkrieg.

Most noticeably, it allows a Medic to mirror a Soldier or Demo's explosive jump to follow them around however far and fast they go, greatly boosting the Medic's survivability and mobility. A later update has also allowed the Pyro to join in the fun of ferrying a Medic around by using the Detonator. It's especially useful to have a dedicated Soldier escorting the Medic around the battlefield, as well as flinging the Medic to safety when danger arrives. For this, it's good to enlist the help of a friend or use the in-game text or voice chat.

Its Ubercharge overdrives the healing rate to a considerable 100.8 HP/sec, as well as prevents any form of knockback from affecting both the patient and the Medic.

But wait, knockback?

You thought right, this Ubercharge also negates the bane of a standard Ubercharge; Pyro airblasts! Show those pesky Pyros what you're gonna do about them flinging you or your patient around when you're trying to take down a Sentry nest!

As a nice little side-effect, the Ubercharge also overheals the Medic using it, boosting his HP to around 187 HP for the duration of the charge.

But while the Quick Fix is certainly much more usable now than in the past, it still suffers from some of its old problems.

First of all, the Quick Fix only provides half the standard overheal compared to the other Mediguns. In turn, teammates who receive a top-off from you are likely to be at a health disadvantage compared to players of the other team if they had a Medic using a different Medigun, and hence have to be more reliant on you if they wish to counteract the disadvantage they start with. Therefore, make full use of the faster healing rate of the Quick Fix, and overheal roaming teammates such as Scouts and Soldiers as they come to you whenever possible.

Secondly, the Ubercharge is still not real invincibility. High burst damage and focus fire are still a significant problem when facing multiple enemies, which is common during an Ubercharge. Sticky traps, Heavies, crits, Snipers, and Spies are just some of the numerous deadly hazards that have to be considered. For reference, a single Level 2 Sentry alone is sufficient to outdamage the healing rate of the Quick Fix's Ubercharge. Additionally, while Pyros can no longer airblast you, they can still simply slam into you with the ubiquitous Axtinguisher, ensuring your swift demise.

For these reasons, the Quick Fix is best used against single Sentry nests and in maps where there aren't any impenetrable chokes (e.g. Dustbowl) where you and your patient could be focused down upon. In such non-ideal situations, it'd be better to fall back to the trusty and reliable stock Medigun.

I'd recommend the Quick Fix to intermediate to veteran Medics, considering it's important to first fully understand the importance of overheal and heal orders, before using a Medigun that punishes teammates should the Medic not be able to keep up with having to constantly refill teammates' overheal or properly manage Ubercharges.

If you find yourself on a team with a cooperative Soldier or Demoman, and there aren't any problematic Sentry nests or chokes against the other team, then this Medigun can truly outshine its alternatives. Otherwise, the stock Medigun remains the most reliable choice.

I personally find this a very enjoyable Medigun, but it definitely requires fast reflexes and experience to use to its full potential. First, I shall explain the mechanics behind this very unique weapon.

The concept of Resistances form the core of this weapon. You have three choices; Bullet, Explosive, and Fire, and can only choose one at a time. Resistances are cycled by default using Mouse 3, otherwise identified as the middle mouse button.

If you correctly match a Resistance type with the damage you or your patient receives, you will be rewarded with the following:

• 10% reduction from the damage taken, if it is correctly matched. The reduction increases to 75% when using the Ubercharge.
• 25% of the damage taken by your patient that is correctly-matched will be transferred as healing to you

This may all sound confusing, and it certainly is with the handful of mechanics this Medigun possesses. So to illustrate, I shall provide the following example.

Let's say a Soldier shoots a rocket at your patient, who is a Heavy. For the sake of convenience, we shall assume this rocket deals 100 damage. If you were using any other Medigun, your Heavy would have taken 100 damage.

Now imagine you're using the Vaccinator. If you had correctly predicted the Soldier's attack and are now on Explosive resistance, that same rocket would only deal 90 damage to your Heavy (because of the 10% resistance), and you would be healed by 25 HP (because you get 25% of healing from correctly-matched damage). Similarly, if you use your Ubercharge, that same rocket would deal only 25 HP to your Heavy and you would also be healed by 25 HP.

