|----------------------------| |Return to Castle Wolfenstein| | Medic FAQ | |----------------------------| Table of Contents: 1. Introduction (*) Who I am, why I'm writing this, the name I use in RTCW. 2. Version Information (*) The version of this FAQ and what's new since the last one. 3. Description of the Medic Class The man with the Red Cross logo on his helmet. 4. The Medic's Arsenal Is that a syringe in your pocket or are you just happy to see me? 5. Medic Strategies (*) How to bring people back to life without dying in the process. 6. Chatting Helpful text to keep yourself armed and forcibly understocked. 7. How to Befriend a Medic Want to be on a Medic's good side? Advice here... 8. Map-Specific Tips (*) Advice for when "mp_assault" becomes a "beach". 9. Comprehensive Voicechat Listing What the heck does "V27" do again? 10. Medic Class Wishlist for Further Game Balancing (*) And all that could have been... 11. Acknowledgements (*) Thank you for making me who I am today and stuff... 12. Approved Hosting Sites and Other Legal Info If you're listed here, I can't sue you for using this. |------------------| |1.0 - Introduction| |------------------| Well hey. Welcome to my first public FAQ, the Return to Castle Wolfenstein Medic FAQ. Released in 2001, Return to Castle Wolfenstein is the fully-realized sequel to the classic Wolfenstein 3D, a game that many recognize as the first true FPS (first-person shooter). Although there is a single-player mode in RTCW, this guide covers the much more popular version of the game, its multiplayer mode. With an army of servers that nearly contends with the amount of servers running Counter-Strike, you will likely never have difficulty finding a new game to join. My reasoning behind writing this FAQ is 1) because there are no other medic FAQs that I've seen and 2) I want to share the skills I've picked up as a medic in RTCW with all of the new players picking up the game so we can ensure that every RTCW server has teams with smart medics who keep the game close. Ok, that may be a little too arrogant. I'm not in a clan and I doubt I could hold my own in a tournament, but I'm often the highest-scorer on my team! Not that that really means anything if your team loses its objective... So yeah... my name (in RTCW anyways) is RAMMS+EIN. You'll find me online if you look for the alternating green and yellow letters. "Journal" Update (4/17/02): Yeah, yeah, I know I promised quicker updates in the last journal. I'm sorry. I'm lucky I still have my original copy of this file :p. I am currently using my brand-spankin'-new college computer (an early high school graduation gift) to type up this update because my old computer is currently being formatted and serviced because of Windows errors. To make up for it, this is a rather hefty update. A few reader-submitted strategies, very good stuff. Thanks for hanging in there with me, and keep the strategies and comments coming. "Journal" Update (3/31/02 - 4/1/02): Sorry for the long delay between updates again, but I've once again been caught up in school work as well as scholarship applications and financial aid papers and all that fun stuff that accompanies imminent high school graduation. I hope to make another update to this FAQ at some point this week where I will finally add my map-specific strategies to "Assault" (mp_assault) and "Communique" (mp_base). Depending on how much time I'm able to play the game (and its been a while, believe you me), I may also include some tips on "Ice" (mp_ice), although my current time spent playing the map leads me to believe that it might just not be a friendly map for medics. Finally, I'd like to BEG once again for anyone that has tips on "Depot" (mp_depot) to send them in. I haven't ever really played this map, the few times I have were really unrewarding, so I really don't have the experience necessary to give advice on it. Also, if you have a certain user-created map that you really enjoy playing, send me any tips you have as well as a short overview and the objectives. I don't get much of a chance to download these maps, but I know the information could be very helpful to people reading this FAQ. Don't forget to auto-update your version of RTCW to Version 1.31 by clicking the handy auto-update button on the top-left corner of the starting screen! Thanks for your patience. "Journal" Archive (3/15/02): The Version 1.03 patch is now out for Return to Castle Wolfenstein, so be sure to go to the official site at http://www.castlewolfenstein.com to download it or else you'll no longer be able to play online. Not only does the patch fix a bunch of issues with the game (i.e. - Lt.'s have a longer wait between airstrikes), it also adds a new multiplayer mission, "Ice" (mp_ice)! This map is HUGE! Seriously though, I've only played the map once or twice but I just figured out where the objective was after about half an hour of playing it :p. It's one of the few maps where the Allies get to be on the defensive side, so be sure to check it out! "Journal" Archive (3/10/02): Wow... it's been a while since I've been able to update this file. I guess I had some major misconceptions about my high school senior year, because we're almost 3/4 through the year and we're still doing major projects :p. I miss playing RTCW as much as I used to, but hopefully I'll have some free time soon to get myself out there again. If anyone had map-specific Medic tips for "Depot" (mp_depot), "Destruction" (mp_destruction), or "Trench Toast" (mp_trenchtoast) it would be greatly appreciated if you could send them in. This is the "last" section of the FAQ that needs to be fleshed out before I can rest with the file, and I haven't really had much experience with the three of those maps, although I know that the checkpoint style of "Destruction" and "Trench Toast" really limits the specific strategies that a Medic can employ. I hope to be able to add my own tips for "Communique" (mp_base) and "Assault" (mp_assault) sometime in the next few days. Thanks for your continued interest in the file! "Journal" Archive (2/23/02): Anyways, to the meat of this update and the "important RTCW project information" mentioned in the Version Information. I am very interested in working with other RTCW players to create a website that would offer a comprehensive guide to all of the classes of RTCW, as well as basic connection and playing information. If you play RTCW and have some expert tips and tactics that you'd like to share for the Soldier, Engineer, or Lieutenant classes, please send me an email at briparks@hotmail.com and I will get back to you as soon as possible. As always, tips from Medics are also appreciated, but I'd really like to hear some good strategy for the other three classes, seeing as now I've played Medic for so long that I probably couldn't do jack with any other class :p. And to think, I used to be a newbie soldier just because I liked using the big weapons to kill people heh... how times change. |-------------------------| |2.0 - Version Information| |-------------------------| Version 3.04 (4/17/02) - Added a "journal update" as well as some reader-submitted medic tips, wishlist additions and map-specific tips. Also updated the acknowledgements section. Version 3.03 (4/1/02) - Added a "journal update" renewing a cry for help in map-specific tips as well as some comments on the updating future. Also added some submitted medic strategies from Cpt. Blanks (peacecraft4@hotmail.com) and Spanky (kcdonohue@yahoo.com) as well as a special update to the medic wishlist section. Finally, added a legal section to establish this document as my work to disuade people from attempting to pirate it. Version 3.02 (3/15/02) - Added a "journal update" regarding tonight's release of the Version 1.03 patch as well as added the map specifics for mp_ice to the map-specific tips section (no tips yet). Version 3.01 (3/11/02) - Added map-specific tips for the Axis side on "Beach Invasion" (mp_beach), submitted by Exgermanator (yoshibda@yahoo.com). Also added a "journal update" to the Introduction and another approved hosting site. Version 3.0 (2/28/02) - Added a new section: "Medic Class Wishlist for Further Game Balancing." Version 2.05 (2/26/02) - Added more of my own map-specific tips, this time covering "Das Boot" (mp_sub). Added another approved hosting site (2/27/02). Version 2.04 (2/23/02) - Added a new section to detail all of the Voicechats in depth. Version 2.03 (2/23/02) - Added map specific tips for the "Village" map (mp_village) courtesy of myself :p. Added asterisks (*) to the Table of Contents as a means of flagging sections that have been updated in the most recent version of this FAQ. Also added some important information to the introduction concerning a future RTCW project. Version 2.02 (2/22/02) - Added map specific tips from mm362@cornell.edu for the "Castle" map (mp_castle). Added information and objectives for all of the Nerve Software-produced maps. Also, this FAQ has finally broken the limits of Notepad! From now on, the file will exist as a WordPad document, and hopefully this doesn't make it difficult for my hosting sites to update. Version 2.01 (2/21/02) - Added some more sites to the list of sites that can feature this FAQ. I plan to add more tips soon. Version 2.0 (2/17/02) - Added sections on how to befriend your team's medic and map-specific Medic tips for the Beach Invasion map. Also added more names and sites added to the list of acknowledgments. Version 1.03 (2/16/02) - Added some more "fan tips" to Section 5.0, this time from mm362@cornell.edu - some of it serves as a reinforcement to my own strategies, but the tips are still worth posting nonetheless. Version 1.02 (2/6/02) - Added some "fan tips" from aau@hotmail.com to the Sections 4.0, 5.0, and 6.0. Added some tips of my own to 4.0. Added another site to Section 8.0 and added some acknowledgements to Section 7.0. Version 1.01 (2/5/02) - Added a list of sites that have my permission to use this file. Version 1.0 (2/4/02) - The first edition of this FAQ! Only the bare-bones stuff has been added, but hopefully I'll have new stuff to put in soon. There are probably a lot of spelling and grammar mistakes too, but please excuse them for now. |------------------------------------| |3.0 - Description of the Medic Class| |------------------------------------| The Medic class of Return to Castle Wolfenstein's multiplayer mode is a very thankless position. Although you are reinforced (spawned) with the ability to revive ten dead people and can give health packs to anybody who needs them, most of the time you'll find yourself dying as you try to revive somebody or getting yelled at because your weapon meter is