TF2 spy tips

R

Rofl-Mic-Lofl

For Whom The Bell Trolls
Joined
Dec 29, 2005
Messages
23,377
I just got into Team Fortress 2 a week or so ago, but I'm loving it so far. I'm decent at a few of the classes, but can't quite find my niche one. I have a few quirks with all of them.

The Spy seems absolutely the most fun, and everyonce in awhile I will come across one that completely annihilates the other team, getting a 3:1 KDR while knocking out multiple medic/heavy teams, etc.

Any tips? I pretty much blow with the Spy, and have a hard time rocking a positive KDR.
 
first, dont look at the kill/death ratio... it's meaningless in TF2 for the most part

As for spy tips, use common sense. Don't act suspicious and try to stay out of sight unless you're disguised (disguising as a team mate is usually a good idea until you can get in and change into one of your enimies). Always go for medics and buildings first as they're far more effective targets... especially teleporters (theres nothing quite as frustrating as a spy who keeps sapping my tele enterance)

Oh, and stay away from Pyro's :D
 
j3ff86 said:
It's a bit old, but this is a good introductory video with notes made on major changes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-qD30EOO-o
Click to expand...

Thanks, checking it out. Although it seems that no one test-shoots him. Lucky SOB :p

dr.stevil said:
first, dont look at the kill/death ratio... it's meaningless in TF2 for the most part

As for spy tips, use common sense. Don't act suspicious and try to stay out of sight unless you're disguised (disguising as a team mate is usually a good idea until you can get in and change into one of your enimies). Always go for medics and buildings first as they're far more effective targets... especially teleporters (theres nothing quite as frustrating as a spy who keeps sapping my tele enterance)

Oh, and stay away from Pyro's :D
Click to expand...

Oh, I know that KDR isn't that important in TF2. I understand objectives and teamplay, was just using KDR as an example of badassery.

My problem is there are always like 9x pyros on the other team it seems like.
 
what I do is start as another support class and play that for a while, then randomly jump to Spy for a few lives, then go back to another class :) (unless you have another spy on your team)

This forces your enemy to trade a few other classes for a few pyros (for a while) and keeps them a little paranoid. I suspect that once people start getting tired of the spy class, you'll see the amount of pyros decrese as well. It's always like that after a new class update comes out. However, if you stay on spy and you're effective with the class you'll probably always have problems with pyros (or spy checking in general)
 
The Spy is probably the last class you should attempt, OP.

It requires a LOT of patience, knowing each of the maps extremely well, and the ability to dodge other people walking toward you (sounds easy, right? right ...) while cloaked. While disguised you have to act as normally as possible - pretend you're retreating from enemy fire, acting like your disguised class would (a sniper stays in the background, a soldier and demo provide medium range fire support). And there's an art to backstabbing - timing is crucial.

Stuff like that.

Anyway, those skills + watching what other spies do will help you immensely.
 
good point ^. Spy is NOT an easy class to play by any means


hell, you want to know how to play a good spy? play as an engineer for an hour or two lol
 
Nah, spy is the best class, if you enjoy it stick with it.

Best advice is change your disguise often and act natural. If someone shoots you, act like nothing happens, or sometimes stopping and looking at them for a second stops makes them and they run off. Also until you're good at combat stab and run. Once you get good with the revolver and knife in close up melee you can take out most classes with 1 on 1 battles after a failed stab.

Also learn how the sentrys work and move. You'll be able to stab the engie then sap the gun after you kill the engie. Just keep practicing and stick with it. A good spy can easily make or break the game.

If there are a group of guys (on the attack or whatever) dont be afraid to attack the group and face death. If you could get 1-2 (especially medics) you could break up their offensive attack enough to let your team mop up the rest.
 
JaYp146 said:
It requires a LOT of patience, knowing each of the maps extremely well, and the ability to dodge other people walking toward you (sounds easy, right? right ...) while cloaked.
Click to expand...

Hah! I have a hard time sneaking past the front line. Some fucker always jumps off a ledge right infront of me when Im stealthed, or like 3x heavys run down a hallway and trap me in.

