KF2 Field Medic Team Guide: Darts, Acidic Rounds, Weapons

This guide is aimed at team players and covers what the Field Medic really does: heal and buff the team, and clear trash and medium ZEDs so that big-ZED perks are not interrupted. It also looks at the numbers behind each medic weapon. See also /en/gamedb/killingfloor2/perks/field-medic-guide-weapons-skills-poison-myths/ and /en/gamedb/killingfloor2/perks/medic-in-depth-guide-darts-vs-aoe/.

Basic kit and skills

Field Medic passive bonuses.

Per level the Field Medic gains 8% syringe and dart recharge rate (maximum 200%, three times faster), 2% syringe potency (maximum 50%), 2% resistance to Bloat bile (maximum 50%), 0.4% movement speed (maximum 10%) and 3 extra armor (maximum 75). The starting weapon is the HMTech-101.

The skill tree.

Most skills are simple, but a few details are worth knowing:

• Symbiotic Health heals the medic for 10% of health (12 HP) whenever he heals someone, regardless of how much was healed. The self-heal is also scaled by syringe potency (x1.5 at level 25). It works even if the patient is already full but has white health on the bar, and skill buffs also apply to the medic when healing others.
• Adrenaline Shot and Focus Injection multipliers are 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 and 1.05, 1.1, 1.15, 1.2 respectively. Coagulant Booster damage resistance multipliers are 0.9, 0.8 and 0.7.
• Airborne Agent explosion behaves like the Field Medic grenade and deals 50 toxic damage.

Acidic Rounds in depth

Acidic Rounds replaces the default toxic DOT of every medic weapon with its own: the weapon's base damage per shot multiplied by 1.3. The DOT lasts 5 seconds with a 1 second interval, so a ZED takes four ticks. The damage is scaled by the ZED's toxic resistance. For example one HMTech-101 bullet with Acidic Rounds does (20 x 1.3 x 0.25) x 4, about 24 toxic damage to a Scrake's body. It depends only on the weapon's base damage and is not increased by medic buffs.

When a new DOT of the same type is applied, the game compares total damage (damage x duration / interval) and keeps the more effective one. The Hemogoblin bleed is the exception. Also, after a burning ZED is healed its fire DOT is reduced by 50%.

Role and alternatives

The medic's main goal is to heal and buff, and also to clear trash and medium ZEDs. If your team has no medic, these can partly cover:

1. Survivalist with Medic Training: his recharge rate matches a level 13 medic and healing potential a level 15 medic.
2. Commando with the HMTech-401: a meta rifle with fast recharge even off perk.
3. SWAT with HMTech-201 and Rapid Assassin: slow dart recharge, but during zed time he can fire unlimited darts.
4. Gunslinger with HMTech-101: large ammo pool and a 70% damage buff after the first upgrade, but darts only cool down 10% faster (15 to 13.5 seconds), so missing hurts.

Weapons

The author skips Mine Reconstructor, Hemoclobber and HRG Vampire as not worth it in team play.

HMTech-101 pistol.

HMTech-101 pistol. The starting weapon; lets you heal without using your syringe. One headshot decaps Clots, Stalkers and Crawlers. A dart costs 50% of dart ammo and heals 15; full recharge from empty takes 15 seconds (7.5 seconds per dart).

HMTech-201 SMG.

HMTech-201 SMG. A better early game trash cleaner (Clots are weak to SMG damage). A dart costs 40%, heals 15, full recharge 13 seconds (5.2 seconds per dart).

HRG Healthrower.

HRG Healthrower. Used by almost every medic now. The beam burns trash fast and spreads buffs by tapping. Damage 27 toxic, DOT 4 seconds at 0.5 second intervals (7 ticks). The beam heals 6 directly and 3 on splash every 0.2 seconds. A dart costs 40%, heals 20, full recharge 12 seconds (4.8 seconds per dart).

HMTech-301 shotgun.

HMTech-301 shotgun. Kills Gorefasts, Gorefiends and medium ZEDs fairly easily, but ammo is a problem. Dart 40%, heals 20, recharge 12 seconds.

Hemogoblin.

Hemogoblin. Projectiles debuff ZEDs: attack speed -25%, movement speed and damage output -30%, incap power per hit +50%. Rifle damage 100 with bleed DOT at scale 0.1 (10 per tick, 5 seconds, 1 second interval), and the bleed stacks. Dart 30%, heals 20, recharge 10 seconds (3.33 seconds per dart).

HMTech-401 assault rifle.

HMTech-401 assault rifle. An old classic shared by Commando and medic players, good for trash and medium ZEDs with strong stumble power that can stop a raged Scrake in a pinch. Dart 30%, heals 15, recharge 10 seconds.

HRG Incision.

HRG Incision. The nearest thing to a big ZED killer for a medic, but best as support for Sharpshooters and Gunslingers. It applies an EMP effect on hit and the dart deals 75 toxic damage, enough to kill or decap anything up to Bloat or Gorefiend. You can calm and hold a raged Scrake with it. Dart 50%, heals 40, recharge 10 seconds (5 seconds per dart).

HMTech-501 grenade launcher.

HMTech-501 grenade launcher. The most expensive medic weapon, trading darts for healing grenades twice as effective as the medic grenade (10 HP per tick against 5). The cloud lasts 8 seconds with 1 second ticks and does 60 toxic damage at scale 0.1, so a ZED takes about 60 x 0.1 x 9 x resistance.

"Battle medic" versus Medic Training Survivalist

"Battle medic" means a Field Medic using the right skill branch. Neither produces team buffs, so the comparison is fair.

Battle medic advantages:

• Tankier when missing 26 to 60 health.
• Higher damage with on-perk weapons.
• 20% faster than a Survivalist.
• Heals 15% more per syringe or dart, and 1.5 times as often.
• Acidic Rounds poison is a good way to kill trash and save ammo.

Survivalist advantages:

• Consistent damage resistance regardless of health.
• Tactical Reload gives faster reloading with most medic weapons.
• Can kill big ZEDs faster with the right loadout, and does not make ZEDs panic from poison.
• Supportive perks like Spontaneous Zed-plosion and Lockdown.
• More versatile, as his damage bonus applies to all weapons.

A niche use of Acidic Rounds is stalling a docile Fleshpound or Quarter Pound for a Demolitionist. Since Incision has high damage per shot, its DOT to a Fleshpound is large (400 x 1.3 x 4 x 0.25 = 520 toxic damage).