Big Games - Medic !? Medic!? Where's the Medic!!!!!!?

[Meleager7]

So I've been to several big games now and there seems to be no end to the different ways the big game organizers can setup their Medic rules.

I was just at Ultimate Milton's Under Siege II big (medium?) game and saw yet another adaptation of using Medics, and it made me think of it again.....Probably because so far this has been my least favorite way to see Medics used....

.....for the Town Defense / Attack Scenarios that day, when it was our turn to defend the town our General was given 120 medic bandages. He was to designate 8-10 medics and distributed the bandages out evenly (bright orange strips of plastic) . Our team of 60 defenders had 3 lives each, and the medics were to told to spread out around the town. There was no re-spawn point in the town, medics only. Seems straight forward enough, except , they had no white arm bands to designate Medics , and the orange medic bandages , although easy to see, were cumbersome and thin and awkward.

Anyhow, game horn blows and you can imagine what happens, dead players are running around and having trouble finding the Medics. With no white arm band, it was hard to locate medics across the town, but at least you could tell a medic by the awkward orange strips of plastic hanging out their pocket. But soon afterwards everyone had an Orange bandage on them, and it was suddenly impossible to identify medics at a glance. The bandages were hard to tie on, big line ups of dead players on a single medic, bandages were falling out of the medics pockets, falling off of players. There were orange strips all over the ground.

It got to the point where our medics bent the rules a bit and started just throwing the medic bandage to the player and said tie it on yourself , or get a teammate to tie it on.

So while all this awkwardness is going on the attacking team (unlimited spawns) is taking more and more of the town , flanking the town, etc........

Yes, the defenders were destined to lose in this game format , and it really became a game of how long your team could hold the town, but I feel like we could have held the town longer if we had an easier use of medics. I didn't have a watch, but it really felt like both teams (we took turns on the scenario) never got their full Hour that was designated for this game.

Anyhow it made me think of the other big games ,where I liked their Medic rules a lot more and wondered what has been your guys favorite Medic Rule at big games?

Cheers, M7

[martix_agent]

It sounds like the event organizer wanted the medics to spend some time on players, instead of "you're healed!" that other games have. It's a good idea, but as you said, it ends up that people just bend the rules. I like the idea that it takes some time for the medic to "care" for an injured player, but in reality you can't enforce it.

[Jonnydread]

I like the idea of medic based respawn. In general I hate respawn format

[ATBen]

I'm always a fan of standardization. The medic bandage idea was cool, but I agree, medics need a unique identifier, ie white arm bands. That game was a gong show, I dont think the new owners there have been to many other big games. I didn't like the arm shots and you can walk to a medic rule either. I pasted a guy 3 times, 2 in the sides and 1 in the arm, and he just put his hand up and walked over to a medic lol.

I think we should push player associations to standardize medics for big games to lessen confusion. The most "standard" medic rules I've seen around Southwestern Ontrario and the North Eastern US are:

Different armband tape
Medics can heal medics
Headshots can't be healed
If you're hit below the neck, call for a medic
After 1 minute of waiting, you're out

With COVID, Wasaga and Flag Raiders had a two arm length rule I thought was great. You put your arm out, they but their arm out, and if your almost close enough to touch, they're healed and can wipe their hits off.

[Axel]

I like the idea of medic based respawn. In general I hate respawn format

Agreed 100%. The dumbing down of the scenario format is one of my top paintball laments

[glaman5266]

IThe most "standard" medic rules I've seen around Southwestern Ontrario and the North Eastern US are:

Different armband tape
Medics can heal medics
Headshots can't be healed
If you're hit below the neck, call for a medic
After 1 minute of waiting, you're out

I've seen this multiple times here in WI.

I've recently learned to be careful around medics. You don't always know if they're out or not. A medic pulled the f**king BS dead man walking s**t tactic on me two weeks ago. One was "walking off the field" during a scenario game with a bunch of other players. I was walking up that road steadily w/my marker up (middle of a firefight) & I didn't think anything of it 'cuz their hands were up. Then the medic tapped my shoulder & said he wasn't out and that I was. I'm on a sponsored team... I pretty much had to take it. Didn't want that coming back to bite me. But f***ing hell, was I pissed.

[ATBen]

I've seen this multiple times here in WI.

I've recently learned to be careful around medics. You don't always know if they're out or not. A medic pulled the f**king BS dead man walking s**t tactic on me two weeks ago. One was "walking off the field" during a scenario game with a bunch of other players. I was walking up that road steadily w/my marker up (middle of a firefight) & I didn't think anything of it 'cuz their hands were up. Then the medic tapped my shoulder & said he wasn't out and that I was. I'm on a sponsored team... I pretty much had to take it. Didn't want that coming back to bite me. But f***ing hell, was I pissed.

Ouch, I hate that shit. I had a magfed medic player that was out of paint pull that shit on me, standing near a ref and some clearly out players (bbds on hands up, but not him).

Except when he barrel tagged me, he said "you're out." Literally 2 hours earlier the game director said for a barrel tag to count, you must touch the other player with your barrel and say the words "barrel tag." I didn't say shit, just hung my head looking sad, when he turned to continue walking back to the staging area I plugged him twice in the pods, (shoulda went for the back of the head, I know).

