A guide for the average spy from an average spy

Last updated on the 9th March 2009.

Ok, I'm not a 'pr0' spy, but people sometimes say I'm rather good, so I've decided to type up this quick guide to how I play, for those who are interested.

These points are probably all really obvious, but I'll post them anyway in case people don't know them.

*The disguises are almost useless. Don't rely on them for more than taking down sentries and fooling new (or distracted) players. The key is to not be seen. If people see you, they'll almost certainly spy check you. Since the Scout update you can now select the weapon you appear to be holding of the class you are disguised as. This does serve to make the spy a little less obvious. To change the weapon of the class you are disguised as, switch to a different weapon that the spy has (knife, revolver, sapper, etc) and hit the redisguise button (which is whatever you've got it bound to on your keyboard). It tells you at the bottom left what 'weapon' your disguised class has out. By default you'll disguise with the primary weapon of the class you've disguised as (flamethrower, etc).

*As a spy, death is innevitable. You will die a lot, I can't emphasise this enough. You're lucky if you can get at least one backstab/kill/sapped building before being killed. The important thing is to not rage about it. If you rage, you're not having fun and you're not concentrating. :P I enjoy playing as spy, and you'll play better once you get that tingly feeling of coaxing paranoia out of the enemy team. So what if they're looking behind every 5 seconds and all playing as pyro, it simply makes it all the more satisfying to actually get one of them, and even if you don't, it's hilarious watching their paranoia. :P
I tend to take the attitude towards the enemy that 'doing that won't save you', but in a jokey kind of way as it probably will actually save them. xD

*If you miss, don't look back. Just run, unless you feel you stand a reasonable chance of taking them out with the revolver, just evade. Cloak asap, and think unpredictably (to the point that, once cloaked, you could perhaps run towards the enemy, dodging missiles and grenades, and trying not to get hit by bullets). Never turn back to have another try, as this puts you in close proximity to an enemy that knows you're there (like the soldier for example, it wouldn't end well for the spy). Of course, if by some mirical the enemy didn't notice you fudge up the backstab, try again!

*You don't need a fancy script to backstab an engi and sap his sentry. Simply use your mouse wheel. Backstab, instantly scroll down to the sapper one notch to the sapper, but at the same time you should be partially circling the sentry in the same direction that it is turning towards you (to prevent it shooting you). All this happens in about second or two, but it's quite easy once you've got the hang of it. It all depends on the position of the sentry.

*Dispensers are very useful to spies. If you run up next to a dispenser of either team whilst cloaked, it will heal you up, give you ammo, and keep you in cloak (and even recharge your cloak whilst you are cloaked depending on the level of the dispenser it seems) without leaving a particle trail or glow. Dispensers provide useful points for the spy to assess where everyone and everything is and to try and plan their next course of action. The dispenser is not, however, a permanent boat (horrible HORRIBLE analogy, but it made me laugh when I read it back so it stays in). As in, don't camp on it for too long! I learnt this recently. If you wish to stay there for a bit, keep a close eye on who's around you. If someone bumps into you, they or someone else will no doubt notice you shimmer and then unless you're fast, you're probably screwed. Don't camp on it all the time thinking no one will notice. Always change your position relative to the dispenser (different sides, on top, etc) if you're near a paranoid engi. Of course, if you're not and appear safe, camp on the dispenser for a bit but don't wait out the whole round on it. :P

*The revolver has a remarkable degree of accuracy. If you're in a tight spot, turn round and do your best to aim for the head of your pursuer. I've no idea if it actually does, but I've always ahad the impression the revolver does more damage if you hit their head. Take your time to aim with it unless you're really desperate, as you only have a clip of 6 bullets, and whilst reloads are pretty fast, you tend to die faster. Additionally, if you've just backstabbed someone (or more), then at least take some time to aim the first shot, as it has an increased likelood of being a crit. And that could save your life.

*Leap stab. It's the best way to get someone really paranoid. They don't often look up. I've seen people on the steampowered forums complaining about how this is no longer possible, however I'm not sure what they were doing is quite the same as what I was doing. My 'leap stab' is merely jumping down behind an enemy (timing it right for scouts if you're timing is good enough) and backstabbing. And it still seems to work (hell, with the new faster backstab it's almost instantanious from the moment you hit the ground to the actual backstab).