I'll just keep sticking with it. I'm pretty good with the Soldier since I played years of Q3A (lolrockets) and Pyro of course is easy as hell (Especially when you get the flare gun), but both of those classes are boring in my opinion. Sniper is easy mode too. I'll keep practicing with the Spy, it seems fun.
 
The Spy is an enigma at first but practice makes perfect. A talented Spy can easily dominate engineers and heavies.

The best advice for an aspiring Spy it to learn the map like the back of your hand. Each map has a choke point to be avoided, learn places to safely declock and reclock.

Never use the same disguises repeatedly.

Try different routes if the first route failed, don't copy what works either. Don't become predictable and always change it up.

Practice slash and run tactics and know where your own team sentries are for cover.

Act 'normal' and try moving backwards towards enemy defense points as if retreating from enemy fire.

Remember to stay well clear of Pyromaniacs!

Have fun and just experiment, at first you will die a lot but that's normal.

The Spy is one of the trickiest classes to master but ultimately one of the most rewarding.
 
Good day Mic Lofl.

I would agree with the above post - I think spy is one of the hardest classes to master. A big part of it, in my opinion is knowing the maps really well. You need to know where you can hide for a minute to decloak so as not to look suspicious, and also where to pick up ammo for additional cloak time.

I think it mostly just comes with practice. I had that overwhelming feeling when i first started playing tf2 too, not knowing where my niche was. Took me about 5 hours with each class to find out what I did and didn't like.
 
What do you guys think of the new watches? I personally like the Cloak and Dagger since if you know the good hiding spots, you can just sit there and wait. It's also great to sit at like their spawn, when they spawn and run ahead, just decloak and run with them like you also just spawned.
 
dr.stevil said:
good point ^. Spy is NOT an easy class to play by any means


hell, you want to know how to play a good spy? play as an engineer for an hour or two lol
Click to expand...

Just pubbing, you will learn what not to do that way at least.

Provided your enemies are not idiots, don't:

Be the spy that walks up cloaked next to a sentry and stands next to it waiting to decloak to sap. if the engie is there, your gonna catch a wrench to the head. Start decloaking a few body lengths away or sap it while disguised.

Be the spy that turns tail and runs or hesitates continuing in front of a pyro, He will chase you down. Act natural and hope beyond reason he does not give you a lil burst of spy check flame.

Be the spy that just runs around and randomly back stabs. Like the sniper, this really does not help the team. And the enemy team will start switching to pyro. Pyro's are the bain of spies. Coordinate with your other teammates. Run in just ahead of a weapons class and medic team, sap the turrets, your team will not have to use it's uber till later.

Be the spy that joins a half full server then disguises as an engie, then walks up to the engie. You have a better than average chance of being disguised as the engie you are walking up to. He will wrench you, you will prolly panic and shoot back and his turret will finish you. Use cloak, when possible, in the half full servers around enemies of the same class as your disguise.

Be the spy that disguises himself and then chats up a storm while all talk is on. You will prolly be found out. The little chat icon above your head providing an irresistible target to the perceptive enemy. (did they fix that one? I have not killed anyone in a while because of it.)

I don't really play spy hardly at all. I prefer engie and pyro. My above list represents ways to avoid me killing you if you play as spy.
 
Last edited:
Rofl-Mic-Lofl said:
Is that the one where you "die" ? I don't have it yet. I just rock the upgraded watch, unlimited stealth is always nice.
Click to expand...

Yes. If you have the dead ringer out and get hit by a shot that doesn't kill you, it makes it look like you died. After that you have like 5 seconds of invisibility before you uncloak. When you uncloak, it makes a very distinctive sound.
 
I still use the standard cloak. It lasts so much longer than the upgraded one since i play mostly as a rusher. Usually i disguise as a sniper.. since snipers are usually behind people and stick near the back.
 
