Why Medic?
Most of the comments on my first article were positive, and I wholeheartedly thank the community for that, it was a great way to start off my time as a contributor. The comments that were not positive tended to ask the same question. “Why choose Medic?” Thus, I have taken a few hours of my free time to analyze why I chose to become a career Medic. (Which was admittedly not very well explained in my first article.)
There aren’t enough Medics these days
The good old days.
My thoughts that day went something like this. I am not going to get good at Team Fortress 2 by hopping from class to class trying to find something I like. I have to pick a class, and stick with it. (While being flexible of course, I will switch if there are enough other Medics on the server.) No matter how hard I practice with the Soldier, there will always be ten more Soldiers who can shoot that Rocket Launcher better than I can. No matter how many two hundred dollar, custom-tooled cartridges I fire, there will always be twenty Heavies who can turn around faster. No matter how much Bonk I drink, there will always be another guy from where I was from who can use those seconds of invincibilty better.
This is true for the Medic as well, like it is for any other class, but the reason I chose Medic is because there won’t be very many Medics better than me, because Medics are rare these days. TF2 does not need a Soldier like myself, but every time, one can use a Medic, even if he does kind of suck.
The Medic isn’t normally firing
Part of my problem with the other classes, (Not so much Engineer and Spy) was that I couldn’t aim very well. I wasn’t helpless, but I was a pretty bad marksman. One reason I gravitated to the Soldier was his splash damage capability. With the rockets, I could miss by a hair and still do a lot of damage.
As a Medic, this isn’t an issue. A good Medic is always healing and dodging fire at every opportunity. Horrible aiming isn’t an issue, most of the time. I’ve only ever died as a Medic in a Pyro ambush, and that’s okay because we all know Pyro is totally OP rite.
Ubercharges are freaking awesome
The whole process is highly rewarding, dodging death until that sluggish meter builds up to 100%, finding a good target, the running in and wreaking havoc. It’s awesome. Even with the Kritzkrieg, sending in a Kritz’d Heavy is awesome. I have the power. The other team chooses where they die. I choose when. Alright, I’ve never actually pulled off a great Uber like that, but ideally this is what it will be like.
It’s hard to be useless as a Medic.
Unless you’re actively trying to be useless, a Medic is always helpful in some way. Even if you just heal the same Heavy endlessly, ignoring everyone else on your team, your Heavy + Medic duo is still attracting enemy fire, drawing it away from other members of your team who can then do their work much easier. I don’t intend to heal the same Heavy the entire time, but it’s comforting to know that fact.
And, in conclusion:
The Medic is freaking sexy
Because he looks like Stephen Colbert, and you know Stephen Colbert is sexy.
In actual conclusion:
/article and /colbert medic
Sheepshifter on April 5th 2009 in community, medic, team fortress 2, train god
Stumble it!
Graven_Image responded on 05 Apr 2009 at 9:06 am #
This is… THE MEDDY RAPPORE!
Jokerine responded on 05 Apr 2009 at 9:15 am #
OH YES. This sums up much of my ideas regarding the Medic. I can’t wait until I finally gather enough cash to buy TF2 and then start my Medic career!
I’m also grad you said it’s hard to be a useless Medic… Coz I’m almost afraid of the moment where I’ll jump into my first server and try to find my way around armed with nothing but my Medigun!
Medics rule. End of story.
HelisPoe responded on 05 Apr 2009 at 9:32 am #
@Jokerine
Lay off the sugar/anti-ritalin/marijuana hybrid pills next time you type.
Jokerine responded on 05 Apr 2009 at 9:45 am #
@HelisPoe: Oh. Okay. I’m sorry about that.
GeneralGoose responded on 05 Apr 2009 at 10:19 am #
This article has convinced me to play Medic more.
Dan responded on 05 Apr 2009 at 10:40 am #
@HelisPoe
He was typing alright! I especially like when someone starts their comment with “OH YES.”
