History ShootTheMedicFirst / VideoGames

* In earlier games, generally the side with the weaker (early-game) infantry had a Medic unit to compensate. The expansion to ''Red Alert'' also introduced a Mechanic, who was a PaletteSwap of the Medic who repaired vehicles in a flash. However, since infantry often die before they can be healed, and the Mechanic can't follow tanks into combat, this trope is averted.
** In ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRenegade'' in the multi-player, enemy engineers and medics can be a serious pain in the ass. Especially if you're Nod. Given enough of them(even the free engineers), a tank can be repaired more than you can damage it. On siege maps, it's a very common tactic to have 3-4 technicians/hotwires(350 credit super-engineers) per vehicle on the side that's laying siege. The only ways to break that siege is with more engineers/techies/hotwires backing up your vehicles, plus at least one sniper to pick off the enemy. A single GDI mammoth tank with two hotwires is nigh-invulnerable.

* The Ender Dragon in the "end" of ''Videogame/{{Minecraft}}'' is assisted by crystals that heal her from atop large obsidian towers and explode when destroyed. Oh, and did we mention that the dragon is effictively unbeatable unless every crystal is gone?

* In ''VideoGame/{{Achron}}'', the CESO Blackbird can repair units at speeds so fast it can greatly affect the outcome of a battle. The "Smart Idle" upgrade makes healing units (such as the Blackbird or the SOP) use their healing ability automatically if there are any injured friendly units nearby. This leads to them attracting a lot of focused fire.
** Not only that, but if you just send your army to attack without targeting a specific unit, they ''will'' target the medic.

* In ''VideoGame/AgeOfWonders'', cleric-type units, which boast the Healing ability, can only do so once per game turn (and thus once per battle, or not at all if they already used healing before battle), but tend to be targeted anyhow because they boast a reasonably powerful ranged magical attack. More advanced units with Healing also tend to be targeted quickly because they usually possess other, dangerous, abilities, and finally, Leaders are * always* targeted first, when practical-more pointedly than potentially having healing spells they can cast multiple times per battle, they tend to be the most dangerous units on the field.
* ''VideoGame/AnarchyOnline''
** The game makes this very difficult to pull this off. The Doctor profession is fairly easy to kill in the beginning of the game, but towards the end requires a coordinated effort from a strong force to take down, all this while throwing out gigantic 'Battle Group Heals' that give ginormous amounts of life to every ally in the immediate vicinity, and this isn't counting the ultimate 'nyah-nyah' heal...on top of all this, Doctors are unlike 'clothies' in other games in that they tend towards HUGE amounts of hit points and nano points.

** The Meta-Physicist, the closest healer after that, typifies the 'priest' stereotype and also was MadeOfPlasticine for most of the game's history until recently, when they became [[NighInvulnerability Nigh Invulnerable]].
* This is a very effective strategy in ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamKnight'', as the Medic mooks can revive three downed enemies. Further, they can apply an electric charge to enemy soldiers so that Batman will take damage if he makes contact with [[TheSpiny the now-sparking foe]]. In practice, this means that you should use Silent Takedowns to pick off the medics before wading into the brawl, but a later upgrade to the Disruptor gadget makes this trope slightly more literal: you can remotely sabotage the medics' equipment so that they electrocute ''themselves'' when trying to buff or revive enemy mooks.

** Notably in ''VideoGame/{{Battlefield 3}}'', the Assault class has to choose between AOE healing or an extra assault weapon (either a grenade launcher or a shotgun) for the first class ability, but once the [[MagicalDefibrillator defibrillator (revive device)]] is unlocked it's always the second gadget, which can make them priority targets in certain circumstances. Of course, in practice, Battlefield is so fast paced and it's hard enough to take down any enemy, that actively targeting a medic is more a case of luck and aiming in the right place. Actually trying to only target medics will just get you shot by the rest of his squad.
** The Engineer class is the 'medic' for Vehicles. Often people will buddy up as a tank driver/gunner combination and work in tandem to keep their vehicle operational. Some vehicles have enough capacity to hold three people. Trying to take out a tank with 2 engineers repairing it is impossible for a single infantry player unless he can kill the engineers first, or can sneak up and plant C4 or mines on the vehicle.
* Zigzagged a bit in ''VideoGame/BattleForWesnoth''. It's not that the healers are so good at ''healing'' that makes them targets (while they're convenient, they can't build up a unit's health back up any faster than a stay in a village could, although unlike villages they're mobile and can treat multiple adjacent units at once) -- it's that on top of that they're {{Combat Medic}}s with annoying special ''attacks'' (be they accurate-in-any-terrain magical ones or the Elvish Shaman line's Entangle) while at the same time being reasonably squishy.

* In the General Knoxx DLC for ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}'', the Crimson Lance have many types of soldiers and one of them is is a CombatMedic. While these guys only use standard rifles to attack you with, they set up turrets that heal the other soldiers, which can get annoying real fast unless you quickly destroy the turret or kill the medic. These guys also show up when you fight Knoxx and can restore his health completely if you aren't paying attention.

** The Floral Horrors. Growing in Site 16 in 2300 AD, they make fighting companion enemies... an [[IncrediblyLamePun experience]].
** A boss that you fight on your way to escape the castle in 1000 AD, the Dragon Tank, has a ''head'' that occasionally heals its parts, each of which has a separate entry in the Bestiary.

** The fight against Lavos Core is [[AvertedTrope something of an exception]]: it looks like a FlunkyBoss consisting of a humanoid-looking part in the center and a "Lavos Bit" on the left and on the right. The Lavos Bit on the right can revive the other two, so normally you'd want to kill it first. However, unless at least one of the other two parts are dead, it will take almost no damage from attacks, so, in this case, you have to kill the medic last (and you will, since you win the fight immediately once you kill it).
* ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes'' has several of these, but the Tsoo Sorcerors are by far the worst. If enemy medics are annoying, how much worse are ''teleporting'' enemy medics??? Sky Raider Engineers and Rikti Communication Officers, although not medics, are other examples of - ''ahem'' - "non-combatants" who have to be taken out first.
* ''VideoGame/CityOfVillains'':

** The Imperious Task Force has the final battle against [[RecurringBoss Romulus]], this time powered up by a SufficientlyAdvancedAlien and assisted by three identical black energy creature thingies, one of which heals him. [[ThatOneBoss You wanna kill this one first.]]
** And, of course, there are the Roman SURGEONS who don't even have any offensive ability, yet are always targeted by players first with overwhelming force and much hatred. Good thing these events take place hundreds if not [[PortalToThePast thousands of years before the Geneva Convention.]]

** Can go hilariously wrong in PVP, especially when players from other games who are used to "healers" who really only heal suddenly run up against a Defender who has been soloing and has chosen an offensive power set.

* In earlier ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquer'' games, generally the side with the weaker (early-game) infantry had a Medic unit to compensate. The expansion to ''Red Alert'' also introduced a Mechanic, who was a PaletteSwap of the Medic who repaired vehicles in a flash. However, since infantry often die before they can be healed, and the Mechanic can't follow tanks into combat, this trope is averted.

