This isn't just a thread for Medics, it's for their targets, too. A good Medic can keep a squad or more alive and healthy through bombing runs, tank kills, and enemy HE spam, but only if you're kind to your Medics and they're kind to you! First of all, Medics, cert out your Medical Applicator to at least level 5. It often does more harm than good to revive your targets at 10% health. This certification will also increase the speed and range at which you can revive friendlies. At level 6 (the maximum) you don't have to stop moving, just point, click, and done. Level 6 has the added perk of reviving soldiers at full health, which lets you avoid a major Medic pet peeve, and brings me to my next point: Medics, if you don't have a level 6 Applicator, stick around and finish the job! You're just starting out as a Medic. You see a dead guy. You revive him and run away. This is bad. Since you didn't revive him to full, he's going to die that much faster next time. After fully reviving someone, let them get up and heal them up the rest of the way. Here's another hint: That healing? It's worth XP! There are a few exceptions to this rule. A shell just hit and killed 6 people. Perform "triage". Instead of sticking to each one for a minute or more, start reviving one of them. Once that circle completes, press 'F' and stop healing him. You're now healing your first target while reviving a second. Revive, Heal, Repeat. This (and the fact that it will keep you alive) is the best reason to upgrade your AoE Heal ability. If there are just too many bodies, heal each to at least 75% health before stopping. Now, the fun part: Soldiers, here's what you're doing wrong around your Medics: Wanting your Medics to charge in, or "Cowardly healer, letting me do all the dirty work" The Medic is a support class with a very good medium-long range gun choice (the Assault Rifle class is only available to Medics). This means that the Medic should be at the back of the force. He's not a coward, he's being a good support soldier. He's the reason you don't stay dead for more than 15 seconds. If he was at the head of the column, he'd be dead, and he can't revive himself. Killing is your job, for he most part, and keeping others from doing the same thing to you is his. Running from your Medic, or "STAND STILL DAMMIT!" You're a strapping young Light Assault with Adrenaline Pump. You have about a third of your health left and you call for Medic without stopping. This is bad. Why? You are FASTER than your Medics. Even without the Pump, all classes move at the same speed, meaning your Medics will NOT be able to catch up to you to heal you. When you call Medic, stop and stand still for a few seconds, or at least walk instead of sprinting. See if one comes running up. We Medics are nice people, and we're anxious to earn those certs we get for healing you. FriendZoning your Medic, or "I might get up at some point." You've been killed in the middle of nowhere, and you don't/do want to be revived. You get a revive request and don't click Decline or Accept. This is bad. Why? When you click Decline, your body disappears. It can't be revived again. If you don't, that Medic (if his Applicator isn't level 6) is going to stand there for a good 30 seconds waiting for you to get up so you can run off into the sunset hand-in-hand, and also so he can heal you to full health. You're not getting up. His dreams are dashed. But he doesn't know it yet, because you haven't told him. You're keeping his hopes up when he's not getting anything out of it in the end. I know it's hard to let him down like that, but you can't lead the poor guy/gal on. This doesn't work in relationships and it doesn't work for Medics. Always reject or accept Revive requests promptly. I may add more things to this as I discover more things that troops (like me) do that frustrate Medics (also me), but getting rid of these will make everyone happier. Except your enemies. And they don't deserve happiness.
Lol at the friendzone part, made me chuckle. Nice guide though. I can't say that I would agree that medics should stay in the back; to an extent maybe, but assault rifles are better than carbines. Also, to the none-medics, look for the cross icons in your hud, that means a medic is there.
Yeah, they're good guns, I just thought that Assault Rifles were better used at range. That's how I play anyway. The stay-in-the-back bit is kinda up to the player, I just get irritated when people get mad at me for hanging back.
Another bit to add, these are vehicle-related tips for Medics: That rumble seat on the Flash and the Harasser? The Rumble Seat is your Friend! Got that nice AoE Heal special? Wanna spread the love? Hop in the rumble seat of a Flash or a Harasser! This is a pretty nifty trick. If you're in that seat, your AoE Heal and Medical Application still work. With a level 6 Applicator (which is totally worth the 500 certs for the last level) and a few certs dumped into the healing special, you can roll around with your special blazing and reviving people without even stopping. For even more fun, get on a Flash with a Wraith Device. If your special is running when he cloaks, it'll keep going until it runs out or you turn it off! (This is likely a bug, expect a patch for it) Mass Healing en Route The Harasser is a better choice for this due to the Flash's tendency to, well, die as a result of everything. You're gonna have to get pretty close to allied vehicles, and the Flash gets run over. A lot. You've taken my advice, You're in the rumble seat of your favorite vehicle. You know that somewhere in this convoy, there are wounded soldiers in a Sunderer. What can you do? Unlock Triage for a bunch of certs and heal them very slowly? NOPE! Have you driver pull up next to that Sunderer. Use your 'F' ability. As long as the Sunderer's center of mass is within its radius, you will heal everyone in the Sunderer. This work for all vehicles and is an easy way to heal people in a vehicle. Please note, this only works if you're in the rumble seat! Just being a passenger or gunner does not allow you to activate your 'F' ability!
