How to use the Motivator / How to be Motivated

[Hitzel]

Hey everyone. I've been having a lot of success using the Motivator, so I figured I'd share some of my strategy with everyone. In my opinion, if one team is Motivating properly and the other is not, the Motivating team wins 9 times out of 10. I feel that on a team of six, there should be one dedicated Motivator and one player who happens to have a Motivator but doesn't constantly use it. This guide covers the dedicated Motivator.

Warning: This is going to be LONG. Let's get started:

Tip #1 - Pair Up With a "Heavy" *******************

I see a lot of people Motivating, but I see very few people working together while doing it. A Motivator can always help the entire team, but if two players build classes designed around the Motivator, those two players become the most dangerous players in the game.

The idea is to have one "Heavy" player shooting (Mighty, Burly, or Tough) and one "Medic" player using the Motivator, not unlike the TF2 Heavy-Medic combo. While you can't do a TF2-style Uber, the combo is still very potent when the Heavy and Medic work together. It makes you very hard to kill, so your goal is to abuse that by getting into unfair fights and controlling unfair areas for your team. Once you have an area under control, heal your whole team.

There's a lot of ways to make this combo work, so I'll outline the basics and show you what I do.

Tip #2 - How to be a Medic *******************

Keep the following strengths in mind while using your Motivator:

*The Motivator can heal around corners and through walls.
*The Motivator can stack healing with other Motivators.
*The Motivator can heal multiple teamates at once.
*The Motivator can (and should) self-heal with Energy Drinks.
*The Motivator can be mobile with no accuracy penalty.
*The Motivator can use any lethal secondary weapon.

The Medic needs to be able to survive. These are my personal class preferences:

Burly
Nimble

I use the same philosophy with both classes - remain as mobile as possible at all times and always look directly at my Heavy. I suggest using Nimble first because she's naturally harder to kill when jumping around - the Nimble has the fastest and highest jump in the game, and when you put Inflatable Shoes on her, her jump becomes SUPER good - it's too easy. It's also easier to keep up with your heavy when you are a fast class yourself.

My personal strength in shooters is the ability to avoid damage, so I'm able to make the Burly seem just as fast and have high health at the same time. Don't be afraid to make something that uses your strengths. Start changing things up and find your own style - just remember that the goal is to be able to survive when the the enemy attacks you.

No matter what class you choose, you need to be on top of your heavy like white on rice. Learn all the tricks jumps so you can keep up with him. If he moves, you move. NEVER second guess him. ALWAYS do what he says. NEVER get mad if he gets you killed. ALWAYS make sure you can heal him at a moment's notice. If one of you dies, the new goal is to reunite as quickly and safely as possible. Remember - he's got the gun so he's the decision maker.

At the same time, you need to survive. Keep jumping. Walk in zig-zag patterns. Get behind obstacles so you can heal your partner through walls. Heal him through floors and ceilings. Move in front of him so you can watch your backs. When you're hurt, tell him you need to drink an Energy Drink and wait for his okay. Always keep communicating. Communicating is easy - "turn left, there's a guy with a shotgun," "I'm going to die, get ready to run away," etc.

Remember, the counter to this strategy is to kill the Medic. Always position yourself in a way that forces the enemy to deal with your Heavy. This, combined with good movement and teamwork, makes you very hard to kill.

Tip #3 - How to be a Heavy *******************

Here are two example classes that my friends commonly use when I am Motivating them:

Mighty
Tough

The main goal of a Heavy is to abuse the fact that you're nigh-invincible. You're a leader. You're a killing machine as long as you have your Medic. You're the focal point of your team's offense and the anchor of your team's defense. The enemy must respond to you, so make sure you get yourself into unfair situations, and make sure the enemy is forced to deal with you before they can deal with your Medic.

You should always use the Horse Healthy and Hard Target Fun Facts to make the Motivator work this way. Aside from that, a Heavy can be quite flexible in what his class is - use what you find most effective, just remember that if you're using a Glider or Grapple, your Medic will have a hard time keeping up with you if he doesn't use the same Gadget. In general, you want to use Rifles and SMG's. The Partisan is a great weapon to use, as it has high a very high DPS, but only if you have the skill to use it.

While using this strategy, keep in mind the following weaknesses:

*Hatchets kill you in 1-shot.
*If your Medic dies, you're in trouble.
*Ninja Smoke Bomb Speedies can flank you easily.
*Explosives can hurt both you and your Medic.
*Multiple Snipers and/or partisans can do more DPS than your medic can heal.

Remember, you're playing a flexible leadership role. Don't be afraid to come up with backup classes to counter your opponent's strategies, and don't be afraid to call for your team's aid to take out enemy Snipers and Partisans. Your choice of Support Item can be key - it should be the first place you look when you want to come up with a counter-class.

