Part 12: Class Discussions - Medic

Class Discussion - Medic



The rest of the portraits.
The EO1 class portraits.

No name change here, they're called Medics in Japan too. Medics are devastating front line fighters that can dish out a ton of damage and can make your party unkillable. In EO1. In EO2 they're just healers with not much else to them.

In EO1, they were pretty much the best class in the game, along with the Survivalist. They were the only healing class in the game, so not including one in your team was suicidal. They had access to the very broken Immunize ability which reduced all incoming damage by 60%. But as I said in the Protector discussion, that actually ended up causing most attacks to deal single digit damage. And if they had the skill points left over for it, they could invest in their offensive skills, and actually be very strong front line fighters lategame and attack the enemy for a ton of damage whenever they didn't have to heal the party or refresh Immunize.

They got nerfed pretty hard in EO2. They're still great healers and their healing skills are actually stronger than they were in the first game. But everything else about them got nerfed. The Combat Medic build isn't as viable anymore. And because Atlus hates success, Immunize didn't get rebalanced, it got outright removed. Despite that, the core aspect of the Medic, the healing, is still pretty strong and it can be worth having one on your team. Along with Immunize, they lost Healing Touch (while it is the name of their Force Skill, it worked a lot differently in EO1), and Regen, while getting new skills such as Salve 3 and Phoenix.

Now typically this class competes with the War Magus over a party slot when considering the party composition. So, which class is better? Honestly? It's up to you. Both options are viable choices. Pick one that fits your playstyle better. They both have their ups and downs. Aside from healing, Medics don't have much going for them support wise and they're not exactly a fast class. But they have the strongest healing in the game and are very good at their job. They're the only class that can revive the dead without the use of a force skill, and unlike the War Magus, they can dispel status effects. Just don't expect too much of them outside of healing.

Stats

Level 1
HP - 34
TP - 31
STR - 6
TEC - 7
VIT - 4
AGI - 5
LUC - 5

Level 70
HP - 416
TP - 183
STR - 32
TEC - 79
VIT - 52
AGI - 41
LUC - 48

Level 99
HP - 607
TP - 411
STR - 49
TEC - 96
VIT - 52
AGI - 60
LUC - 66

Medics have very high technique, but their agility isn't the greatest. Their strength took a huge hit from the first game, being reduced from 53 to 32 at level 70. They have a decent amount of TP and as always, leveling up HP up and TP up are good choices. Their healing skills actually scale off of technique, although if you're going for some certain skills, that might not be a good stat to level up. And if you are insane to level up to 99, you really shouldn't invest in technique much unless you really want the skill that it unlocks. If you're wondering how they were good front line fighters in the first game with only 53 strength, that will be explained later.

Healer

Max lvl: 10

The Medic's mastery skill. Leveling this gives the Medic a boost to their healing skills. It also affects healing items that don't heal a fixed amount of HP, like Somas. At level 1, no boost is given (because it's needed to unlock any healing skills.), level 5 it gives a 9% boost to healing, and at level 10 it gives a 42% boost to healing. This is the main reason why Medics are better healers than the War Magus. Their equivalent skill, War Lore, only gives an 11% boost to their healing at max level.

Patch Up

Needs lvl. 1 Healer
Max lvl: 10

After battle, the party restores some HP. At level 1, the party gets healed for 1% of their max HP. At level 5 they get healed for 6%, and at level 10 they get healed for 12%. It's not too good in the earlygame since all that means is your party gets healed up for around 5 to 8 HP at max level, but it makes for a decent amount of sustain in the midgame and lategame. Take it if you want, it's not a bad skill at all, and scales much better than the War Magi's Regenall.

TP Regen

Needs lvl. 10 TP Up and TEC Up
Max lvl: 5

This is a passive skill that has the Medic restore some TP per turn. At level 1 it restores 1 TP per turn, and at level 5 it restores 5 TP per turn. I don't like this skill. It requires a huge skill point investment to unlock, and it would probably be better off as an earlygame skill. While it did restore the same amount of TP in EO1, the TP costs of the Medic's skills were a lot lower in that game, so that skill was more viable there. This game though? Just the 10 points in TP Up will be a lot more effective than saving 5 TP per turn.

