Medic Question

[Comet]

I've noticed the TTK is such that is appears it would be almost impossible to heal a friendly that is under fire.

Is the medic role more oriented around healing those that took a few shots and managed to get to cover before dieing and you heal them up in hiding? Or can you actually toss someone a heal in time that is taking a burst of fire?

[GreatMazinkaise]

Don't really think you're gonna be able to save someone while they're being shot (though you're free to pick up the pieces), though I'm sure TTK's gonna go up a bit during/after beta.

The most likely scenario is that medics will tend to a squad's injuries as each subsequent wave of enemies is destroyed, Rebirthing as needed.

[IgloGlass]

Medics probably won't act like in TF2, no.

[Comet]

Never played TF2 so I am not sure what that means =/

[ChipMHazard]

Aye the medic's role will probably be more about keeping up the pressure than keeping team mates alive during intense fire fights.
But who knows, their aoe healing might stack for all we know.

[Comet]

I guess I don't see the point of healing in general if you can't apply it in a real fire fight.

Seems like you're only useful for ressing. Is that what you mean by keeping pressure? Ressing people to save the respawn/travel time?

[Spiv]

it's mainly so if you win a fight but come out with 1hp you can be healed and still be useful instead of just dying the next time someone looks at you.

[Pepsi]

Never played TF2 so I am not sure what that means =/Basically like WoW or any other MMORPG where the medic is constantly healing a player that takes all of the damage. It takes away from the game's realism (which is why it fits good in MMORPGs and TF2).

I'm guessing the PS2 medic is going to serve more of a prefight-buff/mid fight rezzing role rather than constantly topping off teammates while they are taking MAX chainguns to the face (you'll still probably be able to drop a med pack on the ground that gives health or use the AOE health ability but that will only serve a minor role in the middle of firefights).

[ChipMHazard]

I guess I don't see the point of healing in general if you can't apply it in a real fire fight.

Seems like you're only useful for ressing. Is that what you mean by keeping pressure? Ressing people to save the respawn/travel time?

Not only ressing, although that is extremely important, but also by making sure your team is at full health between fights.
The TTK will hopefully be long enough for this to be a deciding factor.

Medics probably will be able to outheal damage if we're only talking about sporadic fire, but the size of PS2 alone will probably mean that most battles will feature a lot of concentrated fire:D

[GuyFawkes]

It's more about triage and momentum. Plus you are a combat medic so you can dish it out too.

edit: in the picture on the main page here on psu , you can see a tr/nc/vs medic . The vs medic has a teal cross , yet the tr and nc medics both have a red cross on their helmet. Is this intentional? another 'nc are too dumb to recognise a medic if their cross is blue' thing.

[ChookWantan]

Just think about real war. Combat medics don't run up to men WHILE THEY ARE BEING SHOT to patch them up. They do it behind a bit of cover, or after the threat is eliminated. If your squad is smart, they will know to make efficient use of their medics by ducking out of the line of sight for a few moments.

[Dougnifico]

Revives will be a bigger part of a medic's role. That, and I imagine they are the equivalent of a medium assault class when it comes to dishing it out. That's how many will probably think of them, medium assault with triage powers.

[Mezorin]

@Comet: Battlefield 3 has a TTK that would eat an average Planetside heavy assault player for breakfast, and assault kits with healing right now dominate the infantry meta game. That's because when you get into a gun fight where you trade hits at all, you get hurt. If you're way lower health than the next guy that comes around the corner, you won't likely survive the next head on gun fight. You also might take a fluke shot to the head, but medics fix that problem with a fast rez once the coast is clear.

Medics will only "not count" if the zerg acts the way they do in Planetside 1, where infantry battles are hall way Rockem Sockem Strafin' Robots five feet from each other with heavy assault weapons. Smart players who play sight lines, peek for a few shots, and disappear before they die can benefit greatly from having constant healing in a battle. Also, the ability to spot rez can keep entire teams alive, and as far as we know medics also get an aoe slow regeneration/shield ability that can be tossed down during a fire fight to help keep your side alive.

[Spiritbeast]

medics also have an aoe "shield" ability to prevent incoming dmg ; P

[Comet]

Excellent! Thanks for the info guys :)

[Kezz]

I have a related question.

Is it going to be the Medic's job to repair their buddies' armour? Because if they can't (which would tend to suggest that it's the Engineer's job), it's not going to be worth reviving anyone unless there's also an Engineer about to put their armour back together, and even healing live ones isn't going to be much use. Making one class's relevance depend on the presence of one specific other class would be a mistake.

I'm making a poorly-educated guess that there will be separate armour and life tracks like PS1, since the troopers in the videos seem to have two HP tracks, and I don't think either was a shield, since they weren't all Heavy Assault (who's special ability is a personal shield, I gather). If that isn't the case, obviously this question is irrelevant, but it would, I feel, also be a shame.

[GreatMazinkaise]

Armor is out... we get regenerating shields instead (and Heavy Assault gets a built-in Personal Shield special ability).

