New To Medic Class- Need Advice

Discussion in 'Combat Medic' started by RayDrazon, Dec 2, 2012.

  1. RayDrazon

    I'm new to the Combat Medic class in Planetside 2. In fact, I'm new to Planetside 2 overall as I just started playing three days ago. I like the idea of healing and reviving people in combat so I've decided to invest my certs in this class.

    Since I'm new to this class, I would appreciate any advice that you guys can give. At the moment, I know to not revive people at 20% health and leave them as I've read the forums; that's why I've upgraded the medical applicator to level 4 and heal people who I just revived. I also know that I'm one of the main targets that the enemy is aiming for. That's probably all I know at the moment. Any extra information would be appreciated.

    Please post and comment below. Thanks.
  2. VKhaun

    In my experience the nano armor suit slot is not really worth it. I grabbed it on all classes for 1 cert point to get +10% hp, but I just about never end up at 10% or less HP... I recommend the ammo bandolier cert because self healing will allow you to live a long time if you want to and you will run into ammo problems before anything else. If you're part of a dedicated group, then I would go for the explosive damage reduction armor because the most dangerous thing to a good group with a medic would be grenades.

    The medic rifles have excellent accuracy, and serve as very good hip-fire weapons in bases. I STRONGLY STRONGLY recommend the red dot rail item for any assault rifle, because it removes you from the sprint or stand, fight or flight, type gameplay of people running around unable to shoot and then pulling up their iron sights. You can move around at normal speed ready to fire at excellent effectiveness with a red dot, and get lots of free kills on people sprinting and lots of second chances when people need to bring up the sights and you can move behind cover.

    For the rest of your AR attachments, you want soft point ammo AND high velocity ammo options, and you want a suppressor option. As a medic you can use your weapon both up close and at range, so the ammo choice is valuable. The suppressor is just so you don't show up on the minimap and the enemy kills your friends first. It's not selfish since you can revive them after killing their killer. Make sure your weapon of choice can have all of these, or, that you know ahead of time what weapon you want to use for long range with high velocity, and short range with soft point.

    Do not run around with your tool out. If you need to immediately heal someone, use your F key. Run with your weapon out ready to fight. You can not rez and heal faster than the enemy can kill and damage your friends, and you need to do combat first and healing second. Shooting the guy before he throws a nade or rockets your sunderer is both an XP net gain (kill > healing/repair) and a squad effectiveness net gain.

    C4 is badass. Get it, buy it, bring it, but don't force yourself to use it because it's expensive. Only use it if you see a target that begs for it, like a guy in a turret that doesn't know you're there or a MAX suit that's aggressive in doors, or a vehicle you happen to get really close to.
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  3. h1perkarma

    VKhaun basically covered it all, I'd also suggest revive grenades once you can unlock them (also implying you're playing in a squad/unit with friends) the countless amount of times they've been the difference in us capturing a point or having to start from square one is ridiculous, once you get them learn how the nades bounce.

    Most medic's try to hide back and rarely use their weapon, which is basically XP Farming. I tend to run and gun up close with my squad, sometimes I actually breach areas before any of my team. I rely on my SABR13 which to be honest is the best gun I've ever used (Yes I've used Cycler) I take down enemies in 3 hits with it, which is basically two taps of the mouse with burst fire.

    I rarely stand still as well, when healing or rez'ing someone, I tend to "dance?" around their body and rarely ever die doing so, majority of my deaths are when I've got bored and decided to rush things single handed.

    A tip: Don't always play it safe like the majority of XP farmers, if I see someone who looks like they know what they're doing attempting to flank or separate from our large cluster of infantry, I'll normally follow at a distance and try provide some extra fire support for him, plus he'll be gracious once you revive him.

    Sabr13 shop overview
    [IMG]

    Personal Sabr13 customization
    [IMG]

    Best of luck. :)
  4. Joust

    Sigh. I've got 4000 kills on my NS-11A and have never gotten a cert reward. Stupid medal bug. But yeah, it's all been said. Get med tool lvl 4, then work on your gun, armor (I still like nanoweave, but only to 15%, lots of theorycrafting has been done to show that the difference between 15% and 25% is minimal regarding survival) and your aoe healing. Don't get Triage, but you might want to look into getting your AMS sunderer unlocked too.
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  5. irishroy

    advanced forwadgrip?
    what´s the point of an advanced forwardgrip?

    ah, and don´t get the heal/revive-nade. they are bad and not worth the certs. the may sound good, but are bad.
    and maybe the rebell-pistol. does more dmg per shot, but a bit less RoF.
  6. Peanut Butter

    Vkhaun has covered everything very well, and following those points will make you a great medic

    I would also highly recommend putting some points in to flack armor as well. You know where the gold mine of every medic is? A Bio-lab or Tech Plant. You know what the only key that people fighting in these bases know how to use? G. It does make a difference in keeping you alive from all the grenades, and you being alive = everyone around you being alive. Also, dump some points into the medic AOE heal, as it is all around good.