*Complementing the leap stab is what some people seem to have termed 'stair stabs' (due to this often being done on stairs, although any slope will do providing you are being pursued UP the slope and not down the slope. Also, if the slope is not steep enough, it won't work). If being pursued by an enemy, you can sometimes spin round, jump over them, spin round again (providing they don't realise what has happened too fast) land behind them and backstab. It's all about timing it right. Don't stab too early, as this will alert them and the backstab may not register!

*I've never had any real luck with disguising as my own team. I only ever do it to try and quick-cap the cart or a point before the enemy notice by decloaking on the cart or point with a friendly disguise.

* The sidestep. I've seen people accuse this of being a controlled facestab, but it isn't. It's simply that the spy moved far too fast for you to actually realise what happened. If an enemy decides they want to be cocky and rush you with a melee weapon, let them! As they get really close, move both forwards and to one side (stafe plus forwards) and move your mouse round (fast) to follow them, and the moment their back is mostly exposed and they are (hopefully) in range, strike! With the lack of the insta-stab due to the reduced range of the knife, you have to be a little closer, however the new fast backstab makes this easier.

*There used to be a move which I can only term as the 'insta-stab' which was removed in the Scout Update. I don't know the specific distance but basically there was a tiny area between where a backstab is a miss, and where it's an actually backstab. The spy would slash out with his normal attack from behind, but it would count as a backstab. And it happened in the time it takes to make his normal attack which is near instantanious. It worked well with the leapstab idea if you attacked mid-leap whilst behind someone, although it was dammed hard to pull off and the 'flying stab' isn't possible now anyway. I do think this insta/quick-stab has not been fully removed however. Yesterday (26th Feb 09) from my perspective I appeared to quickstab an enemy (Gravel Pit, point B, Heavy was running down the sloped ramp (the one facing down towards the end with C) and I ran behind him and slashed out and a quick-stab appeared to occur. Why have I put all these details here? In case someone else wants to try and see whether it was just a fluke or not. My (probably wrong) theory is that the quickstab will still work on a sloped area where the spy is above and behind the target. Or maybe it was just lag.

*So the 'new' backstab then. This new backstab was released in the Scout Update. Basically backstabs happen much much faster (near instantanious, like the old quick-stab). Apparently this has also removed facestabs and reduced the range of the knife (thus removing the quick-stab, although this is rendered void by the new backstab in my opinion). I have however seen first hand that face-stabs do still occur, and unfortunately they seem (perhaps this is just me) to be even more common than before.

Sidestabs are another spy tactic which is useful to know. The backstab has a range of what is estimated to be around 180 degress on a person's back. This means that it is possible to 'side-stab' an enemy. This is useful for getting snipers with their backs to the wall, and for side-stepping. The new backstab update did reduce the range of this backstab 'back radius' (the angle you can stab at a person's back and it will be a backstab) which meant, for a short while, no more 'side-stabs', ie backstabbing a sniper from almost right next to him when he has his back to the wall). Fortunately Valve later restored the range.

*Camping. An important tactic as a spy is knowing when and where to camp. You can't always decloak behind people, as if they have any sense they'll have their team near-by (it is TEAM fortress 2, eh? :P ). Additionally, decloaking does make a noise that can be heard by other players, ie if you decloak directly behind a sniper he may well hear you and will probably then turn around and plunge his machette through you. All this increases the likelihood that you'll die on decloaking and probably wouldn't get any one. To camp as a spy, you need to be a tad inventive. At least, that's what I think anyway.
Corners are best, and waste no time in rushing out behind them and striking fast (if you know someone is coming, do this fast enough and you can even get scouts running at full speed, sometimes, tis rare though). Some door frames can be camped on as well (thus camping above the enemy. Height for a spy is a good advantage).

It's all about timing though. Time stuff wrong and you miss and often die shortly after. This actually applies for most spy tactics.

*Cut corners. The spy can catch up with all classes bar the scout if you cut corners when in pursuit. Jump over objects, brush as close to corners as you can, take the inside route. Works wonders.

Now we come to the other classes. I've seen things about 'classes to avoid' etc etc, but the fact is if you have the chance to get any of them, then do so regardless of what they are.