down and you can't throw any more health packs until it recharges. Nonetheless, there are advantages to playing the role of medic, especially if you like to support your team and score high on individual points. For example, the Medic is the only class that can regenerate their health every second that they are not getting attacked, up to a maximum of 140, though it may be less depending on how many medics are on your team. All of the players on your team also spawn with more than 100% health if you're playing the role of medic. On the points side of things, you receive points every time you revive somebody who falls in battle. I believe the current point rate is two points per successful revive. This means that any worthwhile medic can revive a bunch of people on his team and find himself on top of the scoreboard. Remember, however, that RTCW is a *TEAM* game, and getting 100 points in one round doesn't mean jack if your team loses the match. Now for the negatives. A medic spawns with a paltry armament. Simple as that. You exist to help your teammates that go and get themselves killed. This does not mean, however, that you won't be able to kill any of the opposition. Remember, with 30 or 32 shots with your main weapon, you'll have to make your shots really count if you want to provide any kind of help in the killing department. Many medics make the mistake of wasting all their submachine gun ammo blindly shooting at an enemy and then die when they have to wait to switch to their pistol and try to take down the enemy at a much slower rate of fire. With all of this in mind, the Medic class can be very rewarding to play, if you take the time to practice and perfect the skills that you need to be successful. |-------------------------| |4.0 - The Medic's Arsenal| |-------------------------| Here's where things get a little confusing. Depending on which side you play for (Axis or Allies), your arsenal will be different. If you play as an Allied Medic, you will spawn with: |----------------------------------------------| |Weapon Slot|Weapon | Ammo | |----------------------------------------------| | 1 |Knife | None | | 2 |Colt Model 1911 Pistol | 8/24** | | 3 |Thompson Submachine Gun| 30/0** | | 4 |Pineapple Grenade | 1 | | 5 |Syringe | 10 | | 6 |Health Pack | Infinite*| |----------------------------------------------| *Health Packs are directly tied to your weapons bar on the lower right corner of the screen. When the bar runs out, you can no longer drop Health Packs. **The number on the left is the amount of bullets in the gun when you spawn. The number on the right is the amount of bullets you can use when you reload. If you play as an Axis Medic, you will spawn with: |----------------------------------------------| |Weapon Slot|Weapon | Ammo | |----------------------------------------------| | 1 |Knife | None | | 2 |Luger 9mm | 8/24** | | 3 |MP40 Submachine Gun | 32/0** | | 4 |Potato Masher Grenade | 1 | | 5 |Syringe | 10 | | 6 |Health Pack | Infinite*| |----------------------------------------------| *Health Packs are directly tied to your weapons bar on the lower right corner of the screen. When the bar runs out, you can no longer drop Health Packs. **The number on the left is the amount of bullets in the gun when you spawn. The number on the right is the amount of bullets you can use when you reload. So what's the difference? Well, the MP40 can hold a whopping *two* more bullets than the Thompson. To make up for this paltry ammo differential, the Thompson uses .45 shells that can be fired at 700 rounds per minute while the MP40 fires 9mm shells at 500 rounds per minute. The MP40 is more accurate at a distance, however. Note: Although the difference between the MP40 and the Thompson is not as extreme as I put it in this FAQ, there is a small degree of difference between them. After all, Lieutenants and Soldiers are given a choice of one or the other, so they must be different enough to warrant the option. Another difference is in the handguns, though it is hardly different to the same degree as the difference in the submachine guns. Both guns use 9mm rounds and can be fired in a semi-rapid fire mode if you click the fire button fast enough. The last difference between the arsenal of the Axis and Allied medics is the type of grenade that each gets. The Axis medic gets a "potato masher" grenade, which is basically a stick with an explosive metal charge on the end of it. This type of grenade relies on shrapnel for full effect. The Allied medic, on the other hand, gets a "pineapple" grenade, the standard grenade that looks like a small green pineapple. There is little difference between these grenades, although the pineapple grenade may bounce off of walls better due to its shape. Finally, a little bit of information about the syringe and the health packs. The syringe, which you get ten of at spawning, is what you use to revive fallen teammates. On your radar, a small red circle with a syringe in the center will show you which direction to go in to find the soldier that needs to be revived. To revive the teammate, crouch down and hit the fire button to inject the person with the life-saving serum. A revived teammate will have all of the ammo they had when they died as well as 50 health points. It is a good idea to throw two health packs to a revived teammate so they are at a reasonable health level to continue fighting. Due to the limitations of the weapons meter, you can throw roughly three health packs before you are held from deploying any more. Each health pack grants the person that picks it up 20 health points. If a live teammate is calling for a medic, this means that they want a health pack, and their direction will be denoted by a red circle with a white cross in the middle of it on your radar. And now, the black sheep of the Medic's offensive arsenal, the combat knife. That's right... the combat knife. Though I know many people who can successfully rack up kills with the knife, I have never had the good fortune to do so. I rarely use this weapon; in fact, I never use it unless I have totally run out of ammo. I believe that you can sneak up on people and score a one-hit-kill backstab like in RTCW single player, but as I've said, I've never had the oppurtunity. So my best advice for you if you have to use the knife is to use stealth to your advantage, try not to run and cause a commotion, and hope that you can pull off one hell of a miraculous backstab. |------------------| |Tips from Readers:| |------------------| The following tips were provided by aau@hotmail.com: Because you don't start with much ammo, every shot has to count. Until you're visited by your friendly neighborhood Lt., treat that MP40/Thompson as a semi-automatic weapon (i.e. single-round bursts only). If you're low on ammo (10-15 rounds left), switch to the pistol right away. The low rate of fire gives you more time to aim between shots, so the pistol is sometimes more deadly than the MP40/Thompson. Also, nearby Lts. will often notice you using the pistol and give you more ammo. |----------------------| |5.0 - Medic Strategies| |----------------------| Any kind of strategy that you intend to use when you play as a Medic should definitely involve following and supporting at least one of your teammates. Although this makes for a greater risk of being ambushed and losing two players from your team in a matter of seconds, there are many advantages to this strategy. Advantages: 1) If you travel with a Lieutenant, they can provide you with extra ammo so that you have a fighting chance when you encounter the enemy. 2) If you travel with a Soldier, they will usually be holding a better weapon than you (a Mauser, Panzerfaust, Venom, or Flamethrower) and you can rely on them to dispatch the enemy while you watch their health gauge and revive/throw health packs to make them an invincible fighting force. 3) If you travel with an Engineer, you can provide cover for them while they set or defuse dynamite to achieve mission objectives. Though it may not be too wise to try and actually use your weapons to set cover, you can switch to your health packs and keep your teammate pretty much invincible so they can concentrate on what they need to do. 4) Finally, its safer to travel with a teammate because you never know when you'll encounter the enemy and how many of them there will be, so its best to have two guns instead of one. Specific "teaming" tips: -----When teamed with a soldier using a submachine gun. In this team, you should be going into situations side-by-side with the soldier so that you can spray a lot of bullets in a wide area. -----When teamed with a soldier using a Mauser sniper rifle. Always crouch when you walk around so that you do not give away the sniper's position. If you give away the sniper's position, they will not only be very upset with you, but they will also be very susceptible to attack from an opposing sniper, a Panzerfaust, or a Lieutenant calling in an air strike with his binoculars. Remember to heal the sniper as he takes fire. -----When teamed with a soldier using a Venom gun. Never stand in front of the soldier, even on a friendly-fire off server. Let the soldier mow down the enemies and stand behind him with health packs to keep him strong. -----When teamed with a soldier using a Panzerfaust. Again, never stand in front of the soldier. Although this is a general statement, most Panzerfaust soldiers are RTCW newbies that have a tendency to slip and fire rockets into masses of their own teammates. Trust me, I realize that there are many skilled Panzerfaust soldiers, but I learned twice in one round that you should never stand in front of one of these guys. As with the Venom soldier, stand behind and throw health packs when needed. -----When teamed with a soldier using a Flamethrower. Guess what? Stand behind him. You don't want flames to obscure your vision, especially not from your own teammate. Stand behind and throw health packs as necessary. -----When teamed with an Engineer. Work together to clear out rooms with your submachine guns leading up to the objective that needs to be detonated. When the Engineer does his dynamite routine, cover him with either suppressive fire or by throwing health packs at his feet so that he will pick them up if he is shot. This way, you can destroy obstacles with relative ease and complete your mission. -----When teamed with a Lieutenant. If the Lieutenant is using his binoculars to scan the enemy ground and possibly call in an airstrike, be sure to throw some health packs at his feet. He is very vulnerable to snipers as well as opposing Lieutenants. It should also be noted that Medics are much more useful to defending