WaterproofPaper said:
I still use the standard cloak. It lasts so much longer than the upgraded one since i play mostly as a rusher. Usually i disguise as a sniper.. since snipers are usually behind people and stick near the back.
Click to expand...

I ended up switching back to the standard one too. It was nice because I kept picking up the ammo boxes and basically ran the entire map cloaked. I feel like Im getting better, I even pissed some people off pretty bad lol.... "Wow ____, stop with the douchery!"

Spy is very fun. Atleast when there isn't too many Pyros lol.
 
Don't taunt after you kill someone, you will regret it.

I started TF2 with spy, even though ppl are more aware of it, but it just keep getting easier and easier with updates. Most ppl besides pyros and heavies don't spy check, mostly because they don't want to waste ammo or switch gun. That means most likely you will be "spotted" by bumping into someone, especially medics. When you do try to grab a kill and run away.

Now with the help of cloak and dagger and the insanely overpower headshot pistal, you can basically run around guns blazing if you feel like it.
 
I have about 80 hours with Spy.
That class is definately fun but I find them are pretty limited in their usefullness in 32man cluster fuck spam maps like dustbowl/goldrush (which seem the most popular)
 
Can someone please explain how to use the new watches? I got them but don't quite understand what it means by "feign death" "motion sensitive" etc.
 
exe163 said:
I started TF2 with spy, even though ppl are more aware of it, but it just keep getting easier and easier with updates.
Click to expand...

I haven't played in a couple weeks (since before the Spy vs. Sniper update), but have they re-nerfed the backstab? When the game first came out, you could "backstab" someone from the side...then it was nerfed...then recently buffed back.
 
mastercheeze said:
I haven't played in a couple weeks (since before the Spy vs. Sniper update), but have they re-nerfed the backstab? When the game first came out, you could "backstab" someone from the side...then it was nerfed...then recently buffed back.
Click to expand...
They did nerf the backstab as far as I can tell, but it's pretty easy to get use to. You will get a backstab if you think you stabbed someone in the back, and headstab no longer works :(. With the new pistol, it's more than make up the shortcomings of the knife.

Azureth said:
Can someone please explain how to use the new watches? I got them but don't quite understand what it means by "feign death" "motion sensitive" etc.
Click to expand...

Stock: cloak, you will recharge the meter when you pick up ammo.
Cloak and dagger: cloak, you will recharge the meter when you are not moving.
Deathringer: no cloak, you will feign death when you receive attack while having your watch out (works on fire too), then you enter cloak. Imo pretty useless besides extinguishing fire since you make a very distinct sound after your cloak runs out.

In summary, cloak and dagger allows you to cloak forever. I don't see how spy is not overpowered when it can cloak for infinite amount of time, not to say you can see the enemy health.
 
ihira said:
I have about 80 hours with Spy.
That class is definately fun but I find them are pretty limited in their usefullness in 32man cluster fuck spam maps like dustbowl/goldrush (which seem the most popular)
Click to expand...

Agreed. I do the best when it is around 8-10 people or so per team. Anything over that and it's a bit too hard.
 
FYI, it took me about a year before I thought I was getting "good" at TF2. I only play a few hours a week though.
 
Last edited:
I do have a pro spy tip that im a little surprised no one has mentioned.

As we all know, the spy is a great counter to the engi. However, sapping then attempting to stab the engi is a good way to catch a wrench to the face. Instead, if you can sneak up behind them, do the sap THEN the sap. The gun takes ~.5 seconds to turn around, giving you just enough time to sap, disguise, cloak, and run away.

I do this all the time and it works wonders. To quick weapon switch i am in the habit of pressing 3 (thats sap, right...? durrr) then 1, so that the quick weapon switch (q) will switch between them. Stab, press q, left click. Give it a try.
 
rgratto2 said:
I do have a pro spy tip that im a little surprised no one has mentioned.

As we all know, the spy is a great counter to the engi. However, sapping then attempting to stab the engi is a good way to catch a wrench to the face. Instead, if you can sneak up behind them, do the sap THEN the sap. The gun takes ~.5 seconds to turn around, giving you just enough time to sap, disguise, cloak, and run away.