The next unique thing about this weapon is its fast Ubercharge rate. And by fast, I mean fast. "How fast?", you ask. How about 50% faster? Not only that, it actually has a unique Ubercharge bar that is split into 4. What this means is that it has four "mini bars" (not the ones you find in hotels) that each contain 25% Uber, and can be popped independently.

So you get a 2-second long Ubercharge roughly every 6.7 seconds, and a full 100% in just 26.7 seconds. And just to make sure this weapon is always charging at blazing speed, it is unaffected by any of the Ubercharge rate factors that I mentioned in the "Basic Information" section and hence always has a "mini Uber" ready in 6.7 seconds.

As you can imagine, this Medigun involves a lot of prediction and reaction timing. If you are caught with your pants down using the wrong resistance, it can mean the death of you and your teammates, because you cannot change resistances in the 2-second span while Ubering. It is ideal to be constantly aggressive using this weapon if your opponents are having disconnected attacks on you and your team, allowing you to easily choose Resistance types and be practically invincible.

I recommend using the Vaccinator only as the second Medic of your team, just like the Quick Fix, due to its slower overheal (only 8 HP/sec, compared to 24 HP/sec) and its comparatively weak Ubercharge (even though it charges much, much faster). Additionally, if you're a new Medic and/or you feel that you do not have the prediction skills, reaction speed or experience to adequately use the Vaccinator, then I recommend you to practice with the stock Medigun before coming back to attempt using it once again.

The Bonesaw is the stock choice for the Medic's melee slot. However, unlike the Syringe Gun and Medigun, the Bonesaw is easily outshone by every one of its unlock counterparts.

There is practically no situation in which the Bonesaw should be used if you have another option, and hence I only "recommend" the Bonesaw only to the absolute newest of players who do not have any other option.

The ubiquitous Ubersaw is seen in the hands of Medics at all levels of play, and with good reason.

Imbued with the immensely powerful ability of extracting 25% Ubercharge from enemies per hit, this allows its users to punish overconfident Spies (not recommended against skillful ones, however), and enemies otherwise oblivious to their painful, Uber-extracted deaths ahead of them.

Its sole downside is its 20% slower swing speed, which is, in my opinion, largely unnoticeable and inconsequential once you have gotten used to its timing differences, a trivial learning curve.

The Ubersaw also proves invaluable when faced with a situation where you are stuck between 75% to 100% Uber, but do not have a teammate close by or the enemies are close to victory and there is no time left to lose.

It must be emphasized, however, that a meleeing Medic is easy pickings for practically any combat class who is aware of your presence and intentions, and it is often not worth the risk to charge headfirst into battle and expect to survive stealing a swipe or two off someone. As such, patiently await for an opportunity, seize it cleanly, and get out with your newly acquired advantage.

I would recommend the Ubersaw to any Medic, because it will be an effective education tool for when, and when not to go aggressive as a Medic, and is of ridiculous utility to competent Medics who could find the right opportunities to work their magic.

Most new Medics may wonder why the Vitasaw - hated universally in the competitive scene - is seen as one of the most gamebreaking weapons present in the game.

As a quick explanation, the Ubercharge and the differences in percentages between the sole Medics on either team become the main focus of the entire match. Players will willingly sacrifice themselves, sometimes in droves, for the sole purpose of giving their team a measly 10 or 15% Ubercharge advantage over the other team. As such, the Vitasaw's presence forces both team's Medics to use it so they are not at a disadvantage - Over the more "fun" and "exciting" (both to play and watch) Ubersaw.

But what about in public games? My opinion is that the Vitasaw retains much of its immense power, but the fun in using it remains about the same as it does in competitive - Close to none. It is simply a rather dull weapon to use, and as such you will rarely encounter it being used, even if the Medics you come across are aware of the Vitasaw's capabilities.