* This used to be doubly true when fighting Midgard in ''VideoGame/DarkAgeOfCamelot'', because their healers doubled as mezzers, which in the early days of Camelot were ridiculously overpowered: no resists, no break out of mez panic button, no progressively decreasing mez duration, no nothing. A real "We win" button. Ganking the healer was so prevalent that Midgard tanks often carried round shields into battle instead of the much better kite shields, because it made them look like healers and hopefully they'd eat the first wave of backstabs/nukes/mezzes/arrows.
* ''VideoGame/DCUniverseOnline'' has a few of these in the High Level Duo Missions, thankfully they all glow bright neon green so they are easy to pick out and shoot at, the worse of the lot are the OMAC Nanosmyths where if one of these is in the room NOTHING IS KILLABLE till you take the Nanosmyth down and even then the heal effects remain for at least 3-5 seconds after you kill them, if you want to survive the mission you must drop them fast.

** A similar thing happens in ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsI'', where it's possible to take a shortcut in the Depths that skips a large majority of the area and pretty much lets you go straight to the boss. This is not advised, since this means you wouldn't have killed the Channeler found early in the area, who can now buff the boss's attack power.
** Also in ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsI'', the skeletons in the Catacombs will just keep PullingThemselvesTogether every time you kill them unless you hunt down and kill the necromancer in charge first, or use a [[HolyBurnsEvil divine weapon]].
** ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsIII'' has [[DualBoss Princes Lothric and Lorian]]. In the second phase, Lothric will continuously resurrect his brother on death. The fight only ends when you kill [[SquishyWizard Lothric]], which is made difficult because Lothric is in a very hard position for most weapons to reach.
** ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsIII'' also has hollow priests, who appear in conjunction with [[DemonicSpider Lothric knights]] and cast constant damage and healing buffs.
* The Glyphid Warden in ''VideoGame/DeepRockGalactic'' heals its allies as well as boosting their defenses whenever it's near them. This can also apply to any EliteMook that's active like the Dreadnaughts. Naturally, you'll want to kill the Wardens quickly so that you can kill the other bugs without issue. There's also the Korlok Tyrant-Weed, which will keep summoning several sprouts to protect the core and it will also summon healing pods to recover health.

* ''VideoGame/DiabloII'' has the ever-annoying Shamans for the various enemy types, who have the Archvile-like ability to revive their minions over and over, even from far away, making killing them a top priority. Even worse are the unique shamans, which can revive ''other'' shamans, making killing them a top priority even among other shamans.
* Healers (and monster units that have healing abilities, such as the [[SuccubiAndIncubi Succubus]]) are almost always the first target of choice in ''Franchise/{{Disgaea}}'' games. The second? Anything that has a stat buffing ability... Which is ''also'' something that Healers specialize in.

** This doesn't come up a lot in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'', since most enemies eschew healing in favor of ZergRush tactics. In the ''Warden's Keep'' DLC, however, there is a fight against a boss-level Rage Abomination which is accompanied by a quartet of zombie mages who constantly cast healing spells on it. The fight is basically impossible to win until they've all been taken out (which is easier said than done, since they themselves will resurrect several times before going down permanently).

* ''VideoGame/DreamOfMirrorOnline'' uses a job system that let every player to have his own healing skill, and dedicated healers to wear enough defences to survive the team warriors. Anyway, as they can buffer allies and resurrect (a skill that requires both specialization and a specific weapon type), it's better to deal them first. And then, there is a ''monster'' family that works this way. The Septic Snake (a combat monster) can call for help, attracting the Herb Snake, a monster that automatically heals nearby snakes. The Herb Snake, if attacked, calls for help, attracting Septic Snakes...
* Averted with Atomic Power Robots in ''VideoGame/{{Earthbound}}'', who are able to restore health to other enemies by "replenishing a fuel supply". They explode when killed which inflicts serious damage to your party, forcing you to put up with their healing until you've wiped out their allies in order to reduce the damage from the explosion.
* In ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'', always kill the Necromancers first, otherwise any other mook will have barely hit the ground before they raise it again. Things get even ''more'' complicated when you have to fight multiple Necromancers at once, since they can raise their former comrades to rain more destruction spells upon unsuspecting players.
** For this reason, you don't just kill Necromancers first, you make sure that the fallen foe is either disintegrated or zombified by you before anything else has the chance to raise it.
* ''VideoGame/EpicBattleFantasy'' usually has this as a sound tactic, except in one particular boss battle in 3. How could you possibly discourage someone from killing the guy who's healing a huge wooly mammoth that's stomping down your adventurers? Easy: make a [[BossInMooksClothing monolith]] replace him on death.

* ''VideoGame/ExtrapowerAttackOfDarkforce'': The enemy AI know to do this, and will prioritize Ri=Ko or Davie and Marie if they're exposed.
* Averted with the last boss fight of ''Videogame/FateGrandOrder''[='=]s Singularity Okeanos; Medea Lily is a specialized healer and she comes in a fight with a Demon Pillar. However, because of the gameplay mechanic, she can't heal as much damage as you deal, while the Demon Pillar has Area of Effect attacks that hit multiple times. The entire enemy team is limited to three actions per turn, and as long as Medea is active, she uses two of them, limiting the number of attacks the Demon Pillar can use in the first place. By killing the Demon Pillar first, all you have to fight afterward is [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome a little girl with ineffectual attack power and insufficient healing]].
* ''VideoGame/FatPrincess'' has this. Generally, if someone on the other team has a Priest behind him, you're likely to go down quick if you don't kill him.
* In ''VideoGame/FellSealArbitersMark'', enemy Menders, Plague Doctors, and any other units that can heal or buff should be taken out as soon as possible. Otherwise they will heal, and buff, and revive the units that you just killed (sometimes with full health) unless you do something to prevent their resurrection.

*** The game features a boss called the Magus Sisters, comprised of Cindy, Mindy, and Sandy. Cindy can revive the other two bosses(!), so if the player [[PuzzleBoss doesn't catch on]] [[GuideDangIt fast enough]], death is inevitable.
*** The trope repeats later in the same game when fighting the Giant's CPU, which is accompanied by an "Attack Node" and a "Defense Node". [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin You can guess what those do.]] Subverted in the DS remake though, where due to the relative strengths it's actually far easier to take out the Attack Node first and save the Defense Node for last, ''despite TheSmartGuy flat-out telling you to shoot the Medic first'' (because they left his dialogue unchanged).
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' has [[Film/TheThreeStooges The Dream Stooges]] in Cyan's Dream. Protip: Kill Curlax first. If you don't, prepare to be pasted by some amazingly powerful attack magic.
** It's Shoot the Escort First in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'', because when you battle Seymour the first time, he has two guards who cast shell on him and protect on themselves. They will intercept any physical attack directed at Seymour, and they will recast their spells if you use Dispel. They will also heal Seymour if his HP gets low, but that's not likely while they're still around anyway, because they also use high potions on themselves whenever they're hit. There are only two ways to kill them: either [[VideoGameStealing steal a high potion]] from each of them to disable their Auto-Potion ability, or use a technique that one-shots them (generally an [[LimitBreak Overdrive]]). Or just keep attacking them till they run out of potions, as they will use a potion even if they've only lost a single hit point.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'': The "Materia Beast" comes to mind, it can heal itself very fast toward the end of the battle and is colossal pain in the ass to the unprepared player. it's good to poison it so it's healing won't be as effective, other monsters and bosses will heal themselves too.
** [[spoiler:Not just the enemy healers are targeted, as InnocentFlowerGirl Aerith who helpfully heals the main hero gang back to full health with her limit breaker special, is tragically ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice by BigBad Sephiroth. (Then again, he killed her for reasons that had ''nothing'' to do with her being the healer). If players haven't levelled up the other characters with healing skills, or don't have Restore materias at good levels, they're probably gonna have a hard time for the rest of the game]].
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXI'' has Beastmen imps that are healers in Campaign. The healing isn't normally a problem, however. It's the ''powerful area buffs'' that drive players nuts, especially Phalanx.