Scavenge

Max lvl: 5

Oh boy, this skill. Do you hate hunting for random drops? Especially rare ones? Are you mad that the RNG decided to screw you out of the conditional drop even though you qualified for it? Than this skill is for you! It was a bit weaker in EO1 since it multiplied item drop rates by 130% at max level after factoring in the party's total luck through a formula that I'm not going to detail here. Scavenge is much stronger here. It's flat out broken in this game.

1 - 1% increase in drop rate
2 - 5% increase
3 - 13% increase
4 - 25% increase
5 - 41% increase

The reason Scavenge is much stronger in this game is because it's no longer multiplicative. It's an additive bonus now. Instead of multiplying a 10% chance to 13% like in the first game, a maxed out Scavenge increases that to a 51% chance in this game! Oh, and it stacks with any other party members that have Scavenge. So 3 level 5 Scavenges in the party gives you a 123% boost, which is essentially a permanent Formaldehyde! But that's overkill. One level 5 Scavenge is enough to get by and reduce the item farming time by a lot. This does affect conditional drop rates, but unfortunately it doesn't automatically qualify you for them like Formaldehyde does. Not that it matters much, since conditional drops are fairly easy to get in this game. So this skill essentially takes the random out of random drops and completely breaks that system. Predictably, it got nerfed hard in EO3 (5% boost at max level), but Formaldehydes got introduced to compensate for the nerf.

The main downside to this skill is that your pack will fill up fast, so the 60 item limit also becomes a factor in how long you can stay in the dungeon without having to go back. Unless you know exactly what to keep and what to throw out, you'll be going back to town a lot to sell all the stuff you got. The Hexer also has access to this skill, but their version requires you to invest in some other skills first before unlocking it. And it's a perquisite for one of the most broken skills in the game...

Cure

Needs lvl. 1 Healer
Max lvl: 10

This is a very basic healing skill, and is probably what you're gonna be using throughout the earlygame. It heals one party member for a set amount of HP. At level 1 it costs 3 TP, heals 35 base HP, and has a speed modifier of 100%. At level 5 it costs 7 TP, heals 65 base HP, and has a 120% speed modifier. At level 10 it costs 12 TP, heals 170 base HP, and has a 190% speed modifier.

Cure 2

Needs lvl. 3 Healer
Max lvl: 10

Basically a stronger version of Cure, and probably what you're gonna be using throughout the midgame. At level 1 it costs 9 TP, heals 130 base HP, and has a speed modifier of 75%. At level 5 it costs 13 TP, heals 170 base HP, and has a 95% speed modifier. At level 10 it costs 18 TP, heals 310 base HP, and has a 165% speed modifier. The stronger healing skills are slower than the weaker versions, so that's something to be aware of.

Cure 3

Needs lvl. 5 Healer
Max lvl: 5

This healing skill is different. It restores all of a party member's HP no matter what the level. Putting points into this skill increases the speed modifier, and decreases the TP cost. This skill will be seeing a lot of use late and postgame since your party members will have way more than 300 HP by then.

1 - 38 TP - 50% speed
2 - 34 TP - 54% speed
3 - 30 TP - 62% speed
4 - 26 TP - 74% speed
5 - 22 TP - 90% speed

At max level, it only costs 4 more TP than a max level Cure 2. That said, don't try to go for this skill early. The weaker healing skills will be enough at that point, and your Medic won't have the TP to cast this multiple times.

Salve

Needs lvl. 3 Healer and Cure
Max lvl: 5

The Salve skills are AOE versions of the Cure skills. The speed modifiers between the different tiers of Salve skills are the same at each level, so unlike the Cure skills where it might be worth using a weaker skill just to get some faster healing, the Salve skills here are just pure upgrades. This is the skill that might be seeing some use earlygame, but it falls off quickly past thtat.

1 - 18 TP - 50% Speed - Heals 35 Base HP
2 - 21 TP - 54% Speed - Heals 43 Base HP
3 - 24 TP - 62% Speed - Heals 59 Base HP
4 - 27 TP - 74% Speed - Heals 83 Base HP
5 - 30 TP - 90% Speed - Heals 115 Base HP

Salve 2

Needs lvl. 6 Healer and lvl. 4 Cure 2
Max lvl: 5

The second tier Salve skill, which is best used in the midgame. It's very expensive TP wise.

