I realize you are trying to encourage people to be medics (and far be it from me to suggest reducing the incentive, we need all the good medics we can get), but I feel the need to raise my concern about the extreme bonus medics receive with a Kill Assist, and the potential effect it could have on the rankings.

Currently, any player getting a kill assist receives a static 5 points (this alone, in my opinion, is too high, since in the higher ranks, the vast majority of kills will only result in a 1-3 point gain, so you are placed in a situation where you always make more by not getting the killing blow -- a little counterintuitive if you ask me). This is the same score given whenever an engineer creates a sentry or dispenser (and don't get me started on the abuse potential there) and to anyone else for destroying the same. Meanwhile, any highly ranked player that plays any other class will always receive 1-3 points for a standard kill, unless they are lucky enough not to actually get the killing blow. So, these classes, medic and engineer, have potential point gain that none of the others do. In the hands of a clever player, those advantages can be put to radically skew the rankings.

And we need not speculate about such a possibility, we can already see it in action! The current top 3 players all have Kill Assist - Medic as either their first or second scoring bonus, with those bonuses devastatingly outpacing anything else. As of this writing, #3 {pDs}DickCheneysMechanicalHeart (an awesome player, I might add) has received 14,980 of his total 19,070 from the bonus; #2 {pDs} WarMachine has received 7,890 (and another 5,245 from plain Kill Assists); and #1 [doop] CRiX 10,510. Through a combination of skill and the current state of the stat system, that #1 player actually now has nearly 31,000 points, 8,000 more than the second down.

I'm worried that the current system too greatly favors certain classes, specifically through the problem of static bonuses. While kill points are based on players' relative rankings, certain actions are given set amounts of points, regardless of how frequently they occur, and Kill Assist - Medic more than all. In terms of solutions, I think the ideal would be that no kill assist should be able to receive more than the actual killer gets. If you absolutely must add another incentive for medics, Kill Assist - Medic could be limited to 2x the amount the killer receives, always with the same 5 point or 10 point cap. If such calculations are not possible, then I'd urge they be reduced to keep the gap being created in the system from widening any further. Normal kill assists should be limited to no more than 1 or 2 points, given their frequency. Lifelong medics (I believe we call them doctors =P ) such as {pDs}DickCheneysMechanicalHeart may worry that there would be no incentive to play a medic if the Kill Assist - Medic bonus is "nerfed," so I'd urge something like 5 static points for that, which would still make it a substantial bonus, but not such that they can incredibly outpace the Heavy they are aiding. Consider this scenario: A high ranking Heavy + Medic combo ubers into a narrow corridor filled with enemies. The medic has survived long enough to get his uber, and the heavy is skilled and mows through 10 opponents. The heavy will receive, on average, 1-2 points per kill depending on rank, so 10-20 total. The medic, however, will receive a static 100 points for his trouble, regardless of ranking. This isn't a problem to anyone else??

Please don't take this as sour grapes, or a commentary on anything but the higher echelons of players, who will be the ones most likely to take any notice at all of the rank structure. As the point distribution climbs and climbs, higher players will receive less and less per normal kill, while the above certain classes will continue to always receive a static 5-10 points. Engineers I am less concerned about, since their bonus gets also distributed to whomever destroys their building, and engineers don't create sentries nearly as often as a medic aids in a kill. Truly, it's their primary job! I agree we need all the medics we can get, but rewarding them with easy access to the top of the ladder isn't something the point system should be about.

I don't understand what the big deal about stats is at all.  I get pissed playing now because people want to increase stats rather than complete objectives.  Usually when I play, I see very little effort in capping and more effort in killing and I usually wind up saying something in frustration... a team-based game shouldn't have stats based on the performance of individuals.  People should play certain classes for a balance of winning the round and having fun.  However, losing rounds because players buff their stats is such a crappy feeling when you personally have been trying to win yourself.

Stats don't bother me at all though, so whether or not they are on the servers or not is indifferent to me since I can simply play for incentives other than stats.   If it were up to me though, I'd only implement stats on completing team-based objectives, like gaurding flags and capture points, gunning down flag carriers, and capping.  That would in turn, promote more towards completing the objectives, and since defenses will be stronger on the other team (since stats would be rewarded for defending flags and caps), that would in turn promote the use of more medics and general teamwork.

And btw, the reason the topic is called "Comment on ..." is because it's me airing my thoughts on the topic. If reading more text than will fit in an in-game chat dialogue is more than you can handle, please feel free not to do so. =)

We should have a point donation program. I'll donate all my points to whoever wants them. I play just about every class depending on what the team needs at the moment. I never pay any attention to the points because when you boil it down I play to have fun and winning is more fun than any stat ranking. Also last I checked there are restrictions on how many people play medics. So if points are that important to someone they can always switch and play medic.