— US Armed Forces saying
I am a medic. I think you know I'm a good medic. I'm very proud of my medic skills. As of writing this, I am currently the best medic there is on the PS3's BFBC2. That's quite an accomplishment. I'm rank 50 and I've gathered over 2.5 million points as a medic. I did all of it without ever using Magnum Ammo on an M60. So I thought it might be a good idea to share my experience as a medic. So, let's start.
How to be a medic[]
So you want to be a medic...[]
Now, when I say medic I mean medic. Not machine gunner. Your primary role as a medic is to support the infantry by keeping them healthy and alive. Killing is of secondary importance. Your choice of specs will be the Med H+ and Med R+. They will give you a huge advantage.
Let's say you've never been a medic before. You'll be using your PKM but with no medkit or defibrillator. Just play as you normally would until you unlock your gear. I'll go over killing stuff later.
Healing people[]
Your medkits are going to be your prime source of points. Just toss them down and let them work. This is why the Med H+ and Med R+ are important. The increased range and speed of the healing will get your team-mates back on their feet much faster, as well as net your points faster. Keep an eye on your mini-map to locate injured players. They'll also be highlighted on your HUD.
Reviving people[]
Reviving is very important, but also a very risky job. It's going to require you to put yourself in harms way to save a ticket. Dead players are marked on the mini-map and the HUD as little EKG blips (lightning bolts). Tickets are very important, so try to revive anyone and everyone you can. This does not mean you should run to save everyone. You need to be able to judge who's worth saving and who's not. Your life is more important; as selfish as that sounds, it's true. Games are won by Assaults and Engineers, riding on the back of their Medics, with Recons pushing them along.
My recommended tactic is to stay in a group with your squad. Let your squad do the killing, and offer support. Try not to expose yourself, let your mates do it. If your mate falls, bring him back up. This will keep your boys fighting without having to wait to re-spawn, as well as saves the ticket. Simple, yes?
Triage[]
Triage is the practice of prioritizing the treatment of patients based on severity of their injury. There are 4 levels of triage.
- Injured and in need immediate help
- Injured but not in need of immediate help
- Minor injuries that may not need help
- Beyond help
Those who are in dire situations get first priority. Throw the health kit and let it work. This also applies to fresh bodies. If the person just died, prioritize saving their life before the person who died before them. Unless, of course, they died at about the same time, and saving the first to die would give you enough time to save the other, then do that.
Those not in need of immediate help are those who often waive treatment. They just up and go before you help them. If they don't want help, don't force it down their throat.
Minor injuries sometimes don't need help. Little booboos, if you can forgive my terminology, heal quickly enough by health regeneration.
I would consider this "beyond help." But if the paddles work...
Those who are beyond help are usually classified by their proximity and the danger involved with getting to them. If it would take too long or would be too dangerous to get to the individual, do not get yourself killed over it. This includes those who died too far away, died in the open, or the body is in a difficult spot to get to.
Killing people[]
You're still a soldier and you'll still need to be killing people. LMGs are relatively weak weapons, coming short in performance at close range, but excelling at medium to long ranges. Always fire from a stable, crouched stance. Always stand still when firing. Always avoid being caught in the open, but also avoid getting surprised at close range. Play defensively, not offensively. When taking a position, you should always be the last on in and last one out. When on the move, cover the rear or stay in the middle of the group.
This is NOT a one man job[]
Being a successful medic is by no means a one man job. The success of a team is dependent on the team as a whole. While a good medic can turn the tide of a battle, no amount of medicinal skill can save an uncoordinated shit team. Like I said before, power lies in numbers. Power lies in team work. Without a team, a medic is just another grunt with a fancy gun. A good medic will shine like the sun if he has a team.
Tactics for Medics[]
As a medic, I've made use of many tactics that I've never thought to give a name until now. Well, I've thought about them, so here's a list of my medic tactics.
Bait and Switch[]
Many players will assume that everyone will be shooting at them. So, if you're a medic and your mate is an assault, let your assault friend do the shooting. If your mate is taken down, the killer will be lulled into a false sense of security, and most likely start reloading their weapon. Take this opportunity to finish off your friend's killer, and then revive your friend.
Healing > Hurting[]
A health kit with the increased healing rate heals at an amazing rate. Have one out near you at all times. If you get in a fire fight, the kit will heal you as you're being shot, giving you crucial fractions of a second to kill your assailant before he can kill you. Multiple kits stack the effect. Three medics sitting on their three kits behind hard cover become almost unstoppable (granted they are also immobile).
Immortal snipers[]
Bolt action rifles take a second or so to cycle the bolt and chamber a new round. Medkits with the extra healing rate can actually fully heal someone who was just on the receiving end of a body shot before the shooter can chamber a new round. Dropping a health kit by a recon will give that recon the ultimate advantage during sniper duels, allowing him to take several opposing snipers out without worrying about being shot in the gut.
Return from the dead[]
When a player dies, they get to see a kill-cam. Those few seconds allow them to track where their killer went. If a player dies right next to you, count to 3 three before shocking them. That way they have a better idea of where the shot came from, and can return fire. In a related situation, if you enter an area to revive someone and you lost track of his killer, stay with the guy you revived. He probably knows where his killer went and will seek him out. Your mate will most likely need your help again.
Related to the bait-and-switch, tactic, too. Revive your bro and let him seek out his killer. Offer support. Let your mate get revenge for himself, but don't be afraid to lend a hand if things go south. He'll appreciate it if you let him get credit for the kill. This does not apply if the killer is within line of sight as you go in for the revive. Shoot the fucker.
Medkit launch[]
You need to get a medkit to someone who is a few meters away, or a meter or so above you. Do you run to them to give the kit, or do you just throw it right to them? The latter, obviously. I've mastered medkit launching, and it's an important skill to have when people are dying all over. To throw your medkit, orientate yourself to where you want it to go; look up of necessary. Then quickly sprint forward about one foot, jump, and throw your kit as you're jumping. It may take a while until you break down to a science, but being able to toss kits a modest distance will help out immensely. (also works with ammo crates)
Power of God[]
Using both the Medic healing specializations allow your kits to heal players up to 7 meters away 1.5x faster. That's in every direction. Dropping a crate down in the middle of a house can heal everyone in the building at the same time.
Power in Numbers[]
Find a large group of players and assimilate into it.
Like a rock[]
When in combat, always play defensively. Stay behind hard cover and avoid rushing forward. If you're forced to move, retreat backwards. Moving toward the enemy will get you killed. Don't advance unless someone else on your team can advance with you. Have those health-kits out to heal you and everyone around you. Like I said before, you aren't going to win the game; you are going to help the rest of your team win the game.
Eyes on the Kill Ticker[]
You should really keep an eye on the Kill Ticker in general, but the Kill Ticker comes in extra handy when playing as a medic. It tells you who killed who, obviously. So, if you see one of your team mates is dead, consult the kill ticker for who did it. Then if the belligerent is killed, you know it's safe to go in for the revive. Maybe.
If two players kill each other at the same time, just go in and revive the guy on your team. Easy.