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Am I playing Medic correctly?


Hervé

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I've decided firmly to play Medic for a while now (perhaps main it?) I have about 3300 hours on TF2 and only 24 hours on Medic, however I wanna change that. On the other hand as I've been playing a few games with it, I've noticed I die A LOT, the last game I played was a payload ranking in TOP 2 on the board but with : 0 kills and 17 deaths. And other similar games where deaths we're above my kill count, and I understand that medic is not supposed to have such an enormous amount of kills. I guess me barely playing Medic in my TF2 life came as a big shock, and I understand his role is to heal the team and serve as a potential game changer with the Uber capability, however when you die many times while trying to help your team...it's just very demotivating for me, because I usually never die this much and basically puts down my self esteem. 
(Note : One of the reasons why I die a lot is probably because I over extend and overestimate the skill of the team mate im ubering and end up dying and I intend to change that, however even when I don't over extend, I'm still the number one target for the enemy team and thus I'm more likely to get killed, my last game I got focused by a sniper half way through the game, killing me 4 times, was pretty harsh) 
 

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If you feel your heal target is overextending, ditch them.

Go back to safety and grill some marshmallows with an engie for a minute while your previous bestie get blown to pieces.

Even if you über someone, stay back if they go forward too much; you'll be more useful to your team alive than by dying trying to protect your pocket.

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1 hour ago, Hervé said:

I've decided firmly to play Medic for a while now (perhaps main it?) I have about 3300 hours on TF2 and only 24 hours on Medic, however I wanna change that. On the other hand as I've been playing a few games with it, I've noticed I die A LOT, the last game I played was a payload ranking in TOP 2 on the board but with : 0 kills and 17 deaths. And other similar games where deaths we're above my kill count, and I understand that medic is not supposed to have such an enormous amount of kills. I guess me barely playing Medic in my TF2 life came as a big shock, and I understand his role is to heal the team and serve as a potential game changer with the Uber capability, however when you die many times while trying to help your team...it's just very demotivating for me, because I usually never die this much and basically puts down my self esteem. 
(Note : One of the reasons why I die a lot is probably because I over extend and overestimate the skill of the team mate im ubering and end up dying and I intend to change that, however even when I don't over extend, I'm still the number one target for the enemy team and thus I'm more likely to get killed, my last game I got focused by a sniper half way through the game, killing me 4 times, was pretty harsh) 
 

 

As a former invite player, let me give you a few tips. First, what is going to make it difficult if you're play on pubs or low level competitive servers is the lack of communication. As medic, you should always be talking, pointing out things to your teammates, and whoever you are healing/ubering should be communicating back to you what he/she sees. You need to know what they are going to do when they are ubered, not guess. Also, pushing forward with a charge is nice and all, but you really don't ever want to find yourself in a position on a map where you can get flanked. More often than not on pubs, no one is going to protect you or guard your flank, and if you extend out too far, you're opening yourself up to that risk. Also with an uber, it's a matter of feel, but sometimes you want to start backing up when your charge is down to about 10-15% left while being used. The player you're healing will still have a second or two of the residual effects, and he'll still be overhealed. If he continues to push, that's his own problem and he's a dumbass for doing it alone. 

 

Also, work on your crossbow aim and if you don't use that, your syringe gun aim. The better you are with it, the less likely you'll be dying to people chasing you down. Also, you need to come to expect that dying is part of the game, not the end of the world. Obviously try to do it as little as possible, but stuff happens. Don't worry about your kill count, but typically it's good to see a 2:1 ratio or better in assists to ubers which is what I'd look more for as a "successful" match (obviously higher if you're running kritz). 

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2 minutes ago, Budi said:

If he continues to push, that's his own problem and he's a dumbass for doing it alone. 

Music to my ears

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The others are 100% correct about over extending and communication, those are definitely important habits you have to start learning, and as you play more you will get the feel.

 

I play pub medic a lot and I have found that using my mic regularly and asking the players for info, and giving my own info out to the other players (like where I spotted a sentry, what health the person who ive damaged or died to was on etc) often triggers the other players to do the same.  i.e. set the example and see if the others will follow your lead.  It doesn't work all the time, but its amazing how it just takes one or two people to start talking and all of a sudden half the team are doing it.

 

As far as your KD ratio goes, if you are worried about it you need to bounce from medic right now, its just not something that applies.  I mainly play pub medic and pyro, and to badly butcher a Nick Cave song - id climb over 50 good pussies just to get to that one medic's asshole.  I know from experience just how important the medic is, and if I think I have a chance to take you out I will almost always go for it.  I don't give a shit about the guy the medic is healing nor the people nearby, its the medic I want.  Killing you but dying in the process is a no brainer, I will take it ever time.  i.e. medics are so important that you will be super focused on and targeted.  

