Versus Saxton Hale Mode and Freak Fortress for Dummies

A full guide to the popular Versus Saxton Hale (VSH) and Freak Fortress 2 unofficial gamemodes. What to do and what not to do.
(Servers may vary)

Game Mode Basics

This is a 1-vs-all game mode with a player controlled boss. The boss will have health around 1000 for each player, plus an additional thousand (ie ~2000 against 1, ~24,000 against 23), additional run speed (just under scout at start, faster than scout at low health), and usually melee-only for 202 damage (varies per server).

  Depending on the server, the bosses will either do 173-223 damage with random crits, or will be regulated to always hitting 202 damage (which is preferable). The random crits are a problem because they defeat the purpose of a Heavy's larger health and overheal.

  Most servers will allow taunt-crits, which give you a crit boost to all weapons for a few seconds after successfully taunting, these will often be your best shot and dealing damage. Many servers don't have tauntcrits enabled, which causes players to rely on certain classes, weapons, and strategies to win. All melee weapons (except spy knifes) automatically crit at all times.
Some classes have automatic crits on some of their weapons, these are often the best damage dealing classes.

  Typically, VSH is Arena mode, wiping out all players on either side to win. Since you do not respawn until the next round, it is important to keep survival as a priority. It is incredibly boresome to quickly die in a full server, where rounds can take up to and over 10 minutes in a single round.

  Generally all ammo packs are of the small variant, but Freak Fortress 2 had enabled larger ammo boxes, which makes dispensers a tad bit less valuable.

  There is currently a bug that grants a damage bonus twice to Scout and Spy weapons. A Bat held by the boss will hit for 321 damage, a Knife will hit for 381. (heavies beware)

You are the Boss

  You have become the boss because you have accumulated more queue points than everyone else (seen via /halenext), which are given to every player after each round.

  Your job: to slaughter everyone on the other team, usually with melee-only means.
You're faster and stronger than everyone, but that won't stop them from banding together to try to kill you. Go kill them one by one until there's none left. But first lets go over a few basic controls.

Besides normal gameplay mechanics, bosses are given some advantages that keep them from being underpowered.
 Taunt to Rage: When your meter reaches 100% (filled by taking damage {usually 1900} or letting it fill from the final remaining scout) you can press G (or whatever you changed your Taunt button to) to activate a special ability. This will commonly be a large area stun (like spooked by a ghost), gain ÜberCharge, gain a weapon, or a combination of those. It is frowned upon to use this every single time it's available, it's meant to be used when you think you need it, such as being pinned against a corner by a sentry, against a pyro who continuously airblasts you, or that one scout you can't catch. (which people hate you for when you solo rage 1 player)
Be careful and don't spam your taunt, you might double taunt and waste your rage, one click any time will do. People tend to count your rages and taunt you for using it too often.
Some bosses will get a ranged weapon, projectile weapons are the most balanced since it allows players to dodge a distant attack. Freak Fortress is notorious for bosses with guns that will kill you across the map. (ie Gentlespy and Femspy revolvers will hit for 190 across the map with pinpoint accuracy.)

  Stun: Similar to being scared by a ghost, players around you will be struck in fear and will be unable to escape. Go on a killing spree, you should get 3-5 kills before it wears off. Stun will also disable sentries for the same duration.
  ÜberCharge: You are ubercharged for about 8 seconds, your only weakness is a pyro's airblast, so take out those sentries while they can't push you!
  Weapons: The bosses will get various weapons depending on who they are, not all of them get weapons of course.
  Summoning: Some special bosses can summon dead players onto their team to aid in killing for you, but most are melee-only and often die easily.

 Super Jump/Teleport: By crouching and looking up (protip: use Mouse2 instead of crouching), you can jump extra high or teleport to a semi-random player. Most people hate teleporting bosses because it means they are taken out of the round without any way to escape, due to the boss being clipped into them. As for super jumping, this will be your best bet at catching literally everyone off guard. (Protip: crouch to hit enemies underneath you, when mantreads doesn't work)
My tip to you is to practice Surf servers (search maps "surf") to improve airstrafing skills, you'll become 5x deadlier.
 Weigh Down: All bosses come with weigh down, which rockets them toward the ground, preventing them from being juggled or getting trapped in a ceiling corner by a heavy or sentry. Activated by looking down and crouching.

