Hello there fellow mercenaries. After few good years of playing in TF2 I thought that it will be good idea to share knowledge to these new players, who just don't know what is this spooky beam coming from Medic's weapon.

I am only covering behaviour of the patient, not Medic himself. In each example I will treat Medic as decent player who knows that he is supposed to heal.

I will be using word "pocket", which means being a main patient for the Medic and his protector. Have in mind that it doesn't mean healing the same person constantly ignoring everyone else.

I won't cover whole Medic's loadout. I just want to explain you what he does with his healing weapons.

This is Medigun. Default secondary weapon for Medic, beloved by many skilled Medics. It may not be anything special but can have huge influence on the game.
Medigun can be charged with the so called Ubercharge. It grants invulnerability to both him and his patient and lasts 8 seconds. You have no idea how many times my Ubercharge was wasted by a newbie who either backed up or freaked out. If you suddenly started glowing in red or blue (depending on your team) that means you got this Uber! Now charge at enemy team like you were on steroids! The only thing you should be worried about is knockback. An airblast can easily push you off the cliff or break healing beam (and so Ubercharge) between you and the Medic.

Kritzkrieg. It's Ubercharge is different than default one. The same will be for other medi guns. It charges faster and instead of invulnerability it grants you critical hits. You can notice it when your weapon starts glowing at your team's color. You are still vulnerable to everything but you deal triple damage to everyone except for Engineer's buildings. Better start making chaos among your foes while you can. That is the second most beloved medi gun by skilled Medics.

Quick-fix. Not very liked by competitive Medics. It is, however, well-known for it's fast charge rate. Ubercharge grants tripled healing rate and nulifies all kinds of knockback (no need to worry about airblasting Pyros). You can recognise it by having sides of your screen coloured in red or blue and have pulsing circle below you. At this point you can charge at few enemies who wouldn't be able to get killed without Ubercharge. Don't go deep in enemy lines though as this Ubercharge only heals you faster. You can still get killed by overwhelming firepower such as level 3 sentry, Heavy and Demoman.

After this medi gun was released, it was somewhat good. After Gun Mettle update it became useless. After Tough Break update... Well, it's back, and it's powerful. The Vaccinator is a complicated medi gun. Let me make a list of what it does:
- Holds 4 Ubercharges, each lasts 2.5 seconds (10 seconds in total);
- Ubercharge provides 75% resistance AND crit resistance against selected type of attack;
- Medic, by pressing reload button, can cycle through three different types of resistances: bullets, explosions and fire (There is no melee resistance, be aware of that);
- While healing, both Medic and his patient receive passive 10% resistance against selected type of attack;
- Your HUD (next to your health) and the icon above your character will show the selected resistance;
- Ubercharges can be stacked on one another, meaning that you can get all three resistances at once;
- Unlike other Ubers, Medic doesn't have to heal you constantly to keep the effect of Uber. He can just stop healing you and rush on enemies and you will still be under the effect of the Uber;
- Overheal and charging-while-overhealing is slow. Charging however can be boosted by taking the same type of damage as the resistance you have. For instance, if Soldier shoots you with a rocket when you have blast resistance, the Medic will get Uber faster. He won't get boosted Uber if he had bullet or fire resistance.
Before Tough Break update I couldn't find good use for Vaccinator at all. The Uber rate was just horrible. Now with proper use I could get six ubers in a row! It doesn't mean that this medi gun is overpowered though. A spy, demoknight and overwhelming firepower can still get you down (similar to Quick-fix if you replace sniper with demoknight). This medi gun is mostly useful when fighting against a team which is focused on just one type of an attack OR has some very experienced players who keeps killing your teammates.

Images source: All taken from Official TF2 Wiki

This is what you should take care of every time you are being healed by Medic, regardless of your class:

Source: http://www.halolz.com/2009/03/21/oh-uhdid-you-need-the-med-kit/
- Medkits are for Medics, remember that whenever you see heavily injured Medic. Don't steal them. He will get killed and you will suffer by lack of him;
- Pay attention to Medics health. Retreat if you see him close to death;
- Since Medic is a support class, he should always be with someone. If you see a lonely Medic, go and help him;
- Enemy is very likely to ambush your Medic. Try often looking behind to see if he is safe.

It is uncommon to be Scout and have Medic by your side. There may be few situations:
- He wants to get quickly to battlefront/flee;
- Has nobody else to heal (he should run away at this point);
- He wants to save you from, say a Heavy with Natasha.

Source: http://rinkuchan27.deviantart.com/art/TF2-MvsM-Medic-and-Scout-337015460
To do:
- Despite being able to move as fast as you, the Medic might still fall behind. Have in mind that the Medic must be heal you to receive the speed boost, and if the medi beam breaks even for a second, he will struggle to catch up to you. Have that in mind, especialy when you find your Medic under attack;
- Don't use shortcuts avaible by double jump, that should be obvious that your Medic can't reach them and would have to go round. Also you can get him killed by escaping like that;
- Your Scattergun is very effective at close range. The hard thing is aiming while avoiding attacks AND protecting your Medic. This weapon is capable of killing most classes with two point-blank hits. That means you can instantly kill most enemies who try to ambush your healer;
- On battlefront you would rather not be constantly healed by Medic. He will most likely heal your wounds and switch to other class. If you need quick healing, then simply approach him;
- If you have Mad milk equipped, use it to extinguish your Medic.