teams than they are to assaulting teams. Although a Medic can be helpful in replenishing the attacking force, more often than not you will find yourself cut down by enemy fire while you try to revive a newly-dead teammate. A defending medic's job is much easier, as you can set up in an important area and heal your teammates that are defending the objective. Finally, don't be afraid to run after some objectives yourself if you think you'll be able to escape. The Medic's ability to regain health every second that he isn't being attacked is very helpful when you are on a map like the "Beach Invasion" and need to run the documents to the radio room. |------------------| |Tips from Readers:| |------------------| The following tips were provided by aau@hotmail.com: In a pinch, don't forget you can throw/pick up your own health packs. This is especially useful if you're fleeing with an objective. Revive fellow medics first, but heal them last. This seems odd, but remember that medics automatically regain health. Don't heal medics unless they request assistance, or everyone else is at full health. Resist the urge to revive players while under fire. Not only are you at risk of getting killed, the revived player might get killed again right away. Plus you want at least one medic to survive the firefight, so don't rush in if you're the only medic. Always be looking for someone to heal. If your meter is full and everyone nearby is healthy, consider dropping a pack or two in places where your teammates might retreat to. Often this is near a doorway or a hallway intersection. While advancing, you can also drop medkits for the teammates advancing behind you. My experience is that medics are good at killing flamethrower troops. You are usually at full health (and constantly regenerating), so you have more time to line up those headshots. Once the flamethrower is taken care of, use medkits on yourself to keep the flames from overwhelming you. The following tips were provided by mm362@cornell.edu: Medics work well with the mg42s. Since they essentially have regeneration, they can withstand more enemy fire. But what i prefer to do is work in a pair when using the mg42. For example, have a soldier man the gun, while the medic drops med packs at his feet. And when he dies, the medic can revive and the guy can continue gunning. Just watch out for the panzerfausts and snipers. The rockets obviously gib you both...but the sniper, he'll just pick off the gunner everytime you revive him, thereby wasting your syringes. Medics are VERY good at being the main offensive runner. If you have ever played quake 3, a man with a regeneration power up takes a long time to kill. Same thing applies to the medic. If the objective is something like in mp_beach where you have to steal the war docs, the medic can usually withstand enough gunfire to complete the objective. Another thing, watch who you revive. If the same player dies every 3 seconds and you revive him each time, it’s just a waste of your syringe. Sure you get the points, but that’s not the mission objective... focus on reviving players who are vital to your team's success. Of course, you should revive anyone that falls, but this suggestion applies only if you repeatedly have to revive someone. The following tips were provided by Cpt. Blanks (peacecraft4@hotmail.com): Ever seen Saving Private Ryan, where a couple medics are crawling up the shingle saving peoples lives, and one medic says "Priorities. This guy is gone". You have 2 syringe charges left, but 3 guys dead. One soldier with a flamethrower, being guarded by a rocket marine. One dead medic, and one dead engineer near the seawall door on mp_beach. Think, priorities. The flamethrower marine is gone. Both of you will be gibbed if you try to save him. The medic is #1 on the list. If you pair up with him, theres a chance (small one) that you can take out the rocketeer guarding the pyro and you can revive him too. The engineer, though a little behind the medic's priority, is the next most important. He can blow the wall, capture the bunker, so if anyone else dies they'll respawn closer. You *COULD* revive him first and have him back you up on saving the soldier instead of the medic. But I don't suggest it. The following tips were provided by Spanky (kcdonohue@yahoo.com): Ammo and the Medic When you spawn, you have only 1 clip in the gun (32 rounds in the gun). If a Lt is around, you can only pick up a max of 3 ammo packs (giving you 96 rounds in reserve) with a total of 128 rounds (32/96). Any packs you pick up after that is wasted and takes away from other players that need it. However, after you have 96 rounds in reserve, you can go over that limit by picking up dropped or fallen players' guns (of the same type of course). I have had well over 200 rounds in reserve by staying alive and not shooting that much. So if you scavenge guns and don't be a glutton and waste Ammo Packs, you could be a soldier as well as a medic in an effective team, offence or defence. BTW, the packs at the feet and along a retreat route is great avdice for newbies. Also, let's make sure the Lt's aren't stingey with the Ammo...I can't tell you how often I've fought intruders with the knife while desparately trying to get to fallen commrads! The following tips were provided by Jim Elliot (WardenJFE@hotmail.com): Stay about one room behind the attacking squads. If the defenders cut them down you can easily revive teammates who have fallen in the corridors. Two medics teamed up with this tactic can provide several assault waves, one after another. Got any other medic tips? Email briparks@hotmail.com and I'll add them, giving you full credit. |--------------| |6.0 - Chatting| |--------------| Chatting is an essential part of any multiplayer game. Communicating with your teammates can help to coordinate attacks and alert players to any impending danger that they may be unknowingly walking into. Here are a few situations where you should say some key phrases to convey your plans. -----Situation: A dead teammate is calling for help. They are in a safe area and are actively calling for you, signaling that they intend to wait for you to revive them rather than jump into limbo mode.----- In this situation, it's a good idea to use the Quickchat option called Function. To use this, hit "V" and then hit "6". This will cause your character to say out loud that they are a Medic. This way, the wounded teammate will know that you intend to go and revive him, so he should remain in the playing field. -----Situation: A dead teammate is calling for help, but he is in a very "hairy" area where you could easily be torn to shreds.----- In this situation, you should probably use your team message to say that you won't be able to get to him to revive him. Sometimes if you just say "Sorry", the person calling for help will see your name, check the overlay and see that you are a medic, and jump into limbo mode so they can get back in the game. The quickchat for "Sorry" is "V", then "5", then "4". An alternate strategy for this situation is to throw your grenade (if you still have it) at the soldier calling for help. Their body may conceal the grenade, allowing you the chance for a possible enemy kill as well as sending your teammate into limbo automatically when their body becomes a bunch of gibs. -----Situation: A living teammate is calling for help, which means that he wants you to go to him and give him some health packs. He is in a safe area.----- Same as with a dead soldier. Use the Function quickchat, run in the direction of the teammate and throw him some health packs. -----Situation: A living teammate is calling for help, but he is in a "hairy" area and you don't think you can reach him in time before he dies.----- Again, say "Sorry" and attempt to revive your teammate if they in fact die but the area becomes safe. If the teammate lives and kills the people attacking him, use the Function quickchat, because it is your duty to run over and heal him. -----Situation: You spawn and realize that you have barely any ammo.----- Immediately use the quickchat that calls for ammo. This is accomplished by hitting "V", then "2", then "2". A yellow ammo icon will appear over your head as well as on the radar of your team's lieutenants, allowing them to know that you are in need of ammo. Hopefully a lieutenant will show up to help you become a more offensive force. -----Situation: You have just been killed and the person or force that killed you is approaching an important objective.----- Immediately use the quickchat for "Incoming!" (it is lost on me at the moment) or type "Incoming!" in team chat. If you can, inform your teammates how many enemies are closing in and what kind of weapons they are holding. This is especially true if you see a soldier using a Venom, Panzerfaust, or Flamethrower. -----Situation: You are in limbo mode but teammates are frantically calling for a medic and it does not appear that there are any medics on your team that are alive.----- Use your time in limbo to type a team message telling the teammate that you will either tend to them when you respawn (be sure to tell how many seconds are left) or tell them to jump into limbo so that they can respawn with you instead of being useless on the ground. -----Situation: You are near an area that needs to be blown up with dynamite, but there are no Engineers around.----- Use the "Need an Engineer!" quickchat by pushing "V", then "2", then "4". This will place a blue exclamation point on your teammate's radar so that any Engineers can find their way to where you are and blow up the objective. Be sure to cover them as they do so. -----Situation: You are killed and there is another living medic on your team.----- Don't hop into limbo mode yet! Help out your fellow medics by calling them using quickchat ("V", then "2", then "1") and get the chance to respawn right where you died. This can be hard for some beginning medics to get used to, as it can be considered embarrassing for a medic to need a medic, but put your pride aside and help your fellow medics get points as well as help your team by bringing you back so you don't have to linger in limbo mode. |------------------| |Tips from Readers:| |------------------| The following tips were provided by aau@hotmail.com: -----Teammate calls for medic - You are responding----- The other important feature of "I'm a medic" is that it broadcasts your location. A fallen teammate can decide whether to wait for you, or to jump back into the reinforcement queue. If starting far away, you might want to periodically announce your location as you get closer. -----Teammate calls for medic - You are not responding----- If you're busy supporting other teammates and can't respond to a call, consider using the "I'm on defense" or "I'm on offense" messages. Got any other medic chatting tips? Email briparks@hotmail.com and I'll add them, giving you full credit. |-----------------------------| |7.0 - How to Befriend a Medic| |-----------------------------| Ever wonder why your team's medic isn't healing you when you call for him? Knowingly or unknowingly, you may be doing one of the cardinal misdeeds in dealing with people that play the Medic class in RTCW. Here's a sampling of things you can do to make sure you keep on the good side of the team medic. -----If you die, only call for a medic once.