Its downside of -10 HP is largely inconsequential, a common trait of Medic melees. At 140 HP, you will still largely survive (and die to) the same things otherwise, though things like afterburn may require more immediate attention, and for a somewhat rare example, the Direct Hit could now one-hit kill you at absolute point blank range.

I would recommend the Vitasaw to Medics who wish to use the absolute optimal loadout possible, where immediate personal glory and fun isn't of as much a concern as being effective.

Recently changed to increase the Medic's health regeneration by 3 HP/sec for a total of 6 HP/sec while active, has it become a more useful weapon? Most certainly.

While not comparable to the other saws in utility overall, the boosted health regeneration can help greatly in aiding a Medic's survival chances. Completely negating standard afterburn, alleviating bleed, and healing faster than the Degreaser's afterburn, the Amputator can prove invaluable in surviving for those extra seconds to scour for a nearby health pack.

Also useful at times when escaping a sticky situation, though its usage can be somewhat tricky because the extra 3 HP/sec will very rarely save you from a pursuing attacker, and with the 20% damage reduction, direct combat becomes less appealing option considering enemies will now require an extra hit or more to subdue.

Not forgetting, of course, the good ol' taunt. A risky and very situational tool, healing (but not overhealing) all nearby teammates 24 HP/sec, the standard Medigun's rate of healing. This requires you to stand completely still and taunt while using it, largely opening you up to an easy ambush, especially from Spies, not to mention the time you spend taunting is time not spent charging the all-important Ubercharge.

I would recommend the Amputator to relatively experienced Medics who are confident in their awareness and escaping tactics, because the Amputator's weaknesses clearly lie in direct confrontations and falling victim to unexpected encounters.

My personal favourite, this handy "saw" allows you to see the health of all enemy players when you place your crosshair over them, much like the Spy's ability.

This allows you make quick judgment calls on your enemies' health compared to your team's, and adjust your strategy accordingly. Also convenient in knowing when enemies would die quickly enough for you to take the risk in engaging them, and this often can save you - or your teammate's - life. Its effectiveness increases exponentially when you and your team are using your microphones to communicate and coordinate, of course.

As a side-effect of its upside, the Solemn Vow also allows you to see the enemy Medic's Ubercharge percentage, and the Medigun he or she is using. Oftentimes, if you aren't too adept at calculating Ubercharge timings for the other team, or you haven't been aware of a switch in Medigun by the enemy Medic, this can save you and your teammates' lives.

I would recommend the Solemn Vow to Medics who are comfortable and confident in communicating to your team the information that you see. For new Medics, I would recommend first being accustomed to scanning your surroundings than focusing too much on enemy players, though the Solemn Vow doesn't have any downsides whatsoever, so you'll hardly be at an inherent disadvantage even if you never take advantage of its upside.

We have finally arrived in the main part of the guide! Relax, grab a drink, and kick back in your chair because this is going to be quite a read.

Perhaps one of the most common negative stereotypes applied to Medics is that they tend to lodge their Medigun up a nearby Heavy's bottom, and along with that their heads too, leaving teammates to burn to ashes right beside them while they obliviously keep their precious Heavy at a sparkling 450 HP.

This is, of course, bad. And there are indeed many, many Medics that do this. Now, the act of pocketing (prioritizing healing to a specific person) isn't something to be ashamed of. In fact, every good Medic does it, especially competitive ones.

The difference is they do not only heal that one person. Instead, whenever they could, they heal (and overheal) whichever teammate comes within range. So you might be thinking; When can I heal people other than my pocket, and who should I heal first?

And that's the purpose of the heal order. It is a list that roughly dictates who you should heal first when placed in a situation where you are forced to choose. And trust me, you will be placed in those situations pretty often.

Before I display my suggested heal order, I want to make it clear that Team Fortress 2 is an extremely dynamic game. There are many, many ways to achieve something, and a technique or method that does not work in one situation might be the perfect fit for a different one, and vice versa. Therefore, take the healing order for what it is; A rough guide, but be flexible enough to adapt and improvise when the situation calls.

