Team Fortress 2 Professional Spy Guide I wrote this guide for people who want to learn how to play Spy

[amirborna 0]

I quoted so I don't get free points

Best Spy Tips:

Image not created by me.

 

1) You're a support class, so do some supporting: You're the only class that can get into the enemy ranks/base and do some damage in secret, so use that to your advantage, and make a mental list of everything the enemy has. Then use your abilities to take out each one, in order of importance. If there's a Sniper demolishing every teammate that comes near their team, find a good time to backstab him. If a heavy weapons is just flattening everyone, do the same to him. If he has a medic, take out the medic first so your team can do some damage as well, or you may even get a double kill. After that, you'll want to take out any sentries. Those make it near impossible for the rest of your team to progress, so use your sapper to put them out of commission. After that, judge your options and go after whatever's left... even the flag, if need be.

 

2) No fear: Don't be afraid of anything the enemy has. If there are a ton of enemies in one place, you're probably not going to get away with any backstabs. So be resourceful, pop one with your revolver, redisguise or cloak, wait for him to come after you, then take him out. If an engineer is sabotaging all your attempts to sap a building, try to catch him on his way to stop it, and backstab him, or just shoot him. Chances are he'll defend himself before the sentry, just make sure if you hurt him, the sentry's not in sight, because it can and will rip you apart. Use all of your abilities to your advantage... combine them to get the job done.

 

3) Timing: Make sure you time things correctly. You don't want to cloak to an enemy base and have it wear off right when you're near the enemy forces. Find a safe place, recharge, and head back in. Sometimes you can even find a room behind the enemies, uncloak, and use your disguise to sneak up and backstab some of them.

 

4) Communication: Make sure you communicate with your team well. Sapping sentries won't help if your team doesn't know about it, and are too afraid to come in. Backstabbing that Sniper is no good if people are still afraid to pop their heads out, thinking he ducked behind a corner or something. Let them know what you're doing and when they can proceed. You are a Spy, and Spies are supposed to report the intelligence they've gained.

 

5) Take advantage of the "last disguise used" key: By default it's set to B, it's good when on the move and you don't have time to pull out your cigar case. It'll automatically use whatever disguise you used last [if it's a new game, I think it'll pick a random one]. Just make sure you're not always using the same disguise. The enemy team will catch on.

Movement:

A spy needs to know how to move well. Silently, quickly, effectively.

CloakingCloak [right click] is one of your most important movement tools, know when and where to use it. It's obvious that you shouldn't cloak or decloak right in front of the enemy, they'll probably shoot you anyway, and they'll be at high alert for a Spy. Demomen and Pyros are the worst... grenades will detonate as soon as they hit you, letting the enemy know where you are, and dealing heavy damage. And Pyros should just be avoided at all costs, because their flame, albeit short range, will stay on you, letting them AND the entire team know exactly where you are. Anyway, know when to cloak. Don't waste it while you're in your own base, and if you have a disguise on, you probably won't need it once you're in the enemy's. The best time to use it is on the way to the enemy base, even if you have a disguise. They're going to know something is wrong when they have their own engineer coming out of your base and into theirs. It's also good to recharge somewhere safe on the way, then use it again to get deeper into their base. And remember, you can't use any weapons while cloaking, not even the sapper. The only exception is disguises. Also, you should know that you can't cloak with the enemy flag [intel], so if you're on your way to grab it, don't save it for after you have it... use it on the way. Might save you from getting caught.

HidingHiding is another important skill. It may sound weak or wasteful, but you're more important to your team alive than dead. Know where to hide in any given situation, in case you need to recharge your cloak, sneak up on an enemy, or just stay out of danger. Personally, I think it's better to hide for a while than to fight the enemy team head on, if you happen to get caught. But don't go rushing back in, wait it out a bit so they get confused and give up on you. And remember, if you fire your revolver or use your knife, your disguise will disappear. You can still use the sapper in disguise, but make sure you hightail it or the enemy will know it's you.