OH YES. Medics are good. I usually only play that class begrudgingly though, because it’s only if the rest of my team are idiots who ALSO don’t want to play medic. But, I go and do it, and if anyone complains I just stop and let them deal with it.
The Black Watch responded on 05 Apr 2009 at 10:49 am #
I approve of this message. My team always needs more medics.
Paper Shadow responded on 05 Apr 2009 at 11:03 am #
We need more Medics that stand still and don’t look around…
Briankealing responded on 05 Apr 2009 at 11:08 am #
DOKTOR!
PfcBenjamin responded on 05 Apr 2009 at 11:25 am #
A bad medic is better off spamming explosives. That allows a good medic to take the slot and have the team actually win.
DrDevious responded on 05 Apr 2009 at 11:41 am #
<3 I will always appreciate my politically savvy german doktor!
no matter how much I <3 demo and doing some serious covert spy work…
MEDIC. 4 . DE-… LIFE
<<
TPMX responded on 05 Apr 2009 at 12:47 pm #
Somebody stole my Colbert Medic pic~
Anonymous responded on 05 Apr 2009 at 12:59 pm #
hooray for not crediting other peoples’ work, congratulations.
Sarda responded on 05 Apr 2009 at 1:10 pm #
That Colbert medic pic is totally becoming my new spray.
ASD responded on 05 Apr 2009 at 1:28 pm #
100 hours as a Medic should be a mandatory service for all players.
Alexander responded on 05 Apr 2009 at 2:22 pm #
100 hours of TF2 should be the point at which they take the game away from you and have you actually see sunshine…:D
Small Ivory Knight responded on 05 Apr 2009 at 2:27 pm #
I love the Colbert Medic pic. The person who made it wins the internet.
And I agree. Happy Medic Love!
Schmoopy The Spy responded on 05 Apr 2009 at 5:02 pm #
Nice. I love the medic. He’s a class that nobody can hate :3
Anonymous responded on 05 Apr 2009 at 6:46 pm #
The pyro isn’t op.
Killa-Ewok responded on 05 Apr 2009 at 7:14 pm #
Also, you can shoot people over cliffs with the syringe gun. And due to it’s horrible accuracy, you can just somewhat-aim to someone and at least one of them will hit.
BJ Blazkowicz responded on 05 Apr 2009 at 7:20 pm #
…And that’s the report!
ASD responded on 05 Apr 2009 at 7:25 pm #
Alexander: Story of my life…
Niphrendil responded on 06 Apr 2009 at 1:18 am #
The worst part about being a career medic is every so often you will be on a team where no one is worth medic-ing. It is for this very reason that I eventually left my post as career medic and worked on my pyro, and then heavy class (both great if you have bad aim). I’m the best at medic still but at least I have something else to play when the team is made up of engineers, spies, snipers, and one bad soldier. The change was actually very refreshing.
So, don’t give up on being a career ‘anything else’ just yet.
HelisPoe responded on 06 Apr 2009 at 1:18 am #
@Anonymous
Anonymous never ceases to astound me.
Dr. Mikard responded on 06 Apr 2009 at 1:41 am #
Sheepshifter, I so totally understand you. As a more experienced(That doesn’t mean better, mind you) Medic, I invite you to doing some Krubers together from time to time. Because Krubers are awesome.
Killa-Ewok responded on 06 Apr 2009 at 3:46 am #
This combination’s better than the normal Kruber;
A heavy ubered and kritzed, and the kritzer is ubered by a third medic.
HelisPoe responded on 06 Apr 2009 at 6:08 am #
@Killa-Ewok
That would work, but it would be sort of a waste. It’s also nearly impossible to pull off in a public server.
Xriloku responded on 06 Apr 2009 at 6:10 am #
Killa-Ewok: Even better. SOLDIER ubered and kritzed, and kritzed medic ubered. Sounds kind of impossible, though.