1 - 36 TP - 50% Speed - Heals 130 Base HP
2 - 39 TP - 54% Speed - Heals 140 Base HP
3 - 42 TP - 62% Speed - Heals 160 Base HP
4 - 45 TP - 74% Speed - Heals 190 Base HP
5 - 48 TP - 90% Speed - Heals 230 Base HP

Salve 3

Needs lvl. 10 Healer and lvl. 5 Cure 3
Max lvl: 5

An AOE version of Cure 3, and pretty much what you'll mainly be using late and postgame. Like Cure 3, leveling this up increases the speed modifier and decreases the TP cost.

1 - 74 TP - 50% Speed
2 - 68 TP - 54% Speed
3 - 62 TP - 62% Speed
4 - 56 TP - 74% Speed
5 - 50 TP - 90% Speed

At max level it only costs 2 more TP than a max level Salve 2, so there's no reason to use Salve 2 once you've gotten a level 5 Salve 3. The War Magus doesn't get access to this skill, which is another reason why Medics are the stronger healers. They're limited to Salve and Salve 2.

Immunize

Max level: 10

R.I.P. Too broken for this game.

Revive

Needs lvl. 5 Healer
Max lvl: 10

Brings a dead character back to life with a little amount HP remaining. It's the only normal skill that can resurrect party members. At level 1 the party member is revived at 1 base HP, and the TP cost is 15. At level 5 the party member is revived at 31 base HP, and the TP cost is 19. At level 10 the party member is revived at 136 base HP and the TP cost is 24. The amount of HP a party member revives with is pretty low at all levels, so this is kind of a risky skill to use. Nectars are a bit more of a reliable revival method. Something you may want to consider is leaving the skill at level 1 if you have a Revenge Hexer in the party. That way if the Hexer dies, Revive will bring them back with 1 HP, and they can continue launching full power Revenges.

Unbind

Needs lvl. 3 Healer
Max lvl: 10

A single target skill that dispels binds. 1 bind is dispelled at level 1 and 2. 2 binds are dispelled at levels 3 and 4. At level 5 the skill can dispel up to 3 binds, and any more levels just decrease the TP cost from 5 to 1. Bizarrely enough, Levels 2 and 4 of the skill actually increase the TP cost without any other benefits. (From 1 to 2 and 3 to 4, but still.) I just prefer using Therica As, but if you want to take the skill, go ahead. Keep in mind that if the Medic's head is bound, they cannot use this skill.

Freedom

Needs lvl. 5 Unbind
Max lvl: 5

An AOE version of Unbind.

1 - 3 TP - Removes 1 bind
2 - 6 TP - 1 bind
3 - 9 TP - 2 binds
4 - 12 TP - 2 binds
5 - 15 TP - 3 binds

It could be handy, but like the last skill if the Medic's head is bound, they cannot use this skill. I would probably leave this at level 3, since cases where your whole party has all 3 body parts bound usually means that your Medic can't even use this skill.

Refresh

Needs lvl. 3 Healer
Max lvl: 10

This is a single target skill that can dispel status effects. Each additional level allows it to remove an additional kind of status effect. Levels 9 and 10 just lower the TP cost.

1 - 1 TP - Removes Blind
2 - 2 TP - Poison
3 - 3 TP - Sleep
4 - 4 TP - Terror
5 - 5 TP - Paralysis
6 - 6 TP - Curse
7 - 7 TP - Confusion
8 - 8 TP - Petrification
9 - 4 TP
10 - 1 TP

This is the only skill in the game that can cure petrification, so I would say it's probably worth investing in this. Although if your Medic gets incapacitated, they won't be able to heal others with this, so I hope you have some Therica Bs on hand.

Purify

Needs lvl. 5 Refresh
Max lvl: 5

This is an AOE version of Refresh. Each level allows it to cure more kinds of status effects. The 5th level does nothing but decrease the TP cost.

1 - 6 TP - Removes Blind
2 - 12 TP - Removes Poison and Sleep
3 - 18 TP - Removes Terror and Paralysis
4 - 24 TP - Removes Curse and Confusion
5 - 18 TP

This skill cannot cure petrification. That's exclusive to Refresh. It's also the exact same skill as Medishot, which is cheaper in TP cost. Yes that's right. Somehow bullets are a more efficient form of healing than actual doctors. So if you already have a Gunner in the party, you may not want to take this skill. Although if either class gets incapacitated, the other class can heal the affected class, so that's something to keep in mind.