----- Believe it or not, people (not just medics) will begin to ignore you if you abuse the "Medic!" voice chat and flood the screen and the airwaves with your desperate cries for help. Although you may think that calling more than once is a good way to make sure the Medic knows where to find you, the truth is that a Medic's radar will point him in the direction of any team member that falls, regardless of whether they manually call for a Medic or not. Thus, if you call for a Medic and you hear the "I'm a Medic" voicechat, sit tight and wait for the Medic to come help you. If you hear the "Sorry" voicechat or the Medic types that he can't help you, just hop back into limbo mode. Either way, you'll have earned the respect of the Medic by showing that you can stay cool even after being killed. -----For Lts.: Always stock your medic.----- As I covered earlier in this FAQ, the Medic spawns with a very small amount of ammunition with which to protect himself while dashing around from victim to victim. Thus, if you throw a few ammo packs to the Medic at the start of the round or after a respawn, you will be thanked and chances are, you will be saved by the same Medic later on when you need help. Also, if a Medic revives an Lt., it is an unwritten law that the two should spread their wealth by giving each other ammo and health. A Medic saving an Lt. that doesn't help to stock their supply will probably be quite miffed when the Lt. runs off without anything more than a "Thanks." -----If you are revived by a medic, THANK THEM.----- Nothing, and I mean nothing, aggravates a Medic more than an ungrateful patient. A Medic in RTCW lays their life on the line to save you, and the least you can do is type in the "Thanks" quickchat (V-5-8-1). If you forget to do this, chances are you'll end up on the Medic's "sh*tlist", and you'll want to be in good graces with him in case you fall again. -----Cover a medic when you see him running around with his syringe.----- Unlike the medics of games like Team Fortress Classic, the Medic in RTCW can't attack with his healing tool. That means that when you see your team's Medic running around with that long yellow syringe in his hand, he is completely defenseless to attacks from the opposition. If you take a covering position and protect him from attacks while he is doing his job, chances are he'll repay the favor later on. Got any other tips on winning over that special medic in your life? Email briparks@hotmail.com and I'll add them, giving you full credit. |-----------------------| |8.0 - Map-Specific Tips| |-----------------------| As in any first-person shooter, the skills needed to play the game are only half of the battle. The other half is knowing your surroundings and what you need to do to help your team succeed in their mission. Eventually I hope to provide tips for all of the official maps, but for now I will detail some tips I like to use on the "Beach Invasion". ------------------------------------- Map Name: "Beach Invasion" (mp_beach) Tips Courtesy of: RAMMS+EIN Short Overview: The Allied forces have landed on the beach at an Axis military installation and must steal and transmit documents containing secret Axis information to their Allied generals. Allied Objectives: 1) Blow open the Sea Wall door or the Sea Wall breach to gain access to the main area of the Axis stronghold. 2) Hold the Forward Bunker to gain a closer reinforcement point. (Optional objective.) 3) Obtain the secret Axis documents. 4) Transmit the documents to Allied forces from the radio room. Axis Objectives: 1) Prevent the Allies from completing their objectives before time runs out. 2) Hold the Forward Bunker to keep the Allied reinforcement point down at the beach. (Optional objective.) Allied Medic Tips: The Allied team is attacking on the Beach Invasion mission, which can make it hard for a Medic to do his job. As you run up the beach, you will be pinned down by MG42 fire just like the rest of the team, and chances are that you might be killed trying to get out and heal teammates that fall prey to enemy fire. A good strategy to use as a Medic before your team blows open one of the entrance points to the Axis base is to pair yourself up with an Engineer and run with him to one of the dynamite points. Once there, you can cover him as he blows the point and then follow him inside. Another strategy you can use is to accompany a sniper to sniper hill. For those who don't know, sniper hill is located to the right of the Allied beach spawn and offers protection with its small concrete walls and overhead canopy. While the rest of your team moves in to breach the compound, you can assist the sniper as he picks off the enemy by healing him when he faces fire and reviving him when an enemy sniper or lieutenant fires. Once your team breaches the compound, your primary objective as a Medic should be to dash into the war room, grab the documents, and book it to the radio room. As odd as it may sound, it is not really worth tracking down people to heal them in this phase of the mission. When your teammates die at this point, they will be in an area that is very well-defended and you will likely die in the process of reviving them. However, if you accompany someone to the war room and they grab the documents, you should immediately switch to your medical packs and run behind them, throwing packs at them as they take fire so that they can transmit the documents. Axis Medic Tips: The Axis Medic has a much easier job on the Beach Invasion, for your primary worry for the first few minutes of the match is simply to run around healing your teammates that fall due to air strikes, Panzerfaust rockets, or being sniped. You will not face any opposition until the Allied forces break through the dynamite points, so you can take it easy and conserve your ammo at the beginning of the match. Before the walls fall, however, your teammates will undoubtedly end up jumping the sea wall breach or jumping over the forward bunker to try and kill the Allied soldiers on the beach and prevent them from even breaching the compound. Though this may be tempting, I highly dissuade Axis Medics from jumping the wall. You don't have enough ammunition to provide a significant challenge to the enemy and if you try to heal your teammates that die, you'll be very vulnerable to enemy fire unless you're being covered by a teammate manning an MG42 or sniper rifle. Once the Allied forces have breached the compound, you need to run over to the point that was breached and assist your teammates in killing any Allied soldiers that run through the new hole in your defenses. If your teammates fall, kill the incoming soldier first and then return to heal them. Your fellow soldiers will be of no use if they're brought back to life as an enemy player is on his way down to the objective. Another strategy during this phase of the mission is to stay on the top floors of the compound and heal the soldiers that remain up there to man the MG42s or use other weapons to fire down at the enemy. Once the second dynamite point falls, I recommend that you immediately run down into the war room and join the defensive squad that is undoubtedly holed up to defend the documents. As the Allied forces converge their attack on the war room, many of your teammates will need to be healed and revived in order to maintain an effective defense of the objective. In between assaults, you should heal all injured teammates and take an effective position in the room to fire upon any enemy soldiers that enter the room in hopes of grabbing the documents. Done right, your defense will prove to be an insurmountable obstacle that keeps the enemy back and wins the match for your team. Tips Courtesy of: Exgermanator (yoshibda@yahoo.com) Axis Medic Tips: Okay, if you are an axis medic, stay near the war room. If an allied soldier comes in, they'll most likely die, but take a few axis soldiers down with them. stay concealed, (maybe behind the red grate where the allied soldiers go through the vents.) If they come through, you can yell "incoming." After you hear the allied soldier yell "Medic, help!" then rush in the room and replenish everyone's health and revive anyone who may be dead as fast as you can so they can be prepared for the next wave of allied troops. On top of earning alot of points for yourself, it also very "healthy" for your team. :) Also, if you have enough ammo, when you hide in the red place, you can kill the allied troops as they drop down the vents. Seeing as you have automatic replenishing health, then you will be hard to kill, and most likely they'll land with their back turned to you. aim for the head and give them a very surprising death. ------------------------------ Map Name: "Castle" (mp_castle) Tips Courtesy of: mm362@cornell.edu Short Overview: The Axis forces are holding a Sacred Obelisk in a coffin amongst the remains of one of their Castles; the Allied forces must infiltrate the castle and steal the obelisk to return to their generals in a truck for further study. Allied Objectives: 1) Fight your way to the Northeast Courtyard and place dynamite on the Coffin. 2) Dynamite the Hallway Gate in order to provide quicker access to the Northeast Courtyard. (Optional objective.) 3) Dynamite the West Gate for quick access to the West Access Room. (Optional objective.) 4) When the coffin has been blown up, steal the idol hidden inside. 5) Escape with the idol to the Allied truck waiting in the Southwest Crypt. Axis Objectives: 1) Prevent the Allies from completing their objectives until time runs out. 2) Protect the Hallway Gate to deter the Allied advance. (Optional objective.) 