  Bosses with Lives: Some bosses get extra lives with their health divided, these are to give them a tertiary ability midlife, which is usually a valve-time instant-kill. Note: Ninja Spy

  Class Priorities: But wait! It's not quite that simple, there are class priorities, players you should try to take care of first or they will become a huge problem late game.
 Engineer: A level 2-3 sentry will have pretty big push, especially when you're knocked into the air. These guys should be top priority, as their sentry can deal huge damage and their dispenser will aid the entire team.
 Medic: Obvious choice to kill, they will heal and uber valuable teammates which will kill you faster. Try to take them out before their ubercharge is complete, or by surprise before they ubercharge at all. Using your rage will prevent them from using it, if you want them to hate you for it, but all's fair in love and war.
 Sniper: You'll find these players in distant areas all across the map, take them out quickly or they will literally eat your health away.
 Pyro: Pyros will often airblast you 90% of the time, usually to keep you off of them or to protect valuable teammates. Let them exhaust their 10 airblasts or get them with some skillful super jumps. Watch out on certain maps, they'll definitely try to push you in a pit of some kind. (note Arena_Nucleus)
 Spy: Not very dangerous if you keep an eye out for them, if you know there's a Spy, don't let them get on your backside, unless you want a chunk of your health gone. Spies can get a stab on even the most skilled players... want to know their weakness? Turn around every once in a while! Paranoia is your friend. Be wary, dead ringer is abundant here. Typically you will need to hit a dead ringer spy 3 times through his cloak to kill him before he heals.
 Scout: 95% of the time, you will never have to worry about the scouts, they'll mostly be running around anyway.

Things are a bit different...

There are quite a few weapon modifications in this game mode, but no use in placing them again.
They're all here at the tf2 wiki.
Some servers may vary greatly and differ from the below class guide. If it is different it is because the author has not played on your different hale server.

Being a Scout

  Scout, you run fast and die a v-- erm... basically Scout can be both offensive, and support.
You will be as annoying as possible without getting too close to the boss, try to keep the boss's attention while everyone else deals the damage.
Most bosses will ignore you if you keep your distance, so grab a Sandman and (try to) stun them.
My favorite to use against the boss is the Force'a'Nature, which allows you to get close enough to deal some damage while staying safe.
Many servers run VSH differently, so you may have different loadouts depending on what is available.
Scouts are often limited to 2-3, per server.

  For weapons that aren't a Force'a'Nature, you will mainly be holding your distance. Most servers will only let your pistol minicrit, which will only be about 22 damage from afar. Critacola is a nice touch for servers that don't have tauntcrits, and mad milk will help heal anyone who's been taking some damage somehow, usually rocket jumpers. Due to scouts being so trollish, the Baby Face Blaster may have various changes depending on the server.
Bonk will just make you more annoying, and will also make you invulnerable to rages while active. Bonk is a nice combination with servers that have Goomba-stomps enabled.
Speaking of goomba-stomps, the minimal distance for you to goomba is a double jump starting from on top of the boss' head, so if a boss is AFK go jump on their heads!

 Just remember, sometimes a good sandman stunball can be a godsend for anyone the boss is close to.

Not to use:
 *Crit-a-cola is redundant with Tauntcrits available, but is a great item when there are no tauntcrits.
 Baby Faces Blaster may have various nerfs to keep scouts from being impossible to catch.

And for the love of everything, don't pick scout simply to just run around, other people want to play scout effectively.

Being a Soldier

  Prep those rockets (and hopefully tauntcrits) because you're going to fling the boss all over the place (and commonly into other players or yourself).
My favorite loadout is Liberty Launcher (before the weapon updates), Gunboats, Escape Plan. I will often swap to Black Box if the map doesn't have very many health kits. Gunboats and Mantreads take reduced falling damage in this game mode (around 3-4) so you can rocket jump all day, so long as you don't blow yourself up. Mantreads provide additional rocket jump force, allowing you to jump across most of the map in one explosive leap; although if goomba stomps are enabled, mantreads may likely overwrite goomba and cause you to lose out on about 1488 damage.