** The enemies do this to YOU in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII''. Casting healing magic makes it more likely for any enemies nearby to target the caster. Better use [[DrawAggro Decoy]] to redirect their attention to your resident meatshield.

** This has been noted to happen in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'', but for the ''enemies''. If they aren't being attacked or distracted enough, enemies will zero in on players who are healers due to healing magic generating a lot aggro. In certain battles, there will be enemy healers present and you'll want to take them down first. In PVP, healers are always the first ones to be targeted by other players.
** Any game in the ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics'' series. White Mages or any units who can heal, revive, and buff are always your main targets. Sometimes they not only just heal, but may have abilities from other jobs to fight with. For instance, one storyline battle has a White Mage who sometimes is also given [[GameBreaker Calculator skills.]] If you don't kill it as soon as humanly possible, you will regret it '''dearly.'''

** Enemy priests not only have the ability to heal the foes from nearly dead back up to perfectly fine, some of them can put the units to sleep. It's best not to ask any random player how many characters he or she has lost because of an enemy healer with a Berserk staff...
** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade'' forces you to do this when fighting Zephiel, as Bishops with Physic staves will spawn from staircases at the top of the map and heal him if you don't kill Zephiel in one turn (not happening without a Crit) or kill the Bishops before they can heal Zephiel.
** In addition, the enemy AI will always select a unit that can't fight back first, in addition to preferring the unit with the lowest defense. Not only can unpromoted healers not fight, but they're generally the physically weakest units. This means that the enemy will literally attack the medics first in almost all situations.
** In some games, enemy units that are wounded will purposely retreat to be healed by their priest. This is particularly [[NintendoHard frustrating]] in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThracia776'' and ''VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar'' due to the prescense of enemies with Fortify. To elaborate, in Genealogy, Fortify heals every unit within a ten-tile radius, which covers entire enemy armies, while in Thracia, Fortify will '''heal EVERY ENEMY UNIT except the healer'''. At least in Thracia you could capture some for your own use. In ''Path of Radiance'', this also means taking advantage of the heal bushes, but that is more annoying than an actual threat.
* Averted in ''VideoGame/FlightOfTheIntruder'', loosely based on the film of the same name, where the player flew an A-6 Intruder tactical bomber in UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar. The player was penalized 1000 points for hitting the hospital, in a game where achieving the mission objective scored a few hundred.

** Also, some enemy types can now heal their cohorts, such as Tiny Witch Doctors. Unfortunately, there's no visualization for this besides seeing the HP bar jump back up, so you may need to [[AllThereInTheManual read the updates or the wikis]] to figure out who the medics are.
** Still, the only enemies capable of healing seem to prioritize on healing themselves, which would help a new player find out about their existence. It kinda doesn't, since only three enemies heal others, and one is too fragile to be noticed, and the other two come coupled in swarms of other enemies where people would rather use targetless [=AoE=] attacks.

* ''VideoGame/GlobalAgenda'', being (actual gameplay-wise) a clone of ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'', is starting to invoke this trope less than half a month after release. It goes double if the enemy medic has decided that [[CombatMedic shooting/stabbing you]] is a better use of his time than healing his teammates...

** In the games, the Star Magician would be a very easy fight... if he couldn't summon Refresh Balls to spam healing Psynergy (Earnest Ply in Lost Age, Pure Ply in Dark Dawn, and both heal 1000) whenever necessary or possible. While there are other high-threat balls, guess what dies first if you plan on winning.

** Averted in ''VideoGame/GuildWars2'', which lacks dedicated healers.
* In ''Videogame/HalfLife2'', Resistance medics will occassionally join your squad during the Uprising. As they can provide infinite healing (with a cooldown) to you and other rebel fighters in a pinch, it's usually a good idea to prioritize their survival over others in the squad.

* Mostly defied in ''VideoGame/HeroesOfTheStorm''. You can aim for and kill the Medic/Support heroes and make teamfight that much easier, but almost every Medic/Support has abilities that make them hard to kill, or punish attempts to dogpile on them. [[ThePaladin Uther]] in particular is ''so'' tanky, he actually has 'Damage Taken' stat tracking, which usually reserved for Warrior heroes. It is generally more efficient to bully and isolate the Medic/Support away and [[ShootTheMageFirst kill the fragile Assassins first.]]
* Subverted when fighting the Eutorian patrols in ''VideoGame/IllusionsOfLoyalty''. If the mages are present, they can heal everyone, and by a considerable amount of health. However, that can be dealt with by using Wilder’s Silencer on them, and re-applying it when it’s about to run out. The real priority should still be the other soldiers, as they deal a lot more damage than the mages ever could.

* While ''VideoGame/JaggedAlliance 2'' does first aid more or less realistically, the opposing forces aren't going to avoid shooting them, but given that their commander has already committed any number of human rights violations, this makes sense.
** Also, the medics (as ex-military or never-military) tend to be armed and dangerous themselves, with no qualms about shooting the bad guys just before patching the good guys' wounds. This moves them right out of protected status.
*** Kind of expected since any medic you use in the game are, like all your other characters, professional mercenaries who made fame killing people. Some Medics might be famous for saving more than they killed, but for that to be a statement it means they killed a lot too.

* Anyone using the CombatMedic perk in ''VideoGame/KillingFloor'' can actually attempt to invoke this in the enemy AI. Why on earth would you want to do this? Because a high-level Medic can out-run most [[NotUsingTheZedWord specimens]] while blazing away with [[MoreDakka an SMG]] and tank damage from high-level specimens because their armor (instead of simply reducing damage taken) acts as a second health bar.