 

Your movement can be quite restricted as medic as you are somewhat stuck with following where the player(s) you're healing are, something you wont have suffered as other classes.  But start experimenting with how far your heal stream can go for and how it wraps around corners, you will be quite surprised.  And over time you'll get better at hiding away from sight, whether that's behind protection or the players you're healing.

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The failure of a bad Medic is overextending. Top priority for you isn't about keeping everyone alive, it isn't about winning, it isn't about K:D or killstreaks or topping the scoreboard, it's not about pushing, it's about surviving. 

Whether any of the above is true or not, that has to be your mindset. You can't keep anyone alive if you're dead. You can't win if you're dead. You can't build an uber push or get anywhere if you're dead. So as Medic your first goal should be to stay just behind the front lines, about as far back as the Engi's dispenser, prioritizing the most hurt teammates and anyone on fire, THEN overhealing everything in sight if no one's hurt, THEN going for sick crossbow shots. When you've got the uber, communicate with whomever you're healing, get out there, and if they're not all dead when your uber runs out, hightail it back. Heavies can respawn. 50% Ubercharge can't. If you have to be in a sniper sightline or in the thick of battle, jump around like a madman, fire crossbow bolts at anything outside the range of your ubersaw, and never underestimate the power of random crits. 

Also, stock Uber is your friend. Stock primary and melee are not. 

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Heal everyone (watch out for spies) in line of sight and buff em up, they will have more resistance against enemys and you will get uber faster. Stay back and observe what's going on in the battle zone and avoid enemy projectiles, don't just focus only on the player you're healing. Give priority to players that are receiving more damage facing enemys on the front line. It's also better to use ubercharge rather than lose it because waiting too much. Last but not least, stay alive.

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Tips for playing medic in a solo pub game:

1. Know who the better classes or users are on your team. This does sound selfish sometimes. But honestly it does win games if you are healing the right people.

2. Stay back if you are low or if your team is low. No need to push when this happens it will just result in death.

3. If no push is happening the best way to build uber is to heal wounded targets. You build uber faster if they are wounded than if they are full over healed.

4. Use the crusaders crossbow. It is good for damage and healing from a distance.

5. Know what uber gun to use at what time. Are there a bunch of people in a tight spot, use crit. Is there a bunch of sentries, uber. Most of the time the normal uber gun works just fine.

6. If there is not a couple of players or at least a player that can hit decent shots, medic can be almost pointless. You have to rely on your team hitting shots and if they can't hit shots, you will have more fun playing something else.

 

These are just some general tips for public matches with all different skill levels. 

 

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One little thing to add to this: In your settings there is an option for the game to auto ping any teammates who dip below a certain percentage of health. Check that and put it up to 30-40%. This will allow you to tell at a glance who needs help the most and where and act accordingly.

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Ok thanks guys, all this advice was helpful. Really. 
And also, one more quick question should I use the Kritzkrieg when attacking and the default Medi Gun when defending? Or should I just stick to the default Medi Gun at all times? 

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34 minutes ago, Hervé said:

And also, one more quick question should I use the Kritzkrieg when attacking and the default Medi Gun when defending? Or should I just stick to the default Medi Gun at all times?

 

It's completely situational. All the mediguns have their place and uses. Knowing which one the current situation calls for and making the switch is important.

 

 

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I'll add 2 other things to this that are helpful. 

 

1. I use what I call "spray healing". I rarely heal one target for a long period of time, unless I am far back from the action and they are very very low on health. 2 reasons; first is if you're healing one very low target close to action, most likely they'll still die anyways, and now you're alone with no protection. If they are low and still fighting, let them make that risk themselves, it's not on you. Second is as mentioned above, healing people who are hurt after the pre-game round increases the ubercharge rate, which you want to capitalize on. So typically I'll spray heal several targets that are hurt to get them to 2/3rds health so my rate builds faster, less of them are in critical health mode, and it allows more players to get back into the action. Healing one target continuously is really not a wise strategy, unless they are an elite player. Even then, it usually won't help your team win. 

 

2. Always check your death count in the top of console. See how many of your players are dead vs the enemy teams. That is one of the single biggest telltale signs of knowing when to push and when to hold back. If you see that the enemy team has everyone alive and 8 of your 12 players are already dead, it's time to backup and fast. Conversely, if you see they have more than half their team dead, it's time to push, even if you don't have charge yet. You can gain it along the way as long as you're smart and careful about where you're going. If you're helping your team push the front lines with most of their team dead, chances are you'll wipe them and it will be game over. You may even then hit your uber right as they all spawn, which then is a huge advantage to just wipe them again and/or finishing capping the cart/point. 

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