 

Weapons:A spy has minimal resources in the weapon department, so know how to use them correctly.

Damage

Revolver

The revolver has a decent amount of damage behind it. Stronger than the Scout's pistol, it takes about 4-5 direct hits to kill an enemy troop. Learn to aim it well, because it runs out quickly, and you're better off taking time to aim a shot than to reload your weapon. It should really only be used as a last resort, because you're much faster, safer, and dangerous to enemies with your knife. Don't be afraid to use it though if you get caught in disguise, or if you have the enemy flag. You may be able to take out a few enemies with it if you're lucky, it's better than just running. But again, pick your battles wisely. Don't get in a firefight if you don't have to. Take a breather and live another day.

 

Knife

Your knife is essentially your main weapon. Try to get backstabs with it whenever possible, because it's an instant kill. If not, it'll take 3-4 swipes from the front or side to take an enemy down, but chances are you'll be shot to pieces by the time you get 2 off.

 

Sapper

Not exactly a weapon, the sapper is used solely for destroying enemy buildings [sentries, dispensers, and teleports]. It will destroy things pretty quickly, but if an enemy engineer is nearby, he can whack it with his wrench to destroy it. Try to find a time when he's far away, busy, or dead, to use it. If he's close enough and focused, he'll stop your sapper and probably you along with it. And remember that you can place several sappers, so don't wait for that sentry to go down before getting the dispenser.

 

Range

Revolver

Your revolver also has a decent firing range on it, letting you peg the enemy from a distance. This is good if you find yourself facing an enemy Pyro or Scout, because they're fast and like to be up close. It's also good for whittling away at a Heavy from a nice hiding place, or a Medic you can't get close to. Don't bother going against a Sniper with it... if they have good aim, you just won't win.

 

Knife

Knife has no range, really. You have to be touching the enemy to use it. Use it on their back and they'll die instantly. Use it from the front and you'll decloak and swipe at them. Try to avoid it from the front, it makes you very visible and right in the enemy's crosshair.

 

Sapper

Again, you have to be right on top of the building to sap it, but after the sapper is placed, you are free to move around while it does it's job. Use that time to plant more, or backstab an engineer coming to stop it.

 

Backstab/Sapper order:

The following is my personal priority guide for backstabbing and sapping.

 

Medic with Heavy>Medic with Soldier>Medic with anyone else>Lone Medic>Lone Heavy>Sentry>Sniper>Dispenser>Engineer>Soldier>Demoman>Spy>Teleporters>Scout>Pyro

 

Reasons:

Medic with Heavy - Very damaging to your team, especially with Ubercharge. Prevent that from happening, stab the Medic first, then the Heavy if you can.

Medic with Soldier - The second most damaging to your team, for the same reasons. Do the same thing, Medic first.

Medic with anyone else - See above. Medics like to keep things alive for way longer than they need to be.

Sentry - Nasty buggers. You're the best equipped to put them out of commission, so do so. Besides, the sapper will destroy it while you can do other things.

Lone Medic - They'll be healing someone sooner or later [usually a Heavy or Soldier], so put them down beforehand.

Lone Heavy - Still pretty damaging on his own. Take him out to eliminate that supressing fire, and so a Medic can't back him up.

Sniper - They'll eliminate any slow moving target on your team. Take them out first so the big guys can get through.

Dispenser - They'll keep the engineers ready for building/repair and they heal the rest of the team. It's like a forward resupply station. Take it out.

Engineer - They're very good at defending. Find a way to knock him out for a while.

Soldier - Large target, but they can expose/dispose of Spies well, so be careful when dealing with them.

Demoman - See above, but they're a little less good at exposing/disposing of Spies.

Spy - Usually not a direct threat to you, but they can cause chaos in your own base. Deal with him before he does what you're doing.

Teleporters - An effective way for enemies to get to your base quickly and safely. Find them and stop that problem. The exit is better than the entrance, IMO, because it's harder for an Engineer to set that back up.