Suggested Healing Order (From Highest Priority to Lowest)

• Teammate in combat (with low HP teammates as priority)
  
• Other Medics
  
• Soldier or Demoman seeking overheal to explosive jump
  
• Other teammates seeking overheal (Scouts, Snipers, etc.)
  
• Teammate out of combat (with low HP/burning/bleeding teammates as priority)

As you can see, I have put teammates currently engaging in combat as top priority in the heal order. There are several reasons for this. Teammates in combat are more likely to lose large chunks of their HP, and hence need as much continuous healing as they can get. Even a 125 HP Sniper currently using his SMG to fend off enemies is more in need of HP than a 40 HP Soldier who has already safely retreated from the fight.

Secondly, other Medics are given priority. Ensuring their survival means an easier time for you as you will have less teammates to worry about at low HP, and an extra Ubercharge for your team.

Thirdly, Soldiers and Demomen seeking overheal are given precedence, as they usually need the overheal to make a bomb in on the enemy or take control of high ground (amongst other things), so they will soon be out of your face and straight into the enemy's.

Next, we have other teammates seeking overheal for various reasons. Scouts may seek overheal to enhance their survivability when they spot a flanking opportunity, while Snipers may seek overheal to give them a massive edge in duels with enemy Snipers. Depending on the situation, it may be faster and more efficient to give such teammates a fast overheal, especially if they have "crit heals" (see: Healing Ramp, Basic Information).

Finally, this is where the rest of your teammates will fall in. These are usually the classes which don't usually require overheal (Spy, Engineer) and/or are out of combat. Prioritize the ones which are burning and approaching death, and/or are at low HP, as logic would dictate.

In the perilous world of Team Fortress 2, Medics, the most vulnerable class when caught alone, inevitably have to find what is known as a "Pocket". Aptly dubbed so because much like how people keep pens in their pockets, a Medic always keeps his Pocket nearby.

A Pocket in Team Fortress 2 is defined as a player or several players whose main purpose is to serve as a bodyguard of sorts for the Medic. In return, the Pocket usually gets a major stake in the Medic's healing and priority in Ubercharges.

Soldiers, Heavies and Demomen lend themselves naturally as Pockets or "Medic Buddies". They each share the following positive attributes: A large HP pool, high and reliable damage output, considerable range, and can make optimal use of Ubercharges. These classes are by far the most common and effective pockets you can choose.

Pyros and Scouts are Pockets that can sometimes work out, but are usually avoided.
In the Pyro's case, while it can do a substantial amount of damage at close range, it is painfully limited outside of Flamethrower range and the Pyro can thus find it hard to protect the Medic against someone exploiting this. Similarly, enemies outside of Flamethrower range are usually safe from the Pyro, and this severely hampers its effectiveness as an Uber target and as a pocket.
For the Scout, his effectiveness lies in his speed and maneuverability. With a Medic to protect and regularly slow down for, his effectiveness will be drastically reduced. As such, Scouts usually do not appreciate Medics pocketing them and would much prefer a fast touch-and-go overheal top-off.

Left are the Engineer, Sniper and Spy. These classes are extremely rarely ideal Pockets since they each have low base health (125) and relatively low direct damage output. Attempting to pocket these classes rarely ends well since they do not have the necessary tools to be a good Pocket such as a large HP pool combined with a high and reliable direct damage output.

Some niche strategies can include Kritzing a Widowmaker Engineer for a practically bottomless clip, a Sniper for 150 damage bodyshots, and Ubering a Spy to take down a Sentry nest, amongst other fun things to try, but these rarely work against competent/ready opponents.

Apart from considering a potential Pocket's class, it is also important to carefully judge players. Sure, that Heavy may have a Burning Team Captain, but he seems to have the awareness of a rock, and doesn't realize that the Sandvich is meant for sharing. Perhaps it'd be better to pocket that Demoman who seems to be dealing a ton of damage with his Stickybombs and seems adept at protecting a Medic?

