The Medic: the class everyone loves, but no one wants to play. While this statement isn't quite true, there is certainly a hesitance to becoming the beloved Doktor in a variety of servers (mostly casual), as this class requires constant team support just to STAY ALIVE, and that kind of teamwork is rare in the casual cluster♥♥♥♥, meaning that in order to be truly viable and helpful, the Medic must find a way to survive on his own, and anyone who spends half a second as Medic will tell you just how difficult it is to fight against ANYTHING as all the other classes have much better and more direct combat abilities.



However, there is a strategy that has arose that can work for a time with little direct communication: pocketing. Medics will choose a seemingly more skilled player to focus heal and use them as a meat shield and assist farm while the health stream allows the patient to mow over anything. These combos work fairly well, but will eventually fall apart if the pocket doesn't cooperate and communicate. However, when the Medic and his Patient work together, they can easily punch the frontlines for the most effective pushes and holds .

The pocket is simple symbiotic relationship- the Medic provides the health while the Patient provides the power. The Medic will continuously heal and overheal the patient, and the patient must act as the Medic's sword and shield. He's keeping you alive, but you need to help him help you. Never leave your Medic exposed. Keep the enemy to your front, and keep your Medic behind you. Approach from the frontlines, or flank from your team's side. Only make shallow pushes into enemy territory. Don't get surrounded, and don't overextend. Body block all fire directed at him. Your are your Medic's meat shield, and the healing provided will take care of you. Watch the sightlines- Snipers will likely target you and your Medic. Be especially watchful of flank points and check behind your Medic periodically. Scouts, Spies, and Pyros will try to kill your Medic to break the combo. If your Medic is at 75% health or less, it's a good idea to back off for a moment. Provide cover fire and keep the enemy focused on you. If you can break from the fight completely, escort your Medic to the nearest health pack. Never abandon your Medic, because they are always prime targets.

Each Medigun has it's own unique style and Ubercharge, each of which lends itself to different situations and changes who a Medic might want to pocket, and how the pocket will function.

Stock/Reskin Medigun

Uber: Invulnerability

Preferred Pockets: Heavy, Demo, Soldier, Pyro

Strats: This Uber is used fairly universally, as invulnerability is a general solution to most situations in TF2. This Uberchare is the only truly effective method of taking down sentries. In those situations, the Medic should body block the sentry's fire to allow you to damage it without worrying about the knockback. This Ubercharge also works in handling swarms or punching through tough defensive lines. Simply jump into the middle of the fray, pop uber, and cause as much chaos as possible, and have your team follow up behind you. Watch out for Pyros, however, as their airblast can bounce you around or seperate you from your Medic, both situations rendering you and your Ubercharge useless.

Kritzkrieg

Uber: Crits

Preferred Pocket: Heavy, Soldier, Demo, Pyro

Strats: This Ubercharge is meant for clearing groups, especially from carts and points. You're still vulnerable to damage, however, so be careful. Try to flank the opponent, or start attacking from a safe distance, as crits ignore falloff.

Quick-Fix

Uber: Rapid Healing and Knockback Negate

Preffered Pocket: Heavy, Soldier, Demo, Scout

Strats: This Medigun is life-saver. In times when the team or pocket is taking ridiculous amounts of damage, this Ubercharge can negate the damage almost as effectively as regular Uber. You're still not invincible, though, so work with care. This can be used in a similar fashion to the Kritzkrieg, but you follow a more defensive playstyle. Also, for Soldiers and Demos, you can take your Medic with you while blast jumping. This, however, requires coordination, and it would be preferable to warn your Medic that you'll be sending him to the skybox. Scouts and charging Demos can also help a Medic around the battlefield, too.

The Vaccinator will not be listed here, as this particular weapon is very situational and lends itself as more of a Team Healer style, avoiding pocketing.

While the previous parts have given some general insight into pocketing, this section will go into the specifics of how various classes work in a pocket.

Heavy

Best Medic Partner Type: Stock Uber

Recommended Loadouts:
Tanking- Natascha, Dalokohs, Fists of Steel
General- Tomislav, Sanvich, Killing Gloves of Boxing

Strats- As the largest and toughest class, you can easily body block damage for your Medic. Also, your Sanvich/Dalokohs can be used to heal your Medic when necessary, so frequently check and heal your Medic. Watch out on sightlines- you're still a prime target for Snipers. And check the flank often- Spies, Scouts, and Pyros will be coming for you, more than anything else.

Soldier

Best Medic Partner Type: Any

Recommended Loadouts:
Tanking: Black Box, Battalion's Backup, Half-Zatoichi

Strats- In most situations, a pocketed Soldier will be land-locked, as rocket-jumping is a surefire way to lose your Medic, as any Medic not using the Quick-Fix can't keep up with you in any way. The Black Box and Half-Zatoichi lighten the load on the Medic and allows the combined healing of your doctor and weapons to make any damage short of a crit to be almost worthless.

