Medic Roundtable

[cleric 3]

I have played scout since I started competitive TF2 back in mid 2008. However, with the need of a medic on my last team, I decided to drop the scattergun and pick up the medigun. Sure, it was pretty simple in the beginning: I learned the heal priorities pretty quickly, understood watching my flank (because I was basically a flank scout for 2 years), knew to always be aware of my escape routes, and had a badass pocket soldier that made sure I didn't get picked easily. Everything was all peachy--until we started playing at a higher level. We started scrimming top ESEA open teams and invite teams, and the game just became 10x faster than what I felt comfortable with. I have also realized the pressure on the team medic. While your teammates could make small mistakes around you and life would be fine 20 seconds later, the smallest movement or communication mistake you make could cost your team the round. With all these issues and questions in my head, I decided to sit down with some of the experts of the trade and ask them a few questions about what it takes to play medic at the highest level of TF2.

 

Hello gentlemen, thank you very much for spending some time with me today.

 

Instead of the usual "introduce yourselves" let's switch it up a little bit. Why don't we have Pyyyour introduce Springer, Springer introduce Ruwin, and Ruwin introduce Pyyyour.

 

Springer: For the moment Ruwin is clanless, but he played for the respectable x6, Oceanic Six, and 20ID clans. Having pushed all these teams to the next level, he is regarded as a one of the top 3 medics of the US.

Pure: Hello, this is Springer from TCM Gaming and he is pretty good at video games.

Ruwin: Pure, my main man. He inspired me to play medic. I owe all I have accomplished to this man!

 

Let's start with something simple. There will be players of all skill levels reading this interview, some of them who are trying to get into competitive TF2 for the first time. Tell them why you think the medic is the most vital class in competitive 6v6 tf2.

 

Springer: Basically everything happens around the medic in tf2, he decides if you live or die. He can't win a game on his own but he sure can lose it. So the pressure is always on, but you still have to depend on your teammates to kill. The only thing a medic can do is give the "support" your team need and hope that's enough to win the game in the end.

Pure: A bad medic can ruin a team, a great medic can make a team great. Basically, a medic has to decide between many options while still trying to main good positioning and communication.

Ruwin: Medic is the backbone of the team. Having a bad one can sometimes manifest itself in strange ways. The fragging classes may feel like they aren't being effective even when they are getting kills being one of its manifestations. Chances are if your KDR is good and you're losing-- whoever is leading the combo is not in the right place. A misplaced or lost uber can set you way back and in some cases lose you the round.

 

There are so many mid and low/mid medics out there wondering how they can get to the next level of their game. Have you noticed anything specific that the low/mid to mid medics do (or don't do) that you feel is a mistake and should be worked on?

 

Springer: Just get out there and play as much as possible with your team to get some routines. There is nothing better than playing 5x2 pcw's a week with the same ppl. Pickups and publics don't help you gain the much needed teamplay experience.

Pure: If a medic puts the time in he will slowly get better. In my opinion the main contributor is your past experience. I come from Quake3 so my aim is naturally very reactionary and precise, so flick heals are beyond easy to me. If anything, I flick heal too much! Low/Mid medics do not take command are often blindly following blind mice around maps instead of thinking of who is up and where is the best place to position oneself.

Ruwin: Having a thorough understanding of every class and what they're capable of. Try out each class and see what works and what doesn't. That way you can lead your team much more effectively.

 

What defines a great medic? Does it show in any of the statistics?

 

Springer: A great medic have to be good in scanning his surroundings. Timing and reflexes are a must. You need extra eyes to check your back. Curving your healing beam around the corners is a plus. Obviously the kill death ratio is not a representation for a medic, what i check sometimes is the death uber ratio.

Pure: Ruwin opened my eyes two seasons ago. We played a match, coL vs 20ID on granary, and no matter how well we played, and dm'd it just seemed that they would always beat us when it mattered. I watched his demo and saw that he was paranoid about his own life. Where I was being bold and dieing, Ruwin was smart and stayed alive. It gave his team the victory 5-3, or something like that. Great medics can analyze a situation and communicate where the combo should be. Or you can do what Ruwin and I do, which is lie to player to make them do things because you know its for the greater good of the team.

Ruwin: Communication with your team, dodging ability and a good sense of where you should be. Too often a medic will be led into a bad situation which can be prevented if he/she just speaks up. Having the game knowledge to recognize when a scenario is good or bad for you to get involved with is make or break. The greater the risk of you dying while you're healing the greater the chance the target you're healing might live or yield a kill. Know when to make clutch plays and get dangerous with your healing. You can easily die while doing this but it can be a game saver.

 

Which competitive map, in your opinion, is the most difficult to play medic on?