In most cases, the following metrics should be sufficient in determining a good pocket:

• Awareness level
  
• Reaction speed
  
• Good aim
  
• Dedication to protecting Medic
  
• Does not constantly walk into unreasonably difficult danger zones
  
• Makes good use of Ubercharges

A Medic's most important objective is to stay alive. Part of the reason for this is the Ubercharge. No amount of teammates saved can compensate the precious Ubercharge lost from dying. It is therefore important for any Medic to have excellent positioning and awareness.

What is positioning? In simple terms, it refers to where and when a Medic decides to stand at a particular point in time, such as before and while being attacked by enemies. As a wise, bearded man once said: "A good Medic will be everywhere to heal his teammates, and be nowhere to enemies trying to kill him".

There are several examples of bad positioning. For example, standing in front of teammates opens up a Medic to frontline fire, instead of letting the damage go directly to teammates who can be patched up quickly enough by the Medigun. On the other hand, Medics who smartly stay behind their pocket are much less prone to being hammered to a low HP by incoming spam, which in turn greatly improves the Medic's survivability. After all, it's simply illogical for the Medic to act as a meatshield for his or her teammates.

A good guideline for Medics is to always be ready to make a run for it in case things go sour, unless they are absolutely confident their team has complete control over the immediate area. In other words, they are more often than not "half a leg out". This does not mean that a Medic should be abandoning their teammates or staying a whole control point back, but they should instead seek to be in an optimum position to escape should things go sour, while also maximizing the amount of healing they give to their teammates without putting themselves at excessive risk or in the way of incoming spam and suppressive fire.

I have noticed that plenty of new Medics have the bad habit of peeking around corners before their pockets. This opens up the Medic to threats such as Snipers, and observant enemies can quickly punish the Medic by going aggressive and catching him or her out with fast, high damage shots if they are around the corner. As such, avoid the temptation to peek around corners and let your pocket or teammate be your eyes.

Awareness refers to how much knowledge a Medic possesses of his surroundings, and how he uses that knowledge to make decisions. In addition to positioning, awareness is also of paramount importance to any good Medic. Using a combination of visual cues such as visible enemies, killfeed notices, and sound cues such as Spy decloaks, death screams, explosive sounds and voice commands to paint a mental picture, as well as constantly keeping a lookout for threats such as bombing Soldiers and backstabbing Spies, a good Medic dramatically enhances his or her survivability by avoiding or negating danger and making smart decisions based on the information they gather.

It is a good habit to constantly check the scoreboard by hitting Tab. Dead enemies, as well as teammates, will show up on the scoreboard with their name grayed out. Using this, it is possible to make informed decisions as to whether it is a smart idea to attempt a push. Additionally, a suspected Spy can be immediately revealed as one if he or she is disguised as a class that isn't currently being run on the team.

Another good habit that separates the good Medics and mediocre ones is to constantly check their backs and surroundings, even when there is no perceived risk of a Spy. Doing so not only heavily reduces the likelihood of being backstabbed by Spies, it also makes it highly likely to spot an incoming flanking Scout or jumping Soldier, amongst other dangers, allowing for more preparation and the chance to inform the pocket of the threat.

Medics with good hearing or observance skills can use sound cues, as previously mentioned. Amongst other things, the sound of rockets being fired and exploding tell of a Soldier, while Ubercharged players often have unique voice lines ("I'm gonna be all over ye' like shingles!" - Demoman), allowing for swift escapes. Other crucial information that sound cues can give include a Heavy's Minigun being spun up, Sniper Rifles being fired, Sentry beeps, and loud electrical buzzes indicating a Kritzkrieg charge.

Combined with visual cues, a good Medic most of the time, if not always, creates a mental image of the entire battlefield, taking note of where enemies are and imagining where they could be at the next moment. Additionally, they keep their awareness up by keeping check of their surroundings, and making good positioning choices with that knowledge. These qualities combine into making an outstanding Medic with high survivability, able to escape from or survive in seemingly impossible or hopeless situations with the right timing and decisions.