3) Protect the West Gate to deter the Allied advance. (Optional objective.) Allied Medic Tips: At the start of the match, your engineers will have to blow up a couple gates, but the Axis will be there waiting. Constantly replenish and revive the engineers... they should be your first priority. Once the gates are blown up, the objective is to blow up the coffin. Attack with the rest of your team and protect the engineers, reviving anyone along the way... no special strategy. After the coffin is blown up, your role should be analogous with the role in mp_beach... run in and get the idol, then run out. The Medic's regenerative health is a huge advantage when the entire Axis team has their crosshairs on you. On a side note, I have a personal strategy for getting the gold and running, but it only works under one circumstance. You have to be alive when the coffin blows up... immediately after its broken, just jump down, grab the gold and run like hell. When the coffin is broken, a lot of Axis soldiers were probably cleared out anyways. And no one alive will be around the coffin when it explodes. So as the dust and smoke is still there, run in, get idol, run out. Worked plenty of times for me =) Axis Medic Tips: As a medic, your primary goal is to revive your teammates who do the main brunt of the defending. I personally recommend staying on the high ground above the coffin and reviving my teammates. Just sit back and fire only if the enemy comes in your line of fire. Never be in the front line, per se, because you'd be useless. Let the soldiers do the work. At the start of the map, however, it is expected that your team pushes near the gates that the Allies have to blow up. Same strategy as before... let the soldiers do the main fighting and you just keep busy reviving. Got any other tips for the Beach Invasion or any other RTCW maps? Email briparks@hotmail.com and I'll add them, giving you full credit. ---------------------------- Map Name: "Depot" (mp_depot) Tips Courtesy of: RAMMS+EIN Short Overview: In an abandoned depot, the Allied and Axis forces have both set up operations to take out the opposing force. Allied Objectives: 1) Destroy the Anti-Aircraft Gun. 2) Defend the Allied field operations. 3) Prevent the Axis from blowing up the West Gate. (Optional objective.) 4) Destroy the East Gate to gain a closer reinforcement point. (Optional objective.) 5) Obtain the forward deployment point. (Optional objective.) Axis Objectives: 1) Defend the Anti-Aircraft Gun. 2) Destroy the Allied field operations. 3) Destroy the West Gate to gain a closer reinforcement point. (Optional objective.) 4) Prevent the Allies from blowing up the East Gate. (Optional objective.) 5) Obtain the forward deployment point. (Optional objective.) Allied Medic Tips: Axis Medic Tips: -------------------------------- Map Name: "Village" (mp_village) Tips Courtesy of: Short Overview: In an Axis-controlled village, the Allied forces have infiltrated the area in hopes of stealing gold from the tomb in the Axis cemetery. Allied Objectives: 1) Dynamite the Cemetery Crypt to gain access to the gold. 2) Steal the Axis gold from inside the Cemetery Crypt. 3) Escape with the gold to the Allied truck in the village. 4) Capture the Northwest Courtyard to gain a closer reinforcement point. (Optional objective.) Axis Objectives: 1) Defend the gold inside the Cemetery Crypt. 2) Prevent the Allies from stealing the gold from the Cemetery Crypt. 3) Prevent the Allies from taking the gold to the Allied truck in the village. 4) Hold the Northwest Courtyard to keep the Allied reinforcement point deep in the village, far from the cemetery.(Optional objective.) Allied Medic Tips: As an Allied Medic on "Village", your first goal is to run through the village with your teammates in the direction of the Northwest Courtyard. Depending on the strategy of your opponents, this route can play out one of two ways: 1st Option - The Axis team will not make any attempt to stop you on your way to the Northwest Courtyard. Under this option, the Axis team has adapted a strict defensive strategy where the whole force gets to the Cemetery as soon as they can. Although this helps them cover up the main entry points to the primary objectives, it leaves most of the level open for you to claim the forward reinforcement point at the Northwest Courtyard. 2nd Option - The Axis team will spread out. Under this option, an option which has become less popular as of late, the Axis team splits up and a force is sent to try and intercept your team before you can grab the flag and reinforcement point at the Northwest Courtyard. If this happens to you, be ready to attack the enemies as well as heal the odd man on your side that may fall to an ambush. However, the initial run plays out, remember that the main objective of the first part of the mission is to grab the Northwest Courtyard reinforcement point. This means that though the Axis forces may be using the 1st Option in their defense, you may meet resistance hiding behind the boxes at the Northwest Courtyard. Deal with this threat accordingly and take the flag to secure a firm starting point for your team. The next phase of this mission begins when you reach the Northwest Courtyard. From this point, you have a variety of options to choose from in assaulting the Cemetery area. You can enter the Wine Cellar adjacent to the Northwest Courtyard or you can go out of your way to enter the Cemetery through the passage near the Axis spawn point. For reasons of both accessibility and safety (because you'd surely get killed by spawning Axis forces, if not on your way over from the Northwest Courtyard), I will deal with the two choices you have once you enter the Wine Cellar. Warning - As soon as you enter the Wine Cellar, expect to be reviving people and healing people often. Most Axis defenders are intelligent enough to know that they can hold the Cemetery for nearly the entire match if they cover the two ladders that lead up from the Wine Cellar. Expect to deal with grenades, air strikes, and gunfire on your attempts up the ladders. The first ladder that you can see after going down the stairs into the Wine Cellar is the "safe" ladder. This ladder leads to a small area protected partially by some crumbling wall. This entry point is usually less defended because you will enter the Cemetery in the middle of the tombstones and will still have to battle your way up to the Cemetery Crypt, which will probably be crawling with Axis forces. As a Medic, if you use this ladder, you will probably be alone because most people use the other ladder to emerge closer to the Cemetery Crypt. Thus, you should be charging the Cemetery Crypt to thin out Axis forces and allow your teammates to enter the area safely. The second ladder, found when you completely explore the Wine Cellar, will undoubtedly end in death unless you are supported by teammates. Expect this ladder to be heavily defended, usually by engineers throwing their bounty of grenades, by a soldier using the flamethrower or Venom, or by a Lieutenant whose airstrikes will sometimes be carried out when he throws them down the hole. However, if you are able to reach the top of the ladder, you will be in a semi-protected area right next to the Cemetery Crypt. As a Medic, your role at this ladder will be to revive your teammates if they fall back down the ladder and command a seemingly infinite army that will eventually punch through the defenses. Once you are at the Cemetery Crypt, find the nearest engineer that is setting dynamite and throw some health packs at his feet. This way, any wounds he's suffered to that point will be healed and he will absorb the extra health if an Axis soldier manages to escape your cover fire and try to waste the engineer. Once you have supported an engineer and the dynamite has been planted, heal any of your teammates that need the extra health, revive the fallen, and assume a strategic firing position that will help you take out any Axis engineer that tries to disarm the dynamite. With any luck, you'll be alive and the dynamite will have blown a nice big hole in the Cemetery Crypt. The Axis gold is now available for the taking, so run in and grab it and immediately run back down the ladder closest to you to get into the Wine Cellar. If a teammate grabs the gold, switch over to your health packs and run behind him, healing him as he goes. The path back to the Allied truck can be very difficult to navigate, especially with Axis forces reinforcing and trying to find areas to ambush your run. My suggested route is to run up the stairs in the Wine Cellar and enter the Northwest Courtyard once more. From here, you run through the tavern area of the village and the rest of the level can be pretty easily navigated so long as you remember the route you followed to reach the tavern. As you reach the Allied truck, be very cautious. Occasionally, an Axis player will jump into the back of the truck and kill the person with the gold, stopping the victory run and walking over the gold to return it to its position in the Cemetery Crypt. For this reason, it is important to approach the truck before the person carrying the gold to make sure that your work will not be ruined. Axis Medic Tips: If you've already gone over the Allied Medic Tips for this map, then you'll know that your teammates will either be using an all-defense strategy or a diversified strategy. Either way, I suggest that you get yourself over to the Cemetery, and fast. As a Medic, you will be much more useful to the force protecting the Cemetery than you will to any kind of group that is trying to run at the Allies and take them out before the reach the Northwest Courtyard. It's their choice to try and take an offensive stand on a map where you're defending, and thus it is their consequence if they die out in the middle of nowhere. When you get to the Cemetery area, you have a few options as far as what kind of position you want to take in defense. There is a mounted MG42 facing the Cemetery area in a corner near the Axis spawn point, as well as another MG42 in front of the Cemetery Crypt that can be used to take out Allied soldiers that use the big Cemetery entrance or the first ladder up from the Wine Cellar. If you choose to man one of these guns, be sure to drop health packs at your feet periodically so that you can replenish your health as you take fire. If another player is manning the gun, be sure to provide them with health packs as well as revive them if they fall. Another option is to stand in the general area of the Cemetery Crypt and hide in a corner to ambush an Allied engineer going in to plant dynamite. If you choose to do this, remember to heal your team's engineers, as they will likely be in the same area rushing around to defuse dynamite. The final and less-preferred of all options is to join the attack on the Allied movement up the ladders from the Wine Cellar. Although chances are the Allied soldiers will not make it halfway up the ladder, you will be wasting yourself here if your teammates are not