Scout - Fast, hard to kill with your weapons. You should really only try if they're standing still. Which they never are.

Pyro - They're Spy killers. They like to spray that flamethrower everywhere, and the fire will light you up like a Christmas tree for the whole team to kill. Avoid them.

Adjust the priorities based on the situation.

Disguise order:

And here's my priority guide for disguises:

 

Engineer>Sniper>Pyro>Soldier/Demo>Spy>Medic>Scout>Heavy

 

Reasons:

Engineer - Every team has at least one [or should], and they're almost always in their bases. And they're usually standing around sentries, so it's easier for you to sap that way. Very easy for you to blend in as an Engineer.

Sniper - Most teams have these too, and they're usually in the base, but mostly on the outer edges. Use this if an Engineer is too suspicious, but don't expect to be in the flag room and have nobody notice.

Pyro - Again, usually one of these in the base [defending], but sometimes teams don't have one. It's iffy, but better than some alternatives.

Soldier/Demo - Also defenders, sometimes, but they're big targets, and when your name doesn't show up when someone sees you, they'll know.

Spy - Eh, usually these guys aren't seen around their own base, so it's hard to pull it off successfully.

Medic - People will expect you to heal. When you don't, you're toast. They're rarely in base either.

Scout - They run pretty fast, so when the enemies notice you don't run as fast, they'll know.

Heavy - Give up, it just won't work.

Again, adjust the priorities based on the situation.

Edited June 5, 2008 by amirborna (see edit history)

[ivantoar 0]

I don't know why, are people in my servers are noob or what. I always successfuly disguised as *cough* another spy and they just don't give a look and let me go. And I got one question. If we running out of cloak and enemy sees me, what should I do? Just die or run or hide and cloak?

[iGuest 3]

There is no right or wrong, this is merely a suggestion though. If you run out of cloak and an enemy sees you, you should do the following. (based on what you think.)1. Run behind a corner or find some form of cover*2. If it is a heavy or soldier, (slowest classes,) then you should try to disguise behind said corner*3. Just run away*4. Attempt to re-cloak*5. Fight to the death*6. Die* means "If you don't think this will work, try the suggestion below."-reply by Its me

[room2593 0]

This is very helpful. I would like to play more as a spy, but I can't because I suck too badly and I don't want to drag down my team. I just always play as a medic instead.I'm pretty decent as a medic.It's true, though. I hate spies. I obviously can't deal with them very well. My bonesaw won't take them one hit, my syringe gun is crap, and using a medigun would be stupid. Your team mates that are equipped to deal with spies (specifically pyros) don't take them very often, or at least not often enough. I continually die immediately before I ubercharge. It's really annoying.If all spies used these tactics, it would be impossible to play as a medic. I'm glad that most people just play as snipers (and poorly at that)

[iGuest 3]

That's because, when you're a spy for the other team, they see you wearing the disguise mask.

 

I was playing the first time the other day, and my brother was sort of helping me out to get to know the game. Every time he saw a spy with a mask on he said "That's not a spy, you can see their disguise."

 But then, out of complete luck (I play the pyro mainly by the way, so they should stay away) a spy on my team with a mask walked by me. I think I was surprised so I lit the torch and surprise, surprise it was an enemy spy.

 So... I think that's why. Because when you're disguised as the spy, you really have two disguises on.

-reply by Nuadin

[iGuest 3]

@ivanotoarTeam Fortress 2 Professional Spy Guide

If your cover's been blown and you have an enemy running after you, pull out your revolver, and head for the freaking hills while you try to stuff them with bullets. I've seen way to many spies just go down without a fight, which essentialy doesn't help the team at all. It's way better if you can do some damage as well. 

-reply by Melarith

[iGuest 3]

Yeah my way of dealing with engineers on the other team is the either disguise as a pyro or engineer and run backwards toward the other team and if my disguise has low health I call for medic, if people try attack you either stay still or just run a bit then use revolver