  A rule of thumb: If the boss is getting too close, then rocket jump out of there, it is best to stay alive and deal as much damage as possible. When using the stock rocket launcher, always keep 1 extra rocket for escape if you aren't in a completely safe area. If tauntcrits are not available, you might need to try some skillshots with Direct Hit if you hope to deal some big damage. The best way to impede the boss' movement is to aim for their legs, this will knock them into the air and stop their movement for half a second, and give you enough time to think about where to rocket jump, or get some skillful crits with the Direct Hit. Warning, a boss can jump over the explosion of the Direct Hit unharmed, they know what you're planning if they jump, try to counter this by aiming up a bit more.

  Typically on a tauntcrit server, I will find a high perch and try to manipulate the crit rockets to bounce the boss away from my teammates below. If there are no tauntcrits, you may need to get a bit close in order to deal some damage. Try to get hits for around 100, not long distance 24's.

And with an update, the battalion's backup can now charge off of damage done. This item is amazing for team support as it only takes about 800 damage to charge and lasts for 8-10 seconds. Anyone buffed with this backpack will take around 33 damage, down from 202. That's HUGE, it would take the boss 4-5 hits just to kill a scout who's buffed with the backup.
This also means you can't rocket jump very often, and you can at least take 1 hit and fully charge the backup with 13 health left, assuming hale's damage spread is turned off.
If you feel that you may get raged or a group around you, pull it out and hold M1 to hold the buff until you can save literally everybody around you.
Note: you cannot rocket jump as high as you normally would be able to while buffed.

  Short version: Keep your distance and shoot crockets. Always rocket jump away from boss.

Protip for Hales: If you're a boss that cannot super jump, think about using a soldier's rockets to reach areas you normally can't. -- Sometimes avoiding damage isn't always the best plan. ;)

Not to use:
 Secondary guns and backpacks usually aren't as worthwhile as boots.

Being a Pyro

  Pyro, in my opinion, is one of the worst at dealing damage, but one of the best at supporting everyone else, namely engineers. Before you get raged, camp a sentry/dispenser and airblast to keep the boss off your friends. It's often incredibly hard to get large ammount of damage with a pyro, even with a pocket medic. You have to be in a dangerous area to get any damage going on, and you will often be a primary rage target due to your airblasting.
  Usually one of your primary jobs is keeping the boss off of engineers and medics, or pushing their back into a spy.

  There are some skillful degreaser tricks you can do that involve airblast and melee without fear of getting hit, but this tactic takes practice. Another modification is your flare gun, which usually does a bit extra damage and can help you fly across the map like a rocket jumper would when aimed at the ground or wall, but keep in mind where health packs are, as flare jumping can eat a lot of health due to falling damage.

Not to use:
 Do not use the Phlogistinator, you lose your primary defense mechanisms and aid nobody, you will often die right away.
 Any Melee with reduced damage, everything crits, so doing less than 195 will gimp you.
 Backburner is still viable, not not as much. You only get 3-4 airblasts instead of 9-10, and never have enough speed to stay behind the boss to benefit from crits.

Being a Demoman

  Demo is a versatile class in VSH, using almost any loadouts you're familiar with. Demomen can be a direct and constant assault on the boss, or supportive damage around tight corridors and sentry nests.

  The best way to get damage is usually to have a shield equipped (preferably Splendid Screen), which will grant your grenade launchers full crits the entire time. (that is, if you're good with aiming grenades) Sticky bombs are always a great way to get some damage in as well, but usually only with tauntcrits. It is best to place them in areas the boss is forced to move though, such as tight areas to reach you, on a sentry, or on top of a teleporting area.