    If you haven't already got it, get the Sunderer AMS ability. It is possibly the best 50 cert points you can spend, and will keep the fight moving. Just watch where you deploy it, as you screw over anyone else who tries to deploy around you.

    And as for reviving, never stand still, unless you are sure you will not be shot where you are standing. With the level 4 applicator, you will have enough range to jump over the guy you are reviving, which I recommend doing in any open area because it makes headshots on you almost impossible (There WILL be an infiltrator gunning for you).

    Also, if you are on TR and are considering using the SABR-13, I highly recommend testing it first. It is very different from the other medic weapons (2-round burst fire, hits hard, very accurate), and I know a lot of people who hate it. Still, I love that gun, and if you put a 6x scope on it you are great for counter-sniping. I haven't tried it with the reflex sights, so H1perkarma has me beat there. The default weapons for all the factions are good and close/medium range, but since you are the one playing, not me, so find whatever gun you like and roll with it :)

    Now get out there and save some lives

    Edit: The heal grenades are pretty much useless I agree (your ability does that), but revive grenades are great in the right circumstance (for example, a bunch of guys in the room across from you just got taken out, and you can`t get over there)
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  7. Ixidron

    -Nanowave: For urban combat, it wouldn't be the first time I don't kill my target for a single bullet but he killed me.

    -Flack armor: Tech plants, the amount of grenades per square meter excels the number of players, also use it if you are being hostigated by tanks/rocketpods/rocket spam.

    -Extra magazines: not really necessary, there are always engies/sundies/consoles/enemies that will kill you arround to refill your ammo, I rarely get out of ammo.

    -Revive/heal grenades: definitely not worth the amount of certs and resources they cost, sure you can revive a bunch of guys out of range, but why don't you get there and use the app? because that zone is under heavy fire, so, use a grenade, get the revives, everyone will die again, and your team will probably stop accepting your resurrections.

    -Frag grenades: This things have higher damage and AOE than HE shells, I just can't believe how stupid and broke they are, they substitute guns in base defense, use them, they are pretty cheap and you can always get more, I definitely won't trade my frags for revive grenades.

    -Basic pistol: They ere usually the best, I think there was one exception, but I can't remember, you might want to get suppressor and laser sight once you've got all other certs.

    -C4: Instead of medpacks you get C4, why would you want a medpack when you can heal yourself and blow up things? C4 is totally worth the certs, but you might want to get it after upgrading your tools and assault rifle.

    -Assault rifle: the S variant of the default rifle is the most polyvalent thing you can get, is good at close and long range and can be equipped with a 2 shot grenade launcher that refills from ammo packs.
    The quick shooter: there is always an assault rifle that has high firing rate, it costs 250 certs, is great for close quarters combat, and with the advanced laser dot you'll never have to use your iron sight again.
    NS-11: also a good polyvalent rifle, lot of people use it and it's cross faction.

    -Addons: depending on the rifle, but you should get the grenade launcher first for the S variant, soft point for NS-11 and the quick shooter, and then laser dots and compensator (if available), you might also want the NV/HS scope for urban situations at night.

    -What to cert: First get the app at level 4-5, 2-4 levels of nanowave and 4-5 levels of nanoregen, dedicate some time to your rifle and flack armor, then get C4 and the last level of the app.

    -You might also want to get the AMS for sunderer.

    Once you got all of that, you can upgrade pretty much everything you want, zoom and ammo for vehicle weapons cost 1 cert each, also does the first reuse level, you can now get weapondry or upgrades for your sunderer (recommend Kobalt and Bulldog), and you might even want to get the kobalt for your quad, and the deployment beacon (under leadership certifications), depending on how much you play as group leader you might want to get it earlier, if not one of the first things you want to get.
  8. VKhaun

    NC's Rebel is the one worth getting. The others are supposed to be similar with higher damage per bullet and lower RoF, but they don't perform any better. I hear the TR second pistol is downright bad, mixed reviews on the VS.

    I use the rebel myself and I like it. It hits hard enough that sometimes I pull after running a mag dry and one bullet finishes the guy while he's reloading. It clearly needs the red dot though and I haven't been able to spare the certs for one yet on NC.
  9. Ixidron

  10. RayDrazon

    What is the red dot modification called? I'm new to FPS Games in general too >.<

    Also, approximately how long does it take to get all this? I just got the AMS Sunderer but I noticed that getting Certs is painstakingly slow... I probably get no more than 100 a day and that's stretching it...

    Is the Shield Recharge upgrade for the suit worth it? (It shortens the time needed for the shield to recharge- I've read that it can be good for medics.)