** Green Requiems can't attack you. They just act as a healer to other Heartless and try to stay out of your reach.
** If you let Crescendos run around, they heal everything to max health, but in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'', if you use a Reaction Command at the right time, they will drop HP orbs. Not very helpful if there are more than one of these little buggers and you can't hit them all at once, i.e. Chicken Little.
* The final boss fight of ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' has Malak using captured Jedi to heal himself. If you kill them first, he can't heal.
* Support champions in ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'' are often the first casualties in a teamfight. They tend to fall into 2 categories: healers or shielders (such as Sona, Lulu and Janna) that can make it much harder to remove the damage dealers and are usually the least-tanky champions on their team (due to getting a much-lower budget than other champions and usually being lower-level); and tanky initiators (like Leona or Alistar) who are the ones who go in for their team first to start the fight and draw a lot of fire (and unlike toplane or jungle initiators, it's often a suicide mission for them since, despite being inherently tanky, they again have a lower item budget and average level).
** The preeminent example in the game is Soraka, the Starchild, the only champion in the game explicitly designated as [[TheMedic the dedicated healer]] (an archetype Riot Games consider highly unhealthy for MOBA games). Almost her ''entire'' kit is based around keeping her teammates alive, with a powerful, incredibly short-cooldown heal skill that allows her to top her teammates up to full health from practically nothing in a matter of seconds, but costs her 10% of her ''own'' maximum health per cast and [[TheCobblersChildrenHaveNoShoes cannot be cast on herself]]. One of Soraka's teammates is almost unkillable as long as Soraka stands by them, spamming Astral Infusion every few seconds, but as soon as the enemy turns their focus onto her she's likely to die instantly, especially if she's been industriously spending her own HP healing others. Soraka is often the ''lynchpin'' of her team's strategy, [[KeystoneArmy making them almost indestructible as long as she lives but prone to folding like damp cardboard as soon as the enemy gets to her]].
* If you're playing ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'' in VS mode and you're the one who protects everyone or heals others (or if you are just that good of a player), you can bet your life that the infected players will all target you.
** Although this is usually less because the "medic" is a threat (since the main goal of Infected teams is to simply separate & then constrict the individual survivors until they become "downed", and not necessarily to kill them), and more because a "medic" survivor and his "patient" will both have to stand completely still while the health pack is being used. And if there's a Spitter and/or a Jockey/Charger nearby ...
* The AI in ''VideoGame/LordOfTheRingsOnline'' may do this; healing generates ''massive'' amounts of aggro, and the damage-dealing classes may have trouble getting it back (the classes with a build available specifically designed for tanking have special abilities they can use that trump even healing, but if those skills are on cooldown, your Mini is probably going to die).

* Simultaneously both more difficult and ''unintentionally'' common in ''VideoGame/{{MAG}}'', since the only indication of being a medic is the healing device when wielded, whereas the ability to heal or revive is available as early as level 3 (the minimum to buy the Medi-Kit and/or to spec one's skill points into the revive branch), and performing revives is the fastest way to level up -- so in practice, almost ''everyone'' is a medic.
* ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'':

** The new wave of Reaper minions include Marauders, Reaper-fied turians who can buff their fellow husks. The in-game codex states that Alliance marines have standing orders to take them out first.

* While ''[[Videogame/MechWarrior MechWarrior Living Legends]]'' lacks in-field HumongousMecha repair, taking out enemy scouts is equally vital. The 'Raven' light mech carries some of the most advanced sensors know to man and can sniff out enemies from afar and relay that data to its allies. A number of Raven variants carry TargetSpotter gear such as the TAG laser or NARC missile beacon, allowing them to slap one on an enemy mech and run for cover as Arrow IV cruise missiles rain down. Eliminating Ravens and other scouts like the 'Hephaestus' HoverTank is even more vital if the enemy has a Long Tom artillery tank, which can [[OneHitKill smite enemies]] from beyond visual range but is utterly dependent on sensor data from allied scouts. On the other side, there's a number of mechs and vehicles that mount twin laser anti-missile systems that allow them to completely shut down enemy missile fire, making them priority targets for brawlers and snipers.
* Played straight in ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonorPacificAssault''. The player has to shoot the Japanese medics, only because they fire Nambu pistols at you. Your own corpsman is armed with a .45 pistol, and he tends to get shot as well. An example of truth in television (see below).
* Averting this has its reward in ''VideoGame/MegaManXCommandMission'', as leaving a Preon Medic or Preon Doc alive after all other enemies are gone nets you a 25% heal and them running away. That doesn't stop you from [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness killing them before they run]], though.

* In the battle against the Ender Dragon in the "end" of ''Videogame/{{Minecraft}}'', it's more like Kill The Crystals That Are Healing The Dragon First...which is made harder by their annoying tendency to explode when destroyed. Oh, and did we mention that the dragon is effictively unbeatable unless every crystal is gone? And the fact that they're atop ~40-block-high obsidian towers?
* Averted in the ''VideoGame/{{MOTHER}}'' series: enemies that can fully restore other enemies' HP tend to explode when destroyed, dealing heavy damage to the party. It's usually recommended that you kill the medics ''last''.

* One of the later battles in the original ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights'' had this as the ''only'' way to win - the enemies had a medic capable of performing an infinite number of resurrections, and while you may be able to resist their blows, you'll never progress to the end of the game unless you Disintegrate him, shoot him, or otherwise remove him from the equation. [[ArtificialStupidity Frustratingly]], one of your allies - Linu - can serve as a light Medic for ''the enemy'' by casting Harm on undead, [[ReviveKillsZombie which heals them]]...but it is a [[GameBreaker very easy way]] to take down [[spoiler:Aribeth]].

* ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'': Supports that can heal are usually high on the kill-list, since they make their entire team stronger when they're around. Mercy especially gets this as she's able to resurrect fallen teammates. Reasons like these are why most healers have defensive abilities to improve their ability to survive: Mercy can quickly fly toward party members, making her hard to aim at and letting her keep a friend nearby almost constantly; Lúcio can run up walls to make himself a more difficult target; Brigitte has a shield to block attacks; and Moira can become invisible and quickly dash a short distance away to confuse her enemies. Ana has no such ability because she's a sniper and should be mostly out of the fray, but instead packs a tranquilizer dart that will put her target down for up to a five second nap, usually more than enough time to rejoin the safety of her team.

* One boss in ''VideoGame/ParasiteEve'' has 3 targets on its body and one of them acts as a medic, healing itself or the other targets. While this "medic" doesn't heal as fast as the others in the above examples, it can be troublesome if players hadn't leveled up Aya properly or power up her guns.
* Day 6 of the Hoxtons Housewarming Party for ''VideoGame/Payday2'' introduced the "Medic" special enemy who can heal '''any''' unit that happens to be close to him from near-death with a 2 second cooldown per "patient". Despite being a special unit, he appears the most frequently among the special units. As a result, he switches up the "enemies to kill" list a bit, with Medics being the highest priority to take out, moreso than Tasers, Cloakers and Bulldozers!
** And then there's the ''Medicdozer'', a bodybuilding hospital intern constantly firing a taser that embodies HarmfulHealing. You're doubly expected to shoot this 'medic' first, especially since he's busy killing you ''and'' his patients. Without a medical license.
* ''VideoGame/Persona3'':
** Frequently a viable strategy, especially against the bosses who come with minions. On the flip side, if all four of your party members can heal...
** During the Strength-Chariot Full Moon Boss, this trope is subverted as both of the bosses can revive the other one if one of them is beaten. The trick is to kill both of them at the same turn, or that your killing blow will "Shoot Both Medics".

