Medic’s Fourth Ever Competitive Match – Things Get Exciting!

So yes, this time, I actually have something to report! An actual close match! This one was really close, and at one point it looked like it was all over for us. A quick note first. The last two games, I didn’t really go into detail. Not because we lost, not at all. It’s just there’s not much to write about when you get steam rolled. And admittedly, if it wasn’t for the excitement of my first ever match, I wouldn’t have written about Stallone either. Anyway, let’s get started!

The map this time was Maple Ridge, a KOTH map, still kinda in beta. The map layout is fairly standard. You have your spawn area, then a HUGE courtyard. On one side there is a tunnel (right on RED, left on BLU) that leads to a small shed (we called it Little House or Shed). This leads directly to the control point. The other side is mostly made up of the Garage, with one entrance leading straight to the point via the Pipes, and the other, via a large health kit, leads to a side door just short of the Shed path. The control point (mid) has two large fences on either side and is surrounded by a large ditch with health and ammo at the bottom. Above the ditch, to the side of the pipes, is a sheltered area called Window, because it’s blocked off by a window and there’s two, smaller, glass-less windows that look out onto the point. On the other side of the control point is another shed, which we called Storage or, jokingly, poophouse. Being standard KOTH, it’s first to 4 wins, with two halves, 4 rounds per half.

Unfortunately, Sham1 couldn’t make it, so we bought back Davjo, who played Roaming Soldier and Demoman for us. Confusion played Demoman and Roaming Soldier, Keith played Scout and Pyro, I played Medic as always.

So, the game starts.

Round 1

Davjo’s got his Disciplinary Action and whips me as I overheal everyone. Keith takes the Garage route while Confusion, Davjo and I take the shed. The whipping means I can keep up as they rocket jump over. First blood goes to Confusion, who is stunned by the enemy Scout, using the Sandman, but I heal him and the Scout blows up. I get Mad Milk’d and Davjo takes out the enemy Medic. We capture, but RED have already respawned, their Demoman behind us. I’m fully charged and pop on Confusion, but knockback and the enemy Pyro knock me into the ditch, wasting my Uber.

We take heavy damage and as I retreat for health, Davjo and Keith die and they cap. Confusion and I hold up in the garage and I get Uber. We knock them off the point with Kritz and they retreat, bringing out an Engy who quickly dies. We recapture. They come back, with a stock Ubercharge and jump on the point. We stall the Uber, and I have Kritz again, but Confusion is out of ammo and I’m killed by the Demoman and Soldier mid-Kritz. They capture, but Keith, Confusion and Davjo recapture while I respawn.

But while Keith is missing, they all push from Shed, this time with a Pyro. We stall their capture briefly but Davjo’s out of ammo and Confusion is too far away to help. We’re separated and I pocket Davjo, who has only managed to get a small ammo kit. He gets a critical shovel kill on the Pyro but I die to the flames as the Kritz ends. They’re all gathered on the point now, and we struggle to do much as we’re separated. They push through our garage and Confusion and I die. They kritz, we can’t get out of Garage and they win the round. At the same time, everyone’s ping on our team goes through the roof.

Round 2

We decide to take the Garage route this time, with Confusion going on his own via Shed. Their Medic is down but I only have 16 health. I miss the med kit as I’m trying to heal Davjo and Confusion and their Soldier divebombs me, killing me and Davjo. Confusion and Keith though manage to capture. It’s brief though, as they all respawn at the same time and kill both of them, running Medic/Demoman/Soldier/Pyro again. They push us back to Garage, but their Medic goes down. Their Pyro is being a nuisance, airblasting our stuff. Confusion and Keith capture, while Davjo and I trap their Demoman in our Garage/Shed area, who retreats to our shed and lands a sticky on me, dropping me to 16 health again. I panic and pop my Kritz, Davjo kills him with a crocket and I get a domination somehow.

I limp back to the control point with Davjo. I try to get to Confusion before my Kritz runs out but I don’t make it. They push in from Shed with a Pyro/Medic combo. The Medic dies, but the Pyro is still around, coupled with their Demoman and closely followed by their Soldier. I cling on to Confusion and keep him alive, deploying Kritz and getting a kill. Confusion gets a Pain Train domination.

They push in through Shed and Keith manages to stall their Medic and Demoman (who sadly kill Davjo) while I embarrassingly struggle to jump up the ledge to get to them. I mess up again and fail to heal Confusion just as their Pyro pushes though. A sticky sends me running for health, the Overdose’s speed saving me from rollers. This gives them time to cap.

Davjo respawns and I get fully charged as Confusion arrives, but their Scout Mad Milks us. I pop my Kritz but die before I can use it properly. They get Kritz just as we respawn, and once again I’m dead, killed through a door and a wall by a crocket. Lag is making it hard for us and they’re all gathered on the point, spamming the crap out of us. But we eventually push out, with Davjo killing their Medic, and recapture. Their Scout kills me, but it’s not enough to stop us from winning the round.

