A guide to Espionage by LordXiphos

Hello, this guide is for anyone who needs advice, suggestions, ideas etc. on how to play spy. Spy is probably the most unique class in Team Fortress 2, and in the FPS genre considering that you can't disguise in Call of Duty. You also can't sap sentries or turn invisible to get past defenses in Call of Duty either. The idea of spy may sound simple to many, but it's easier said than done. In this guide I will talk about things you need to know and throw in helpful tricks and tips to help you get that last stab. Finally I do know that there are many guides on Team Fortress 2 explaining how to play certain classes and that perhaps the idea is a bit over used. I hope at the end of this guide you get something out of it and perhaps see that it's different from other guides.

Basic things you should already know about Spy.

A few basic things for you to know.

*Spy is the 9th class of Team Fortress 2

*Spy carries a Revolver, an Electro Sapper, a Knife, a Disguise Kit, and an Invisibility Watch.

*Maximum health is 125, 100 with the Big Earner, and 60 with the Conniver's Kunai

*Unlike other classes, Spy was made for stealth, taking out priority targets, and destroying/disabling
Enemy defenses (Sentry Guns mostly)

*When disguised, cloaked, or just as normal, enemy players can bump into you indicating that you are a Spy. If cloaked you are slightly visible (most people, if not all, will try to kill you)

*When diguised as another player they can see when you call out voice commands such as, MEDIC!, Spy!, Incoming!, Go go go!, Go Left!, Go Right!, Move up!, etc. When diguised, these commands appear in the chat bar and the person you are disguised as can see it and tell his teammates you are infact, a spy.

*When disguised as a Scout, or Medic, you do not move as fast as them and are oddly suspicious for being a "Slow Scout" or "Slow Medic who refuses to heal anyone"

*When disguised or cloaked, if you are on fire you glow the color of whatever team you're on. If covered in Mad Milk, Jarate, (Or you're bleeding), people will spy check you 99.99% of the time. Also when trying to cloak and covered in a liquid/bleeding out you will be shown dripping the substance.

*When trying to sap a Sentry Gun, you must be disguised not to get shot.

*Patience is needed and is learned through experience and discipline.

I'm sure if you've read other Spy guides that this has been drilled into your heads but it's important to remember these things.

Stock Weapons

This section is devoted to stock weapons so that you can compare certain weapons to them.
Example being: Revolver vs. Diamond Back.


1. The Revolver: A reliable weapon for the Beginner and Master spy. Dealing 55-60 Damage at point blank, At Medium Range 35-45, At Long Range 16-25, on Mini Crit 54-81, lastly on Crit 120

The Revolver though is not as effective at long range doing less damage as it travels. The bullets also tend to spread (not move in an entirely straight line) so be aware of this.
You carry 30 Bullets and have 6 in each clip. You reload at moderate speed putting 6 bullets back into the gun each time instead of having to do it individually.

The Revolver is perhaps the perfect weapon for picking of weak targets near by when it's a Medic, a Scout etc. The Revolver is also good for dealing with enemy Pyros because you can stay out of range of his FlameThrower while dealing moderate damage to him. For dealing with enemy Spies, the Revolver may be ideal for staying away from his knife (because he can backstab you as well) while dealing good damage point blank to medium range. Also with enemy Sniper's using the secondary "weapon" known as the Razorback, you can dispense of them easily using the Revolver point blank 2-3 shots should kill them. Remember that the Revolver is not your "Go-To" Weapon, but it is important to use this weapon as it could save your life and even your team! Finally remember that you undisguise when you shoot and cannot shoot while cloaked.


2. The Electro Sapper: This weapon is one of many reasons why spy is so dangerous. The Electro Sapper is used to disable and damage buildings that the Engineer sets up over time. Since it also disables buildings your team can push on the fortified area that the other team has built. Excellent in every way to harass enemy Engineers and their team mates who need health/ammo and a faster way to get to another area.



The Sapper destroys Level 1 Sentries at approximatley 6 seconds, Level 2 Sentries at 7.20 seconds, Level 3 Sentries at 8.64 seconds, and finally the cursed "Mini-Sentry" at 4 seconds. Remember that it becomes quite obvious you are a spy when you sap enemy buildings when someone is their to witness it. Also the Engineer is notified when his buildings become sapped and will alert his team mates as well as hunt you down (most of the time) to make sure you're not a problem in the future.


3. The Knife: Perhaps what the spy is most known for, the knife is a Balisong/Butterfly Knife which deals damage from a range of 34-46, on Mini Crit 46-62, on Crit 120, and on Backstab 1200, with an attack interval of .8 seconds.
The Stock Knife is perfect for getting rid of key target such as Medics at close range. The catch is, you must be behind them, otherwise it doesn't instantly kill them. Also it would be wise not to be noticed before and after the assassination.

Seeing as how the standard stock Knife does not have any gimmicks, it's a reliable weapon for all spies. After stabbing however you will undisguise and people will see you as an enemy spy. You also cannot stab while cloaked so be aware of this when you try to kill an enemy player.


