Hello, fellow TF2 players! I am a Medic main, and in this guide I am aiming to provide insight on the capabilities of a Medic's melee choice, and how this can have an effect on his entire loadout and playstyle. BTW, this is my first guide, and I appreciate any feedback you have, so long as it is constructive. If necessary, I will make it more comprehensive and detailed. Here we go.

ALL of Medic's melee weapons share these common traits:

-Same critical hit ratio* except for Pan and Ham, which crit 99.99%
-Same range (how far the weapon can reach)

*The Medic tends to have an unusually high critical hit ratio, which is boosted further when the extra bonus for melee is accounted for. When any class does damage (or healing), their chance of getting a critical shot/swing is increased. As a Medic, you are (probably) constantly healing allies, which in turn, results in LOTS of critical hits. All melee weps have increased crit ratio too, which can make a Medic with a melee weapon out a devastating force in one on one encounters. The same can happen for an Engineer who deals large damage with a sentry, but that is irrelevant in this guide about Medic.
TL:DR Heal Lots, Crit Lots!

Ah, good old stock. Not much to be said. No downsides. Nothing too special, apart from the exceptionally high crit rate. I personally still use it though. Deals around 65 damage per swing, 195 on a critical one, which as I said earlier, happens pretty often.

It has a festive variant. There are also the numerous all class melee reskins (The Frying Pan, Saxxy, Conscientious Objector, Freedom Staff, Bat Outta Hell, Memory Maker, Ham Shank, Necro Smasher, Crossing Guard)

Good Combos:
-Pretty much anything

The Ubersaw... A great weapon, with an exceptional upside: 25% Ubercharge gained on hit. This melee can be used to turn the tables on the enemy team, as it only takes 4 hits on enemies to build a full uber.

The downside of -20% swing speed is honestly, IMO, quite negligible, as it can be unwise to charge in with melee, rather than timing your swings. If you do end up in the situation where you do need to get out of hairy situations (or just back to your team), attempt taking a few hits at lone enemies to fill up your Ubercharge.

This weapon also has a taunt kill, which stuns an enemy upon initial thrust (deals 1 damage, gives 25% Uber), then kills on retraction (around 500 damage, if i recall, gives the remaining 75% Uber) The entire taunt takes 4 seconds, so make sure it is safe to do so before you attempt to taunt kill.

This weapon has a festive variant.

Good Combos:
-Any Medi Gun, Especially stock and Kritzkrieg, for quickly gaining an advantage

The Solemn Vow used to be a direct upgrade to the stock Bonesaw, until July 2nd, 2015, where it was nerfed in the Gun Mettle Update. It gives the Medic the ability to see information about the enemy, that meaning you can see their health, and if the enemy is also a Medic, you can see their Uber %, which is why it is banned in 6v6 comp. The nerf it received gave it a 10% attack speed penalty, which, like the swing speed penalty on the Ubersaw, is pretty negligible.

Good Combos:
Use with pretty much everything, good with the Crusader's Crossbow, if you want to take down opponents from a distance (like a well informed sniper, minus the headshots)

The Amputator is a great choice for those focused on survival and healing. It has a 20% damage penalty, but while active, offers an additional +3 health regen per second to a class that already has 3-6 health regen per second (or 1-4 with the Blutsauger). That's enough to completely negate the effects of afterburn, which could be lethal to a Medic wielding anything else. But it is only active when the weapon is currently being held. So you're not invincible, keep that in mind.

It also has a taunt effect. When taunt is activated, it give healing to all allies who are in the same area as you (within a 450 Hammer Unit radius, or 8.568 metres/28.110 ft for you imperial system users)

Good Combos:
It's good if you use the Blutsauger, as the +3 health regen negates the Blutsauger's -2 health regen.

The Vita-Saw is a weapon which has received a fair bit of criticism. Upon death, you retain 20% of any uber you had when you spawn. But this comes at a price of 10 points. The deduction of 10 points could be the difference between life and death, and can put a real spanner in the works when it comes to survival.

That being said, if you're able to compensate for this with careful play and keeping your team-mates alive, the 20% uber retained upon death can prove useful for surprising the enemy with a quick and well-timed charge. I personally prefer to have the standard 150 health, as I tend to get a bit nervous whenever I see any class that can deal large amounts of burst damage.

Oh, and I believe the melee taunt has an extra electric guitar effect, which is kinda cool.

That's the pros and cons of each individual weapon. Below is how i would rank these melee weapons IMO, best at the top, worst at the bottom.

1. Ubersaw- Great bonus, with a minimal downside.

2. Amputator- Bonus health regen, Area healing on taunt, more a tool than a weapon, but still great.

3. Solemn Vow- Slightly situational, but still nice bonus

4. Bonesaw- Nothing special... but still better than Vita IMO

5. Vita-saw- Quite situational, If you are cautious, I would suggest a different melee. But in unpredictable circumstances, can allow you to change the tide of battle.

My favourite and most used melee is the Ubersaw which I like to use the majority of the time. I do like using the Amputator too when I'm trying to stay away from combat.

Congrats on reading or skipping through this guide! I hope you learnt something, and if I missed something, or you have some positive and constructive feedback for how I can improve, please post a comment regarding it. This is my first guide, and took a fair bit of time to complete.

The Medic Monastery is a group dedicated to teaching the many ways to play Medic. We are currently looking for members who are willing to pass on their own knowledge to those new to Medic, especially considering the upcoming TF2 Competitive Matchmaking. If you are interested in joining and taking a position in the group, click the link below!
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/groups/tf2medicmonastery