MEDIC
Cei-Rigotti
Unlock rank: 0
The starting Cei-Rigotti impresses at first with a speedy fire rate that’ll almost match how fast you can click your mouse. But with a 10-round capacity, it’ll quickly bleed dry if you hammer its trigger. The rest of its stats aren’t so stellar: the lowest max damage (38 per shot) of any Medic rifle, a tendency to jump upwards quite a bit while aiming, and a steep damage dropoff to a shallow 28 at ranges beyond 40 meters—just a touch beyond the Medic’s mid-range speciality. To top it off, the Cei-Rigotti uses 5-round strip clips, so it’s wise to expend or save bullets until hitting 5 in the chamber or emptying it entirely—you’ll have to endure feeding in individual rounds otherwise. In essence, the Cei-Rigotti is an okay-ish starter for beginning Medics to familiarize themselves with how auto rifles work in BF1, but we recommend moving on to far better weapons in the arsenal once you have enough war bonds.
Thanks to patch tweaks, most of the Medic’s arsenal has enjoyed a lowered side-to-side recoil at a cost of higher vertical recoil. The Cei-Rigotti will send its bullets a little more predictably straight, but it’s also more imperative to keep it from knocking your arms up as you fire, as its previously hefty vertical jumps have only worsened post-patch. Establishing a mental rhythm as you tap the trigger helps immensely.
Variants: Although the Factory variant brings the most balanced performance, you’ll want to lean on the Trench alternative to utilize the Cei-Rigotti’s close-quarters strengths and passable hipfire. If you’re feeling bold, opt for the Optical; the lens sight boosts the gun’s accuracy, but it’ll be tough going controlling its upward kick while zoomed in.
Mondragón
Unlock rank: 1
Take the Cei-Rigotti, make everything about it better, and you have the Mondragón. It slows down its RPM to the mid-200s but ups nearly everything else—bullet velocity, damage, and the tightest recoil pattern of all Medic guns to boot. Stay patient and take careful shots; it recovers to center quite quickly and will smoke an enemy trooper in three fast hits if you’re steady on the trigger. It’s fed by strip clips and has the same 10-round capacity as the Rigotti, so keep an eye on your ammo count if you need to reload. The Mondragón is an all-around workhorse for the Medic and an ideal first or second upgrade for your warbonds.
The Mondragón, already a stat-star on vertical and horizontal recoil, feels even more predictable with the reduced bullet variance. It’s proven itself as a deadly three-hit reaper for practiced users, and the only significant change to take note of is its slightly heavier upwards kick, a manageable hurdle as long as you don’t oversample the trigger.
Variants: The Mondragón can perform surprisingly well on the move, an impressive perk given the class preference of hanging back in support position. The Storm variant is an excellent choice for keeping pace with death-happy Assaults, as the included vertical grip further greatly aids accuracy recovery while mobile. The Optical adds a lens sight with the grip, but the increased magnification is best suited for picking off targets at mid-range instead of getting close. Ditto for the Sniper—you’ll want to post up on something solid to take advantage of its bipod and telescopic sight for plinking at 40+ meter targets. Use it on open maps such as Monte Grappa or Suez.
M1907 SL
Unlock rank: 0
The M1907 immediately scores points for its magazine-fed 21 rounds, a godsend for staying active compared to the more reload-punishing Rigotti and Mondragón. This isn’t a weapon for the marksman-inclined—at an abysmal 23 damage past 40 meters, it’ll deal the same damage as Assault SMGs at nowhere near the same fire rate. In fact, the M1907 suffers the worst damage dropoff and lowest bullet velocity of any Medic gun. Its strengths? A comparatively fast reload time and a tame hipfire spread. Get in close, don’t bother shouldering it while firing, and haul it out for CQB and house clearing; shelve it for something else if you need to stay at a distance.
Don’t let the M1907 bounce out of your control as you fire; its newly deep vertical recoil will frustratingly toss the barrel above your target’s noggin if you don’t stay steady. Its horizontal recoil has thankfully been somewhat tamed, but it’s still one of the worst of the bunch when it comes to bullet predictability.
Variants: Pick up the Trench variant to capitalize on the M1907’s spammy hipfire—remember, you can down a foe in three shots at the proper range, so it won’t take much to emerge victorious. The Factory is a balanced take on the weapon as usual, but it doesn’t offer anything outstanding. The Sweeper variant is where the M1907 truly shines; it slaps a somewhat shaky full-auto mode on it that’ll still falter against superior Assault SMGs but can yet successfully assist in a push or quickly shove danger out of your face.
Selbstlader M1916
Unlock rank: 0
The M1916 is the big celebrity the M1907 always wanted to be. A popular choice for Conquest and Operations docs, it packs the highest mag capacity at an ample 26 rounds and the best aimed accuracy of the Medic arsenal—as long as you stand still. Its heavy recoil and subsequently slow recovery can quickly turn ugly with impatient fire or too much moving around. The M1916’s key is rhythm; once you find the proper interval in between shots—a mental one to two second count should be good—you’ll bullseye your target and easily acquire the next soldier in your crosshairs. Its miniscule downtime lends impressive kill streaks—at a three-shot tally, it can rack up eight total kills before needing a reload. If you stay respectful of its jumpy barrel, the M1916 can rival the Mondragón as one of the best Medic guns.