*** ''[[UpdatedReRelease Persona 4: Golden]]'' averts this, as every party member's persona retains its weakness in order to compensate for the various new (and sometimes powerful) skills ''Golden'' added.
* ''VideoGame/PlantsVsZombies2ItsAboutTime'' has the Healer Zombie featured in the Penny's Pursuit levels, who uses roman magic to not only heal zombies for a great amount of health, but also cure them of any negative statuses (such as poison and hypnotization) while also being immune to most of such statuses. The almanac entry for it even ''[[LampshadeHanging outright tells the player]]'' to "take this one out as fast as you can if you don't want your life turned into a pit of abject misery and despair".

* ''VideoGame/{{Psychonauts 2}}'' introduces a new type of enemy, the Enabler, that can make other enemies temporarily invulnerable while also making them faster and more damaging. You'll need to take them out first, or at least stun them with Telekinesis or burn them with Pyrokinesis to stop them from buffing other enemies (especially tough enemies like Heavy Censors or Panic Attacks).
* The Medic in ''VideoGame/QuakeII'' can also resurrect non-gibbed enemies. At least he doesn't have magic fire powers...
* In ''VideoGame/RagnarokOnline'', anything but an dangerously zealous effort to take down a high-level [[TheMedic priest]] will likely not succeed. Many would go so far as to say that the priest is the ''real'' tank of the game....
** Given paladins and their strong role on defense, they somewhat fit in this category despite their armor. Not only can they literally tank, they make for decent (if far less effective than high priests) healers AND can link with allies to reduce damage taken. They are also one of the few classes that can naturally (i.e. without great gear) survive one hit kills, have strong [=AoE=], and can hilariously kill other players by simply standing there and allowing their opponents to die from the reflected damage simply because they have far more health than pretty much any other class. Paladins may not be able to out heal damage as well as a priest, but potion spamming in this game pretty much makes them invincible against anything but massive team effort.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Robopon}}'', this is a hard and fast rule of the second game for ranked battles. If a healer has the Revive+ spell, battles can turn into very long, very tedious battles of attrition. Rule of thumb: If it looks female and/or cute, kill it. No exceptions.
* In the ''VideoGame/RuneScape'' mini-game Pest Control, players try to destroy portals to another dimension that the Void creatures are coming from, and protect the Void Knight in a fortress. Said portals are healed by Spinners, and it's pretty hard to take one down without first killing the Spinners, not that many people don't try to kill the portal first anyway. The Spinners aren't very tough, but they're often defended by Brawlers and, like everything else, can be spawned infinitely.
** Also in ''[=RuneScape=]'' is the a specific combat room in the Dungeoneering skill, where players must kill four exiled summoning creatures to pass through. Any experienced team will ignore the warrior, ranger and mage at first in order to wipe out the healer.

* If you ever find yourself playing ''VideoGame/ShirenTheWanderer'', it is quite important that you kill any Fluffy Bunnies that are in the general area.
* The enemy AI distributes their attacks pretty evenly in ''VideoGame/SkiesOfArcadia'', but most of the bosses target [[MysteriousWaif Fina]], the party's SquishyWizard, first (her stats are lower than the others', learns all magic types quickly, and three of her special moves revolve around healing and regeneration, with the last one being able to revive ''all of your other party members''). [[LightningBruiser Vyse]] is usually the other target for bosses (if you level him and buff him properly, his power can exceed [[MightyGlacier Drachma's]]).
** Making it even clearer the designers knew all about this strategy, one of the bonus bosses in ''[[VideoGameRemake Legends]]'' punishes the player who dares to try this. [[spoiler:When fighting Rupee and Barta, not only does attacking Rupee first make Barta start spamming his super move, it gives ''Rupee'' a super move where he goes berserk and throws his bodyguard into a party member. Not bad for a little guy who doesn't even want to be a pirate!]]
* ''VideoGame/SonicUnleashed'', the damn healer things in the Night Stages. They can heal anything and everything but itself. Normally, this isn't so bad, but in the DLC stages where there can be millions of enemies in a compact area...

* ''VideoGame/StarWarsGalaxies'' qualifies even more than most games. Pre-CU, the Combat Medic was one of the most [[GameBreaker broken]] classes in the game, as not only were they the only class (out of three healing classes) that could cast area-heals, they also were capable of laying down poisons and diseases on their enemies, which were typically virulent enough to render an enemy PC incapable of acting in combat until they found a Doctor capable of healing their wounds.
** Likewise, in ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'', the best way to deal with griefers is to make sure you kill the healing companion they're using first, ''then'' kill the griefer. Creator/BioWare tried a workaround where you can't bring companions into [[PlayerVersusPlayer PvP]] areas.

** For a straight example, see the Golden Hydra final boss of ''VideoGame/SuikodenI''. It has three heads. The first two heads deal damage. The third head can't attack, and instead heals and revives the other two heads. Guess which head dies first?

** ''VideoGame/SuikodenIII'' has the [[spoiler:Luc]]'s [[OneWingedAngel Wind Phoenix form]] with the [[ElementalPowers Elemental Orbs]] around it as the FinalBoss. The [[DishingOutDirt Earth Rincar]] summons an [[AreaOfEffect area-wide]] ForceField to negate magical damage while the [[MakingASplash Water Rincar]] heals the Wind Phoenix ''and its orbs'', so you better take out these things first before the Wind Rincar can [[TotalPartyKill rip your party apart]].
* In ''VisualNovel/{{Sunrider}}'', PACT Support [[AMechByAnyOtherName Ryders]] are a mix of this trope and ShootTheMageFirst. In addition to healing their allies and curing them of status debuffs, they can also inflict those same status debuffs on you, such as stripping away your DeflectorShields to leave you vulnerable to lasers or [[PointDefenseless shutting off your flak so you can’t shoot down incoming missiles]]. And they are aware of their SquishyWizard status, as not only will PACT Supports hang out at the back of enemy formations where they’re safely beyond the range of your kinetic weapons but they also have strong shields to prevent you from sniping them with lasers.

** [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRPG'' in the fight against the Axem Rangers. Axem Pink is the only Axem who can heal, and the official strategy guide suggests taking her out first, as do many [=FAQs=]. This is actually '''bad advice'''. Axem Pink has a 25% chance to cast her heal, and then a 20% chance to heal the character you're attacking. The first one to take out is the Axem Ranger's SquishyWizard, Axem Green -- he's going to be doing by far the most damage to the party with his spells, and on the tiny chance that Axem Pink heals him, his defense is so low her heal will only recover one attack's worth of damage. Pink should be taken out second.
** ''VideoGame/PaperMario'': White Magikoopas in the first two games can heal their allies. The first game also had Medi Guys, Shy Guys in little while flying vehicles with [[UsefulNotes/TheRedCross a red cross]] on the front. They also restore other enemies' health. Your partners' [[EnemyScan Tattles]] in both games uniformly recommend going after them first.

