The medic guide for medics who want to learn how to medic: (Aimed more towards medics trying to play competitively)

1. Loadouts:

For the most part your loadout will stay consistent, though your medi-gun may change from time to time. The primary medi-gun you should use most times is the stock medi-gun. You should know your way about this medi-gun inside and out and use it in most situatuions, but we'll come back to that.

Your primary should be the crusader's crossbow. No matter how you put it, it should almost always be your top pick. Many people argue that landing crossbows is too hard, or too inconsistent: simply take some extra time to spend time using ONLY the crossbow and get used to it, it'll make it a great tool for you and your team. The other primaries are for fighting, which a medic should RARELY have to do in Highlander, 6's a little more though.

Your melee, as most of us know, will 99.99% of the time be the ubersaw: literally no downside to the damn thing. The other viable options include the solemn vow for health calls and the amputator for group healing.

Now, back to the medi-guns... As aforementioned, your go to medi-gun will be stock, but only on certain map types. pl_ and cp_ primarily will see the usage of stock and only a situational switch. The Kritzkrieg is another great option that is largely used on koth_ maps and is usually the only one used on koth_ since demoman can be so dominant. The kritz should be used primarily on the demoman since he can use them so effectively, but may also be flashed to the soldier; both do great amounts of splash damage and can wipe teams. The quick-fix is usually used as a last resort when pushed back to last on cp_ or pl_. It should be used then just to try and keep the timer running as long as possible, or , in the case of cp_ get a push back to 2nd.

2. Healing priorities:

You should ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS try and keep your combo alive. "What is the combo?" you may ask, the combo is your Demo, Heavy, Pyro, and yourself. DO NOT: Only heal one person (the fat fucking russian one) or else your combo will fall apart and you will die. You should heal each of them equally and keep them alive.

Keep your team buffed and ready to go into battle at all time. Keep sniper above 150 health if at all possible so he can continue to make picks and give you opportunities. Scout/Soldier asking for buffs before rushing in or jumping? DO IT.

Soldier: "Buff 4 bomb plz"

Medic: "Hoovy only haz 449 hp, sorry I can't..."

^^^^^ DO NOT DO THAT ^^^^^

3. Pushing and holding:

When your playing in competitive, you should always know the other teams approximate ubercharge %. If your team is at an advantage, and feel it well to push, organize your combo and go in. DO NOT: Peak into a sniper sightline right before a push. You cant make a strong push with uber advantage if your uber is dropped. Always know when situations are too risky and, if someone is pushing and you're not comfortable doing so, tell them to hang back and wait for your mark. You should always be the one to say: "Ok, guys time to push this advantage." or "Woah, fall back, too risky to stay in there!". Know when to hold a certain position, it may seem a bit stalematey (Gullywash, I'm lookin' at you...) , but a hold to organize and build can do your team wonders.

4. Positioning:

Your sniper should be almost always battling the enemy sniper, and your spy should always be around the enemy combo, so 90% of the time, you'll know where the enemy is. You need to know where to keep yourself to avoid sniper sightlines and keep your team from getting caught from behind and ass-raped. It's not only your job to do this, but your say is weighted highly as you are the most important to each and every team.

5. Communication:

As medic, you have to constantly be talking to your team and keeping them aware of where you are, what you're doing, and your plan for the next ~ 30 seconds or so. When buffing someone who is a non-combo class, tell everyone so that your combo knows why you're not healing them at that moment. Keep your communication levels up and never stop talking until the game is done, win or lose.

http://sourceforge.net/projects/mumble/

^ Mumble is a great tool that is used on TF2Center.com and by many many competitive teams. It is very useful for communication and should be a tool every competitive player has.

***IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A MICROPHONE, DO NOT ATTEMPT COMPETITIVE PLAY***

Most teams will not want you w/out a mic. and you won't be much of a help.