 Combat Medic |
Mastermind: Medic | Tier 1 |
|---|---|---|
| Basic (1 pt): You gain a 30% damage reduction for 5 seconds both after and during reviving another player. | ||
| Ace (3 pt): Reviving a crew member gives them 30% more health. | ||
Mechanics[]
- "What? You stabbed your toe again?"
- —Clover sustaining fire while reviving a fellow crew member.
Basic: The basic variant of the skill is rather simple and direct. Heisters with this skill will receive a 30% DMG reduction buff while reviving a downed crew member via interaction, not Inspire. After the reviving is successful, the reviver will get a 30% DMG reduction for 5 seconds. The 30% DMG reduction will not be applied if revived via Inspire.
The 5 second timer does not start until the player is successfully revived. Heisters reviving a downed crew member will lose the damage resistance and not start the timer if the action is cancelled or interfered with (such as a law enforcer walking in front of you and melee attacking you, thus knocking you back).
Aced: The aced variant, however, has a rather more complex explanation with unique values that are neither mentioned anywhere in-game, nor on the skill description. The formula for the amount of HP a player will receive on-revive is not a sum, its a multiplication.
E.g. by default on difficulties Overkill and below, players revived will recover 40% of their HP back. If revived by a player with Combat Medic aced, their health will be set to 52% HP. This value is obtained from the formula of 40 x 1.30 (52%, as revealed), not 40 + 30 (would've been 70% HP instead).
E.g. by default on difficulties Mayhem and above, players revived will recover 10% of their HP back. If revived by a player with Combat Medic aced, their health will be set to 13% HP. Again, from the same multiplication formula, not a sum.[1]
Heisters will always receive the x1.30 HP multiplier, regardless of conditions such as number of times incapacitated, nature of incapacitation (gunfire, fall damage, or a Cloaker's kick), time left in bleedout mode, or bleedout state (able to shoot, or fully incapacitated).
Strategy[]
Basic: The basic version of this skill offers a limited and situational bonus. However, the exact nature of the situation in which this skill would be used makes it potentially the difference between life and death: if everything hinges on one player reviving the other, they may need all the help available to stay alive after that. Even then, all what a heister needs to spend to receive a juicy 30% damage resistance if this scenario were to happen, is nothing but 1 skill point.
Due to the nature of most two-piece suit armor builds having a rather high vulnerability to enemy fire if left in the open to enemy fire for too long, this situational bonus may not be significant or preferable for most players. On the other side of the spectrum, heavy armor builds will see a notorious difference.
Heavy armor builds are very likely to have invested in the Enforcer's skill tree Die Hard. Combat Medic and Die Hard synergize perfectly, as the 50% DMG resistance while interacting does stack with the 30% DMG resistance while reviving, totaling in a stunning 65% damage resistance (not including other possible additional damage resistance layers, such as Skills or Perk Decks). Combining both basic Die Hard and basic Combat Medic will allow for heavy armor builds to be shaking off bullets like dandruff while reviving a downed player.
Aced: The usefulness of the aced version is a rather debatable topic. As demonstrated in the mechanics section above, it's clear to see why investing on an aced Combat Medic if planning to play mainly on difficulties of Mayhem and above is a rather poor and wasteful investment. 3% extra HP is extremely unlikely to be a significant value on Mayhem or Deathwish, let alone Death Sentence. Reconsider your use of 3 skill points and look for something that's worth it.
If playing on difficulties Overkill and below, aced version can help mostly in tight spots when it's difficult to avoid damage and let armor regenerate. This bonus to health may seem insignificant, but in tight situations it can make the difference between success and failure of a heist.
Another debatable discussion topic regarding Combat Medic aced on the community is the conflict it causes for Berserker and/or Frenzy skilled players. These two skills greatly benefit from low HP conditions, allowing for some hefty extra damage both for melee and ranged weapons. Having a player revive them with extra HP might be unwelcome, as you're technically placing them in a disadvantage spot. Although these two skills block any third-party healing (i.e. Gambler's crew healing on ammo pickup), it does not block the x1.30 HP on revive.
However, effective use of points allocated in this skill requires a group to have a dedicated reviver, which can be next to impossible in an out-of-control situation. Normally, a downed player will be revived by whichever player is closest, or otherwise able to at that moment. This significantly lowers the general value of Combat Medic, with one notable exception: Masterminds with the Inspire skill Aced will likely do most of the reviving anyway, which significantly increases the value of Combat Medic. Thus, Combat Medic becomes a useful skill for players who also take Inspire Ace.
As difficulties go up, the likelihood of finding other Inspire aced heisters on the same crew will increase, thus tackling the effectiveness of a 'dedicated reviver'. Do think twice before going with this concept, as having one dedicated reviver can be the doom of a crew. If the reviver were to go down and is in a very tight spot, no one will be as able to get him up as easy. This can domino effect against the other crew members, as they go down and are unable to revive them in one easy shout, until they all go down. Having multiple Inspire aced heisters is much preferable than just one.
Trivia[]
- The skill name comes from the term used in the U.S. Army branch, Combat Medic Specialist, military personnel responsible for providing medical treatment to units in the battlefield.
