Last Update: Star Citizen Alpha 3.18.0
Star Citizen Alpha 3.15 brings with it a new medical system, complete with hospitals, tiered injuries, and a plethora of medical drugs and tools. Join us as we dive deep into each of these new features in hope you’ll be properly equipped to face this update, which significantly ups the stakes of surviving in the ‘verse.
Tools of the trade
A good medic keeps an array of tools on hand. From single-use items to trusty healing tools, there’s plenty gear and goodies to keep you and your team upright. Before we jump into the details of how and where to heal, here are looks at the three tools currently available to a budding medical professional, all able to be purchased at any hospital or clinic:
Medical Pens
Medical pens are an easy, straight-forward way to treat either yourself or another person in the field, and conveniently, all five medical drugs can be purchased in pen form (more on those later). To use a pen, hold the C key to open a radial menu and select the pen you’d like to use. From here, either press B to use it on yourself, or use Mouse 2 to apply it to someone else. These controls apply to all medical tools.
Multi-Tool
The Pyro Multi-Tool can be equipped with the LifeGuard medical attachment in order to be used as a life-saving device. More precise and effective than a MedPen, with the added benefit of healing from a short distance, this attachment is limited to administering Hemozal.
Curelife Medical Tool
A must-have for any medical professional, this tool can administer any of the five medical drugs in precise amounts, or simply apply Hemozal as needed. What’s more, it can also provide detailed medical scans of another person, highlighting specific injuries and recommending treatments.
Using the curelife medical tool
The Curelife Medical Tool can detect injuries and health status of any person. Simply aim the tool at the person to see this information. You can also highlight specific limbs this way to see inflicted injuries. This tool has two separate modes: Basic and Advanced. Basic mode simply applies Hemozal, similar to the Multi-Tool’s capability. Advanced mode lets you apply all five medical drugs in the precise amount of your choosing. To switch between the two, as well as adjust drug quantity, hold the tool up using the Right Mouse Button, then hold the F key to interact with the tool’s screen.
Then hold the F key to interact with the tool’s screen.
Drugs and BDL
Alpha 3.15 expands the drugs available to a medic’s arsenal. These drugs all have unique attributes and effects, however all of them increase your Blood Drug Level (BDL).
Your BDL is tracked next to your health status on your helmet HUD. Once this level reaches 50% of maximum, your character will enter an Overdosed state. This will affect your traversal speed, blur your vision, add a weapon sway effect, and cause your character to pilot vehicle erratically. Additionally, your character will begin to take damage slowly unless the effects are countered.
Below are the types of drugs available, including the four new ones introduced in Alpha 3.15:
Hemozal
Hemozal is the primary drug used by medics, and can be found in both a pen (MedPen) as well as used by both the Curelife Medical Gun and the LifeGuard Medical Attachment for the multi-tool. This drug can stop bleeding and restore health up to the current maximum, in addition to bringing a person back from incapacitation. Bleeding is stopped with any amount of the drug used.
Demexatrine
Demexatrine is a form of synthetic adrenaline that can be used to relieve muscle fatigue and symptoms related to being concussed. This can help with weapon sway and slowed movement effects caused by injuries. Demexatrine can be administered via either a pen (AdrenaPen) or the Curelife Medical Tool’s advanced mode.
Roxaphen
Roxaphen is a painkiller that can assist with relieving the symptoms that limit your movement drastically, such as a severe injury to your legs or arms preventing you from standing or holding objects, respectively. Roxaphen can be administered via either a pen (OpioPen) or the Curelife Medical Tool’s advanced mode.
Sterogen
Sterogen is a corticosteroid that can help relieve symptoms associated with muscle weakness or respiratory damage, such as a chest injury’s effects of reduced melee damage or a head injury causing your vision to be blurred. Sterogen can be administered via either a pen (CorticoPen) or the Curelife Medical Tool’s advanced mode.
Resurgera
Resurgera is a rapid detoxicant that, when taken, begins to slowly reduce a raised Blood Drug Level, and can also reduce the symptoms caused by an Overdose. Resurgera can be administered via either a pen (DetoxPen) or the Curelife Medical Tool’s advanced mode.