Variants: The ironsight Factory variant is a good start to familiarize yourself with the M1916’s recoil control, as it provides the best bonus to that stat. When you’re comfortable enough, move on to either the Optical or Marksman versions—their attached scopes up your accuracy and optimal range, but keep your mouse steady, as your view will definitely dance on the screen with each shot.
Selbstlader 1906
Unlock rank: 10
The level 10 kit unlock for the Medic is somewhat off-putting in spite of its promising stats: a fast fire rate equal to the sprightly Rigotti, a satisfactorily high bullet travel speed, and a damage range that’ll always ensure a 3-hit kill no matter your distance. But a pitiful five bullets sit in the chamber—just a single strip clip’s worth. The 1906’s engineer must’ve fallen asleep somewhere, because you can only down a single enemy—perhaps two if you luckily target someone already wounded—before tossing more bullets into it. Its hipfire is overshadowed by the M1907, and its aimed accuracy can’t outdo the M1916’s versatility. It’s nowhere near the all-star upgrade as the Assault’s Hellriegel, but it has the potential deadliness in the steady hands of skilled aim-masters. It’s certainly not intended for an aggressive setup; try it out in a more support-oriented role (behind plenty of cover) with the ability to mete out a snap defense should anyone turn their sights onto you.
The Winter Update and DLC release have blessed the 1906 with a second wind of improved aimed accuracy, reduced recoil, and decreased horizontal spread. That results in some fantastic high-accuracy performance (it’s exceptional at leading moving targets from a prone position), but the overriding priority of staying on top of its threadbare five rounds remains critical.
Variants: Like the Hellriegel, the 1906 only comes in its Factory variant, so you’ll be stuck with ironsights and a dearth of attachments.
Autoloading 8 .35
Unlock rank: 1 (2 for our recommended variant)
The Autoloading 8 could very well butt heads with the 1906 for the most confusing Medic rifle were it not for the saving grace of one of its variants. Its default configuration hands you just five bullets max, the second slowest travel velocity, and the second highest vertical recoil. It does enjoy the highest fire rate of any Medic gun, but you’ll empty out your clip before you can even blink if you reach its max fire rate. It can function as a poor man’s Rigotti or M1907 for up-close hipfire, but you’ll perform far better if you opt for those guns instead of the Autoloading 8. I recommend holding off until you’re at the proper kit level and warbond amount to unlock the .25 Extended variant.
Variants: No question: get the .25 Extended variant as soon as you can. It fastens a 16-round magazine and consequently shortens the reload time, but it’ll also drop the caliber and its damage range to roughly the same as the Rigotti’s. Still, you’ll pack a much stronger punch up close with bullet quantity over quality, and you can stand tall with your Assault brothers without shamefully slinking away to constantly fumble with strip clips. The Marksman variant is laughably ineffective—the telescopic sight takes forever to recenter, and you’re much better off with the M1916 or Mondragón if you want to counter-snipe.
RSC 1917 (They Shall Not Pass DLC)
(Gif via Ravic)
Unlock requirements (Factory variant): Obtain 50 kills with the M1907 SL Sweeper variant & perform 50 revives
Unlock requirements (Optical variant): Accumulate 15 kills with the Autoloading 8 .35 Factory variant in one round & perform 75 heals
The RSC is unquestionably the most interesting weapon introduced in They Shall Not Pass. It subverts the Medic’s standby three-hit formula for a two-hit lethality up to roughly 44 meters—well within the busy medium range where most of BF1’s infantry combat occurs. This is the heavy slugger of the Medic’s rifles, and the numbers show why: the furthest damage range (dropping to 38 damage at 60 meters and beyond), over 1 degree of recoil across all directions—the steepest of all the rifles—and the slowest fire rate at a choppy 164 RPM. Its cool-looking en-bloc clip feeds a not-so-cool five rounds with one in the chamber for six total.
Your maximized kill efficiency sits at three targets per clip, but like the Selbstlader 1906 and Autoloading .35, it demands careful bullet conservation to take full advantage of its boosted power. Equip it for open maps with good flanking routes—Sinai, St. Quentin, and Soissons among others—as it’s gleefully deadly for quickly eradicating unaware threats before they can react. Stow it for close-quarters grinders; the RSC’s rate of fire simply can’t compete with the more appropriate M1907 Sweeper or Autoloading .25 Extended.
Variants: The Factory’s impressive gobs of control and is a welcome respite against the RSC’s huge recoil. Once you’re comfortable with this beast, take the Optical for a spin. The scope will jump as if electrocuted if you aren’t ready for it, but it’s a definite boon for cleanly double-tapping someone at the RSC’s furthest lethal reach.