being killed as they defended the entry points. Sad, but true. Only use this strategy if you feel that you will need to be in the area to heal your defense. If the Allied players are able to blow up the Cemetery Crypt, your primary objective is to take down the person carrying the gold at any cost. Hit "Tab" to view the scores and see who is carrying the gold and then head off in the general direction of the Allied truck, all the way across the village. If you encounter Allied forces along the way, be sure to take them out unless they outnumber you or are carrying more powerful weapons that will make short work of you. The only exception to this rule should be if the group has the person with the objective. In that case, run directly towards the person with the objective and kill them, then be sure to run over the gold to return it to the Cemetery Crypt. Though you may die in the process, the gold will once again be in an easily defendable area and you will be on the verge of reinforcing to defend it. Finally, if you beat the Allies to the truck, hop in the back and crouch with your gun poised. As soon as you see the person with the objective, fire away and hope that they die and you are able to return the gold to its original position. Be aware, however, that odds are against your success using this strategy, as you'll likely face a large group of Allies. ----------------------------- Map Name: "Das Boot" (mp_sub) Tips Courtesy of: RAMMS+EIN Short Overview: The Allied forces have discovered a secret Axis base and must infiltrate the complex to destroy an Axis submarine. Allied Objectives: 1) Dynamite the Axis submarine to sink and destroy it. 2) Clear out the quick path to the Axis Submarine Storage by placing dynamite at two key doors. (Optional objective.) 3) Capture the Central Access Room to gain a closer reinforcement point. (Optional objective.) Axis Objectives: 1) Defend the Axis Submarine. 2) Prevent the Allies from advancing by halting their attempts to dynamite a quick path to the Axis Submarine Storage. (Optional objective.) 3) Prevent the Allies from capturing the Central Access Room to keep their reinforcement point back in the beginning of the map. (Optional objective.) Allied Medic Tips: When you play as an Allied Medic on "Das Boot", you will find yourself in the role you've come to associate with the Allied team - attacking. As always, this means that your job as a Medic will be very complicated and that you will probably die a lot trying to revive your teammates. However, don't let this discourage you from playing on the Allied team, because the Medic is the most important class on this map, aside from the engineer. When you first spawn on "Das Boot", you will be in a secured section of a large Axis compound. From this area, you have two options. You can continue around a "U" section and blow up the door by the Central Access Room or you can go downstairs and blow open the door by the Filtration Room. Either way, you need to be present to make sure that the engineer survives long enough to dynamite the door. If you go to the door by the Central Access Room: Be wary of Axis soldiers sneaking up on your position from the safety of the Ducts. A smart team of an Axis Soldier and an Axis Medic can wreak havoc on your aspirations to take this door down if you're not careful. Always remember to throw health packs at the engineer first and then watch the entrance to the ducts as the engineer sets the dynamite. Once it is set, take a covered position in order to attack any Axis players that may come out of the Ducts. Be especially cautious of Axis engineers that will try to run in and quickly defuse your team's dynamite. Once the door is blown, you still have a ways to go until you reach the Submarine Storage. Directly through the blown doors on the left is a descending stairway that leads to the Central Access Room securing flag. If you have entered this area with a group, it is a reasonable strategy to become suicidal and run for the flag at all costs to make sure that your team has a closer reinforcement area. Chances are, with the Medic's regeneration ability, you will probably have enough health to spare to take out your main opposition after raising the flag. Beyond the flag is a bridge over water and then another room before you enter the Submarine Storage. Both of these areas are usually very hairy (filled with enemies), so aim true and revive as many of your fallen teammates as you can so that you will be able to punch through the defense. If you go to the door by the Filtration Room: You will face much less resistance on the path to this entry point. This can be attributed to the fact that this dynamite point is not very accessible to the Axis team; it is far from the sub and they cannot afford to leave their main objective unprotected. However, once the door is blown you may face a force of Axis soldiers in the Filtration Room itself. The higher ground in the middle of the Filtration Room, as well as architecture that the Axis team can hide behind, make this a difficult room to fight through if the Axis has indeed set up a group of their forces here. Once you fight through the Filtration Room, you will be in the heart of this map... the Submarine Storage. Submarine Storage Strategy: The Submarine Storage is a cavernous room with water in the middle holding the Sub. There are plenty of catwalks for the Axis forces to snipe from, and you will often find yourself pinned down by fire from above. This level of action means that as a Medic, your main goal for this segment of the mission should be to find the nearest engineer and accompany him to the part of the Sub that he intends to set his dynamite on. As he sets his dynamite, he WILL be under heavy fire, because the Axis reinforcement area offers extremely quick access to the Submarine Storage. Be sure to throw as many health packs as you can at his feet and revive him ASAP if he falls. Once the dynamite is set, you can either find another engineer to assist in planting "insurance" dynamite or you can find a covered position to guard the dynamite from. There are a few pillars on the ground level of this room that can be useful in hiding behind until you see an Axis engineer and can make a clear run to kill him as he attempts to disarm the dynamite. Axis Medic Tips: The Axis Medic on "Das Boot" will find himself in a much more favorable position than that of his Allied counterpart. Your task as an Axis player consists mainly of sneak-attacking Allied engineers who try to dynamite the Sub while healing your teammates to maintain an effective defense against the rush. >From the time you reinforce at the beginning of the map, you are a hop, skip, and jump away from the Submarine Storage. At this point, you can either decide to stay in this area and play a 100% defensive game or you can run up with the majority of your teammates and try to stop the Allied forces at the dynamite point near the Central Access Room. Normally I would recommend that you stay back and play a highly defensive game, but this is one map where I can say that running to the front lines can also be an effective strategy. In one game, I supported two Soldier teammates in the ducts and the Allied team was never able to break through any of the dynamite points, giving us a near-flawless victory. If you decide to play defense in the Submarine Storage: Find a good vantage point on one of the catwalks from which you can see both sides of the pool that the Sub rests in. When you face the front of the Sub (facing towards the small window in the far wall), the entry point from the Central Access Room is on the left and the entry point from the Filtration Room is on the right. In order to successfully defend this area, you must keep a close watch on both sides of the room while also looking out for Allied snipers taking up a haven in the room with the window that looks directly into the Submarine Storage. After a lot of practice, you should be able to consistently take out Allied engineers before they can plant dynamite on the Sub, but be prepared to assist your team's engineers if they need to defuse dynamite that has been planted. Just as an Allied engineer planting dynamite is vulnerable, so is the Axis engineer trying to defuse the dynamite. Be sure to throw health packs at his feet and provide cover fire as he saves the objective. If you decide to rush to the front lines: At the beginning of most matches played on "Das Boot", you will see a majority of your teammates rushing out of the Barracks room that you reinforce from and getting across the pool as soon as they can to rush the Allied team. The key is to follow these players to get a sense of where to go; eventually you will reach the Central Access Room. >From here, you should head up the stairs and hop into the Ducts directly across from the top of the stairs. From the Ducts, you can sneak into position to take out an Allied engineer planting dynamite or you can continuously heal and revive a teammate attacking the Allied forces attempting to blow up the door. From this area, your only real threat should come from Allied players throwing grenades into the ducts and being lucky enough to gib both you and your teammate(s). However, be sure to watch out for the occassional flamethrower or Venom soldier who decides to storm the Ducts. With this strategy, you can only maintain this offensive strategy until the Allies break into the Submarine Storage. Once they do, it is your responsibility to head back into the Submarine Storage and use the strategies described in the "All-Defense Strategy" above to make sure that the Axis Sub does not sink under the weight of the Allied offense. -------------------------------- Map Name: "Communique" (mp_base) Tips Courtesy of: Short Overview: The Axis base is receiving a top secret message from Axis generals through two radars; the Allied forces have learned of this and have infiltrated the base with the goal of destroying both radars before the message is finished translating. Allied Objectives: 1) Destroy the North Radar. 2) Destroy the South Radar. Axis Objectives: 1) Defend the North Radar. 2) Defend the South Radar. Allied Medic Tips: Axis Medic Tips: -------------------------------- Map Name: "Assault" (mp_assault) Tips Courtesy of: mm362@cornell.edu Short Overview: The Allied forces have taken over a communications tower that was once controlled by the Axis forces; the Axis forces must blow up the communications tower to make the Allied conquest of the tower useless. Allied Objectives: 1) Defend the captured Communications Tower. 2) Prevent the Axis from destroying the Warehouse Door to slow the Axis advance. (Optional objective.) 