Soldier is much better patient for Medic. In few tournaments he is pocketing Medic.

Source: http://www.deviantart.com/art/Tf2-Medic-And-Soldier-361814304
To do:
- Don't rocket jump too far, unless your Medic has Quick-fix. But then watch out as you may shoot your healer off the cliff;
- You can still rocket jump though, but just not too far. Let the healing beam be always connected between you and the Medic;
- At safe places you can self damage yourself with rockets to let the Medic get his Ubercharge faster. However, it doesn't work during setup time.

Skilled Medics are less likely to choose Pyro for reliable patient. This is because Pyro's job is to ambush enemies and fight at close range, something that the Medic would like to avoid. There is just too big risk of getting killed.

Source: http://ibiteyourface.deviantart.com/art/TF2-Battle-Medic-and-Pyro-156719574
To do:
- Avoid being surrounded and thus don't go too far unless you have other classes for help;
- Protect your Medic from spies and try to deflect every projectile (rockets, pipes, arrows etc.). In tournaments the Pyro is always a protector of the Medic, even though it is not his pocket;
- If you know you won't be able to kill an enemy on time, push them away from Medic so they would be unable to harm Medic or at least do it less effectivly. A good example would be Spy, you may kill him but he could manage to backstab Medic. Instead push him away and then burn him;
- If you see burning Medic, use your airblast to extinguish him. Actually, do this for every teammate who is on fire.

One of main healing targets. Demoman being one of the most self-damaging class needs a lot of healing. During tournaments he also gets Kritzkrieg's Ubercharge as his stickybomb launcher deals a lot of damage.

Source: http://rebloggy.com/post/soldier-team-fortress-2-medic-demoman-archimedes-bird-man-of-aberdeen/30161488163
To do:
- Self damage yourself at safe moments (just like Soldier) so your Medic will charge his medi gun faster;
- Try not to blow yourself up;
- As your class is hopeless at close fight it is a good idea to have some fellow Pyro or anyone in particular to protect your Medic. That doesn't mean you shouldn't do that as well;
- Just like Soldier, don't sticky jump away from Medic. You can do that but keep connection of medi gun beam;
- For default and Quick-fix Ubercharge your main goal is to destroy sentry guns. For Kritzkrieg's Uber, kill everyone as fast as possible;
- If you are preparing for Ubercharge, get your weapons reloaded, especially Stickybomb Launcher.

Extra:
If you are Demoknight (have equipped any kind of shield and go for melee kills) and for some reason you have Medic on your side, then you must be really careful with him.

To do:
- Since you fight in melee range you fight similar to Pyro and Spy combined, you put your Medic at very high risk of getting killed. Pick up single targets rather than charging at whole bunch of enemies;
- Just like with jumping, don't charge away from your Medic;
- Have some grenade launcher equipped. It can help at tough moments or when, for example, you get default Uber and enemy sentry is nearby.

Whenever I see some Heavy and Medic on the server, they are usually together. This is not surprising because Heavy is a perfect meat shield and has a lot of health. Combining him with a Medic can give enemy a very hard time killing them both. However, he is not better at pocketing like Soldier, Demoman or Pyro. He is just the most convenient of all, as he kills at close range very easily and is able to heal the Medic by using his Sandvich.

Source: http://owlygem.deviantart.com/art/Michelangelo-Heavy-and-Medic-320609484
To do:
- Cover your Medic with your body. Of course you can try to dodge some rockets but make sure that your Medic is also able to do that;
- Jump and spin up your Minigun to surprise enemies from corners or to block some sneaky Spy from backstabbing your Medic;
- Always have Sandvich equipped. In tough moments you can right-click to throw Sandvich for your Medic. It acts like medium medkit. Believe me, I was saved many times by competent Heavies and killed by selfish ones who ate their meal themselves;
- You are great at medium-to-close range combat. That means you are very likely to kill most of the classes on sight, especially while being healed...;
- ... but that also means you are very vulnerable at high range by snipers and you can easily get backstabbed due to your slow movement. Look behind often and get through open areas as fast as possible.

I have never encountered Medic pocketing Engineer. This is because Engineer is defense class, and without his buildings he is pretty weak. The exception is the one with Gunslinger, but even then, Medics shouldn't rely on him.

Source: http://www.halolz.com/2010/11/06/another-successful-procedure/
To do:
- If you are playing Engineer normaly and nothing special is happening around then there is something wrong with your Medic. You have dispenser so there's no point at healing you. Better ask him to change class;
- If you are under fire then there's another story. Repair your buildings and hope that Medic is safe behind your dispenser;
- If you are Gunslinger Engineer and get pocketed by Medic then that means you are doing quite well. Get use of your mini-sentry and weapons to keep both of you safe;
- If you have Widowmaker and good aim then combining it with Kritzkrieg can wipe out whole enemy team. Just don't forget that you are still vulnerable during Kritzkrieg's Ubercharge;
- If you have Frontier Justice and some revenge shots in your counter then you can combine it with default Ubercharge in order to significantly damage or even wipe out entire enemy team. Better have good aim as three-rounded clip can be annoying.

