Yes. I think the best lesson I've learned as a medic is positioning, positioning, positioning. You are not tanky enough to be a heavy and it's a bad idea to try to act like one, your healing is not good enough for sustained fire even at max level. You aren't as maneuverable as a light assault so if you try to get into weird places you won't be able to get out of them in time. You aren't as sneaky as an infiltrator, having people see that you're on your own won't end well. You're also not an engineer and don't have a turret, you can't afford to be stationary while shooting. So cover, constant movement and intelligent positioning are you best friends. Stay to the sides, try to be out of the direct flow of battle, hit the enemy from an angle rather than head on. I'll also add out of experience (my take on it for the next guide) that any medic worth his or her salt uses flak. It's a matter of practicality, not playstyle. Nanoweave adds a 2-3 bullets until death in a game with low TTK and high fire rates; you are not a tank and the tactics needed to play any type of medic makes them natural grenade/splash damage magnets. Even if you ignore others your nano regen won't outheal direct gunfire, requiring you to stay out of immediate line of sight, in which case splash damage will still your worst enemy when they throw grenades/missiles to try to finish off the wounded person behind cover. A few other notes: The grenade bandolier with revive grenades in a large battle is incredible if you have a good squad to support your lack of defense or extremely solid cover (ie a biolab teleport room with allies pushing out under heavy fire, you can singlehandedly alter the outcome with a few rez grenades). The level 1-3 medic gun is almost worthless, including for overall experience gained, upgrading it to max level is something you will never regret. You will also never regret maxing out C4 (eventually - AFTER getting your medic gun to max and nanoregen to a decent level). Not great as a go-to item, but when the situation arises it's invaluable. Those times when a tank or max has overextended its' position past your location and has its' back to you is now an opportunity instead of a serious threat. I've used it for most of my medic career, took the time to write out my take on it over here. Long story short: you will either love it or hate it.
There's only 1 fault that I see with this guide: it's from the perspective of someone who plays with an organized group. I think the number 1 problem medics face in this game is having a good squad to support. This is a team oriented game and whoever has the best coordination will come out on top. According to my stats page, I play medic 65% of the time. The rest of the time I'm playing an engi in a skyguard pulling air defense. Right now I'm not in an outfit, most of my friends play whenever they can, but I work weird hours and am often not on during peak hours. This means most of the time I'm in some random squad or completely alone. Let me tell you... playing this alone in a disorganized pickup squad that has zero communication... that's no fun. Might as well log off and do something else. However, the single train of thought that resonates through this conversation is this: YOU ARE NOT A TANK/HEAVY/WHATEVER. Play smart and use opportunity to your advantage. Get behind the enemy or come at them sideways, otherwise, stay the hell out of combat. It's also 100% ok to fall back. There is no shame in this. Even if you're not in a good group, you can still support the zerg, but please do not stick your neck out for some guy you don't know. You're no use to anyone if you're dead, and often times, nobody is going to rez you, because that's YOUR job. As a solo medic that's simply a part of the zerg, you do what you can when you can and how you can. In an organized group you can do a lot with very little, as a solo medic, all you really can do is revive the idiots that bumrush the crown time and time again. I really envy the people that have solid groups to play with.
You're right, I do play with a very organised and highly skilled group. However, back in 2001, we were all new. When I wrote the guide, I used some old lessons learned on the field to try to compensate with the randomness of Planetside. Making a mistake when you have Warwhich the shoutcaster following your performance quickly forces you to be the best you can be. My team never played for stats and even back in the RTCW days, we would finish our matches with -30 for a score... Simply put, we had the suicide key binded so that we could time our respawns and always come back as a full force. Timing your suicides was an important part of the game. We actually still uses this tactic in PS2 and especially with the new squad leader spawn feature. If I do play solo (rarely) - I do have a different approach on things but I am aware of my surroundings, I do understand the battle flow and carefully monitor the movement of my team. Because of that, I usually have a few random TR guys following me and that usually works for the best. So what do I still do when playing solo? - Always check MAP - Always position myself correctly (Near cover) - Always have a fully loaded weapon - Keep my ability fully recharged - Try to always have an escape route - My primary concern is my survival and in return this will ensure the revives/heals of my team Indeed, the biggest thing to learn is "positioning"
Just want to say thanks for this guide. I am trying to find tips for my wife who has started playing. Her big weakness is awareness and actually fighting. Being completely new to fps her reactions are slow and aiming is off, needless to say she finds it all very daunting. At the moment she is trying to get used to just positioning well and supporting while she lacks confidence to get stuck in. This guide is rather thorough and reading will likely make her self concious regarding what she isn't doing but I can hand pick some of the advice she can start putting into practice to perfect that before becoming more versatile. Having said that, I myself have started playing medic to better understand it to help her and I have to say I am loving it. I think a point I would like to make is that while it is true that you are not a tanky type char, don't underestimate your capability. While it is true that you can't handle sustained fire, with the right weapon you don't need to - the hydra for VS is a beast and at close range with nanoregen you can destroy even a heavy so in fight or flight situations don't assume you must run, especially if it is likely you would be mowed down in the time it takes to turn and flee.