 

Springer: Gravelpit for sure. It has always been our worst map, but last weeks we worked hard on it and improved quite a lot. But I find it still hard to find the right position to stay save and dodge those jumping sols and demo.

Pure: I actually used to hate Gravelpit but I have played it so much that it is actually one of my best maps. I think ive been sniped only twice in the last 5-6 matches I have had on it. Though I like the map, Viaduct is the hardest for me. I am always being shot at by a sniper, which limits my heal range, and the map is made so heavy classes can constantly suicide on you.

Ruwin: BROMA. BROMA. BROMA. WANT TO HIDE FROM A SNIPER? TOO BAD, IT'S ME, HEADSHOT.

 

Walk me through your typical thought process as you get to the mid battle on badlands.

 

Springer: Over heal demo to 260hp - start healing sols - drop down - quick switch to scouts - heal first soldier - drop out of window - heal second soldier - jump around the pillar - over heal first sol - meet up with demo

Pure: Over heal soldiers with two taps, heal demo til you cant, heal soldiers til scouts are at max range and then tap both of them, heal soldiers to mid - This is when the magic happens.

Ruwin: Ideally I want the soldiers to be fully buffed at the house door, heal the demo to full and pocket a scout. It is crucial to heal your scouts back up to 185 at mid if they are not already engaged. Find your scouts, heal them. Don't be afraid to get in the line of fire to save a scout (If he's savable) just be smart about it and call it out.

 

Scouts can go play Quake Live; Soldiers and Demos can ammomod. What can a medic do to warm up for a match or practice?

 

Springer: I don't warm up really, its not that you need great aim or something. A medic just need to be focused and 'awake'. If i'm bit tired after a hard day of work i might drink a redbull, aquarius and a banana. Thats the secret combo.

Pure: I actually used to play Quakelive to warm my medic aim but I have not touched that game for months now. I play Doorman Warpath to warm up as medic. It allows me to deal with 1-8 people yelling medic and it allows me to calmly deal with panic situations. Before matches i also stay off other classes. I like to coordinated with the medic speed and movement.

Ruwin: Wash my face and get in the game. ;3

 

How do you work on your needle game?

 

Springer: Duel_duel2, nah serious its not often used... most of the time it is just used to fall back and shoot around the corner or to shoot a heavy etc. So not much aim needed, needling in pre-match should do the trick. The timing is more important, like when the the soldier with you is reloading everything and there is a sol in front of him. There is a good example of that in our YYT team movie where 1 of our scouts is fighting against 2 scouts and a medic. There is no way 1 scout is gonna kill them all and i can run away from them. So that's the perfect opportunity to step in.

Pure: Needles in tf2 are exactly like Plasma Gun in Quake3.

Ruwin: Man.. my needles are rusty. Not to imply that they will give you tetanus but hey, who knows.

 

Let's stroke some egos. Who do you see at the lower levels as a young and bright up-and-coming medic?

 

Springer: Psunfragga got the whole package, one day i'm sure _she_ will step it up.

Pure: I actually notice a lot of good medics in the ranks and then some medics who are just plain horrible. The best low level medics are the ones who quickly pick up who to heal a lot and who to not heal a lot. Grillz started off as a mid medic and now is slowly creeping his way to a High level. I really cant comment on other names, I just don't remember them. But any mid medic who is wondering how to get better should try and med for great players. Get a taste of what its like to be protected correctly. Paladin was the first soldier I ever healed in TF2 and through our time together we both made each other look good.

Ruwin: I agree with pure here. Find your form in finding a soldier who can truly protect or read you in a sense. Not sure about lower level medics.. I don't watch them much.

 

Pyyyour is the only one who has played in the US and Europe. Have you noticed any difference between medic playstyles?

 

Pure: I heard of Kynnel and tried to spec him as much as I could. And this is nothing personal, but, after watching him play 3-4 matches, at totally different times, I came to the conclusion that either every medic in Europe was atrocious or European TF2 players are just idiots. Medics in Europe pocket the demo immensely. So you must ask: Who gets less heals because the demo is always stacked? The soldiers. EU's second soldiers get no heals, EU pocket's barely ever get that constant 300 buff. The only two medics I see sometimes rely solely on their soldiers is Agron and Springer. Europe doesn't want to admit it, but if we ever meet on lan, (dignitas not included) Europe would get worked so hard, they would have to barter tickets to get back home.

Ruwin: As a medic you need to rely on every class for protection when you're healing them. Don't stick to one that's particularly bad with a long reload time. Roam around for maximum effectiveness as a medic. Trust your soldiers to watch you and come to you for immediate protection. That is why it's important to heal them. They are our main form of protection. Euro or not we as medics need to band together and heal all for equality!