3) Prevent the Axis from breaching the Gate Hatch to slow the Axis advance. (Optional objective.) 4) Hold the Gate Area. (Optional objective.) Axis Objectives: 1) Destroy the captured Communications Tower. 2) Dynamite the Warehouse Door to open an easier path to the Communications Tower. (Optional Objective.) 3) Dynamite the Gate Hatch to open an easier path to the Communications Tower. (Optional objective.) 4) Capture the Gate Area. (Optional objective.) Allied Medic Tips: In some maps, like mp_castle, the role of the medic is to stay back and heal and revive. On this map, I find that taking a more aggressive role works very well, assuming that you have Lts. that actually give out ammo. At the beginning of the map, follow your teammates as they madly dash towards the gate. Since medics start out with one clip, I recommend letting your teammates run in front of you and start attacking. It's especially important that Lts. throw airstrikes over the gate to hinder dynomite planting on the hatch. I digress from giving medic tips =p. One of the goals of the allies is to get the checkpoint flag and to make life tough for any Axis that pass through that general area. Although staying back and reviving teammates is always a medic strat that often works, what I find the best strat is to stand by your teammates and attack. I like to play on big servers, and when the Axis spawn, its a huge wave of players coming straight for you. As long as you have a constant ammo supply, stay in the front line and attack attack attack! Plus, your regeneration abilities gives you extra health. As you fight, don't forget that your main job is to still heal and revive your teammates, so that should still be the main focus. Your main job is to stay alive so that you can revive fallen teammates, so if you start really feeling the pressure from the enemy, fall back behind your team and do your job as the medic. Once the warehouse is breached, most of your team will fall back to the Comm Tower. Let the grunts do the majority of the fighting (i.e. dont take unnecessary risks). I recommend one of two things. Stay on the bottom (near the base of the comm tower) and heal and your revive teammates as you all fight incoming Axis. The alternate strategy is to stay up on the Comm. Tower and heal anyone up there. What I recommend the most, however, is sticking by the engineers and keeping them healthy. The engys are your number one priority! If dynomite is planted, theyre the ones who disarm them, so try to keep them alive to the best of your abilities. Axis Medic Tips: The general strategy for the medic is like on most other maps, to stay back and heal and revive. The grunts should do the majority of the fighting, and if you die fighting in the front line, you are no use to anyone. At the beginning, there will be lots of firepower concentrated in the area around the flag and the gate hatch. I recommend staying back near the truck (the ones that next to the permanently open gate) and going out into the main area to heal and revive. As medics, there is not much else you can do at this point. Once the gate hatch is blown, follow your engineers! The engineers are the key to winning the map, and if they stay alive, you win. They will encounter lots of resistance in blowing up the warehouse entrance and the comm. tower so be there to heal and revive them often. ---------------------------------------- Map Name: "Destruction" (mp_destruction) Tips Courtesy of: mm362@cornell.edu Short Overview: This is a checkpoint map where the only goal is for the Allied forces or the Axis forces to hold all of the checkpoint flags on the map; controlling all of the checkpoints allows the team to secure the village. Allied Objectives: 1) Hold the Southern Control Point. 2) Hold the Western Control Point. 3) Hold the Western Courtyard Point. 4) Hold the Eastern Courtyard Point. 5) Hold the Eastern Control Point. 6) Hold the Northern Control Point. Axis Objectives: 1) Hold the Southern Control Point. 2) Hold the Western Control Point. 3) Hold the Western Courtyard Point. 4) Hold the Eastern Courtyard Point. 5) Hold the Eastern Control Point. 6) Hold the Northern Control Point. Both teams: This map is the epitome of staying back and out of the line of fire. In my strats for the other maps, the medics are usually not in the front line of fire, but they still participate in fighting nonetheless. On this map, it is IMPERATIVE that the medics stay out of the line of fire whenever possible. That means staying in one of the side buildings and paying close attention to your radar to see where someone needs a medic. Do not stay in the middle area for prolonged periods of time! You will either a) be oblitered by an atrike, or b) be caught in deadly crossfire. Venture out into the middle only if there are no airstrikes. If you haven't figured it out, airstrikes gib any wounded soldiers so that you cannot revive them. It is better to not be gibbed along with them than trying to play hero. There are several places to camp along the side areas of the central. If you have teammates in any of those strategic camping locations, drop medpacks at their feet even if they dont need them. If they get shot, they'll get automatically healed because they're standing on top of a medpack. This tip applies to servers with fast powerbar recharging - in those side areas away from the central fighting area, drop tons and tons of medpacks. Hurt grunts can quickly run in and heal themselves if they get shot. The following tips were provided by Allan Kerrigan (allanjk@hotmail.com): In a checkpoint game the medic is the best front runner charcater as long as hes given Ammo by the leuiteant. The fact he heals automatically means that as long as you have 90/120 rounds in your weapon you should be running for the flags early. Allied Medic Tips: i) When the team is trying to breach the north alley try and leave medpacks behind players so as they back up they will be healed automatically. ii) Also the north alley is THE place to use that one and only grenade. iii) always revive leiutenats /flamethrower soldiers first. This map calls for heavy weaponary and firefights are always intense you need the people who can take down large no.s of the enemy fast. iv) Usually the last flag to be taken by the Allies will be the north flag... the medic is the best person to make the run for this flag the automatic healing really pays off here. Axis Medic Tips: i) Axis seem to get pinned outside the courtyard a lot on this map. Be prepared to push into the courtyard and do a lot of healing else you will lose this map. ----------------------------------------- Map Name: "Trench Toast" (mp_trenchtoast) Tips Courtesy of: Short Overview: A series of trenches lines the No Man's Land between Allied and Axis bases; the team that holds all of the checkpoints will control the area. Allied Objectives: 1) Hold the Southern Flag. 2) Hold the Southwest Flag. 3) Hold the South Clearing Flag. 4) Hold the North Clearing Flag. 5) Hold the Northeast Flag. 6) Hold the Northern Flag. Axis Objectives: 1) Hold the Southern Flag. 2) Hold the Southwest Flag. 3) Hold the South Clearing Flag. 4) Hold the North Clearing Flag. 5) Hold the Northeast Flag. 6) Hold the Northern Flag. Allied Medic Tips: Axis Medic Tips: ----------------------------------------- Map Name: "Ice" (mp_ice) Tips Courtesy of: Short Overview: The Allied forces have set up a position close to an Axis outpost. Allied Objectives: 1) Defend the Allied War Documents. 2) Stop the Axis from transmitting the Allied War Documents. 3) Do not let the Axis destroy the Service Door. 4) Do not let the Axis destroy the Fortress Wall. 5) Hold the Shipping Halls. Axis Objectives: 1) Steal the Allied War Documents. 2) Transmit the Allied War Documents. 3) Destroy the Service Door. 4) Destroy the Fortress Wall. 5) Hold the Shipping Halls. Allied Medic Tips: Axis Medic Tips: Do you have any map-specific Medic tips? Even if I've already covered them or strategies have already been sent in, don't hesitate to send your tips to briparks@hotmail.com. |-------------------------------------| |9.0 - Comprehensive Voicechat Listing| |-------------------------------------| Ever been killed while you're trying to type out orders to your teammates? Then the Return to Castle Wolfenstein Voicehcat option will soon become your best friend. Although this really isn't specific to the Medic class, I feel that this information can be useful for anybody who views the file. The default key to open the Voicechat menu in RTCW is "V". When you hit "V", a small blue box will show up on the bottom-left corner of your HUD. Six main options will be listed, and pushing the corresponding number will either open up a further menu of chat options or make your character say something. For example, hitting "V" and then the number "1", "2", "3", "4", or "5" will bring up a new list of numbers and chats in the Voicechat box. Hitting "V" and then "6" will make your character state their function. Below are the six main Voicechat categories and the options you have once you push them. Category 1 - Statements (Accessed by pressing "V", then "1") 1. Path cleared. Mainly used by an Engineer after dynamite has cleared an obstacle. 2. Enemy weak. Used by anyone to announce when the enemy is weak. 3. All clear. Used by anyone to announce when an area is clear of hostiles. 4. Incoming. Used by anyone to announce that an enemy is approaching the objective. 5. Fire in the hole! Used by anyone to announce the throwing of a grenade or the planting of dynamite. 6. I'm on defense. Used by anyone to announce that they are protecting the objective. 7. I'm attacking. Used by anyone to announce that they are running to the front lines. 8. Taking fire. Used by anyone to announce that they are pinned down and cannot move because they are being fire at. Category 2 - Requests (Accessed by pressing "V", then "2") 1. Medic! Used by anyone when they are in need of a medic. 2. Ammo! Used by anyone when they want ammo from a Lieutenant. 3. I need backup! Used by anyone when they need backup to enter a hostile area. 4. Need an engineer! Used by anyone when they have reached a dynamite point and need an engineer or in general when a team needs somebody to switch to the class of engineer. 5. Cover me! Used by anyone to request cover fire. 6. Hold your fire! Used by anyone to call a halt to the team's attack. 7. Where to? Used to ask where to go next; usually by a person with an objective who doesn't know where to bring it. Category 3 - Commands (Accessed by pressing "V", then "3") 1. Follow me! Used by anyone to command a person to follow them; this is a good chat to use when somebody asks "Where to?" 2. Let's go! Used by anyone to command a person to hurry towards an objective. 