KF2 Field Medic Guide: Power Through Prevention (2nd Edition)
This is the second edition of a Field Medic guide written during Killing Floor 2 early access by a long-time Killing Floor player (about 1,200 hours and a near complete achievement list in the original game). It is built around a philosophy of use: every class has a purpose, and bending it usually ends badly. Skill choices and numbers reflect the build of that time, so treat them as a historical snapshot, but the reasoning about team play still holds.
Skill tier 5 choice: Healing Surge or Enforcer.
The seven commandments
- Heal, and heal everyone.
- Do not put yourself in extreme peril.
- Do not act dumb.
- Give money to teammates.
- Do not let a Crawler live.
- Use gas to harm Scrakes and Fleshpounds.
- Ensure your own survival so that others may live.
The six deadly sins
- Going Medic when the team already has one.
- Raging a Scrake without help.
- Using the Lacerate skill.
- Kiting alone or going alone.
- Not healing the team.
- Not swapping when a higher level Medic wants the slot.
Philosophy of use
A Medic is not someone who casually hands out pills. The job is full time and often thankless. Because a Medic occupies a combat slot, failing to heal is the ultimate failure. The Medic's first and only true duty is the health and survival of the team and himself; a Medic who forsakes it for damage ends up with neither. A Medic who keeps the team healthy gains freedom to move and give light to moderate combat support.
Skills: selfish or selfless
The left side of the tree is the Team Medic, the right side the Combat Medic. The author argues that the right side looks better on paper but is worse in practice.
- Level 5 (Healing Surge or Enforcer): the only tier with a real choice. The author prefers +20 percent health because Medics are under constant strain and it stacks with Regeneration.
Tier 10: Combatant or Armament.
- Level 10 (Combatant or Armament): Armament (repair 2 percent armor per heal, lower healing effectiveness) is poor below level 20 because dosh matters and the penalty hurts; take Combatant early (free armor and a 60 percent discount).
Tier 15: Regeneration or Lacerate.
- Level 15 (Regeneration or Lacerate): Lacerate damage is almost undetectable, while Regeneration (about 2 health every 5 seconds) is nearly essential.
Tier 20: Vaccination or Acidic Compound.
- Level 20 (Vaccination or Acidic Compound): Acidic Compound's panic on Scrakes and Fleshpounds barely lasts. Vaccination gives temporary armor per needle (about 7) and bile immunity, potentially saving a teammate around 300 dosh.
Tier 25: Airborne Agent or Sedative, both ZED Time only.
- Level 25 (Airborne Agent or Sedative): both are good. Airborne heals clusters fast, but the author prefers Sedative, which can stun Scrakes, Fleshpounds and even Hans during ZED Time, especially with a Commando extending it.
A deadly combination: Armament plus Vaccination
The author tested this with a level 25 Medic. A grenade heals everyone in the cloud every second, and each tick counts as a heal, so armor bonuses apply per tick. Starting from 30 health and 0 armor while standing in a full grenade:
Starting point: 30 health, 0 armor.
Armament only: about 40 armor and 90 health.
Vaccination only: about 70 armor and 100 health, plus bile resistance.
Both together: about 110 armor and 90 health.
The bonuses add up straight, which disproves the idea that armor and health trade off by potency. The result is the "second wind" effect: a teammate below roughly 40 percent health who stays in one grenade while you spam darts from the assault rifle can come back to near full armor and health. At level 20 and above Armament plus Vaccination does more for survival and savings than Combatant. Pro tip for Hans: when he heals, throw a Medic grenade at his feet with a trapped player in it and spam darts; it restores the player and poisons Hans.
Weapons: tools of the trade
The Scalpel melee weapon.
HMTech-101 Pistol, the starting weapon.
- HMTech-101 Pistol: strong headshot damage on most low level trash, a big reserve and decent needle recharge; keep it all game.
HMTech-201 SMG, the usual first upgrade.
- HMTech-201 SMG: the likely first upgrade; high ammo, light weight, accurate; deals with trash and Husks.
HMTech-301 Shotgun, 1100 dosh in this build.
- HMTech-301 Shotgun: semi-auto, 60 rounds but burns ammo fast; best kept for emergencies, rarely worth diverting from healing.
HMTech-401 Assault Rifle, the final upgrade.
- HMTech-401 Assault Rifle: no real downsides, large magazine, strong ammo and an extreme needle recharge rate (about four needles in a row). Considered a must.
Closing advice
- Shoot trash, mostly Crawlers, and add assist shots at bigger ZEDs; healing gives almost no XP, so this is the fastest way to level.
- Save money and sell weapons; be the team bank and scavenge with your speed.
- Use your movement speed.
- You cannot save everyone; do all you can.
- If someone is clearly killing the team (kiting away, a Commando with Nightvision), let natural selection take its course.
See also Field Medic perk guide and Medic loadout guide.
FAQ
- What is the Medic's first duty according to this guide?
- To ensure the health and survival of the team and himself. Everything else, including combat, is secondary.
- Which skills does the author recommend?
- Healing Surge at 5, Combatant at 10 until level 20, Regeneration at 15, Vaccination at 20 and Sedative at 25. The author dislikes Lacerate and Acidic Compound.
- What is the second wind effect?
- A teammate below about 40 percent health who stands in a Medic grenade while receiving needle spam from the assault rifle can regain close to full armor and health, especially with Armament plus Vaccination.