When you're partnered with a Quick-Fix Medic, you're much more free to rocket-jump around, so any loadout works fine with this. Just be sure to have constant communication with your Medic and coordinate your jumps so that your Medic keeps with you, and isn't trying to figure out why he's on top of the map while you're on the other side of it.

As with the Heavy, try to body block for your Medic. Your ammo is a little more sparse than the Heavy's, however, so you'll have to be more deliberate with spychecking than a Heavy needs to be. This, however, does create a bit of a vulnerabilty, so make sure your Medic is aware of your limits and can take care of himself to a degree. If you need Uber quickly, damage yourself so that the Medic can build quicker. The Equalizer and Escape Plan are an Uber meter's best friend, as the reduced healing keeps Uber build rates sky high.

Demoman (Excluding Demoknights)

Best Medic Partner Type: Kritzkrieg

Strats-This combo works very similarly to the Soldier, and works well with practically any loadout. However, this combo is built perfectly for handling swarms. While other classes might be overwhelmed by a swarm, the Demoman has explosive splash damage, indirect fire, and sticky bombs for trapping, making him able to take down groups with ease. Couple that with guaranteed crits, and you are the Team Wipe machine. In addition to the mid-combat pop that gives your pipes devastating power, it should also be used between fights to set a carpet of crit stickies in a critical area or chokehold, which will ensure that any group foolish enough to enter the area has no chance of survival.

Demoknight

Best Medic Partner Type: Quick-Fix

Recommended Loadout: Ali Baba's Wee Booties, The Tide Turner, Half-Zatoichi/Eyelander (+reskins)

Strats- Keep the engagements small. Take out key players, then get out. You should work as a hit-and-run team. If the Medic is in trouble, forget the kill, and charge him out of there.

Pyro

Best Medic Partner Type: Stock Uber

Strats- Your mere presence is a deterrent to many classes that would target your Medic, especially Spies and other Pyros. Still, keep vigilant. Flank opponents and catch them off-guard. When Uber is popped, go for taking out the nearest group or engie nest. Uber should always be used to get close and drop opponents quickly.

Scout (Quick-Fix Only)

Strats- Chances are, this kind of combo is a very temporary one, as the Medic is likely using you to get somewhere faster. Still, this can be fairly effective, and will generally handle like a Pyro combo. Still, if the situations gets a little rough, don't be surprised if your Medic disappears. You're simply not able to handle lots of damage like other classes, and your smaller profile makes you a poor meat shield. Remember, if a Medic is pocketing you, you're likely a taxi, taking him to better patients.

Engineer (Kritzkrieg Only)

Recommended Loadout: Widowmaker, Pistol, Gunslinger

Strats- The Widowmaker is your strategy. With the damage-to-metal effect, and krits, you essentialy have an infinite shotgun, and can generally handle any situation at mid to close range. In addition, your mini-sentry can act as a distraction and bodyguard for you and your Medic, as well as building a dispenser to assist you both.

Sadly, the strategy of pocketing is not perfect, and there's other members of the team who aso need healing, so you Medic may not stay permanently glued to you, and that's not a bad thing.

First off, you need to understand that being pocketed is basically an agreement that Medic will help keep you alive while you act as his human shield. You're agreeing to fight, and possibly die, on his behalf.

Secondly, remember that there's more people on your team than just the two of you. Your 'E' key isn't the only one being slammed like a speed-clicking contest. Your Medic is eventually going to have to heal the other dying souls, and you will have to find a way to survive for a moment with your full overheal until they return (sad, I know). So, don't freak out if they take a moment to buff the passing team members or help the other heavy who barely survived a crocket. It's simply their duty, and good Medics take care of their whole team.

Finally, realize that Ubercharge is the most important weapon your team has. If you're leading your Medic into a death trap, and it becomes clear that survival is unlikely for your doctor, chances are, he's going to split. Believe it or not, but that 78% Ubercharge is worth more than your life, because, at max, it can take 15 seconds for you to return from the dead while the Medic needs 45 to get Uber. So, at any given moment, at max your life is worth 1/3 of an Ubercharge, and it's worth taking one for the team so your Medic can escape to get their God Mode that they'll probably use on you once you get back, anyway.

So, when the combo break happens, the Medic will likely leave you with a parting gift of overheal if possible, and your duty becomes to hold off the enemy, if not kill them, so your Medic can escape.

Congratulations, you've made it through another one of my guides! Take this information, and apply it well! Make your Medics proud to insert their Mediguns in your rectum!