I do this all the time and it works wonders. To quick weapon switch i am in the habit of pressing 3 (thats sap, right...? durrr) then 1, so that the quick weapon switch (q) will switch between them. Stab, press q, left click. Give it a try.
Click to expand...

That was in the video the first reply posted. Good tip, I tried it out last night and it worked. Then two engies started camping together and I just switched to Demo lol.

1 is gun
3 is knife
4 is costume
I'm guessing 2 is the Sapper.

One awesome thing I found out last night that everyone probably already knows :p: Press "B" to return to the last disguise you wore. It's very, very helpful.
 
exe163 said:
Don't taunt after you kill someone, you will regret it.

I started TF2 with spy, even though ppl are more aware of it, but it just keep getting easier and easier with updates. Most ppl besides pyros and heavies don't spy check, mostly because they don't want to waste ammo or switch gun. That means most likely you will be "spotted" by bumping into someone, especially medics. When you do try to grab a kill and run away.

Now with the help of cloak and dagger and the insanely overpower headshot pistal, you can basically run around guns blazing if you feel like it.
Click to expand...

Yea theres a lot of spies who have picked up on that strategy now and just use long distance ambassader shots to get kills.
 
Rofl-Mic-Lofl said:
That was in the video the first reply posted. Good tip, I tried it out last night and it worked. Then two engies started camping together and I just switched to Demo lol.

1 is gun
3 is knife
4 is costume
I'm guessing 2 is the Sapper.

One awesome thing I found out last night that everyone probably already knows :p: Press "B" to return to the last disguise you wore. It's very, very helpful.
Click to expand...

Press B again and it'll switch what weapon you look like you're holding, makes it even harder to spot if you aren't carrying the default gun. :D
 
Ke422azn said:
Way to make a new thread where there are dozens of videos on youtube and thousands of threads already on Google on the topic. What are you going to ask next? How to write a script?
Click to expand...
I was looking for some community commentary on the subject and I got just that. But thank you for your input, you're an amazing asset to the community. I think I might just tell Kyle that you should be nominated for most helpful poster ever.

Please, kindly go die in a fire.

MatDef said:
Press B again and it'll switch what weapon you look like you're holding, makes it even harder to spot if you aren't carrying the default gun. :D
Click to expand...

Oooh, that's neat, thanks.
 
Ke422azn said:
I know you fail. Its pretty clear what I am implying.
Click to expand...


Dude. Your trolling is not appreciated. If you have a problem with the thread in the future, I suggest you simply NOT POST IN IT.
 
exe163 said:
In summary, cloak and dagger allows you to cloak forever. I don't see how spy is not overpowered when it can cloak for infinite amount of time, not to say you can see the enemy health.
Click to expand...

Its not overpowered... you have to take more breaks since you cant pick up ammo to recharge and since it runs out too quickly. A good spy has to get behind defenses especially on CP maps. Technically you can get behind things with cloak and dagger, but it takes much longer. I see everyone using cloak and dagger to only kill people.. where spies are more effective breaking defenses. This is why i still use the old cloak.
 
WaterproofPaper said:
Its not overpowered... you have to take more breaks since you cant pick up ammo to recharge and since it runs out too quickly. A good spy has to get behind defenses especially on CP maps. Technically you can get behind things with cloak and dagger, but it takes much longer. I see everyone using cloak and dagger to only kill people.. where spies are more effective breaking defenses. This is why i still use the old cloak.
Click to expand...

Why is it I'm still cloaked even after the cloak meter runs out?
 
You aren't fully cloaked when that cloak meter runs out. You take on a ghostly appearance.

Any member of the opposing team that doesn't kill you on sight when they see that is probably a spy for your team.
 
According to the HUD you are completely invisible when crouch walking on empty cloak with the C&D. I've also tested this with a friend, he was unable to see me.
 
Ahh, crap forgot about that one...

Yeaaah they're probably going to fix that. I was refering to when you're running and the cloak runs out.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top