  The number of time's I've seen demomen put down a single sticky trap in the middle of a wide area, and not even be crit boosted with tauntcrits available... non-crit stickies are very unthreatening and are easy to avoid. They will, however, still send the boss flying across the map, but for very little damage (usually 400-800, instead of over 3000-4000 if they were critboosted) It's always nice to hide your stickies around a corner that you know they will be coming around, just keep line of sight. Note, a lot of bosses will try to fake a run over your traps to make you detonate them early, keep a close eye.

  Demoknighting is a little more advanced here, your weapons will have full crits with a shield equipped and you will at most times always have an escape plan ready. Make use of those grenade crits, they will be your primary source of damage; aim for the boss's legs and it will knock him into the air like soldier can. At any time you can use your shield charge to rush into the boss, the impact will lift them into the air, allowing you to send them flying away with a melee swing.
  The most popular reason for demoknights is the fact your shield will block 1 hit from any hale, however, you lose your shield and charge abilities when hit. Using any eyelander type weapon is a common choice, as 4-5 hits will give you just enough health to take a third hit (it should on most servers), as well as plenty of speed to keep your distance. Note, if the boss uses a scout or spy weapon, they will hit you for well over 300, so you won't be able to take a third hit. If you decide to use a persian persuader, you will be primarily taking advantage of shield bash's lift when doing so.
  Most importantly, always strafe around your boss, even the most skill players can have trouble hitting you if you're strafing all around them, never run in a straight line toward the boss, unless you're using your charge. And not always in just one direction, strafe left and right so you always zoom past the boss player's screen.

Not to use:
 Wee Booties' extra health will not benefit your survival except for requiring 1 or 2 few heads using eyelander.
 Claidheamh Mòr is basically worthless compared to the Eyelander.

Being a Heavy

  Being a heavy usually means you can always take more than 1 hit from the boss (unless it's a spy, scout, or a crit.) You will, like in regular tf2, be a popular heal target by medics, as with their uber you can really dish out the damage, with most of your crits hitting for 27, 54, 81, or 108, depending on how close you are to the boss or a bit more with Brass Beast.

  As a heavy, you cannot run too quickly (Gloves of Running Urgently {GRU} will let you run as fast as a scout while draining health {jump while double tapping Q to offset the drain}), so it is best to find a higher perch that is a bit difficult for the boss to reach, while at the same time being close enough to deal some good damage. Because all of the heavy's taunts take forever, it's best to carry around a Hi Five or Director's Vision, as they are only 2 and 3 seconds respectively, that is if tauntcrits are enabled. Otherwise find a pocket medic, aim, and shoot.

  Because there is no setup time, your GRU will help build a medic's ubercharge faster, and quickly find some place to shoot from. Usually the best weapon to use is the Brass Beast, because this will be the only minigun that is capable of pushing the boss back while crit-boosted. You're crits won't last forever, if the boss begins to draw too close, try to jump, as when you get hit in the air you'll be sent flying away with 100 health to spare. You can drop your sandvich for a quick 150 heal and procede to run with your GRU while someone else distracts the boss, hopefully. If you have a medic, there's not much you can do to save him besides being a punching bag. You can take 2 extra hits when overhealed. Standing critboosted down a narrow path can also be quite lethal.

  Note that heavy is capable of punching and jumping while stunned, if you are stunned by a rage, jump before you get hit so you can recover after being knocked away.

Not to use:
 Natascha doesn't slow the boss, so all you're doing is gimping your damage output.
 Tomislav has practically no knockback and has 20% less dps than stock, you won't be ambushing anyone in this game mode.
 Dakolah Bar: Even if there is no medic, a measly little 50 health will not save you from a second hit.
 Eviction Notice: Just no.
 Holiday Punch: With some hotfixes, these mitts will do basically nothing against the boss, besides make him laugh without impairing his killing or movement.
 Killing Gloves of Boxing: Your melee weapons already crit, it's best to use something else.

Being an Engineer

  As an engineer, you will be quickly targetting by the boss before you have a chance to set up your buildies, or most commonly before you can get them upgraded. It's best to have some allies to help protect you, set up around allies, or find a mundane area you suspect the boss won't be around too much. The best areas are higher areas that require the boss to jump to you, where the sentry will push him away each time he tries to get close. If you cannot reach a certain area, concider jumping atop your buildings for additional height. When being healed by medic, your sentry will minicrit.
  Many servers will allow you to build an Amplifier instead of a dispenser, which will grant minicrits to everyone nearby, including your sentry (only if you yourself are near the amp) by typing "/amp"
Many servers limit only 3 engineers at once, too many sentries can easily overpower the boss.