** The final battle of ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBros'' against both Bowser and Bowser Jr. kind of fits in here. If you attempt to defeat Bowser first, Bowser Jr will automatically revive him. Gotta beat the little guy first or you'll get absolutely nowhere.
* If you played the PSP version of ''VideoGame/TacticsOgre'', you'll find that the more advanced AI actually includes this trope into their tricks instead of "Surround and beat the player".
* ''VideoGame/TalesOfGraces'' has this, and it makes the FlunkyBoss and WolfPackBoss fights a pain. AI will almost ''never'' have all the enemies gang up on one target, so they instead all divide and conquer... and they love to go ''right'' for Sophie and Cheria.

** Medic is the TropeNamer. He can give his teammates overheal that lets them outlast their opponents and his Medi-Gun’s Ubercharges are crucial to breaking an enemy’s defenses or stopping an offensive push. A good medic more often than not is the deciding factor in whether his team wins or loses. It is for this reason that everyone on the enemy team will be laser focused on taking down the enemy Medic at any cost and TheMedic needs his team (especially a Heavy) to defend him at all times.
** While the Engineer isn’t quite as helpless as the Medic and will rarely singlehandedly decide a match in the same way he is, enemy Engineers and their buildings are all very high priority targets (Dispensers heal up to five people and refill their ammo, Teleporters get his allies to the front lines faster, and his sentry can lock down entire sections of the map).
** Pyros, on account of being a mix of offense and support, are also a priority target since they can shut down Soldiers, put out burning players, separate Ubercharged medics from their patients, and disperse sticky bomb traps. A Pyro who protects the Engineer (nicknamed Pybros) is an even bigger target since they counter the three best classes for sentry-busting (Spy, Soldier, and Demoman) and can save sapped buildings with the Homewrecker or Neon Annihilator, meaning a good Engineer/Pyro combo can be near unstoppable.

* A particularly disturbing example in ''VideoGame/{{Unworthy}}'', since the "medics" are Mothers of the game's ReligionOfEvil, and who are pregnant robed women that do not attack you on their own. [[spoiler:however, it appears that they are pregnant with shadow creatures, who can be let loose on you if they stab themselves instead of fighting further.]]

* ''VideoGame/WarcraftII'' was particularly unfair with this. The only healing unit in the game was the Human-side Paladin, which is an upgrade of the Knight and hence a frontline combat unit that's hard to pick off. Furthermore, because ComputersAreFast, it was notoriously much easier for the AI to rapidly use several Paladins' healing spells on each other in a fight.
* In ''Videogame/{{Warcraft}} 3'', a number of units are capable of casting healing spells. The ones to really watch out for however, are the heroes that possess healing abilities, most notably the Paladin, Death Knight and Shadow Hunter. Allowing any of these to use their abilities makes dealing any damage to the enemy army extremely difficult, making these guys a high priority target. The fact that the Death Knight and Paladin can't heal themselves is yet another reason to go after them first. Of course, both the Paladin and Death Knight are fairly durable Strength heroes that can end up being some of the tankiest units on their side, and both have abilities that make going after them even less fruitful, the Paladin having up to 45 seconds of invincibility and Death Knight being able to consume his troops to heal himself for 3 times said troop's hp, meaning you'd have been better off just killing the Mook.

* In ''VideoGame/WarhammerOnline'' this is pretty much the basic of any tactics.
* ''VideoGame/{{Wolfenstein 2009}}'' has Scribes, who can project impenetrable shields over nearby soldiers, as well as Elite Guards, who can resurrect dead soldiers as Despoiled creatures. Needless to say, both classes of enemy are priority targets in a firefight.

* Averted in ''VideoGame/WorldInConflict'', as most units die rather quickly when hit by their hard counters, so repair vehicles often aren't much good until after a battle is over. Repair vehicles also are only able to do their healing at point-blank range, so that usually means they're not much good in a fight, and so you're generally better off directing your firepower at the enemy's combat units instead.

** Prevalent enough that the term "pvp tank" refers predominantly to healers, especially Priests.
*** One of the advantages of Paladins is shooting the medic just means that the big guy he's healing stops attacking you and starts healing the medic instead. As most healers have some ways to get out of trouble, this leads to a somewhat problematic situation of "Whoever you aren't shooting becomes a medic" even if said medic is inferior to a "real" one. While less notable, Priests, Druids, Monks, and Shamans can also pull it off to a lesser extent.
*** Healing Paladins are also ''very'' [[StoneWall tough to kill]]
** Highlighted in the Faction Champions encounter of the "Trial of the Crusader" raid dungeon, when the players have to take on several members of the opposing faction in psuedo-PVP, Arena-style combat with some of the PVP mechanics — making the opposing faction's healers the priority target.

** Lampshaded in-game. Lord Victor Nefarious is infamous for his quotes when his {{mooks}} are not doing a good job against the players: "Foolsss...Kill [[WhiteMagicianGirl the one in the dress]]!" and "Concentrate your attacks upon the healer!" Of course, by the time you engage him in combat, he has conveniently forgotten that little piece of advice. He has other ways to mess with the healers, though.
*** Hilariously enough, if your tank is a paladin, s/he could be the only one in a robe, rendering his advice pointless.

** Subverted by the princess of Ironforge in Blackrock Depths. She would run around harassing your healer, and healing the crap out of Thaurissan. If you touched her at all — damage, crowd control, stuns, mana burn, anything — she wouldn't flag friendly after Thaurissan died and you [[{{Unwinnable}} couldn't complete the quest]] — both her father Magni (questgiver for Alliance players) and Thrall (questgiver for Horde players) didn't want any harm to come to her. [[note]]And then sometimes she wouldn't flag friendly anyway, but that's [[GameBreakingBug something different]].[[/note]] So you had to just let her run around and try to [[MoreDakka burn the boss]] faster than she could heal him.
** Monsters actually do follow this to an extent. Healing generates threat towards all monsters in the area, whereas damage only generates threat towards the monster it hits. So if there's an unoccupied group of monsters around, they will ignore the tank and damage dealers and head straight for the healer. However it also doesn't take much to get them to forget about that and start trying to kill the one wearing more metal plates than an armoury.
** This happened accidentally in the early days of the ''Burning Crusade'' expansion. Kael'thas Sunstrider, the final boss of the Tempest Keep raid, was a [[MarathonBoss 5-phase fight]]. For the first 3 phases he'd have mooks attack you, and would finally join the fight himself in the 4th phase. However, due to a coding bug, he'd accumulate healing threat during the first 3 phases, so when the raid group finally got to phase 4 he'd have accumulated so much healing threat that he'd attack the healers and only the healers. It made the fight [[UnintentionallyUnwinnable unwinnable]], but it was an amusing bug.