3. Move! Used by anyone to command somebody to get out of their way; for example, when somebody stands in a doorway. 4. Clear the path! Used by anyone as either an alternative to calling for an engineer or as a command to clear out the enemies in an area. 5. Defend objective! Used by anyone to command teammates to get to their objective and defend it from attack. 6. Disarm dynamite! Used by anyone to command an engineer to disarm dynamite that has been planted. Category 4 - Talk (Accessed by pressing "V", then "4") 1. Yes (Team) Used as a means of responding in the affirmitive; can only be heard by teammates. 2. No (Team) Used as a means of responding in the negative; can only be heard by teammates. 3. Thanks. Used to thank a teammate. 4. You're welcome. Used in response to the "Thanks." of a teammate. 5. Sorry. Used to apologize to a teammate. Category 5 - Global (Accessed by pressing "V", then "5") Note: All voicechats in this category can be heard by all players. 1. Yes (Global) Used as a means of responding in the affirmitive. 2. No (Global) Used as a means of responding in the negative. 3. Enemy weak (Global) Used to announce that the enemy is weak; can be heard by everyone. 4. Hi! Used to welcome a new player or to greet people upon entering the game. 5. Bye Used to inform teammates that you are leaving the server or to say good-bye to someone who is leaving. 6. Great Shot. Used to congratulate somebody on a great shot. 7. Cheer/Celebrate Used to celebrate a win or successful move in game; Allies usually say "Yeah!" or "Alright!" while Medics usually say "Jawol!" (sp?) 8. More global chats Used to access the voicechats of Category 5:8. Category 5:8 - More Global Chats (Accessed by pressing "V", then "5", then "8") Note: All voicechats in this category can be heard by all players. 1. Thanks. Used to thank somebody. 2. Welcome. Used in response to being thanked. 3. Oops. Used when you commit some type of boneheaded move :p. 4. Sorry. Used to apologize. 5. Hold Fire. Used to command somebody to hold their fire. 6. Good game. Used to congratulate everybody involved on a good game. Category 6 - Function (Accessed by pressing "V", then "6") No further options are listed; pressing "V", then "6" makes your character announce what class they are so that your name knows. |------------------------------------------------------| |10.0 - Medic Class Wishlist for Further Game Balancing| |------------------------------------------------------| Even though I believe that, for the most part, the classes of multiplayer Return to Castle Wolfenstein are well-balanced, here is my wishlist of changes that could be made to the Medic class in order to make the class balancing even better. Note: I realize that some of these suggested changes would probably end up throwing the classes out of balance and give too much added power to the Medic class. I'm also pretty sure that at least one of my suggestions (number 3) would not be possible due to limitations in the game engine. All in all, the Medic is a class that was intentionally shortchanged on the offensive and ammunition departments so that it could be balanced out as a major healing force on the battlefield. It should be understood that this wishlist is mostly for amusement purposes due to the debates it will undoubtedly spark. After all, everyone will have a good laugh when somebody suggests that the Medic should be given access to a rapid-fire, infinitely-stocked Panzerfaust, as well as be able to heal people simply by looking at them :p. Devour your grain of salt and enter the dreamland of the RTCW Medic. (In no particular order) 1.) A medic that performs a successful revive should be granted a one (1) second long invulnerability period. Reasoning - I feel that once a Medic has successfully revived a teammate, he should be rewarded with more than just points for his daring dedication to his role on the team. All too often, a Medic is ambushed and killed immediately after reviving a teammate because he cannot switch back to a weapon fast enough to defend himself. Thus, I believe that a one second long invulnerability period would help the Medic take cover after doing his job; after all, the revived player receives a period of invulnerability too! Although there is sure to be negative response to this suggestion, I believe the invulnerability length that I suggest needs to be evaluated. In one second, the Medic will barely be able to switch over to his weapon of choice, which prevents him from using the period of immunity to unfairly affect the opposing team. In most cases, the Medic would end up simply running to cover anyways, which changes nothing in the positions of the forces. 2.) If a Medic revives a player that goes on to capture the objective or win the match in that same life, the Medic should be given one (1) point on the scoreboard for his assistance. Reasoning - This one is easier to explain. Without the revive so the player could remain in good position to attack an objective/win the match, the player would have been stuck reinforcing back at his team's set reinforcement point and would not have gotten the job done. One point is a small price to ask for this act, which is basically equivilent to an assist in sports. 3.) The weapon meter should be gauged by the current situation; in situations where the Medic would need to drop a lot of health packs, he should be able to drop six (6) before his weapon meter runs out; in situations where the Medic is not immediately called upon to drop health packs, the standard drop of four (4) packs should remain in effect. Reasoning - It happens all too often that I am surrounded by wounded teammates that all need health packs. Unfortunately, the standard limit of four health packs greatly limits my effectiveness to the team. Though I may throw four packs at the feet of three people, chances are that the players will clamor and only one or two will be sufficiently healed. With the ability to drop six health packs in such a situation, each player would be able to net two health packs for 40 health points. Although clamoring would still likely occur, the health packs stand a greater chance of remaining on the ground because it would be easier for a player to get up to maximum health. ***UPDATE*** Maybe Nerve Software read this FAQ or maybe I'm just having delusions of grandeur, but thankfully the new patch, Version 1.3, has a much quicker refresh rate on the weapon bar, meaning that medics are able to whip out those health packs much quicker than before. No more team kills because somebody thinks you're holding out on them! 4) The health packs dropped by a Medic should be graphically altered to designate which team dropped them. If this were to be put into play, picking up health packs from an enemy Medic would take away five (5) health points while picking up friendly health packs would still provide twenty (20) health points. Reasoning - With limited ammo for both of his guns and a mere knife to back him up afterwards, the Medic is at a marked disadvantage when cornered by enemies. If he were able to inflict even a little bit of energy through his health packs, which are tied to his weapon meter and could only potentially do 20 health points of damage to a single person, a Medic would at least be able to distract the enemy and escape a dangerous situation when his munitions run out. Wishlist item submitted by mm362@cornell.edu: 5) There should be a one-second delay in reviving someone. For example, the engineer has a delay in arming and disarming the dynomite. There should be a slight delayin healing someone, albeit shouldn't be as long as the engy's delay. I personally HATE it when I kill 3 enemy soldiers, then a 4th comes in and kills me. But what do you know? He's a medic and heals all 3 of them. It happens to me at least once a round. Do you have any items (serious or comedic) to add to this wishlist? If so, email briparks@hotmail.com to add your ideas to this FAQ - as always, full credit will be given. |----------------------| |11.0 - Acknowledgments| |----------------------| Thanks to id Software and Gray Matter for making this awesome game in the first place. Thanks to RTCWonline.com for the comprehensive weapons section on their site. I used some of the information that they provided for the Thompson and MP40 in my own words. Thanks to everyone who thought about writing a Medic FAQ but didn't so that I have a better chance of seeing this posted :p. Thanks to http://www.neoseeker.com and http://www.cheathappens.com for being so quick to request permission to use my FAQ on their sites. This is the first FAQ I've been gutsy enough to put online, and I'm glad its being well-received thus far. Thanks to aau@hotmail.com for adding his expert Medic advice to this FAQ, complimenting me on my work, and being the first outside contributor to the contents of this file. Thanks to mm362@cornell.edu for adding more Medic advice to this FAQ. A special thanks for lending a bounty of map-specific advice. Thanks to Cpt. Blanks (peacecraft4@hotmail.com), Spanky (kcdonohue@yahoo.com), and James Elliot (WardenJFE@hotmail.com) for their Medic strategies. Thanks to Allan Kerrigan (allanjk@hotmail.com) for map-specific strategies. A very special thanks to Cheat Happens (http://www.cheathappens.com) for featuring my Medic FAQ on their front page as a special feature. The recognition is greatly appreciated! |--------------------------------------------------| |12.0 - Approved Hosting Sites and Other Legal Info| |--------------------------------------------------| These sites have been given permission to use this file on the grounds that they do not alter my work or use it in a premium program in which viewers must pay a fee to see the file. 1.) http://www.gamefaqs.com 2.) http://www.neoseeker.com 3.) http://www.cheathappens.com 4.) http://www.RTCWonline.com 5.) http://www.gamespot.com 6.) http://www.PlanetWolfenstein.com 7.) http://www.gamesdomain.com 8.) http://www.gamesdomain.co.uk 9.) http://DLH.net 10.) http://www.videogames.com This document is copyright (c)2002 Brian Parker aka 'Rammstein'. Do not alter, steal, reproduce, copy, or sell this document. If you want the content of this document to appear on your website, please email briparks@hotmail.com first to ask for my expressed permission. Websites found to be using this document without the expressed permission of the author (Brian Parker aka 'Rammstein') will be politely asked to remove the file. If this warning is ignored, legal action will be taken. Thank you. Return to Castle Wolfenstein is copyright (c)2001 id software.