Round 3

I fuck up the rollout and everyone gets to the control point without me, meaning we die. Their Soldier and Davjo kill each other at the same time. They capture, but it costs them their Medic. Suddenly my game becomes unplayable, lagging so badly I can barely move. I very nearly time out (that auto-disconnect message nearly gave me a heart attack) but thankfully manage to not disconnect. I somehow manage to follow Confusion out via Garage.

I’d tell you more, but I just crashed TF2 while watching the demo. *reloads the demo*

Anyway, Confusion spams grenades over the point, but I’m lagging badly. I get killed by their Demoman but Confusion makes it out alive. We all get stuck in Garage again, as they spam us from the control point. I panic as I hear their Medic scream he’s fully charged and go on about it a bit too much, but Keith manages to kill him before he can pop. I pocket Confusion as Davjo attempts to get the point on his own. I’m pestered by their Mad Milk Scout, who forces me to pop at 36 health, but Confusion kills him. We finally manage to capture, but I’m done in by their Soldier. They’ve managed to hold for two minutes.

We don’t hold for long though, as they respawn and swarm the point, recapturing and once again spamming flares, stickies and rockets from the point. Their Scout has gone back to Pyro. Their Pyro rushes me and Confusion, who can’t land anything to take him out. He dies, I hear their Medic claim he’s fully charged then get killed from a mile away by the Powerjack.

Keith attempts to sneak round and capture, but their Soldier is carrying and kills him. Davjo gets a kill on their Medic, but time is running out. My Medic Radar then decides it doesn’t want to work. We run out of time and they win, but I somehow manage to survive their Pyro with full on crits during humiliation.

Round 4

We decide to all go through Garage, with Davjo whipping me and Confusion. Their Demoman gets the jump on me but I survive with low health. I can’t get to the health kit since their Soldier is by it and I’m taken out by an errant sticky.

I respawn and head out with Confusion, but lag once again decides that Pyros are better than Medics and I die inches away from a health kit. While I’m dead, Davjo and Confusion capture. I limp out again on my own, top up Confusion and Davjo then find myself needing health as they all push in via the pipe and ditch. We all die, they capture and Keith’s body flies though the air. We respawn and Keith switches to Detonator Pyro. Their Soldier kills Confusion and I am forced to pocket Keith.

Their Pyro, who has like 10 ping, takes out an already damaged Keith and flames me, forcing me to retreat, just as Confusion kills him. I run back to spawn to get health. Confusion accompanies me, but we head out at just the wrong moment. Their Soldier/Medic combo comes in with Kritz and kills both of us, but Keith and Davjo manage to stay alive despite the tight space.

Our further pushes become futile as the spam from the point stops us from leaving the Garage. Their Soldier is definitely carrying their team and is also receiving all the Kritz. I wait in spawn for everyone else to respawn, but they have Kritz once again, killing Davjo and Confusion, but I make it back to spawn, narrowly avoiding yet another crocket death. We run out of time and they win again. Things are looking glum, but it’s time for the second half.

Round 5

We decide to swap Confusion and Davjo. Confusion plays roaming Soldier and Davjo plays Demoman. If we lose this round, we’ve lost the match. We all push through shed this time, with Keith going through the side path, Davjo sticky jumping ahead and Confusion whipping me. Their Medic gets a crossbow kill on Keith, who gets a beyond the grave bleed kill on their Pyro, but Confusion and Davjo wipe them out. We capture as Keith respawns and Davjo sticky-traps their Shed. A Pyro tries to kill us but I pop Kritz and he dies. Their Soldier and Medic try to get in, but it’s a 2v4 and they die too.

Their Scout (no longer a Pyro) stuns and kills Confusion, Mad Milking me and nearly taking me out too, but Davjo holds them off. Keith, Davjo and I ready up for another push. Their Scout manages to stun me, but I dodge and survive. Unfortunately, I’m on low health and pop on Davjo, but I get knocked off the edge by a rocket and am killed by a roller. Thankfully, Davjo is still alive and Confusion has returned to back him up. They can’t win the 2v3 fight though and they capture.

Their Scout sneaks round from Shed in an attempt to get a pick on me but we scare him off. Their Medic tries to Kritz but is separated from their Soldier then killed by Davjo, while their Soldier chases off Keith. Keith though is a good enough distraction for us to capture and his sacrifice is worthwhile. Confusion avenges him and the Soldier’s corpse falls though the sky before landing 2 m away, making me jump.

A push from the Pipes by their Demoman Medic combo forces me to pop my Kritz. Davjo kills the Medic with the Loose Cannon and scares off their Demoman.

While Confusion and Davjo guard the Garage and Shed respectively, their Soldier has the perfect chance to divebomb me and kill me, but changes his mind, attempts to kill Davjo and dies, earning Davjo a domination. They try to push again with their Medic and Pyro, but their Medic dies and their Pyro is alone. I distract him with syringes, Davjo kills him but the rest of the team follows up and captures.