The advantage to Triage is that it allows you to heal from within the safety of a protected seat, but it's not worth it's fairly steep price tag for that in my opinion.
Excellent guide, someone sticky this! Also this a lot. As much as I love seeing those light assault glutes pumping. Especially if you're on the tiniest sliver of health and you have already been healed a tiny bit but ran away from the medic doing What was I talking about?
Glad you like it! I'm basically recounting my pet peeves when dealing with Medics, either as one or as healed by one, along with some useful tips for the class. There will probably be more soon, there are many, many things in this game that irritate me
Medics and Other Medics: What to do when you're healing a healer. Short answer? Nothing special. Medics have health bars just like everyone else. Healing another Medic won't kill your team, just don't heal other Medics exclusively. Long answer: When Reviving: Friendly Medics are you FIRST priority when reviving large groups of soldiers. You'll know they're medics because they have a big white backpack and a white helmet detail, regardless of faction. If you're in a room with a bunch of bodies, revive the friendly Medic first so he can help you with the rest. Side-note on Reviving: Revive MAX units first. You can't heal them, but you can revive them and stand behind them for a bit of protection if you're under fire. Also, they'll love you for it. MAXes aren't free. The practice of exclusively healing other Medics has been called a "Medic Circle-Jerk" and it is something to be avoided. When Healing: The opposite of when reviving. If neither of you is dead, a friendly Medic is your last priority, and you should be his last priority. Why? Think about it for a moment. YOU CAN HEAL YOURSELF. Use your 'F' ability to regenerate your health and the health of those around you. It affects you too and is one of the Medic's greatest assets. This is a good reason to level it up a few ranks.
Maybe add some more rules of engagement - Dont rezz someone who is being rezzed or is in his "get up" position. Its bad manners to "steal" someones revive. - Dont get tunnel vision, trying to heal and revive anything in sight. There are other medics too, and three medics storming to a barely injured guy isnt very effective. - Sometimes, you have to let go. Dont get youself killed over someone who died in an obvious killzone. And dont revive someone who will be shot down in a matter of seconds again. - Despite carrying an AR and the low TTK, try to stay alive. Go in as the second or third, first kill the evil dudes, then revive. Edit: if you like them, just steal them and apply your funny style (and red colour) to them
One thing to add is certainly don't revive people who are in a spot where they will get gunned down immediately. Enemies on the other side of doorways, outside enemy spawns, etc.
Why, thank you, sir, don't mind if I do Know When not to Revive: The latest Game Update (or the one before that, whatever) made it so that two Medics cannot simultaneously revive the same target, removing one method of "stealing" revive XP. What they didn't fix is the fact that people can be revived multiple times before actually getting up. Learn to recognize the "I've been rezzed" flags. Troops who have been revived have a "sitting up" look to them. Don't revive them again, it's considered bad form. Think of it like real life. Imagine you've just performed CPR on a beautiful member of the opposite (or same, no judgement here) sex. Do you want some other random person pushing you off and standing over them, taking credit? If you said yes, you need serious help. Go get some help then start at the beginning of the post again. When is a Medic not a Medic? Yes, your Medical Applicator is wonderful and is a great tool, but it shouldn't be your primary. Assault Rifles are wonderful guns, and the eventual goal of the game is to make sure all the enemies are dead before all the allies are. Causing an enemy to be dead is in some cases more valuable than causing an ally to be not-dead. If there are several Medics that seem to know what they're doing (ya know, people who've read this guide), feel free to switch to your gun for a few kills. Think of it as indirect healing. Instead of reviving your ally, you're causing him to not be killed in the first place. Who knew bullets could be so therapeutic? He's Dead, Jim. I personally hate the Kill : Death Ratio stat, but some people live by it. Getting revived by a Medic after going down still counts as a death in that stat, so if there's a ScatterMax standing behind you, do your ally a favor and let him respawn. Reviving someone over and over again in the middle of a firestorm isn't terribly helpful, either, and is more likely to get you killed. Dead Medics can't revive themselves or anyone else, so avoid this. Don't be the first one in the room and don't jump on grenades. Dammit, Jim, I'm a Doctor, not a Martyr! Couldn't resist. Thanks, Leonard DeVir, for these helpful pieces of advice and for the permission to rewrite them. Anyone else with any advice to give feel free to post it, I'll credit you in the writeup!