He cried to the ref, I plead my case, and I was allowed to play on. Boom, rules lawyered punk!

[Ghost Flanker]

I love it. He must have forgotten that he’s not the only one who can play that game.

[Meleager7]

I'm always a fan of standardization. The medic bandage idea was cool, but I agree, medics need a unique identifier, ie white arm bands. That game was a gong show, I dont think the new owners there have been to many other big games. I didn't like the arm shots and you can walk to a medic rule either. I pasted a guy 3 times, 2 in the sides and 1 in the arm, and he just put his hand up and walked over to a medic lol.

I think we should push player associations to standardize medics for big games to lessen confusion. The most "standard" medic rules I've seen around Southwestern Ontrario and the North Eastern US are:

Different armband tape
Medics can heal medics
Headshots can't be healed
If you're hit below the neck, call for a medic
After 1 minute of waiting, you're out

With COVID, Wasaga and Flag Raiders had a two arm length rule I thought was great. You put your arm out, they but their arm out, and if your almost close enough to touch, they're healed and can wipe their hits off.

i agree , these are a great base for a set of standard medic rules.

I saw one variation at Flag Raiders 2018 big game that worked well , where the organizers wanted to limit how may medic respawns each player could have in the field, before having to respawn at our home base. Everyone's event card was on a lanyard and it had 5 "lives" each for the morning and afternoon sessions, printed as small check boxes on the card. The medics were issued their White arm bands , and a hole punch on their lanyard. It was a system that worked well, all players had their event card around their necks on the lanyard, or at least on their person, and would call for a medic and the medic would punch a life on the card. It was simple to follow and easy to keep track if you have some lives left.

the next year Flagraiders 2019 they had a really creative medic rule , which I'm still on the fence whether I liked it or not.....there were no designated Medics ! Each played instead was issued one white bandage, their field dressing. During the game, you could call on any teammate to come over and patch you up with your field dressing. After getting shot out a second time, you were dead and would have to respawn back at the base. I think that reset things, so you then re-use your field dressing one time, then dead, then back to base, repeat if I remember correctly. It was interesting, if you had not used your bandage yet, you basically had a medic nearby at all times, but I kind of wished in the moment of the action, that I had the extra lives a regular medic rule would have offered.

[ATBen]

Oh Flag Raiders, love it. They've had stamp cards since I started there playing regularly in 2005. I thought it was great as I usually like to play a medic role.

The 2019 rule is cool too, I've played a similar variation at a WW2 game at SOF... I think? Our 100 "paratroopers" started on a flank and had field dressings while the other team had an "amphibious assault force" of 100 players with field dressings that "landed" on the other flank to help the defenders. It worked well, we stayed alive a lot longer than we should with those.

That being said... certain members of a team that will remain nameless because their shenanigans on and off the field was, and still is, a thing of legend... They may have possibly brought hole punches and rolls of white duct tape - and or- were supplied extra medic tape and punches by their general... We were really getting our asses kicked, to the point people were packing up, so I'm leaning to the General.

Now keep in mind this was pre e-celeb paintball, so at that time the generals were actually staff or regular members lol. It's still a hotly debated topic between myself and certain members of the Behind the Bunker guys...

I think us, the council of old and young fart tinkerers, should codify a standard medic rule book... a codex if you will.

[Meleager7]

Illegal / Rogue Medics !?? Now I have heard of everything!

The Medic Codex should come as a kit, and include some white bandages, a role of white duct tape, a hole punch, and some real bandaids, because ya just never know, someone might get a boo boo and you might need to be a real medic for a minute!

[Meleager7]

I'm reviving my necro thread because I feel like discussing Medic rules again!

Here are the Medic rules for the upcoming big game at Wasaga Paintball : Warpath in August.

MEDIC RULES: A medic is identified by a strip of white tape on their arm below their team colour armband. A medic is the only player allowed to wipe paint hits off another player while in the playing area. A medic is not allowed to heal themselves but may be healed by another medic. A player is eliminated from play when marked with paint anywhere above the shoulders (including neck). If a player is marked with paint on the shoulders or lower including paint marker and any equipment carried, they may call for a medic to wipe off the hit and return them to game play. When calling for a medic, the hit player may not move more than the length of their body from the place they were marked. The hit player may not shoot, return fire or mercy any opposing players. The opposing team may continue to fire at or mercy a hit player calling for a medic until the hit player calls themselves HIT or surrenders. If a medic cannot get to you within 60 seconds, you are eliminated. A hit player will raise their hand above their head to indicate to the enemy they have surrendered. Once you have raised your hand and called hit you may not call for or be returned to play by a medic.

I like these rules. The medics are going to be easily identifiable. The shot player has to stay put, so the medic will have to take some chances to get to downed players. A medic that is active, makes smart moves, but still also takes some chances is going to be an asset to their team.

I think these are going to work well !

[MrBarraclough]

Probably the most important rule, I think, for having any medic game mechanic is requiring hit players to stay put until they are healed or out. Dead players wandering about looking for a medic is just silly, causes confusion, and gets in the way. And the opposing team deserves the opportunity to use the wounded player as bait.