Also, don't forget that you're leading your Medic. Every decision you make is a decision your Medic will follow without hesitation - so remember that a bad decision that gets the two of you killed or separated is on you, so never get mad when something bad happens. Always try to communicate. Say what you're doing so your Medic can respond quicker and smarter. "I'm rushing this guy, follow me," "I'm jumping off the roof," "I'm camping, hide behind this," etc. If one of you dies, the new goal is to reunite as quickly and safely as possible.

If you play like a lone wolf, you won't be giving your Medic a chance to heal the rest of your team, and you'll be depriving yourself of backup when the enemy decides to jump you as a team (trust me, they will). Ask your Medic to remind you when a teammate is hurt (he can see your team's health bars). If you stand next to a teammate, a Motivator can heal you both so take advantage of that. Two heavies is better than one.

---------

TL : DR -- A Motivator following a single person around = win.

To anyone who read through the whole thing, thank you. I want to see this game reach the next level of competition, and I feel that the Motivator is a big part of it. I'll be answering any questions you guys have if you want to ask =)

[Repeter73]

Great read, but the links didn't work for me. It may just be a work computer issue, so I'll have to check out your buils when I get home.

It may not be my playstyle, but it's effectiveness is hard to argue. I've been seeing this combo more since last weekend.

[Hitzel]

Great read, but the links didn't work for me. It may just be a work computer issue, so I'll have to check out your buils when I get home.

It may not be my playstyle, but it's effectiveness is hard to argue. I've been seeing this combo more since last weekend.

Glad you enjoyed it, and thanks for telling me about those links. I'll fix them now.

*Edit*

Do they work for you now?

[Cirlebed]

Great tips. Wish I had a mic so I would be able to try it.

And, the links work... for me at least.

[SamVimes]

This is quite good and a lot of help. It outlines all the basics of Motivator play, which are all one really needs to be an incredibly effective healer. One way in which you and I appear to differ, however, is how we use our field of vision, and I think both has its strengths and weaknesses.

You advocate keeping your eyes on your pocket, which promotes further synergy and protection in fire fights, but it leaves you more vulnerable to flanking. I, on the other hand, having become paranoid by spending hundreds of hours as Medic in TF2, am constantly looking around while motivating to provide an extra set of eyes for my protector. One cannot do the standard TF2 practice of constantly looking behind, but one can still use the incredibly wide AoE of the Motivator to investigate corners, look to the skies for flyers, etc.
One way in which the two positions can be married is something that my friends and I had started working on before my thesis-induced hiatus: The Motivator Trio. It is true that a pocket can win games entirely with two people, but as of late we have been using a NSB or Goggles Speedy to outflank those who try to flank the pocket. By being invisible or hiding behind walls and tagging, they are able to see threats to the pocket even before the Medic can, and with shotguns or snipers they can eliminate them. I guess a TF2 analogy would be a backfield Scout that is on the lookout for Spies, Pyros, and other Scouts that attempt to ambush the pocket while they are pre-occupied.
It is rather good fun, and I would like to see if others can use this technique successfully (it is perfect for me because I have two good friends with mics that play alongside me.

Do you have this on the PC?

[Nayr]

Pretty much sums up everything.

Putting a motivator on as a secondary just for moments where your team is weak is also good. You don't always need an entire class dedicated to healing. I have a targeting goggle/tough class with a motivator on it. Works great because when I'm not targeting or throwing motion sensors I can pull out the motivator and follow someone around.

For a burly medic I always ran hard target, roller skates, shotgun, motivator, horse healthy and body armor. Mostly due to how big of a tank you are with this and because if you're playing with good people you typically won't die because they'll be slaying everyone who might shoot you. Shotgun also worked great for picking off the people who got in close or flanked.

[SixHouse]

Cant argue with results.
Just last night myself and one other random player won a fumigation we probably shouldn't have because we were out numbered by 1 or 2. I want to say it was a 3 v 2.
I pulled out my support class to couple with his mighty and we won it pretty well. I set my support for full support though.
Motivator
Goggles
Gnome etc.
Anything team orientated

Kudos to the OP. Didnt know a couple of those things so thanks for the tips.
(Like the fact I could heal through walls and ceilings)
Also plus one just for creating general awareness. I dont see nearly enough team play as I should.

[MysticFart1]

Thanks. Great insite. Keep up the work

[Repeter73]

Glad you enjoyed it, and thanks for telling me about those links. I'll fix them now.

*Edit*

Do they work for you now?

Sure do--thanks. I think I'll try this with a teamate soon. I don't have the mighty body unlocked, so I guess it'll be up to me motivate.

[SamVimes]

Sure do--thanks. I think I'll try this with a teamate soon. I don't have the mighty body unlocked, so I guess it'll be up to me motivate.

Mighties help but are not required. I've spread carnage following burlies and even toughs as long as we have good enough synergy. I say this because if you are going to play with a friend I suggest that you occasionally switch roles if you can. Knowing how the other half of the combo thinks and acts firsthand greatly benefits the playing of the other.