4. The Disguise Kit: Your Second tool of Stealth, The Disguise Kit keeps you from being seen as an enemy spy and keeps Sentry Guns from automatically shooting you. After selecting which class to disguise as you must wait 2 seconds before it actually works/transforms you into the class of the enemy team. Be aware that you are also covered in smoke clouds while disguising so switching from class to class infront of others will (most of the time) get you killed/noticed. To your team though, you are seen as a spy (hats removed) with a mask of the face of the enemy class you have selected. Finally you move as slow as any other class you disguise as but not as fast. As I have said before, remember this as you try to pull off the look of the Scout!


5. The Invisibility Watch: Your Primary tool of Stealth and Escape. The Invisibility Watch is used to get past enemy defenses without being detected, hide from enemy players, and to escape to safety while leaving others without a clue of where you went.

The Invisibility watch will keep you invisible for 10 seconds continuously and needs 30 seconds to recharge completley. Meaning that for every 3 seconds you get 1 second back.Do not waste cloak because it could mean life or death in certain situations.

Also it does make a sound while cloaking and uncloaking, be cautious when uncloaking right behind that Sniper. You cannot shoot, stab, reload, etc. while cloaked but you can disguise while cloaked. Use this to stay undetected in enemy lines. Finally you need to remember when to uncloak. Which mean not infront of other players or anyone who can witness you uncloak.

Lastly the Invisibility watch allows you to recharge it by collecting ammo boxes and the weapons of fallen players. Doing this to quickly recharge is a good tactic to use when almost out of energy. Plus, you can find "Routes" in certain maps to take to refill you cloak and stay hidden. Just be careful when taking health or ammo because they can notice this.


This is the end of our look at Stock Weapons, so now we move onto other weapons you may try.

The Ambassador

Perhaps the most widely used Spy Revolver in Team Fortress 2, the Ambassador features the ability to do Headshot Damage to enemy players which is almost always reserved for Sniper, in exchange for minor damage reduction, slower firing speed, and no random critical hits. Anyone who masters aiming with this weapon can devastate the enemy team. But if you are not able to make this weapon efficient then perhaps this weapon isn't for you. Remember that it reduces damage by 15% of the revolver which happens to be 46-51 at point blank, 31-37 at mid range, and 15-19 at long range. Also if you do manage to get Crits/Headshots the damage comes out to 102 and Mini-Crit is 46-69. The dammage from Revolver shots are greater than that of the Ambassador unless the Ambassador is getting Headshots. Though for skilled players this is an excellent tool to use and I encourage you to do so. For those having trouble I recommend you either find a new gun which is perhaps more efficient for your play style or learn how to aim this gun at a "Walkway server". The link is here if you want to download the map:

http://forums.tf2maps.net/showthread.php?t=8909

The Diamond Back

This gun may be a bit controversial being that it does have a 15% damage penalty and a "No Random Crits" penalty when compared to the standard Stock Revolver. (This Damage being 46-51 point blank, 31-37 mid range, 15-19 long range, 46-69 on Mini-Crit, and 102 on Crit). Now the upside to this gun which makes it good is that, for every building destroyed with your Sapper attached, you gain 1 guaranteed critical hit. This means you can shoot anywhere on the body to deal crit damage with this gun (if you destroyed a building with your sapper). You don't have to be an elite marksman to use this gun, but you do need to actually have the bullet make contact on the opponents body. You may be thinking that, sure I can take care of the Engineer's buildings and get away. Perhaps, or maybe you don't get away and he catches you in the act. Maybe his team mates kill you. Or how about you do get away and they remove the Sapper, what happens then? First off you need to make sure you do not die. Dieing with crits means you lose the crits. Also if you are already dead and you do manage to destroy the building you were sapping, you don't get crits on respawn (unless it was destroyed after you respawn). To many, this weapon is deemed as useless and that you should use Ambassador. I find that all weapons have their purpose, and that some may be better than others. Here that is not the case. The Diamond Back has saved me many times whether I am fighting a Pyro, a Soldier, even a Heavy! I also find that this weapon is good for countering Revengineers and the dreaded Sentry Nest. Revengineers use the Frontier Justice and the GunSlinger. They will spam Mini-Sentry and get as many kills as possible. Then when they decide to destroy their Mini-Sentry, they gain 2 crits for every kill. They can store 35 Crits, the same as the Diamond Back and deal immense damage (180 max). But they still only have 150 Health (+25 with GunSlinger) meaning that you can easily counter them by Sapping their Mini-Sentries and then proceed to kill them anyway you like, (Suggested to use your gun though). For dealing with Sentry Nests it may be better to have team mates with you. If there happen to be 3-4 engineers you absolutley need a friendly Heavy, Demo, Pyro, Soldier, etc. Because the buildings don't actually need to be destroyed by your Sapper, they only need it attached. This means that if you attach a Sapper to a Sentry Gun and a team mate destroys it, you still gain the bonus Crit Damage. This weapon is definetly not useless but it requires a bit more thinking to fit into your play style. No matter what anyone says, this is a good gun.