Medic healing Medic... Well the game itself gives you a tip to keep other Medics alive in order not to be overwhelmed with healing. However pocketing a Medic has only one reason of existance: trolling. And for the sake of this guide I'll tell you how to do that.

Source: https://plus.google.com/communities/102247939196820357274/stream/285a2f24-cc54-4dd2-8114-e1d97f6321fe (somehwere on this site... not sure where)
The rules are strict:
- Always have default Medi gun;
- Always have Ubersaw (gives 25% charge on hit);
- Make the other Medic have these weapons as well;
At least one of you must have an Uber. Activate the charge and the other Medic should rush on enemies with Ubersaw. Hopefuly he should get enough hits (4 hits if started at 0% of Uber) to get Ubercharge. By the end of your charge you must switch roles so now he uses his Uber and you charge at enemies with Ubersaw. Rince and repeat until you fail to get Uber or end of the round.

Here is a good example of how it should look like:

Medic pocketing Sniper is more like a joke rather than a normal way of playing. Sniper fights in very far range. He is hopeless at close combat. Most classes will kill him with ease. Of course skilled snipers are harder but still easier than, for example Medic himself.

Source: http://biggreenpepper.deviantart.com/art/TF2-medic-and-sniper-305056555
To do:
- If you are one of many snipers on maps like 2fort, camping somewhere on the roof, then tell your Medic to heal someone else or change class. You are unable to protect him;
- If you have bow as primary weapon then you may have some value for Medic. You can somehow defend yourself and Medic, but you need good aim and quick reaction skills to do that well;
- Most of the times you will get healed when you are injured. Overheal lets you survive uncharged headshot so better use that healing while you can;
- If you are playing with a friend or Medic who has nothing to do with his Kritzkrieg's Uber, you can use that to shot crit bodyshots. It's like each shot you make, regardless which part of the body you hit, will be headshot. You still need good aim though;
- Just like the Scout with Mad milk, use your Jarate to extinguish your Medic.

Most of the times, pocketing Spy usually ends at him fleeing with invisibility and Medic meeting face to face with Sasha (a.k.a. Heavy's minigun). But there are situations when Spy would get some use of Medic's healing and Ubercharge.

Source: http://roverjack.deviantart.com/art/Uber-Spy-113030113
To do:
- Having a Medic by your side when you were supposed to sneak behind enemy teritory might be annoying so it is best to meet Medic with prepared default Ubercharge and enemy Engineer nearby. With use of this Ubercharge you can safely sap Engineer's buldings and backstab him;
- Just like Sniper, you would rather be healed if you are in need. A good Medic should know that pocketing you ruins your gameplay.

You haven't expected this, have you? Well in that case you are either a master of disguise or Medic doesn't have enough skill.

(couldn't find picture, sorry for that)

To do:
- You will lose Uber as soon as you lose disguise so better use your first shot/backstab wisely. Of course while you are under the effect of default Ubercharge you can't hurt the Medic. Instead try to sap and kill nearby Engineer. Sapping doesn't take away your disguise and thus can be performed until Medic realises who he just Ubered;
- This combination is often used at trolling people. I won't tell you how, it is enough that I told you about trolling as Medics.

Well, I guess that's it... except for one more thing. Every class can be a very good patient. It mostly depends on patient's skills and loadout. Discover new ways to wipe out enemy team with a Medic, some tricks and different loadout. I won't cover them here since there are way too many of them. Besides, it's best to find those ways by yourself, right?

I'd like to excuse for my English skills as I am still learning. If you could, point out all mistakes I made and tell me if I missed something important. You can't imagine how many pervy pictures I have seen while trying to get some for this guide.
Give some credit to creators of these images and STAR_ for his video. You should also check out his channel.

By the way I have recently created another guide focused on how to play as Medic. I hope this guide will help you as much as this one did. :)
http://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=422723604

8.04.2015
- Added changelog section;
- Made a lot of corrections;
- Added tip for Pyro.

9.04.2015
- Added tip for Scout;
- Added tip for Engineer.
Thanks to Bangiras and Zero for these tips.

10.04.2015
- Modified info about Heavy.
Thanks to GorgonKain and Sergeant Arch Dornan for pointing that out.

11.04.2015
- Added tip for Engineer;
- Added "Extra" for Demoman.
Thanks to grandpa versok and ☭SillySausage☭ for these.

14.04.2015
- Modified Sniper tip;
- Added Sniper tip.
Thanks to everyone who suggested these tips.

15.04.2015
- Made many corrections in grammar;
- Modified a lot of sentences to sound less weird.

16.04.2015
- Added source links to each image (except for medigun since all of them are from wiki pages).

20.04.2015
- Added final tip in Conclusion.

9.08.2015
- Remade part about the Vaccinator.

29.12.2015
- Yet again, remade the part about Vaccinator.

5.01.2017
- Updated Scout section. Medic now gets speed boost with any Medi gun.