I appreciate the feedback and the comments and glad that people are pitching in with their our tactics. There is no absolute truth and even if I was the best in the world, a noob could still teach me a few tactics and show me other nifty tricks. Arrogance is what blocks good players to become great. You do not just become amazing, you practice to become better and eventually, with the right people and right setup, you'll shine. Asteldian, if you're playing with your wife. The best way to help her is to keep the communication going. What makes my team so unique and efficient is the constant casual chatting. Our ventrilo is always filled with a constant wave of discussions and on-going updates. The new guys are having a great time and they are quickly become top notch. Even when there's a random story going around, we still have those moments where it's just a bunch of updates coming in from our point man. The more you communicate, the more your team is aware of the situation. You don't need to go nuts on details, just keep it simple and brief and the human brain will connect the dots. I think my next guide will focus on communication!
Just one thing I would like to add. Spend some time shooting at the targets (the silhouettes, not the respawning dummies) in VR. Helps you aim, but more importantly....how long can you hold the trigger down before you start getting flyers.
The S variant guns are definitely worth a look as medic, because of versatility. I'd specifically suggest the underbarrel shotgun. The 1 hit kill capability it has helps you in those oh-****-someone-came-around-the-corner moments when you're in a more combative posture, but you still retain the regular AR so missing (or partially hitting) isn't as punishing as with pump-actions. The switch between underbarrel and regular barrel could be faster of course, or a tertiary fire button could be used for it... but even so, it enables a medic to win against a shielded heavy often enough. Only 4 shots, but you want to stick with a team anyway and there's usually an engineer around. Meanwhile 4 shots are enough for 4 encounters (you absolutely can't reload in the middle of combat). Smoke launcher is great for letting your squaddies use a more effective weapon instead, and you can use the smoke for revives when not playing organized. I haven't used the UBGL much, but there's no shortage of comments on it around the forums. It's better at long range, but as a medic you're most needed closer to the battle, imo. I think the underbarrel shotgun is particularly suited for when you can't be bothered joining an organized squad - you won't piss off non-IRNV factionmates or run out of ammo quite as quickly.
Been gone for a while. - Need to replay the medic a bit. Any major changed since I left or this guide is still up to date?
In my experience, the most efficient way to play medic now is revive grenade+bandoleer. Use your healing aura liberally (though do keep in mind that it lights everybody up like a Christmas tree, so it's a no-no in smoke and low light), make even more liberal use of your awesome weapons to make many mans dead, and if it seems safe enough, whip out that medtool and bring them back up. Splash damage isn't what it was when you posted this originally, and nanoweave is a dubious benefit at best now that it isn't a flat HP increase. In a situation where you're going to have to do a lot of fighting, ASC is also an excellent choice as it can combine with your healing aura to mean you have basically zero downtime. It's a bit heavy on the infantry resource usage front, but I find being able to just lob a grenade at a spot where a couple of my buddies just died is perfect because it not only revives them (and gives me phat certs) but it also gives me a solid 4-5 second cushion to pin down whatever it was that killed them so they can make a getaway or lob off a "hey **** you, guy!" rocket. Had I rushed over to revive them with my medtool, I would've been killed horribly. Of course, it's also the best way to making certs hand over fist, spamming them into a chokepoint meatgrinder. Getting good with revive grenades also means you'll be able to revive dead LA teammates on roofs and on trees and whatnot, earning you friends for life It should also be noted that at LEAST 1 brick of C4 is mandatory, with two being preferable. There's zero opportunity cost at the moment considering a medic doesn't need medkits, and C4 is ALWAYS useful at any fight. Emphasis on usage of cover is also key, as a medic stands out in any fight and is always the first target. My number one rule of blockade busting is "always let some other doomed bastard rush in first" and this applies to everything. Always be 3rd or 4th in, by that point you've got certs to revive on the ground and reloading certs to put bullets into.