 Engineer has plenty of weapon choices, all of which are viable in VSH. The Widowmaker will help restore your ammo with the aid of tauntcrits, and can allow you to replenish ammo supplies without having to find ammo boxes, which are usually small ammo boxes in normal vsh. The Frontier Justice will grant you crits as long as your sentry is firing at something, which can aid some additional damage when you're close enough to score some big hits. The new Rescue Ranger can be extremely helpful for pulling your sentry away from the boss when it takes damage, as you won't have to rebuild it from scratch. All melee slots are viable choices.
  The engineer's secondaries consist of a pistol, Wrangler, and Short Circuit. The pistol is excellent for dealing some crit damage from any distance. The Wrangler doesn't do much damage, just the normal damage allowed from any distance, but can help you reach higher areas by sentry-jumping. The short circuit is a bit different, some servers will allow it to stun the boss for 1-2 seconds, allowing you to expend your metal until someone can rescue you. You can either ask the server to find out first hand. (Warning, Heavy bosses can still punch you while stunned.) When armed with the Gunslinger, you can usually survive a hit when overhealed by a medic. The gunslinger has good knockback and can often send a boss flying.

  A different tactic is telefragging, which will grant you 9001 damage if you successfully teleport onto the boss when they are over your exit teleporter. Most players know and will never fall for a telefrag. Generally you will place an exit before another building, such as a sentry or dispenser, then walk through an entrance while they are standing atop your exit. Anyone can use your teleporters and score a telefrag, they will get the points for telefragging, not you. Sometimes you can set teleporters across the map for an escape route.

Not to use:
 Pomson 6000's damage and use is inferior to every other shotgun available, except for against Spyper, who has a cloak for you to disable.

Tip: When avoiding projectiles, sometimes you can still get hit on your outside hitboxes even when behind your sentry.

Being a Medic

  You've decided to play as a medic this time, now you'll be healing and aiding the survival of your teammates with overheal. You start with a minimum of 40% uber and gain ubercharge quickly as if using a kritzkrieg. VSH comes with a modified medigun that grants both uber and kritz, draining from 140%. Most of the classes cannot take a hit even with overheal, so you'll be sticking to those who can while still healing those who are injured. Scouts, Engineers, Snipers, and Spies cannot take an extra boss hit while overhealed, so you won't need to worry about them. There are a few exceptions, a Scout with the pocket pistol (and not a sandman) can be overhealed to 210 health, which should allow him to take a hit. An Engineer with the gunslinger will thank you for overhealing them when they get hit by the boss, they will have 225 health. The medic gains assist damage, which is equal to half of all the damage your heal target does. Some accurate snipers can be great healing targets, but don't pocket them, other people need you!

  Some classes are much better healing targets than others, this rule applies to your ubercharge. An ubercharged Heavy can wreck a boss in seconds, assuming they don't flee. Spies can also be great heal targets, heal them before they stab so you can gain half their damage, and possibly uber. 8 times out of 10 a boss will use their rage after being stabbed. A valuable heal target can be an engineer: when healing an engineer, the total damage inflicted by the sentry is doubled! The sentry will be minicrit boosted from 16 to 22, and you will gain damage for 11 per hit. (essentially from 16 to 33)
 Some servers have a bungee medibeam, which pulls you toward your heal target when you and they jump simultaneously by holding the jump key. This is good for escaping with soldiers, demomen, and pyros, or to join anyone who is at a higher terrain level than you.

  Don't forget to use your uber even if it is to save your own life, and switch your heal targets while ubered to save multiple lives at once, don't just pocket that one person at the expense of everyone else. Many times the boss knows you have an uber, and will rage you before they get close just so you can't activate it. If the boss begins to get too close, you can attempt to push away them with your melee by crouching and aiming upwards at the boss.