Dr. Mikard responded on 06 Apr 2009 at 6:15 am #
Yep, thought about that already, but wasting a whole regular Uber just to save kritzin’ Medic’s ass wouldn’t be too clever. And people usually concentrate on the ubered guy, I don’t know why. And if kritzing Med dies, the patient will still have crits for a second or two.
Alec responded on 06 Apr 2009 at 6:17 am #
Lately, I’ve come to the conclusion that the only really overpowered class in TF2 is the medic.
There are seven classes devoted to killing the other team (scout, soldier, pyro, demoman, heavy, sniper, spy). The engineer and medic are the only classes that focus on helping their team.
However, the engineer’s methods are inherently passive. He can’t carry his dispenser with him, put it down whenever it’s needed, and pick it up when the battle stops. His teammates have to fall back to the dispenser, sacrificing their time and whatever forward position they were holding to heal themselves. (In the same way, the engineer needs enemies to come to his sentry to stand a chance of winning, but they usually only show up when they have an overwhelming advantage [demoman, soldier, or medic with an uebercharge].)
A medic enables other players to constantly push forward, because they no longer have to worry about health. Ammo also comes easily, thanks to discarded weapons filling up half their reserve. And if there’s an otherwise insurmountable obstacle ahead, such as the entire enemy team or thirty sentry guns, there’s always the uebercharge to fall back on.
A team without medics is essentially crippled against any team that contains a medic.
Himmelstoss responded on 06 Apr 2009 at 6:47 am #
@Alec: At the same time, everyone on the other team goes for the medic. Medic isn’t an easy class to play well. I, for one, have so little faith in my teammates that I tend to just go battle medic if at all.
Dr. Mikard responded on 06 Apr 2009 at 7:08 am #
Battle Medics are evil. I only use my Blutsauger and Ubersaw when I’m all alone without any teammate nearby(unless a nearby teammate is a Spy or Engie) If I want to kill someone, I just choose the Pyro.
ticktockcitrus responded on 06 Apr 2009 at 2:38 pm #
The medic may be sexy, but he’s no Paul Hogan.
n00bie51 responded on 07 Apr 2009 at 5:50 am #
Something I’d like to add, Sheepshifter, is that playing Medics is also rewarding in that if played properly, you can gain many points without even having to do all the work. At one time, the Medic was the class with my greatest PB for points; I don’t consider it odd when a Medic tops the scoreboard with a bunch of assists and ÜberCharges under his belt. It’s good to be a Medic, because you can enjoy the game and be rewarded simply by relying on your team mates and supporting them to defeat the opponent, yet you still play an important role in regards to coordinating ÜberCharges and prioritizing who to heal. If I don’t feel like having that pressure of having to perform well in combat, I can be a Medic and take somewhat of a back seat. As a Medic, I’m still a significant part of the team, yet the burden is lesser on me, y’knowhaddamsayin’?
There is a problem for me in regards to playing Medic more often, as Niphrendil hinted at. If my team is getting steam rolled and no one else is playing Medic, then me switching classes usually isn’t going to help because those other players aren’t worth healing and I think I should be the one being supported with a Medic. I’m not trying to boast or be prideful, but I’m sure Black Watch knows what I’m talking about (not that he can’t kick butt without a Medic, but if his team is losing, he shouldn’t be the one switching to Medic).
Killa-Ewok responded on 07 Apr 2009 at 6:21 am #
You guys know the achievement for Medics where you have to top score a round without killing anyone?
It’s easy as fuck to get these days.
Dingo responded on 07 Apr 2009 at 3:51 pm #
It always WAS easy as fuck to get.
<3 Medic.
n00bie51 responded on 07 Apr 2009 at 10:16 pm #
^^^^^^^
McFool responded on 07 Apr 2009 at 11:09 pm #
Nice article, I liked it, no wonder you get generally positive reviews.
Besides you’re 10x better than Secret Agent Clank and they keep letting him write for UC so you’re in luck, Sheep. Looking forward to more.
A wizard... responded on 05 Jun 2009 at 10:29 am #
Kinda weird, because a more recent article states that the old days had a LACK of medics.