Medical Drone - Medic Ability

Cavez recently raised an issue regarding incompatibility between Medic and Reaper. And since Cavez clearly indicated that he would love to hear thoughts from SC community, here is my thought. Blizzard has the final say on this, but I wish our current medic stays. I think medic was very valuable in original SC; because even though they can not perform any attacks, they really pushed marines to its true limit. I felt marines were not up to par(in strength) with other counterparts without medics. In order to address medic's mobility concern to make it compatible with reaper, here is my idea:

It is medic's new ability called Med Drone. I'm pretty sure that Cavez is somewhat familiar with this concept, since he was the lead designer for Command & Conquer: Generals. Yes, it will have similar graphic effects as drones from paladin tank(fly around its host), but its mechanic is bit different. The medic will carry limited number of these drones(like spider-mine from vulture); and once deployed, its complex medical precedure will be controlled directly by a medic who deployed it via satellite link. In order to use this drone, a medic must select one host(who is within medic's distance parameter), so that the drone can fly around its host. Upon casting, all of medic's remaining energy will be transfer to this drone; and the drone will use these energy to heal its host or anyone around it. Here is the catch though. Drone can not regenerate its energy...and it will be destroyed once its energy is depleted. There are other ways to destroy this drone. Enemy can simply kill its host, or the medic who is controlling it. What happens to the medic once drone is deployed? There are three choices(upto blizzard):
1. Medic can freely move around.
2. Medic is no longer able to move until she cuts communication with her drones.
3. Medic will not be able to move only when her drone is performing certain medical task.

Before I forget, the drone will be able to slightly increase host's visual range(just enough to help reapers hop cliffs).

I think that is about it. Here is summary:
Medic's new ability:
=Med Drone=
-Medic carries few of them like vulture's spider-mine.
-Medic must select one host per drone.
-Once deployed, medic's remain energy will be transfer to deployed drone.
-Med drone uses transferred energy to heal its host and people around it.
-It is controlled by a medic who deployed it.
-Drone is destroyed when it uses up all of its energy.
-Drone is destroyed when its host dies.
-Drone is destroyed when its controller(medic) dies.
-Three possible conditions for a medic whose drones are in active duty(upto blizzard).
1. Medic can freely move around.
2. Medic is no longer able to move until she cuts communication with her drones.
3. Medic will not be able to move *only* when her drone is performing certain medical task.
-Drones can further aid host by providing slightly improved vision.(just enough for reapers to hop cliffs)

Hopefully these drones will prove useful for reapers.

Just a thought. Any inputs/constructive criticisms/concerns would be appreciated.

Ideas from others (thanks all for your valuable inputs):
-Drones cost resources. (SellswordLINK and Diablo_M.D.)
-Medic will not heal the host (Zed-Wolfan) or, the host will be on medic's last priority list(when healing).
-Host must be small biological unit...possibly any biological unit under tier 1.5 or 2. (Diablo48)
-While deployed, drone's energly slowly degenerates (Diablo48).
-Medic loses her special abilities and energy regeneration when her drone(s) is active. (northernblades)

Link: http://www.battle.net/forums/thread.aspx?FN=sc2-general&T=639389&P=1

I found this idea on the Battle.net Forum and i just wanted to see what all of you guys think about it, to me its a very nice idea that could solve the problem and add a new dynamic to the game.

plus it really is better then a drop ship.

 

I like this idea, but wouldn't it be rather pointless to have medics because once you get these drones, they have pretty much all the abilities of the medic. It dies when it's out of energy, but it won't give players much incentive to throw in medics unless they're using them for meat shields.

 

pheraps make it like the vulture and only have a SET number of drones thataway when your drones run out you must use it normally.

 

I think it would work then, it's a good idea anyways. The medic also should be uncontrollable while she has the drone out, and all her abilities should be disabled so it prevents the player from taking out a medic and healing units at the same time. Each medic should be able to use the drone only one at a time.

 

I don't like that idea maybe just have a limi of 2 drones active per medic and if you try to activate a new drone the last one will dissapear

 

I don't think it's a particularly great idea. It just seems way to complicated and kinda restrictive, especially if the Medic is immobilised while it's active. Also, seeing as each one has a host, you'd need to have a Medic for every Reaper, and after a couple of raids all your medics would be out of Drones.
However I got my own idea when I read this;

I dunno how it holds up against other ideas, but what if Medics could just attach/give a Medipack to any healable unit which automatically heals whoever's been given it? It should still have the same ratio of one health healed per point of Energy, so it could cost something like fifty Energy and will run out after it's healed fifty health. It would practically double the Reaper's health and allow them to be used more effectively more often.
I think I made that sound a lot more complicated that it is, but I hope you get the gist of it.

 

Its exactly the same idea as seradin's but its concept is simplified. I like the whole idea of a Medic having an attachable medpack of some sort.
I'd go for it ;]

 

I have only one objection.. If you carry more medics with a group, and each of them uses one drone for example, than how will you know later, whose drone is on which unit? This would concern me.

Cause if they kill the unit, the medic can freely move around, but We won't know which medic, right?

 

@ Psionicz. Yeah, the two ideas are fairly similar, I'm just saying that that was the first thing that came to mind when I read "Cavez recently raised an issue regarding incompatibility between Medic and Reaper.".

 

Basically, this idea is giving reapers/marines/ghosts medics, but none of the consequences of medics (or the extra benefits). I'd go with ItzaHexGor's idea becuase the drones just add an extra step. I also don't like the idea of it being "useless" after the pack is put on.
However, I'm not even sure if reapers should be allowed to go on raids with medics. It just makes more tactical and you have to use them wisely.

 

this is kinda off topic but why doesn't BLIZZARD give the medics the options to buy jumppacks so they can move and keep up with the reapers but at the cost of reduced energy?

 

i highly like this idea, just as you said it is like GENERALS paladin tank, but instead of draining all of the medics energy, how about, for example, lets say the medic has 300 energy. It deploys one drone, not it can have a total of 250 energy for use. each drone knocks the medics maximum energy down until the drones are all used, so in this scenario, the medics energy would drop to 150 maximum until one drone dies. then it would raise up. Maybe they could create an upgrade that maybe lowers the energy taken from the maximum by the drones

 

well i think that blizzard should use an ideal from World of warcraft and give the reaper a mage table.....

 

Surely you can't be serious.

 

It is a pretty good idea but lore-wise? How can you explain how to the medic transferred its energy to the drone?

 

Yeah...

 

Well they could always remodle the medic to look like she has some strange dronebot on there back and it gets deployed from there. But i still wanna go with what i said before and get the reaper a mage table......lol, hahaha

 

or they could just have the medicdrone as a unit and have no medic,
the drone is a hovering, invisible unit that decloaks to heal and can travers cliffs and other terrain

 

That might work though I still don't see why we can;''t just have the regular medic.

The sole reason for the change to the medivac dropship was to help reapers.

I don't think raiders need or even should have medical support and if they stay with the rest of the group as regular infantry they will get support from the medics there

 

Very true, infact i think the lore about the Reapers is that they dont survive (6 months tops i think they said)

so why heal them at all if they are not meant to come back