    What do you recommend I get first, in between, and last? (I'm playing as Vanu Sovreignty if that makes any difference.)
  11. VKhaun

    What I meant by red dot s a rail item called the laser sight. An increase to hip fire accuracy means the invisible cone in which your bullets spray outward is more narrow, putting more rounds on a target, but only in effect when not aiming down the sights (though the sights will still be more accurate, the point is just that you don't have to wait before firing while your guy brings them up, or start moving slowly like he does with the sights up.)

    My medic is battle rank 10 with 173 kills and has earned 343 certification points. I'm not sure what kind of play time that is though, It's my least played character and I get progress on him in short bursts.

    I do not consider the shield recharge suit slot to be worth getting. If your shields are gone you also need to wait to heal yourself anyway, so you don't need to speed the shield up. If you could afford the maximum rank of it and found yourself prone to being stuck behind cover in infantry battles... maybe... but not as a random rank two option taken over flakk armor or ammo bandolier (IMHO)

    The best path for a new player, IMO, would be to get a reflex sight first thing so you're not earning the rest of your certs trying to use the iron sights or hip fire with default accuracy. Then get the laser sight to open up firing from the hip at short to short-medium ranges. Then the soft point ammo for damage.

    Once you have both the laser sight and the softpoint, you'll start to find the reflex sight inadiquate. You'll be hip firing out to ranges most players wouldn't dare so when you do actually bring the sights up you will want some greater magnification. I use the 3.4x, and can tell you the HDS 3.4x is very nice. It's like a proper ACOG sight with just a clean clear circular view and a nice big red dot in the middle.

    I put the suppressor last because it doesn't actually do anything for you when you need to win an infantry gun fight. Not showing up on the minimap may be tactically the highest priority, but it's frankly not very fun using a weapon the attachments on it. It makes you feel like you're at a disadvantage all the time and can be frustrating. If this wasn't a game I'd say get it first, but it is a game, so I say get it last.
  12. RayDrazon

    As for the assault rifle, which one should I get as Vanu? I heard that the Default Pulsar AR was the best but I just want to make sure. Also, I bought the Laser Pointer which helped out a lot, Thanks.

    By the way, what priority is C4 if I haven't gotten it yet?
  13. VKhaun

    ^
    H-V45. It's the only one that can get the ADVANCED laser sight, has the best combat stats, and it can have softpoint. You will probably need a different weapon if you plan to do long to long-long range but with the advanced laser sight and a 4.0x scope it should do fine anywhere within a base courtyard. That's purely my opinion though. I do not play medic on VS unless there's a dire need and I have no attachments for any medic gun over there. If a VS medic says something else is better and gives reasons why then by all means defer to their recommendation.

    Sorry I didn't mention advanced earlier. My NS-11 can't get it, so I thought medics didn't have access at all... my TR medic might need a weapon swap now... that thing is awesome. Just remember to equip it. The advanced laser sight is NOT a passive upgrade of the first laser sight. It shows up as a new piece of equipment, a second option that must actually be equipped (for each class!) as a replacement for the previous basic laser sight.



    C4 is the same as the suppressor. It's really huge tactically, but saving up certs is no fun when there are cheaper things you want. I would definitely save it for when you've evened up with it's point cost. Regen skill to 3 or 4, med applicator to 3 or 4, and a tricked out gun should be your goal for now. Until then you're really under par in an infantry fight IMO.
  14. RayDrazon

    So you're saying that I wasted my 100 certs on buying the laser pointer thingy for the stock VS CME AR? :(
  15. VKhaun

    Not if you're having fun with it, no.

    In this game, the cone of fire resets to base as soon as you let go of the mouse button, and loses movement penalty as soon as you let go of the arrow key (assuming you stop firing as well). So there is no penalty for bursting. People don't get that in the NC 'underpowered' debate threads. Every weapon from every faction is worth using if you can get a feel for how to burst it, and every weapon can benefit from fire control beyond holding it down until the mag is dry.

    However, every gun also has different combinations of upgrades available. You should use your default weapon to decide what you like to do and where you want your weapon to perform best. No certs spent on it are wasted IMO, because experimenting with them will save you a bunch of time buying 1,000 cert guns later or a bunch of money buying them for SC.

    I happen to like firing from the hip. I have no problem with iron sights and I do use them often, I just like to specialize in hip fire because it frees me from the sprint or stand rubbish in and around buildings. Just got on the other night after talking with you and realized every primary weapon category (Carbine, AR, LMG) has just one weapon that gets the ADVANCED laser sight AND softpoint ammo. That was a real epiphany for me. I thought it was purely a carbine thing. By pure accident my VS uses the carbine for it and the lasher so she's good, but my TR pure medic wasted hundreds of certs on the wrong gun, and I don't even want to think about my main on NC. He's my main and pretty much has to start from scratch in all three categories.
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