The L'Etranger

A well known gun to those who put stealth first. The L'Etranger is for those who don't mind having a weaker gun to have a special bonus where you gain cloak back for every bullet which goes into another player. This gun can be immensly helpful if your watch is out of cloak and you're spotted. Using this to quickly recharge with it's +15 cloak on hit you can deal minor damage while getting more cloak to escape. This gun also features another bonus of +40% cloak duration, allowing you to stay cloaked longer than normal by 4 whole seconds. This is more than it sounds and can be life saving or just plain convienient when trying to pass by some nasty Pyros. Though like I said before, you do less damage. Up to 20% less damage that is and that comes out to 44-48 point blank, 28-36 at mid range, 15-18 long distance, on Mini Crit 43-65, and finally on crit 96. If you do depend on your gun then this may not be the right choice for you, and the L'Etranger may get you killed when being chased by a Pyro. Another thing about this gun is that you don't want to shoot when you don't have enough cloak, and there's no one weak enough to be killed or no one notices you. Your watch recharges on it's own and you should only shoot if noticed or if theres someone easy to pick off. The L'Etranger is for the Spy who needs to escape without needing firepower. Overall depending on your play style, this is an excellent choice.

The Enforcer

As many of you have seen (or used) the Enforcer before, it is smaller than many of the Spy's guns, it packs a punch. Dealing 20% bonus damage while undisguised you know this is gonna hurt. Though the downside to using this gun is that it is 20% slower in firing speed compared to the Revolver, and again, cannot deal Random Crits. The damage from a single shot from this gun comes out to a large 70-72 at point blank, 41-55 at mid range, 24-26 at long range, on Mini Crit 65-97, and finally on Crit 144. The Enforcer to many has been showed as perhaps an "F2P" or "Free 2 Play" gun, this can benefit the Spy who needs to get rid of his pursuers. Now you may have some trouble trying to quickly dispatch them because of the slow firing speed so be accurate. You don't have to hit a tiny dot we call a head, but you still need to land those shots. Missing can be very dangerous and cost your life. If you are good at staying hidden, you may not need to use this gun often. If this is the case, consider using Stock Revolver, Diamond Back, or L'Etranger instead. This gun is good for taking down healthier targets and can devastate enemy players who are unsuspecting.

Your Eternal Reward

Truly this knife is something of a game changer. The bonus of having this knife is that you automatically disguise as the person you just Backstabbed, the kill is silent so they don't make a noise (a loud one at least) and it does not appear in the kill-feed, and that the body disappears making it so no one knows that you stabbed them and are actually them. Your Eternal Reward does have an immensly negative effect of taking away your disguise kit, leaving you open to Sentry Gun fire and well, fire if anyone sees you. The knife is very useful for chain stabs as they hear nothing and you're still disguised. Though the last negative effect that takes all the stealth away from this knife is that, if the other team is using voice chat and communicating to each other, they will instantly tell all their comrades that you are disguised as them. Then they kill you. For Short-Term use it's very good at it's job. Over Long-Term use it may kill you if you don't change disguises quick enough. Which also means you have to kill multiple players quickly to not be noticed since you don't have your disguise kit, and even then they may kill you. Over all this is not a knife I would recommend to you. Not saying it's a bad knife, because people can do amazing things with it. But I do not recommend the high-risk,high-reward gameplay style this gives to you.

The Conniver's Kunai

Another very High-Risk, High-Reward type weapon should only be used by people who know what they are doing. The bonus to using this weapon is that for every enemy killed by Backstabbing you "Absorb" the health from the victim. This also recovers you from burn damage which can save you from the afterburn effect of enemy Pyros. The big negative effect of this is that, it removes 65 points of health from you. Meaning you're running into the battlefield with only 60 points of health. Which ultimatley means 2 things. 1, On hit with pretty much any weapon: You're dead. 2, You need to be extremely stealthy. This weapon can be very rewarding in that you get health back from backstabs and that you don't need to get many health packs. But if anyone notices you, be sure that a little more than 75% of the time, you're going to die. This weapon can be good for Experienced Spies, but for those who are just starting out you should take the Stock Knife.

The Big Earner

This knife is probably more balanced for those starting out or for those who need even more cloak. The positive effect of this knife as stated is that you gain 30% more cloak on Kill. Meaning you don't necessarily need to get a Backstab but you just need to finish him with the knife. I always do suggest though that you kill them with a backstab. Otherwise why not just use L'Etranger point blank? Anyways, the downside of using this knife is that you lose 25 health. While not as bad as the Conniver's Kunai's 65, you're still weaker than usual so be cautious when hiding, moving, etc. Combine this with the L'Etranger and you have almost instant cloak every time you kill someone. I recommend this knife to anyone trying to have a Stealthier style of play.

The Spy-cicle

A very unusual weapon, perhaps more suited for survivability. The Spy-cicle features the bonuses of Silent-Killer like the Eternal Reward, and the ability to become Fire-Proof for 2 seconds upon being hit by flames. As for the negative effects, your victims turn into a metaphorical Neon Green Banner by turning into frozen statues. This signals that a Spy has definitley entered the area and may still be there. The last negative effect for this knife is that it melts when you get hit by fire. Sure you may be fire proof for 2 seconds and manage to get away from that Pyro. But perhaps a Heavy followed by his Medic come strolling past you (not noticing). You don't have a knife for about 15 seconds after you were lit on fire. You might of easily killed the Heavy and Medic if you still had your knife. This weapon is in my opinion all about survivability seeing that it is the only one which can save you from fire, and does not reduce your base health of 125. I do not recommend this knife for those in need of stealth as your victims stated previously, turn into Ice Statues. Also you really do need that knife at all times. I do recommend this for those who are starting, or for those not seeking a high level of Stealth.