 Syringe vs Crossbow, both are modded for VSH. All syringe guns are replaced with a specialized VSH syringe which grants +5% uber on hit. Sounds awesome right? It is, except for how difficult it is to actually hit the boss with syringes. The crossbow has some massive damage boost and always crits, and can make for some high damaging battle medics. The crossbow will also grant +10% ubercharge on hit, with most servers. Crossbow crits can crit the boss for over 500 at maximum distance, and can fully heal any other player from any distance, it's just that hitting anything with the crossbow can be quite a chore.

Healing Targets Pros and Cons
 Scout: Most often they won't be able to do much damage for you, even with uber. But they do give you a speed boost, allowing you to escape from the boss with them. Usually cannot survive a hit while overhealed.
 Soldier: They do good damage with their rockets and can be devastating in a closed area with an ubercharge. By holding the jump key you can fly with them when they rocket jump. Can survive 1 additional hit with overheal.
 Pyro: Pyros will require a medic's overheal just so they can deal some damage safely, they will love you for this, despite still not doing as much damage as other classes. Can survive 1 additional hit with overheal.
 Demoman: Demomen will usually be all over the place, which doesn't always make them a viable heal target. They will be charging around the boss or waiting to use their sticky traps. Heal them before they detonate their stickies so you can benefit from their burst damage. Can survive 1 additional hit with overheal.
 Heavy: The best target to heal with their hitscan miniguns, both you and the heavy will deal great damage against the boss, especially with an ubercharge. Can survive 1 additional hit with overheal (from 2 to 3 hits).
  Engineer: Healing an engineer will double the total sentry damage from 16 to 33, so it is always a good idea to heal them when their sentry is shooting. Ubercharge will do nothing more than save their life. Can survive 1 additional hit only when using the Gunslinger.
 Medic: You're healing another medic, that's fine, they will be able to survive an extra hit from the boss while overhealed, and can deal some gamebreaking chain ubers with the handy Ubersaw if you can keep up with the boss. If the boss is chasing another medic, concider overhealing them so they can take a hit. Can survive 1 additional hit with overheal.
 Sniper: Snipers normally crit with all their weapons, and a fully charged shot will deal 450 damage, and 225 to yourself. It's nice to gain that bonus damage by healing them just before they shoot. Cannot survive a hit with overheal.
 Spy: Spies you won't heal very often, what with their cloaking and dead ringering; but try to heal them before they pull off a stab, as you will gain half their backstab damage. Some spies can get off a couple sidestabs while ubered and confronting the boss. Cannot survive a hit with overheal.

Not to use:
 Vita-Saw: You already start with 40% uber, this is unnecessary.
 Solemn Vow: About as great as stock in this mode, best to use the Ubersaw.

Be wary, as while you are ubercharged the boss can knock you quite a distance, use this as an escape plan and don't go flying off of any ledges!

Being a Sniper

  Sniping's a good job, mate! You won't have to worry about getting those tricky headshots, your rifles should always crit and can deal 150-450 damage on any body shot. Many servers limit the number of snipers allowed at once, but when they aren't limited, they can be everywhere and eat the boss' health 450 at a time. Most servers may have the Bushwacka wall climb enabled, which allows you to climb around the map for 15 health per climb. Razorback and Danger Shield are replaced with SMG, as creators think they serve no purpose in this gamemode. Few servers allow you to use Jarate, which will often reduce the boss's rage by 8%. The Cozy Camper is a decent choice if you plan on wall climbing a lot.

  Most of your sniper rifles will be fine. Your stock sniper rifle will cause the boss to glow, which will allow everyone on your team to see where he is at all times. Time scales with how much damage you did. The machina will alert your position and is only useful if you make use of the damage bonus at full charge. The Sydney Sleeper is one of the best dps snipers in VSH with its +25% charge rate, but does not make the boss glow. The Bazaar Bargain may be available in some modes, gaining a head when you miss and resets entirely when you make a hit. The huntsman is much harder to use, and comes with a 50% damage boost.
  If you successfully hit the boss with a huntsman taunt, they will be stunned and unable to act. Keep spamming your taunt until you win.

