3. The Battle Medic

Arguably, Medic’s greatest flaw is that he’s not well equipped to fight, after all that’s his patient’s job, not his. However, if you got an itchy trigger finger that just won’t rest, even when you’re supposed to be a healer, then this loadout is for you! The Battle Medic is a loadout where you equip the Blutsauger, Quick Fix, and Solemn Vow for a more powerful medicine man.

The Blutsauger is a syringe gun that reduces your overall health regeneration in exchange for giving you health every time one of your rapid-fire shots hits an enemy. Outside of combat you might regenerate HP slower, but when you’re in a fight the health bonus can make you unstoppable. The Solemn Vow also gives you the passive bonus of being able to see enemies’ health, just like you can see your teammates, making it much easier to pick your battles wisely. With that in mind, try to remember that you’re still a Medic, and before you run off with the Blutsauger, remember that your job first and foremost is to keep your teammates alive and well. That’s where the Quick Fix comes in, it’s a Medigun that can heal your teammates faster at the cost of reduced overheal and a weaker Ubercharge. Those might sound like heavy downsides, but the bonus of an increased heal rate can save your teammate’s lives, and when you’re trying to be as much of a fighter as you are a healer spending less time healing gives you more time to go hunting for enemies

Item Loadout

• The Blutsauger 
• The Quick Fix 
• The Solemn Vow 

What The Battle Medic excels in

• Enabling the Medic to hold their own in a fight by making damage dealt to enemies give you health in return
• Saving the lives of teammates in dire situations with an increased heal rate. Sometimes that faster healing makes the difference between life and death
• Picking your battles effectively. The Solemn Vow lets you see the remaining HP of enemies, which helps your team as much as it helps you when you share that info with your patients
• Managing your time and patients effectively. The Quick Fix’s faster heal rate lets you heal more teammates than you could otherwise
• Going on a killing spree. Normally as a Medic, your weapons are reserved for self-defense. However, with the extra health you get from the Blutsauger you can make your enemies the ones running for their lives this time

2. German Efficiency

Germans are known for being efficient, and as TF2’s Deutch Doktor, the Medic has a couple of tricks up his sleeve that help him get the job done harder, better, faster, and stronger, namely The Overdose, The Kritzkrieg, and The Amputator. Each of these items are useful in their own right, but when you use them together you’ll find that they have great synergies!

The Kritzkrieg replaces Ubercharge's invulnerability with guaranteed critical hits and fills its Uber meter faster, an ability that lends itself to this loadout’s efficient mindset. It’s a purely offensive buff, meaning you can’t use it to save yourself, but both of your other weapons have their own abilities that can end up saving your skin without wasting precious Uber! The Overdose makes you move faster as your Uber meter fills up, incrementally increasing your movement speed until you have full charge and move almost as fast as a scout! The Amputator on the other hand gives Medic an extra 3 health per second and has a taunt that heals all nearby teammates. These items can be used in tandem with each other to make a Medic that gets to his team faster, heals his team faster, and even builds up Ubercharge faster!

Item loadout

• The Overdose
• The Kritzkrieg
• The Amputator

What German Efficiency excels at

• The Kritzkrieg quickly builds up to an Ubercharge that gives your patient critical hits. You’ll be charging more frequently and potentially getting more kills with each charge
• The Overdose’s increased movement speed with every 10 points of Uber synergizes with the increased Ubercharge build rate
• The Amputator gives you more health regenerated per second, and has a taunt that heals teammates in an area effect, allowing you to get back into the action faster after falling back, and continue healing your teammates in the process
• The Kritzkrieg’s buff is the most useful on explosive classes like Soldiers and Demomen, as well as classes with automatically firing weapons such as Pyro and Heavy
• The Overdose’s increased movement speed allows you get within healing range of teammates faster, as well as put more distance between you and your enemies
• The Kritzkrieg’s taunt heals you by 10 points, which can end up saving your life if you’re on fire or bleeding. The Amputator’s active buff might give you more health in the long run, but the Kritzkrieg’s taunt can be life-saving in a pinch

1. The Competitive Meta

This loadout features the 3 weapons that are generally considered the best in their respective slots, The Crusader’s Crossbow, the stock Medigun, and the Ubersaw. It’s the most popular loadout for Medic, and the only one you’ll see in competitive games. While the other two sets on this list are sidegrades that can be incredibly useful in certain situations, this loadout is the best at healing your team and getting a game-winning Ubercharge!

The Crusader’s Crossbow works completely differently from Medic’s other syringe guns. While the rest of them rapidly fire projectiles, the Crusader’s Crossbow fires a single shot that deals more damage the further away you are from your target, and heals teammates when you shoot them. You can use this to heal anyone from any range, but also quick switch between your medigun and crossbow for some rapid fire healing! This won’t slow down your Uber meter, since crossbow shots fill up your Ubercharge. Speaking of which, the stock Medigun’s Ubercharge is hands down the most powerful, giving your target 8 seconds of invincibility where they can wreak havoc on the enemy team! It also takes the longest to charge up, but that’s where the Ubersaw comes in. The Ubersaw is your melee weapon, and when you land a hit, it’ll fill up your Uber meter by 25%. Considering how it usually takes 2 or 3 melee hits to kill an enemy,  that means you could walk away from a melee fight with a full Ubercharge! On their own, these weapons give you the best utility out of their respective slots, but when you put them together you get a medic who can heal anyone from any range, rapidly heal teammates, and build up to an Ubercharge in only a few seconds

Item loadout

• The Crusader’s Crossbow
• Medigun
• The Ubersaw

What The Competitive Meta excels in

• Healing your team quickly. The Crusader’s Crossbow reloads passively, meaning you can switch between the medigun and crossbow and have a shot ready every time. This trick can patch up a large group of injured teammates in no time!
• The Crusader’s Crossbow enables you to heal far away teammates teammates that would normally be outside of your medigun’s range, which can be life-saving 
• The Medigun can give your teammates full overheal at the regular healing rate, making it the most useful for buffing your team. You can overheal a teammate and shoot crossbow bolts at them once they start taking damage to help them survive dangerous situations
• Stock Ubercharge is the most powerful kind of Ubercharge Medic has available. It turns your patients invincible and leaves the opposing team powerless. A well timed stock Uber can turn the tide of an entire game
• The Ubersaw fills up your meter by a quarter every time you land a melee hit, if you manage to kill an enemy you’ll fill your meter up by at least halfway, likely even more!

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