Caduceus

Needs lvl. 10 STR Up and lvl. 5 VIT Up
Max lvl: 10

This is the Medic's only and best damage skill. It is a bash attack that has a decent chance to stun the enemy. Those of you that have played EO1 may notice something wrong here. Mainly that the Medic is missing their Attack Up skill they had in the first game. Instead that got replaced with STR Up. In the first game, when Attack Up was maxed out, it gave a 90% boost to the Medic's physical damage, and it affected Caduceus. This was a bigger boost than the other classes' Attack Up skills, and was the main reason why they could fight on the front lines. This made up for their middling strength and when they didn't need to heal anyone or refresh Immunize, they could use this skill and deal a hefty amount of damage to the enemy.

At level 1 it deals 200% damage, costs 20 TP, and has a 1% chance to stun. At level 5 it deals 248% damage, costs 24 TP, and has a 11% chance to stun. At level 10 it deals 430% damage, costs 29 TP, and has a 46% chance to stun.

The damage modifier may seem pretty high, but keep in mind that the Medic doesn't have the strength to take advantage of that. An extra 10 points of strength is not the same thing as doubling your damage output. And why would you have your Medic fight on the front lines when there's much better damage classes out there? I don't recommend taking this skill because it involves investing in a lot of skills that have nothing to do with healing.

Some from GeneralYeti.


CPR

Needs lvl. 10 Revive
Max lvl: 10

Places a buff on the entire party that gives them a chance to survive mortal blows with 1 HP.

1 - 15 TP - 10% chance to survive
2 - 16 TP - 11% chance
3 - 17 TP - 13% chance
4 - 18 TP - 16% chance
5 - 19 TP - 20% chance
6 - 20 TP - 25% chance
7 - 21 TP - 31% chance
8 - 22 TP - 38% chance
9 - 23 TP - 46% chance
10 - 24 TP - 55% chance

This essentially acts as a safety net for your team in case anything goes wrong. I highly recommend taking this skill, especially if you're taking a Medic with you into the postgame. In case a boss or an enemy decides to kill a party member or several, this skill can cushion the blows and can save you.

Phoenix

Needs lvl. 10 Healer
Max lvl: 5

When the Medic uses this skill, the entire party is fully healed and any dead party members are revived... at the cost of the Medic's own life. The effects are the same at all levels. All leveling it up does is decrease the TP cost and increase the speed modifier. The Medic can be revived after using this skill.

1 - 46 TP - 10% speed
2 - 37 TP - 11% speed
3 - 29 TP - 13% speed
4 - 22 TP - 16% speed
5 - 16 TP - 20% speed

This is pretty much a last resort skill, and it's not one I like. For one thing the speed modifier is really low, even at level 5. If you were caught in a situation where you would want to use it, chances are the Medic would die before they would be able to cast it, and they're not exactly an agile class. And if you are planning on making heavy use of this skill, you may need to rethink your playstyle and party setup.

More from GeneralYeti!


Patrol

Max lvl: 5

This is the exact same skill as the Survivalist's version. Reduces or prevents damage taken from damage tiles. The scaling is the same as well, with it costing 9 TP at level 5 and nullifies the damage from damage tiles.

Gathering Skill: Take

Force Skill: H. Touch (Healing Touch)

This is unrelated to the EO1 version of Healing Touch which healed up to 40% HP at max level. And it didn't heal 40% of a party member's HP, it restores a party member's HP up to 40%. It did nothing if their HP was above that threshold. It was a dumb skill. This version of Healing Touch is much better. What it does is revive everyone and heals everyone to full HP. It also dispels any status effects that were on the party. However, it does not get rid of binds, so beware of that. The Beast's Salivall Force Skill acts the exact same way.

Medics lost some of their utility from the first game, but they're still a decent class here. If you don't care about fast healing or buffs, a Medic would be a good choice for your party. Just keep in mind that they can't do much aside from healing, and they aren't the fastest class thanks to their staves slowing them down, and their mediocre agility.