Not to use:
 HItman's Heatmaker is simply a gimp in damage and usually doesn't give charge. Some servers let you gain charge, but it's not worth the damage decrease.
 Cleaner's Carbine already has crits, you're just sacrificing DPS.
 Anything other than Bushwacka (on most servers) as they will not allow you to climb walls.

Protip: The wall climb isn't only limited to simply climbing walls, use to to reach a higher level to escape from the boss.

Note: there are some servers that remove your damage bonuses if you use the bushwacka, make sure to plan loadouts ahead of time, or you'll end up being completely useless.

Being a Spy

  As a spy, you will want to be sly and tricky. Disguising as an enemy will give out the fact you are a spy, so press the - key (after 0) to disguise as a teammate and remain under cover until you can stab. It is often a good idea to disguise differently every now and again, as a boss may pick up on which class is a spy, I usually disguise as anything that doesn't slow me down. Traditionally a backstab will do around 10% of the boss' total health, which always makes them valuable damage classes, especially when you get multiple stabs. Most servers script so you cannot immediately backstab again, and are shortly paralized like from stabbing a Razorback. (Protip, quickly swap weapons to bypass this). Most spies will stab once then back off with a dead ringer, odds are the boss is going to use a rage and turn around to kill you immediately. Your revolver automatically minicrits, and your knife does not crit. Your dead ringer will allow you to take 2 hits with 1 health leftover. The Cloak and Dagger is replaced with a regular cloaking watch (so you can't hide forever some place.)
Spies can often do the most damage out of any class, comparable to snipers, as their backstabs are massive burst damage.

  Some of the best tactics is to stay above the boss somewhere, and drop down for a stab when he begins to pass by. Many spies forget they have a revolver, this can deal decent damage with tauntcrits if you're not ready to stab. If you're trying to run and cloak with a regular watch, it is best to turn around and run in the other direction after you are fully cloaked, the hale will keep running in your initial direction thinking you went that way. When using the dead ringer, a good escape plan is to jump before being hit, it will send you flying away from the boss and give you time to look for health.
If goomba-stomps are enabled, the goomba is replaced with backstab damage if your knife is active, use the revolver to goomba if backstabs do less than a goomba.

  Dead Ringer spies can be just as annoying as those useless scouts that run around, if there are plenty health packs on the map. They will often hold up the round with 0 damage.
  
Not to use:
 Your Eternal Reward disables your disguises, you will need to be extra sneaky to stab without a disguise.
 Conniver's Kunai does not give you enough health to survive a hit, and you cannot dead ringer a hit with 60 health.
 You won't crit often with the Ambassador and does less damage compared to other guns.
 Diamondback sounds cool, but suffers from decreased damage, plus there is nothing to sap.

Specific Boss Tips

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=225907907

Final

  I felt like putting together a guide based on my experiences in a game mode I play often and hope it will be useful for those who may not know all the tricks.

My experiences are mostly from playing on Saxton Hell servers, which are a bit different and balanced compared to other servers.

Feel free to comment and let me know if I overlooked something. I'll later add some images to spice up this guide.

Have some fun with some cameo slots for friends in the images. :3

/3.1.2013
First two images grabbed off of Google, rest created in SFM.

/

[Lunacy]

try to delete (or backup) your mods folder and redownload the server files or find somewhere online to download VSH files.

[brotherofschism]

they dont thow saxtion is a error

[Lunacy]

textures should download automatically when you join a server

[brotherofschism]

How do I get the texture

[that one pyro main]

how do you ply this

[Robin]

I have 3 rules that HAVE TO BE ADDED!
1: no camping as boss
2: no stalling
3: no friendlies

[SUkey]

Saxton Hale rule no.1: Rage the nearest enemy you see. no.2: see player survival rules 1-rest.

[Lunacy]

pretty much

[SUkey]

Survival rule 1-1000: Don't get too close. Survival rule 1001-rest: Don't die.

[Pieniadz9]

Well, revived players, not summons. Summons have mostly custom models. Revived players have no custom model, but thier keep thier guns.