Suddenly it’s a battle of two Medics. Their Medic tries to crossbow me but I get him down to 23 health. Then Confusion and Keith scoop up the kill. We find ourselves scattered and they’ve gone back to their spam-from-the-point tactic, killing everyone but me.

Davjo respawns and we hold back, building Kritz . Their Pyro flanks us but is killed and everyone rushes out. We take out most of them but their Soldier divebombs me, killing me,  just as I Kritz. We manage to recapture though and win the match.

Round 6

We roll out half and half, Davjo and I taking shed and Confusion and Keith taking garage. Unfortunately, they get there first and wipe everyone but Confusion. We respawn, but they pop Kritz, forcing me to run back and shelter in spawn. I run through spawn, and Confusion has run all the way to Shed, where he is struggling with their Pyro. I help and get a domination for my efforts. Unfortunately a sticky trap and their Soldier trap us and I burst into flames. Keith saves me with milk and makes their Demoman back off.

I have Kritz and Davjo races ahead. I deploy while panicking because I’m on fire again, but the four of us manage to capture. They push in from Shed but lose their Medic in the process. I’m thrown into the ditch by a sticky and have to walk round, only to find that everyone’s cleaned up. I get a killstreak of 5 though.

It doesn’t last, as they push through Garage, killing Davjo, then kill the three of us and capture. We respawn and kill their Scout but their Soldier has Kritz on him and I scream for Davjo to pull back. Then he does something really impressive, abandoning me and sticky jumping over the fence, killing their Medic from behind. Their Soldier manages to defend the point but I capture on my own, despite how vulnerable I am.

I get Kritz but die half way through. Davjo though manages to kill two people with the single crit sticky he managed to fire. Their Soldier though, with a Medic glued to his butt, manage to hold him and Confusion off then capture. I respawn and heal Confusion and Keith but am just caught by a crit rocket and die. Things are looking bad, they hold on long enough to force us into overtime, and we ONLY JUST manage to capture. We need to hold on for a good minute.

Their Demoman pushes through on his own, but my Kritz kills him. The others follow, but Keith cleverly sneaks round and takes out their Medic and Confusion is back to kick ass, taking out their newly respawned Demoman. Once again I fall down the ditch as their Pyro had airblasted me. Thankfully the others chase them off and we win, with 0 seconds on the clock for both teams.

Round 7

So it’s 3 all. Things are close. Whoever wins this round wins the match.

We all roll out through Garage, they roll out through Shed. Amazingly, I’m second onto the point, following Keith and healing Confusion and Davjo. Keith gets first blood. We scatter them and I stay on the point while Davjo and Confusion push forward, Keith sticking with me. We capture, and their Demoman disappears and comes back.

We stick to the point and I have Kritz ready. Their Scout tries to sneak behind us but can do nothing in a 1v4 situation. Then their Demo goes down as I pop, followed by their Soldier. Their Medic escapes with an Amputator kill,  but not for long, Confusion finishing him off.

Our plan starts and Confusion holds the Garage while Davjo and I hold Shed and keep an eye on the middle exit. Their Soldier walks straight into Davjo’s sticky trap and their Medic is suddenly a Heavy, but he too dies to stickies. With the team down again, Davjo sticky-traps the Garage. Their Heavy goes through Shed and I Kritz, Davjo sticky-bombing everything. Unfortunately their Demo times out again, struck by the lag that nearly took me out earlier. Their Demo makes it back but it’s too late. The Heavy gets the drop on a rocket-weakened me but I duck away and escape with 2 health. Time runs out and we win. I decide to deploy my Kritz as a victory thing.

Then the game resets, but for some reason I’m trapped inside RED Spawn with nothing but the enemy Pyro-turned-Demoman for company, who decides it’s time to try and kill me  for desecrating his spawn with my presence. I kill him with syringes alone and get a domination.

Thoughts

Well that was close. Round 6 was waaaay too close for comfort. It’s a shame that there were connection issues for both sides. Great game though, and the other team fought valiantly. Kudos to them.

As for me? Well, my map awareness stinks, I walked off the edge too many times. My rollouts also suck, it’s hard keeping up with the three fastest classes in the game, especially when you’re trying to get to mid as fast as possible. Doesn’t particularly help that everyone kept on changing their minds on where they wanted to go.

I think the biggest issue is that I’m a passive Medic, but everyone else is really aggressive. And jump-away-from-their-medic-y. Trying to keep up with everyone is the hardest thing and I have wasted a LOT of time being separated from my team when I should be with them building Uber. I actually manage to dodge a lot of the spam, and the majority of my deaths are from when the enemy simply overwhelms me. Still, map awareness gets me, at least once in every match, I get caught on a doorway or against a wall and proceed to die.

But to be fair, the map kinda stinks too, particularly the spawn room. It’s so plain and has no markings or anything, very disorientating. Also occasionally you’d respawn facing the wrong way or something. The map is clearly not finished and lacks a lot of the nice arrows and bits and pieces that make maps interesting. It also has that normal problem of being too big for 4v4.