The Cloak and Dagger

A very widely used Invisibility Watch, that allows you to recharge while cloaked and standing still. The actual effect listed is 100% cloak regen rate. No defects listed? Must be a straight upgrade of the normal watch right? Well thats where you would be wrong. It's not listed but it only lasts for 6.2 seconds (8.7 with the L'Etranger equipped). But like I said before, you can regen while cloaked. This is because it says it's Motion Sensitive. Meaning that movement causes the cloak meter to degrade. Depending on how fast you are moving, it degrades that fast. Which also means that if you "Crouch Walk" it can last much longer. Instead of 6.2 seconds, it lasts for 60 while crouch walking. Good for short bursts of movement I guess you could say. Though if you do choose to Crouch Walk all the way to the enemy base you might as well move for 6.1 seconds and stop, then repeat. Also because it recharges 100% faster, you only need to wait 15 seconds. This is the perfect watch for those who want to stay invisible in a certain area and relay information such as enemy movement back to your team. This is very useful for setting up defenses and preparring to counter whats coming to your team. Finally the last effect which is not too much of a problem is that you cannot collect ammo boxes or the weapons of fallen players to recharge this watch. You will have to be patient and wait the whole 15 seconds or so you need to recharge your watch. Overall this watch is based on Stealth and supporting your team. I would recommend this watch to all spies, new and old.

The Dead Ringer

Famous for being probably the most "annoying" Spy watch that will ever come into existance, it is also widely used. This watch allows users to "Feign Death" which means Fake Death. The written stats are +80% cloak regen rate and a +60% drain rate. This means that you regain your cloak back 80% faster than normal but also lose it 60% faster. The Dead Ringer is different from other watches being that you cannot cloak yourself on the spot. You need to deploy it, which means you cannot shoot or stab etc. But once you are hit with anything, you "die". You don't really die but a fake body is put on the ground where you died and it even says that you died in the kill feed. With this fake death, you have resistance to all damage, about 90% infact. So instead of dieing you are cloaked and can escape. Or you can stay and try to take him by suprise. I do not recommend this though because this not a stealthy weapon in any way because once your cloak runs out or you decide to become visible again, you make a very loud static/electric type noise. This alerts anyone within a certain distance to be alerted that you are still alive. They will then most likely proceed to kill you (again). If you are attacked by a Pyro using his FlameThrower, you may be lit on fire again making the cloak useless. But if you are lit on fire you can also cloak using this damage and get rid of the flames. Being covered in Jarate or Mad Milk will not be effected if you fake your death because they don't deal damage technically. Finally perhaps the one similarity to the Stock watch is that you can refill cloak faster by collecting weapons from fallen players, ammo boxes, and sitting by a Dispencer. Over all the Dead Ringer is built around survivability and suprising enemies into thinking you're dead but you're really right behind them. I recommend this to all players who are based on Survival instead of Stealth.

The Red Tape Recorder

A very interesting and complicated weapon. The Red Tape Recorder does not technically damage buildings at all. Instead it will downgrade the building until it becomes a tool box. This may sound good because you can harass enemy Engineers by simply downgrading their buildings and never have them get to level 3. The tricky part is that this takes a long time. Downgrading buildings at approximatley 3.4 seconds that may not seem like a long time, but if you try to destroy anything it's going to take 10.4 seconds to destroy a Sentry, after it's been downgraded of course, and 21.4 seconds to destroy a Dispenser or Teleporter. Mini Sentries take 10.5 seconds so there is no real point unless you just want to disable it. While this weapon may take a long time to destroy anything it works very well for taking on 3-4 Engineers. You may not survive, unless you have team mates with you. but if you manage to put the Sappers on all or even most of their buildings, it will take a while for them to rebuild it all back to level 3. Use this to make it easier for your team to push. a Heavy has an easier time destroying a level 1 Sentry Gun compared to a level 3 Sentry Gun. A very situational weapon but it can take some time away from your enemies. Finally I must say to never, ever use this weapon in combination with the Diamond Back. Because the Sapping time to destroy a building is so long, you may never get Crits with your gun. So whats the point of having a gun which does 15% less damage and no random Crits if you could just use the Stock Revolver instead? I recommend the Red Tape Recorder to anyone in a situation with multiple Engineers.

How convincing are your Disguises?