Injuries
Tier 3 | Minor injury
Minor injuries can be healed by any Tier 3 medical bed, such as the ones in the Cutlass Red. This first level of injury decreases your maximum health pool as well as introduces a few gameplay effects, depending on where you were injured. If your arms are injured, your weapons will be harder to aim and the damage done by melee attacks is reduced. If it’s your legs, your move speed is reduced. Chest, your stamina is reduced and your character will begin to wheeze. And finally, if it’s your head, your vision will begin to blur, the audio you hear will be muffled, and it will take longer to recover from a stun. No minor injury requires stabilization.
Tier 2 | Moderate injury
A moderate injury requires a Tier 2 medical bed to heal, such as a clinic or the medical bays of larger ships such as the Carrack or 890 Jump. Moderate injuries greatly pronounces the effects seen in minor injuries, with a few additions. Moderate injuries will cause your character to start limping and audibly grunt in pain. If the moderate injury is sustained to the head or chest, stabilization is required in a medical bed of any tier.
Tier 1 | Severe injury
A severe injury requires a Tier 1 medical bed to heal, such as ones found in a hospital. Severe injuries escalate the effects of moderate injuries even further, with even more detriments added. A severe injury to your legs will force your character into a prone state, with no ability to stand or crouch. If it’s to your arms, your character will not be able to hold objects. Severe injuries to the head or torso will also require stabilization in any medical bed.
Medical facilities
Now that we’re familiar with injuries, we need places to heal them. Medical facilities can be found all over the ‘verse, from massive cities to small space stations. There are even a select few ships that offer medical care within them.
If it’s a public facility and not a ship, feel free to admit yourself using the Patient Check-In console, which functions similarly to an ASOP terminal. Below are the three types of medical facility, as well as what services they provide.
Hospitals
Hospitals, or Tier 1 medical facilities, can be found on all major landing zones. They can be used to stabilize a patient, treat any injury, and bring back a person from death.
Clinics
Clinics, or Tier 2 medical facilities, can be found in most space stations around the ‘verse, as well as smaller landing zones such as GrimHex. They can be used to stabilize a patient, treat minor to moderate injuries, and bring back a person from death.
Ambulances
Ambulances, or Tier 3 medical facilities, can be found in medical ships such as the Cutlass Red. They can be used to stabilize patients and treat minor injuries, however they cannot be used to revive someone from death.
Medical beds and treatment
Now that we’re familiar with injuries and the facilities that can heal them, let’s go to one and find a medical bed. These can be found in any number of locations, from a ship to a space station to a city’s hospital. If it’s a public facility and not a ship, feel free to admit yourself using the Patient Check-In console, which functions similarly to an ASOP terminal.
However, if you have sustained a severe injury and it is difficult for you to walk, an expedited option is available in any public hangar bay, shown below. A medic can bring a patient to these emergency drop off locations (use a gurney to speed things up!) and then send this elevator directly to the medical facility. In either case, get over to a medical bed as soon as possible!
Once you’re on the medical bed, you’re presented with a menu with up to three options (the third appearing for ship owners, giving them the option to clear out players that registered to their ship’s ICU). The first option will give you an overview of your character, shown below. Here you can see the injuries you’ve sustained in detail, along with recommended treatment options.
To apply a treatment, click the tab “Treatment” and select the injuries you wish to heal. After a few seconds, your injury will be removed and your health restored to full. Simple as that! Keep in mind, these options are presented to you only if you are conscious. If unconscious and delivered to a hospital or clinic, the facility will take care of your injuries for you and you will wake up fully healed.
Incapacitation
You’ve sustained significant damage, your health has hit 0%, and you fall to the ground. Congratulations, you’ve been incapacitated!
Your character is now immobile, and the clock has started. You must receive a dose of Hemozal before the timer runs out, otherwise…you’re dead! Keep in mind, the items on your person are left behind on your corpse if you die.
The good news is that all hope is not lost, even if you’re alone! If there’s no one to aid you in the immediate vicinity, you can create a beacon by holding the M key. This creates a Beacon mission for nearby players, automatically set for a fifteen thousand aUEC reward and paid out upon delivery to a medical facility.
Players accepting this mission can bring you to the Emergency Medical drop-off area, located in all hangars attached to a medical facility. More info on these locations is above in the Medical Beds and Treatment section.
Conclusions
Are you ready to heal your friends or to die alone on the floor of a bunker?