In order of how deadly they are to the spy:

Scout - worse than the pyro in my opinion. You can't keep up with them, they're on you in seconds and the scattergun is lethal on spies.
Pyro - can reveal you in cloak through use of fire. Damned annoying and often always spy checking everyone if they've got any brains.
Medic - can run faster than the spy. They'll often chase down the spy with their bonesaws. Don't go into melee combat with these guys unless you have no choice, as if they start to take damage or panic, they whip out their needle guns and backpeddle, out running the spy, and the spy dies very fast.
Sniper - a good target, but has an machete that appears to almost always insta kill spies in one hit.
Soldier - a good target.
Demoman - a good target.
Heavy - a good target.
Engineer - if on his own he's an ok target, but if he's got a sentry I've covered that above.
Spy - If you think you've spotted one of these guys behind your lines, fall back a little bit to near where you think you'd decloak as a spy. Sometimes you'll catch them, and it's even better if they don't realise you're on to them.

This leads on to my next point. The spy is not backstab proof. Always watch your back. Look behind every few seconds. If in combat with one, try the sidestep. Alternatively, just knife him to bits. If you don't want to do this, or are low on health, try and back away and use your revolver.

Try to strafe backwards and forwards, firing as the spy crosses your crosshair. Like invaders. Alternatively try to circle-strafe. This actually applies to any class you're in combat with, although with the spy who lacks a rapid fire weapon or a spread weapon (like the shotty) it makes you harder to hit.

*When in combat with anyone who's aware of you, try to position yourself between the enemy unit and the nearest health-kit. It can tip the balance if you're really lucky.

*Back above I said stab the engi first and then sap the sentry. This is because I've tended to find if the engi has any brains, he'll kill you first before fixing his stuff.

*If you run round a corner into someone, you have a split second before they shoot you and you die. I suggest slashing out with the knife in the tight space rather than switching to the revolver, as there's a tiny chance it could be a facestab, and it could save your bacon. This is completely down to luck however.

*Think twice before trying to backstab an enemy stunned by the Scout's new bat (the Sandman). Several times when I've tried to do this the backstabs just don't seem to work. It just does normal attacks (even when pointing at the dead centre of their back). Either take the risk and try to backstab them, avoid them completely, or wait until they become un-stunned and strike at that instant.
However sometimes that stab isn't possible. Sometimes the engineer has built himself into a corner and is camping on his dispenser. Sometimes his sentry is blocking a tiny corridor that you simply can't get past. Sometimes there's a huge sentry nest with multiple sentries (for these, the disguise does have a use. Disguise yourself as an engineer before proceeding if you're going to try and take them out, as it helps with the confusion). For all these either leave it for another class to destroy, or you can try the following tactic.
Run up to the sentry/engineer point, and sap. Run around, don't just stand still. Sap like mad. Go for the teleporters first. That part is vital. It's quite a bother if whilst you're busy sapping the sentries a pyro teleports in and burns your face off. Once the vital stuff has exploded (sentries, dispensers, everything, etc), scarper. Don't hang around to try and take out the engineers. You'll fail unless they have the brains of primordial ooz and just let you running round backstabbing all of them. :doh:
If the enemy is using teleporters to deadly effect, go for the entrances not the exits. It forces the engineer to go back to spawn (or wherever their entrances were) and build a new one, leaving his stuff vulnerable. Alternatively, no new one is built hindering his team.

Of course, not everything is always going to go rosy fine. I've said above that as a spy you will die a lot. Sometimes you'll have off days. You won't be able to get anyone. The enemy team might actually be working as a team for once, maybe they're all more paranoid than usual. At this sort of time when things are this frustrating, you don't have to play as the spy. If I find I just can't play spy some days, I'll simply play as another class. Team Fortress 2 is a game, it's intended for fun not punishment. If you're not having fun as the spy, go as another class for a bit. Enjoy yourself. A depressed spy is a pretty useless spy, you have to be optomistic and (mostly) calm!

That's all the advice I have for now, and I've probably missed important points, but hey, I'm not perfect. :P
I'll try to keep this guide up-to-date with any new updates that I feel are relevant.
I do feel that a major factor with the spy is luck. Complete luck. Anyone can have a try. Timing is important, and damnwell adapt your tactics! Don't stick ridgedly to any plan (even this guide!) if it's sucking and you're losing due to it. Adapt and change your methods.

So much for being concise, but anyway, good luck, and give the spy a try. ;)