As I am sure most of you have played as Spy before, this is the Disguise Kit screen. This allows you to disguise as any class from the other team. To your enemies you look like a single player from their team, this includes hats, miscs, and weapons. You can also observe in the bottom left corner what weapons the other person is using. The example in this picture is that I am disguised as an enemy Spy, and I look like I'm hold an Ambassador. Note that if you switch weapons your disguise does not. To switch weapons on your disguise, pull out the weapon slot you would normally pull out. So say I wanted to have my disguise hold a knife. I would take out my knife and then press B. This allows you to switch the weapons your disguise is holding. Also in this example you see that I have switch my options to only have the buttons of 1, 2, and 3, instead of each class having an individual button. This allows me to press 1 if I want to disguise as an offensive class, and then I can press 1, 2, or 3 again to select Scout, Soldier, or Pyro. (Click the screenshot to enlarge)

Now you want to be careful about who you disguise as. The wrong disguise in the wrong place will get you killed. For example:

Click to enlarge again to examine this screenshot. Notice how I am disguised as Sniper in the intel room. In a normal game of TF2, this would get me killed. Also, my disguise is using the Engineer's username because there are no Sniper's on his team. Disguising like this will get you killed many times. Things that could be easier to pull off are as listed.
*Other Engineers
*A Pyro
*A Demoman
*A Heavy

Now you want to take caution with how you enter the room. You may want to cloak first infact so that they don't know your there. You should still disguise though because without it, you will be shot by the Sentry Guns (Unless cloaked, but you can't kill with cloak on). Other things you may want to be aware of is if there are mutliple people in the room, or other people coming into the room. With multiple people, it may be harder to find a good disguise because there is a higher chance that you may be disguised as another player in the same room.

Other disguises that just may not work ever are Scout and Medic. They are both faster classes and you don't acquire additional speed when you disguise as them. When disguising as Scout you don't double jump either. Also with Medic, people expect to be healed by you, not shot/stabbed. If you don't heal them, they will spy check you, which will almost always kill you if you don't get out.

Conserving Cloak

Cloaking is a very important aspect of Spy and should not be wasted. Remember to save it for the right moments, or you may be killed later when you don't have any. Some simples examples are when there are no enemy players around. If you don't know why I'm saying this, it's because theres no one to see you anyways. Another example is when your on fire or covered in liquid. It is absolutley useless to cloak then because you are visible no matter what. Whats even worse when you do this, is that you can't shoot back or stab if you get the chance. Next is if your stalking a target. If you are at a short distance from your target, close enough to kill/stab, uncloak so you can and so you don't waste cloak. Do not rely on cloak boosting weapons too much because that will get you noticed and killed. Conserve your Cloak so you can't be seen when you need to not be seen.

Dealing with Scouts

The Scout is an annoying class to deal with as Spy. Probably the best idea is to avoid them or just not make this a prime target. They have 125 health and run much faster than you. Scouts also have the ability to double jump and capture points/push bombs twice as fast. They can deal high damage up close, which can be a problem for anyone trying to cut in close, such as yourself. Try not to get noticed because some strategies call for them hunting you down (I'll explain soon). Being that they are faster and strong at close range, they make excellent Spy Hunters. If a Scout is using Mad Milk you may want to avoid being noticed even more. When a Scout drenches you in Mad Milk it will show where you are, even if disguised. at this point uncloak and run. Or you can stay and fight. Get as close as you can to stab him from behind or at his sides. You can also stab him from under if he jumps over you. Lastly do not forget you have a gun, Scouts have low health, which means your gun may be enough to finish them. In conclusion, avoid fighting them. If you get the chance to kill one, great. But check your surroundings first and be aware of who's watching.

Dealing with Soldiers

The Soldier is a strong class on his own, and even stronger with team mates. Having the ability to Rocket Jump away from danger as well as give certain Buffs to his team (If using any of the certain Secondary Weapons such as the Buff Banner). He is a dangerous class to many, if not all your team mates having 200 health. Though the one disadvantage he has to you is that, he's slower. Being the 2nd slowest class in TF2, he is weak to Spy attacks if not in air or paranoid. A Soldier who is pushing into your teams defenses can cost the game. If you kill him you may save your team, or at least give them some time. He is best at Mid-range / Short-range and if he has the Direct Hit or Liberty Launcher, he is dangerous at Long-range as well. His Rocket Launchers deal splash based damage and are counted as projectiles. Dealing high explosive damage, make sure he doesn't notice you. Over all this is an easy target to take out, compared to others.

Dealing with Pyros

The Pyro is the most dangerous class to all Spies. His FlameThrower if targeted at you can kill you in seconds. Even if the Pyro does not kill you at that very moment, you may die later from After Burn. Dealing a total of 60 damage, After Burn also makes you visible when cloaked, and glow the color of your team when disguised. Enemies will kill you if the Pyro doesn't. Scouts are the most dangerous at this time because you can't hide and any attempt to run will also get you killed. Pyro is very effective at close range, with most of his weapons being in that range. At 175 health in total, he can effectivley protect Engineers and Heavy / Medic combo's. In addition to having flames, he has the power of air. This is worse than it sounds, because he can push you into walls and keep you there. Then he either kills you with fire, or kills you with an axe in your face. Most Pyro's have an Axstinguisher equipped dealing crits to all burning players, instantly killing anything under 195 health. while you may attempt to run from a Pyro, he can also have a Flare Gun. The Flare Gun is very widley used and for good reason. It gives Pyros the ability to deal damage from far distances. This means you may be out of range for his deadly FlameThrower. But you may still be in range of his Flare Gun. The Flare Gun will also deal Crit damage if you're already on fire. This deadly class may kill you if you get too close, but if you're going down, take him with you. You have a Revolver which deals high damage at close range, and a knife which can instantly kill him if you get at the right angle. Also do not be afraid of Half-Dead or about to die Pyros. 1-2 Shots should kill them (considering you're at a good distance). The Pyro should be avoided and kept far from you, being he is your counter class.