* In ''Videogame/ZoneOfTheEnders 2: The Second Runner'', Raptors equipped[[note]]The Mummyhead chassis part itself can be destroyed when you incur enough damage on them most of the time[[/note]] with an outer Mummyhead chassis are able to repair any distant enemy orbital frames to full energy, thereby making them even more of a annoyance than they normally are with their [[BeamSpam Halberd]] and [[HomingProjectile Comet]] attacks, so it's '''always''' a priority to destroy their Mummyhead chassis part if not the whole Raptor to avoid them doing that.

** [[spoiler: Not just the enemy healers are targeted, as InnocentFlowerGirl Aerith who helpfully heals the main hero gang back to full health with her limit breaker special, is tragically ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice by BigBad Sephiroth. (Then again, he killed her for reasons that had ''nothing'' to do with her being the healer). If players haven't levelled up the other characters with healing skills, or don't have Restore materias at good levels, they're probably gonna have a hard time for the rest of the game]].

* In ''VideoGame/MasterOfTheWind'', [[spoiler: Ariel]] attacks the dungeon fairy attempting to give the heroes an option to heal and save during their fight. [[spoiler:The Fairy survived, and was given an honorable delicacy for this.]]

* One of the later battles in the original ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights'' had this as the ''only'' way to win - the enemies had a medic capable of performing an infinite number of resurrections, and while you may be able to resist their blows, you'll never progress to the end of the game unless you Disintegrate him, shoot him, or otherwise remove him from the equation. [[ArtificialStupidity Frustratingly]], one of your allies - Linu - can serve as a light Medic for ''the enemy'' by casting Harm on undead, [[ReviveKillsZombie which heals them]]...but it is a [[GameBreaker very easy way]] to take down [[spoiler: Aribeth]].

** Making it even clearer the designers knew all about this strategy, one of the bonus bosses in ''[[VideoGameRemake Legends]]'' punishes the player who dares to try this. [[spoiler: When fighting Rupee and Barta, not only does attacking Rupee first make Barta start spamming his super move, it gives ''Rupee'' a super move where he goes berserk and throws his bodyguard into a party member. Not bad for a little guy who doesn't even want to be a pirate!]]

** [[spoiler: Fawful]] in ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiBowsersInsideStory''. The boss has a jetpack [[SwissArmyWeapon that also acts as a grapple hook, a ranged weapon, and a healing unit.]] So no matter how much damage you do to him, his jetpack will put him back to maxium health. [[spoiler: You need to swallow the jetpack and have Mario and Luigi destroy it before you can defeat him.]]

* A particularly disturbing example in ''VideoGame/{{Unworthy}}'', since the "medics" are Mothers of the game's ReligionOfEvil, and who are pregnant robed women that do not attack you on their own. [[spoiler: however, it appears that they are pregnant with shadow creatures, who can be let loose on you if they stab themselves instead of fighting further.]]

** [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRPG'' in the fight against the Axem Rangers. Axem Pink is the only Axem who can heal, and the official strategy guide suggests taking her out first, as do many [=FAQs=]. This is actually '''bad advice'''. Axem Pink has a 25% chance to cast her heal, and then a 20% chance to heal the character you're attacking. The first one to take out is the Axem Ranger's SquishyWizard, Axem Green -- he's going to be doing by far the most damage to the party with his spells and on the tiny chance that Axem Pink heals him, his defense is so low her heal will only recover one attack's worth of damage. Pink should be taken out second.

** A Medic can hide behind a Heavy Weapons Guy and heal him continuously. For this reason, Medics tend to have very short lifespans when ''not'' hiding behind a Heavy. The main part of Medic strategy is using all the time you're not spending shooting other enemies to dodge and hide.
*** The description for one of the Medic hats lampshades the illegality of this trope, and helpfully advises you to inform your killer of his crime the next time you get shot.
---> It's a conversation starter!
** Medics also have the powerful siege-breaking Ubercharge ability, making them an even more important target.
** Because of the Ubercharge, Pyros are also popular "medic buddies." Soldiers and Demomen are best friends with a Medic equipped with the Kritzkrieg due to the devastating power of a [[CriticalHit crit-boosted]] explosive weapon.
** An Engineer lugging his toolbox, indicating that he's about to deploy something (typically a level three sentry), will find himself the target of every enemy in the area.
** In Mann Vs Machine, this trope is ''built-in'' to the AI of the attacking robots!
** This is true of Engineers in general, being, well, TheEngineer, capable of deploying turret guns, teleporters, and health and ammo stations. That last building in particular is seen as a priority target since it can heal enemies and refill their weapons, extending the team's stamina, and so some people will Shoot The Dispenser First. It doesn't help that the Engineer is one of the squishiest classes in the game. Engineers with Gunslingers are even higher on the "to kill" list, because if left unchecked they can poop out sentries at an insane rate. Combined with the Frontier Justice and a lone Revengineer can lock down an entire area by himself.

*** EXALT Medics in the ''Enemy Within'' expansion are a subversion. They can not only heal other EXALT troops and themselves (up to 3 times) but also deploy smoke grenades to provide concealment, and Elites have "Regen Pheromones" that heal themselves and nearby allies for 1 health every turn ''and'' have Dense Smoke to double the defense bonus; on the other hand, they have [[ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy HORRENDOUS aim]], and any ScratchDamage [[ArtificialStupidity will make them waste a Medikit charge on themselves]]. Meanwhile, the Operatives have a cover-busting grenade and better aim (and the Elite has Adrenaline Surge that increases aim by 10 with every hit taken), and the Heavies have both a grenade and a rocket launcher that ''isn't'' disabled by hacking a comm relay. If anything, with EXALT, it's "[[InvertedTrope Shoot The Medic LAST]]".

* Healers (and monster units that have healing abilities, such as the [[HornyDevils Succubus]]) are almost always the first target of choice in ''Franchise/{{Disgaea}}'' games. The second? Anything that has a stat buffing ability... Which is ''also'' something that Healers specialize in.

* ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'': Supports that can heal are usually high on the kill-list, since they make their entire team stronger when they're around. Mercy especially gets this as she's able to resurrect fallen teammates. Reasons like these are why most healers have defensive abilities to improve their ability to survive: Mercy can quickly fly toward party members, making her hard to aim at and letting her keep a friend nearby almost constantly, Lucio can run up walls to make himself a more difficult target, Brigitte has a shield to block attacks, and Moira can become invisible and quickly dash a short distance away to confuse her enemies. Ana has no such ability because she's a sniper and should be mostly out of the fray, but instead packs a tranquilizer dart that will put her target down for up to a five second nap. usually more than enough time to rejoin the safety of her team.

** In ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}'', enemies often come in groups consisting of one or more strong enemies mixed with weaker monsters. The weak ones will buff the strong ones, and the strong ones will then deliver a world of pain on your party. Taking out the weak ones first is therefore often the smarter move.
** Depending on which version you play, this also works for the enemy. The protagonist aside, your party has access to two dedicated healers: Yukiko and Teddie, who both have access to team heals and status removal spells.