MAX units are healed by Engies and revived by Medics.

[GuyFawkes]

I have a related question.

Is it going to be the Medic's job to repair their buddies' armour? Because if they can't (which would tend to suggest that it's the Engineer's job), it's not going to be worth reviving anyone unless there's also an Engineer about to put their armour back together, and even healing live ones isn't going to be much use. Making one class's relevance depend on the presence of one specific other class would be a mistake.

I'm making a poorly-educated guess that there will be separate armour and life tracks like PS1, since the troopers in the videos seem to have two HP tracks, and I don't think either was a shield, since they weren't all Heavy Assault (who's special ability is a personal shield, I gather). If that isn't the case, obviously this question is irrelevant, but it would, I feel, also be a shame.

teamwork will require a medic and engineer available ,plus maybe a tank or 2 (maxes) 'melee dps' ( heavy assault) 'ranged' (light assault/ infil). (I know there isn't 'melee' dps, it just puts the teamwork aspect into traditional mmo terms for those not accustomed to ps). Protecting the medic and engi will be the main focus for any team worth its salt.

[GreatMazinkaise]

teamwork will require a medic and engineer available ,plus maybe a tank or 2 (maxes) 'melee dps' ( heavy assault) 'ranged' (light assault/ infil). (I know there isn't 'melee' dps, it just puts the teamwork aspect into traditional mmo terms for those not accustomed to ps). Protecting the medic and engi will be the main focus for any team worth its salt.

Nonsense, I don't need any protecting, I've got a carbine with a tight CoF and lots of deployables. It's the other guys who need protecting from ME.

[Kezz]

Armor is out... we get regenerating shields instead (and Heavy Assault gets a built-in Personal Shield special ability).
Oh, it's a shield. And the HA ability is a supplement to it? Meh, that's kindof a shame. Still, things change.

[Daffan]

Not sure..

Dont want it to be much like TF2;

In PS1 good luck healing in combat, takes time to switch, fire and than heal up. :) Couldn't move back then either so the shooting aspect (so i've seen in PS2 vids) is good enough changes...

[Memeotis]

The medic's role is to keep the momentum of a squad, not to turn a Heavy Assault into a tank.

That said, healing an individual meat-shield for a short period can have some merit to it, but it wouldn't make sense for a medic to be doing so constantly. And thank god for that, because that would be very boring.

As opposed to TF2, the medic in PS2 is expected to not only kill his fair share of enemies, but is also expected to keep his squad alive with varied mechanics such as heal-beam, revives, heal aura, protective barrier, health grenades and revive grenades (+ hopefully health packs and a HoT alternate fire on the medical applicator - but that's just me).

It's a creative and diversified role and I am really looking forward to playing it 99% of my time on Auraxis. :D

[FONKY]

I doubt the medics role will have any resembalance to that of a TF2 medic. They said in the E3 video that the medic is still very much apart of the combat and can still pack quite a punch. Also I think I remember them saying that the reviving and healing abilities will have cool downs (so it's not going to be BF3 where you run around reviving everyone like crazy)

[Electrofreak]

Aye the medic's role will probably be more about keeping up the pressure than keeping team mates alive during intense fire fights.
But who knows, their aoe healing might stack for all we know.

I sure as heck hope not. I can see the exploits now...

[Xaine]

Right, my 2 pence right here.

They Medic class is here, because in the current version of Planetside, pretty much everyone doing infantry combat has Engineering and Medical stuff certed so they can heal/repair their own armour between fire fights.

Take that away.

You have a load of people who can't sustain themselves.

Add a medic class.

He is going to do the healing for the squad between fights, and ress when needed.

He can heal people up and rezz them. However, while the fighting is actually going on, he will be shooting as well, not healing people.

I see him playing much more of a Battlefield medic role, which IMO, is a good thing.

[Furber]

I hope the regeneration of HP (likely to be changed a lot in Beta) doesn't reduce the need for medics. I liked having the Medic certs in Planetside 1, it was nice being able to heal allies to had just come out of a fire fight. But if the health regen is anything like Tribes: Ascend, then I could see the value of medics being reduced (but they will still be important for res'ing ofc). I'm anxious to see how this turns out

[OutlawDr]

If you want Tank/Medic gameplay, it looks like engineer/MAX is your answer. Go watch the HVAR video again, and look at those engineers repair the MAXes... TF2 style. However you'll also find medics healing infantry in the same way. Of course, its a staged, idealized battle, and you wonder how effective a medic doing that will really be.

[xnorb]

Engineers repairing maxes during fight for sure could work.
But i can't see them survive that long with lots of bullets flying their direction.

Medics definitely shouldn't work like in TF2, that would be horrible.

[Kezz]

One thing that the PS1 herd will have to be broken of (if Revive is a base Medic skill) is the automatic reaction of de-ressing on death. Hopefully, Revive being a bit more common, people will unlearn that twitch quickly.