Dealing with Demomen

The Demoman is a very powerful class, having the same health as Pyro, and an explosive arsenal like the Soldier. Demomen carry no Hit Scan / Bullet using weapons. He uses a Grenade launcher, which may or may not instant kill you on direct hit. Either a Sticky Bomb Launcher which may kill you if you stand in the wrong spot or a Shield which is used to gain bonus resistances and to charge quick at enemy players to deal additional melee damage. Lastly they carry either a Whisky Bottle or a Sword/Axe. The explosives are dangerous to everyone, and you are no acception. Also, depending on his melee weapon, if he carries an Eyelander or reskins, he has additional reach with it and can easily kill you if in range. He does move slightly slower though, so you can catch up to him (unless he uses his shield to get away). A dangerous target, recommended to kill to remove his Sticky Bombs from areas where your team need to push.

Dealing with Heavies

The Heavy, sometimes referred to as the "Heavy Weapons Guy" has the highest health in the game and can deal extreme damage. A huge risk to your team mates, the Heavy is commonly pocketed by his teams Medic(s). When pocketed by a Medic, he has 450 Health (Depending on the Medi Gun) and can be made invincible by his Medic. Heavies are also the slowest class in all of TF2. Being the slowest, he can be killed quite easily. If pocketed by a Medic, kill the Medic first because even if you kill him, the Medic can easily escape with all his Uber. After the Medic, kill the Heavy. If the Heavy notices you, run. He takes time to rev up his Minigun, so use this to your advantage before you get mowed down. Lastly, if you are going to kill a Heavy who is on Death's Door, use the Revolver if he's alone. Most Heavies have the Sanvich equipped, restoring his health instantly after a moderatly long taunt. Almost all the time, they will stand back parallel to a wall so that Spies can't stab them. You can try to stab them over the head. Meaning you jump on their head, crouch, and stab as close to the back as possible. If you do not kill him, run. The Heavy will have full health, and a Minigun waiting for you. If you choose to take the Ambassador though, shoot them in the head 3-4 times and finish him. Each shot deals 102 damage so this can be a safer alternative. Lastly if a Heavy carries the Huo-Long Heater, he has a Ring of Fire deployed around him, lighting anyone on fire if they come close. This was made to help Heavies not get BackStabbed by Spies. Simple solutions are either. Jump on his head for an Over head Stab. Kill him using a Revolver / Ambassador at a close enough range to not be set on fire but close enough to deal moderate damage. Or lastly just stab him as soon as possible and run, a health pack may be near by or at least a friendly Medic (Just don't try to go back into the fray on fire). I recommend that you kill Heavies if your team depends on it as they are an easy target.

Dealing with Engineers (A Prime Target)

The Engineer is probably your Number One Target. Being that Spy was made to counter Engineers, and destroy their defenses. The Engineer himself is not a strong class in TF2 being that he has 125 health, moves at 100% speed and carries a Shotgun most classes call a secondary (Do not underestimate the Shotgun!). His Sentry Gun however, is very powerful. Though the Sentry Gun will not target a disguised Spy, an Engineer may carry a Wrangler which allows him to manually take control of his Sentry Gun, or just take his Shotgun or Pistol and kill you himself. With this being said, stay out of sight from the Engineer. You can either Sap his Sentry first then kill him, or kill him first and Sap the Sentry. Beware that Sapping the Sentry will immediatly get his attention and he will try to repair it, or kill the Spy who done it. You can use this to your advantage so that you can then kill him after, but if he looks for you first, stay hidden or kill him. The 2nd method which I use is only when the Sentry is facing the other way. You may want to set the Sapper as your last weapon used so that you can Quick Switch from Knife to Sapper. Kill the Engineer, and then the Sentry Gun, and you're done (Sap the teleporters and Dispencer first though). If using the Red Tape Recorder do this as quick as possible, because it's only so long before he respawns, or another Engineer or Pyro repairs his buildings. If he has a Pyro near by, you may want to either run as fast as possible or take him by suprise. You may need team mates to help you so know who you have with you. If the Engineer is a Combat / Mini-Sentry / Revengineer type of Engineer, you may want to be extra cautious because they tend to know whats around them more. They are also always on the move so time shots and avoid the Mini-Sentry (unless you sap it first). The Engineer is the most defensive class in TF2 and for good reason. You are his counter, and your team will thank you (Metaphorically) for the work you do in successfully killing off his defenses. The Engineer is 1 of 3 Prime Targets and I recommend you kill him off.