** The final battle of ''New Super Mario Bros'', against both Bowser and Bowser Jr, kind of fits in here. If you attempt to defeat Bowser first, Bowser Jr will automatically revive him. Gotta beat the little guy first or you'll get absolutely nowhere.

* In [[Videogame/ZoneOfTheEnders Zone Of The Enders 2: The Second Runner]], Raptors equipped[[note]]The Mummyhead chassis part itself can be destroyed when you incur enough damage on them most of the time[[/note]] with an outer Mummyhead chassis are able to repair any distant enemy orbital frames to full energy, thereby making them even more of a annoyance than they normally are with their [[BeamSpam Halberd]] and [[HomingProjectile Comet]] attacks, so it's '''always''' a priority to destroy their Mummyhead chassis part if not the whole Raptor to avoid them doing that.

*** The trope repeats later in the same game when fighting the Giant's CPU, which is accompanied by an "Attacker" and a "Defender". [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin You can guess what those do.]] Subverted in the DS remake though, where due to the relative strengths it's actually far easier to take out the Attacker first and save the Defender for last, ''despite TheSmartGuy flat-out telling you to shoot the Medic first'' (because they left his dialogue unchanged).

** In ''VideoGame/{{XCOM 2}}'', you should target ADVENT Shieldbearers first to bring down the DeflectorShields they will grant their allies. [[HeavilyArmoredMook Shred their armor first, though]].

** Not only that, but if you just send your army to attack without targeting a specific unit, they ''will'' ShootTheMedicFirst.

* The so-called ''Logistics Ships'' in ''VideoGame/EveOnline'' are critical to any fleet of significant size. The ShootTheMedicFirst approach is so effective that, in some cases, due to capacitor chains between the ships, taking down a single logistics ship (either by blowing it up or jamming its sensors) is enough to completely break down the repairs.

* The final boss fight of ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' brings us [[ShootTheMedicFirst Kill Those Captured Jedi That Malak Uses As First Aid Kits First.]]

* In the original ''VideoGame/ShiningForce'', enemy priority 1A is StraightForTheCommander as his death is an instant loss for the player, and if he is out of reach, ShootTheMageFirst. The GBA remake downgraded the Mage step, making ShootTheMedicFirst the second priority.

*** One of the advantages of Paladins is ShootTheMedicFirst doesn't work so well when shooting the medic just means that the big guy he's healing stops attacking you and starts healing the medic instead. As most healers have some ways to get out of trouble, this leads to a somewhat problematic situation of "Whoever you aren't shooting becomes a medic" even if said medic is inferior to a "real" one. While less notable, Priests, Druids, Monks, and Shamans can also pull it off to a lesser extent.

* In ''Videogame/HalfLife2'', the rebel medics are obviously committing war crimes, as they use SMG's and rocket launchers. Of course, the baddies do far worse on a daily basis, so...
** Well, they would be war crimes if the Combine hadn't replaced all forms of government. It's not a crime if the organization that made the law no longer exists.

* The Bishop Chessmen in ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry 3'' can actually heal their fellow chessmen, so better flail on them first and fast (they can also spit out lightning and create a localized explosion).

* In the ''VideoGame/RuneScape'' mini-game Pest Control, players try to destroy portals to another dimension that the Void creatures are coming from, and protect the Void Knight in a fortress. Said portals are healed by Spinners, and it's pretty hard to take one down without first killing the Spinners, [[WhatAnIdiot not that many people don't try to kill the portal first anyway.]] The Spinners aren't very tough, but they're often defended by Brawlers and, like everything else, can be spawned infinitely.

** The fight against Lavos Core is [[AvertedTrope something of an exception]]: it looks like a FlunkyBoss consisting of a humanoid-looking part in the center and a "[[FanNickname Lavos Bit]]" on the left and on the right. The Lavos Bit on the right can revive the other two, so normally you'd want to kill it first. However, unless at least one of the other two parts are dead, it will take almost no damage from attacks, so, in this case, you have to kill the medic last (and you will, since you win the fight immediately once you kill it).

Back to the main page [[ShootTheMedicFirst here.]]

* Averted with the last boss fight of ''Videogame/FateGrandOrder''[='=]s fourth chapter. There's two enemies: the main damage dealer and a support enemy who provides buffs and healing. Frankly, the buffs and healing don't do much, not even her [[LimitBreak Noble Phantasm]] which heals herself and her ally. But if the main boss's charge gauge fills up, it inflicts a crapton of damage to your entire party.
** Same thing happens in the last boss of chapter 3; Medea Lily is a specialized healer and she comes in a fight with a Demon Pillar. However, because of the gameplay mechanic, she can't heal as much damage as you deal them, while the Demon Pillar has an Area of Effect attacks that hit multiple times. By killing the Demon Pillar first, all you have to fight afterward is a little girl with ineffectual attack power and insufficient healing.

Back to the main page [[ShootTheMedicFirst here]]

** ''VideoGame/PaperMario'': White Magikoopas in the first two games can heal their allies. In the first game, Medi Guys likewise restore other enemies health. Your partners' [[EnemyScan Tattles]] in both games uniformly recommend going after them first.

** The first one also had Medi Guys, which are Shy Guys in little while flying vehicles with [[UsefulNotes/TheRedCross a red cross]] on the front. Like pretty much any enemy-healing unit in video games, they should be priority.
** Also the battle against Bowser and Kammy near the end of ''Thousand-Year Door'', where the only real sane route (provided you're not using one of the game's many GameBreaker strategies) is to throw everything you've got at Kammy and then worry about the much stronger, more durable Bowser.

** Also, in ''VideoGame/SuikodenII'', the FinalBoss looks like a giant wolf with two heads. It has four attackable areas. Both heads and two legs. Throughout the whole battle, one of the legs will not do ANYTHING AT ALL, while the heads attack with physical and magic damage and the other leg deals out StatusDebuffs. That is, until you have almost beaten the boss, and the passive leg will revive the other parts and heal them. Unless you have a godly party, the only thing you can do is reset and Kill The Medic First.

** Also, in ''VideoGame/SuikodenII'', the FinalBoss looks like a giant wolf with two heads. It has four attackable areas. Both heads and two legs. Throughout the whole battle, one of the legs will not do ANYTHING AT ALL, while the heads attack with physical and magic damage and the other leg deals out [[StandardStatusEffects debuffs]]. That is, until you have almost beaten the boss, and the passive leg will revive the other parts and heal them. Unless you have a godly party, the only thing you can do is reset and Kill The Medic First.

** This happened accidentally in the early days of the ''Burning Crusade'' expansion. Kael'thas Sunstrider, the final boss of the Tempest Keep raid, was a [[MarathonBoss 5-phase fight]]. For the first 3 phases he'd have mooks attack you, and would finally join the fight himself in the 4th phase. However, due to a coding bug, he'd accumulate healing threat during the first 3 phases, so when the raid group finally got to phase 4 he'd have accumulated so much healing threat that he'd attack the healers and only the healers. It made the fight [[UnwinnableByMistake unwinnable]], but it was an amusing bug.