KF2 Medic Weapons Explained: Who Should Carry the HMTech Guns

This humorous but practical guide explains the four HMTech medic weapons in Killing Floor 2 and argues that every perk should carry one, because teammates who heal others take stress off the Medic. The original is quite crude in tone; the facts are summarized here. For the perk itself see Field Medic and Medic levels.

Dart charge basics

All medic weapons have a red dot sight. Next to the dot are two identical bars showing the remaining dart charge. A line across each bar is the threshold: below it you cannot fire another dart until the charge rises back past it.

Do the weapons share this charge? Visually yes, but mechanically no. If you fire a dart with one weapon and switch to another, the other still sits at 100%. For a Medic, carrying three weapons is therefore vital; Pistol, Shotgun and Rifle is the optimal combination, though on lower difficulties it is not a necessity.

HMTech-101 Pistol

A reliable pistol and a straight upgrade over the starting 9mm. It normally fires two darts before dropping under the threshold, each dart using a bit under half the charge; after that it needs to recharge up to half before firing again. Every Medic should have one: it is two free healing darts on top of your injector and other medic weapons.

It is a hybrid perk weapon, so Gunslinger pistol bonuses apply. The author's message to Gunslingers is to make room for it: it is far better than a 9mm backup because your perk applies to it, and it can top up a teammate in trouble.

HMTech-201 SMG

Basically a fully automatic version of the pistol with the same healing numbers (two shots using a little under half the charge each, another after it regenerates to half) and identical damage per shot, but with better range. Single shots or tidy bursts are hard to achieve; the best result is aiming down sights, learning the recoil pattern and firing short to medium bursts at the head. It belongs to SWAT: use it like any SWAT weapon, with the bonus of healing teammates for a modest amount.

HMTech-301 Shotgun

You can tell which perk a medic weapon is a hybrid of by the weapon type it is named after. The 301 has relatively low damage for a mid to high tier shotgun, a low reserve for its fire and reload speed, but it is the king of burst damage for a Medic. Its darts use 33% of the charge instead of about 40%, and with a 40% threshold you can fire 2 darts quickly and a third after a very short delay: strong burst healing and burst damage. It works for the Support. Compared with the AA-12 it is outclassed, and its only real competitor is the M4, which the author considers the "9mm pistol of shotguns" for a Support who knows the 301 exists. All HMTech weapons heal through alt-fire darts.

HMTech-401 Assault Rifle

The magazine sits in the grip, as with every medic weapon. Recoil is very hard to control. The justification is healing: for ranged healing nothing but the medic grenade (and the Survivalist's medic grenade) surpasses it. Each dart uses 30% of the charge, so with the threshold at 40% you can fire 3 darts in a row with no delay and a 4th after a slightly longer delay than the shotguns. A playing Medic would only choose the shotgun over it if they like the shotgun and SMG and lack money.

Which perk uses it? The Commando. Commandos have other rifles such as the M16 M203 and SCAR-L, but a Commando can control the 401's recoil and use its darts, something the Medic cannot fully do.

Summary table

Weapon	Damage	Burst damage	Darts in a row	Extra dart delay
Pistol	Low	Low	2	about 0.5 s
SMG	Low	Medium	2	about 0.5 s
Shotgun	Relatively high	Very high	3	about 0.3 s
Rifle	Medium	Medium to high	3	about 0.2 s

The point

Take a medic weapon that fits your perk. If none exists for your perk (the guide mentions three classes that have no hybrid weapon), at least take the pistol: it is a handy holdout that can heal others in a pinch while you keep your injector for yourself.