Dealing with Medics (A Prime Target)

If there are no Engineers to deal with, this is your Number One Target. The Medic is the 2nd fastest class in TF2 and has the ability to regenerate his health. At 150 health, he isn't too far from being your strength. The Medic though does not have too much fire power though. Carrying a gas powered Syringe Gun which fires Automatic (Like a Machine Gun) in Archs with minimal damage, and a Bonesaw which Crits like crazy, the Medigun is where he shines. The Medigun allows him to heal his team mates, give them 50% more health than normal, and finally buff them (depending on which Medigun he's using) making them Invincible or deal Crit Damage for 8 whole seconds. The Medic is a dangerous target to your team as a whole and should be killed quick. If you allow him to build his Ubercharge, he'll wipe out your team. Being that he is faster than you, you'll have a hard time catching up to him if he is running or if he has noticed you. Medics most of the time will not be afraid to deal with a Spy. If they are pocketing another team mate they will Spy check often to make sure he and his patient are safe. Be cautious when trying to kill him because if you do get caught you may get bonesaw in your face. Even worse is if he is carrying an Ubersaw to gain more uber per hit. You may actually hurt your team if you fail to kill him and are actually killed by him. Also if you decide to kill him and he is low on health, finish him quickly because he will regain his health soon. Medics are an important target to kill so that your team is safe from Ubercharges and that the other team doesn't have a Medic to heal them. I would highly recommend you kill them depending on the situation.

Dealing with Snipers (A Prime Target)

Depending on the skill level of the Sniper, he may be your rival for kills. Both the Spy and the Sniper share the same health size of 125. The Sniper is an Assassin (Like yourself) who uses distance as an ally. Able to kill enemies from far range in just seconds, he can devastate your team by killing all your strong offensive team mates. Heavies, Soldiers, Demomen, Pyros, Medics etc. are all targets of a Sniper. You can save your team mates a bullet to the head by just stabbing him. Moving at the same speed as you as well, the Sniper is usually far back from his team. He really only depends on himself if there is a Spy trying to kill him, and he does have the right tools to do so. The Sniper has about 3-4 weapons of Spy Destruction at his disposal (if he obtains them). The first weapon of Spy Destruction we talk about today is the dreaded Razorback. Referred to as the F2P Secondary weapon, it can be annoying to deal with in certain situations. An example of a Razorback is found here, click to enlarge.

The Razorback has the ability to temporarily disable the Spy and it makes a loud noise when it does. The downside for him is that it breaks. So if he is an unaware Sniper who keeps his sound low, you can kill him with your knife. If he's aware, he will kill you easily. The best solution to this is to use your Revolver / Ambassador. 2-3 shots will kill him and most, if not all the time, he will not be able to come back at you. If you're using the Ambassador, shoot the head once, then the body and you're done. The Razorback may be annoying to anyone usng the Kunai or the Your Eternal Reward, but the only way to really deal with them is to shoot them (or stab them from the front if they are on low health and you say "why not?").

The next weapon which is the biggest threat to Spies, is the Jarate. It's labeled "Bottled Karate", get the hint? Anyways it looks something like this.
Anyone caught in the splash of Jarate takes Mini Crits from attacks followed afterwards. Also any Spy covered in Jarate will be seen if cloaked. With this a Sniper can also carry a Bushwacka which turns Mini Crits into Crits. This can instant kill you unless you hold a Dead Ringer out. The Bushwacka looks like this.









My Advice that you take to survive a Jarate Sniper is to:
1. Kill him first before he throws Jarate.
2. If covered stay at range if he's carrying a Bushwacka.
3. Run, don't try to cloak until you're safely dry. Also take cover and make sure he can't shoot you from a distance.
4. If there is a source of water nearby jump in, water is suprisingly a Spies best friend.
5. Don't disguise either, it's gonna get you killed by suspicious enemies.

The last weapon I must talk about is the Tribalman's Shiv, a moderatly used melee for Sniper
This little nuisance does less damage upfront, but trades it in for bleeding damage. If you don't find yourself a health pack, Medic willing to heal you, or supply closet, you will have taken more damage than from a regular kukri. Also since it applies the bleeding status effect to you, cloaking is again useless, as well as disguising. Whats worse is that it's not able to be healed by water so it's no use to get into a source of water if there's no health packs. Lastly if he decides to use both Jarate and the Tribalmen's Shiv, you going to be in huge trouble with the bleeding because he doesn't even have to finish you off (if he didn't already). All he has to do is wait for the bleeding to kill you.

The Sniper may sound like a dangerous target but, if you catch him scoped in, most Snipers will ignore it. If you are in competitive, be careful as they may unscope and hunt you down. It's best to deal with experienced Snipers by uncloaking at a further distance so your cloak is not as loud. Sniper is again your rival on the battlefield, able to kill people from a distance while you have to get into the fray yourself, without being noticed. Killing a Sniper may save your team from being shot in the head. I recommend you take caution when you attempt to kill them.

Dealing with Spies (The other Rogue)

Our last class is Spy. He has the same type of arsenal as you do, and can be as dangerous, or even more than you. You shouldn't make it your goal to kill him, after all you will both be turning invisible at the same times or disguised etc. and never find him. If you do manage to find him by accident and you're both stuck in the same room trying to kill each other, be cautious. What will most likely happen is that you either end up in a Revolver duel to the death, or a Knife fight. You may switch your weapon depending on who has more health. If he pulls out a gun at close range, keep slashing at him, get to his back or side and kill him. You may even try to corner him or pin him against the wall. Knives are more accurate (depending if he's infront of you or not) and do not need to be reloaded. Revolvers tend to be inaccurate (unless you can aim well in this type of situation) and need to be reloaded every 6 shots. If you're using something like the Enforcer, than you may decide to shoot first. If not than perhaps a knife would be better. When the other Spy uses a Dead Ringer and it's obvious, you may choose to run and alert your team, or stay and fight (but still alert the team). Prevent him from getting too close to your backside and you may survive. If he has friends than you want to run. Mostly though a Spy is alone. Keep in mind he may be using the same Strategy and Tactics as you and close in as well. Just keep turning to keep him infront. Take health packs in the room if there are any to prevent him from doing the same and hurting you badly. Also if covered in Jarate, Mad Milk, etc. running may be your best bet. Like I said before it's not your job to deal with Spies, and if you kill one great (unless others are there to watch and respond). Alert your team of enemy Spy movement and what disguise he's using. That way your Engineer may be preparred to deal with him, as well as your Pyro and Scout. Try to avoid combat with him, as it is a 50 / 50 chance you will die in the process.

Leading the enemy team.

Your enemies can group together in large squads to take out Spies such as yourself. If you really do grab the attention of the other team, try to hide, or lead them into traps. I say traps as in, ambushes, your team mates (which can deal with them, as numbers do matter), Friendly Sentry Guns, etc. You may be suprised of the results you get from this. Sometimes you can communicate with your team to set up an area where you lead them in order to lighten up defenses. Also if you pick up the intel at say ctf_2fort, you can drop it by pressing the L key or whatever button you set it to. You can use this to lead them to you and shortly hide and cloak after. They may wonder where you went and split up, or they may look else where away from the intel. Shortly afterwards you can take it and run. Though you may not disguise or cloak with the intel on your back. Leading can also help you with Engineers. You can grab his attention and bring him to an area away from his Sentry if he follows. Just be sure to kill him or have a team mate kill him. After that you can just walk in, (disguised of course) sap and run. If you have trouble killing a Heavy and his Medic, you can try to lead his Medic away from his Heavy and kill the Medic. Making it easier for your team to deal with the Heavy and revert the progress of the Medic's Ubercharge. Though leading Pyros is a little dangerous to do, you can try to bring them into water which can benefit you greatly (unless they have the Neon Annihalator, then you shoot for dear life), as the Pyro is based on fire obviously and cannot defend too well in water. If you can lead well, then you benefit your team greatly. If not, you can learn through experience. A valuable skill to have for any Spy.

Sapping Buildings

Dangerous to do without proper knowledge of where the Engineer is or if he has multiple team mates in the room, Sapping is harder than it sounds. While there are many strategies, you will have to use multiple to get the job done. If an Engineer is behind his Sentry Gun, get around and stab him first. Just remember to have the Sapper ready quick, as the Sentry will turn to shoot you. After thats done you can proceed to Sap the buildings. If there are multiple team mates like say a Heavy, just get out if you can or try to take him by suprise. If using the Diamond Back, a full Sentry Nest will give you 4 guaranteed Crits. You can miss 1 shot on a Heavy and still kill him. Not as easy as it sounds but if you learn how, it will benefit you. When there are multiple Engineers in the room with multiple Sentry Guns, you may need either: Your team, a Red Tape Recorder, or to lead them out. If you have your team with you, target the Sentries only and keep them Sapped. Your team should take the Engineers out. If you can kill the Engineers as well and survive / have your team survive, you're in the clear. In the situation you're entirely alone, use a Red Tape Recorder if you have one and Sap as much as you can. This will make it easier for your team to kill the Sentry Guns in the future and clear the path for pushing. Also if you die, it's not in vane as the Buildings are still being downgraded. If you are alive and well, the Engineers will follow you or repair their buildings. When they follow you (leading) have a gun ready to fire. If all goes wrong, run. You can also just lead them from the start. In the situation there are Pyros, wait for your team, or lead them by shooting. If you catch fire, take any health kits or wait (it does 60 damage so know if you're going to make it). However you manage to kill the Pyro, you will most likely take damage. You can heal yourself though by cloaking (not on fire) and disguise near his Dispenser. Enemy Dispensers will heal you even if cloaked or disguised. When ready proceed to kill the Engineer. Sometimes though, only an Uber push can deal with large Sentry Nests. Communicate with your team about how many people, and Sentry Guns they have and where they are. In the chaos you may want to kill the Engineer as he will most likely run, or repair his Sentry Gun in the middle of combat. Remember when the uber starts you have about 8 seconds. Don't waste this precious time. Now if you have Dead Ringer you can prime it when you kill the Engineer and are at the end of the Sentry Guns barrel. You take less damage with the Dead Ringer and can survive the shooting. Disguise while cloaked or leave the range of the Sentry Gun, then Sap it. Beware that you need to charge your Dead Ringer again though. I know there are more ways to Sap Sentry Nests but you can experiment and explore the possibilities yourself through experience. As always be cautious and know your surroundings before you Sap.

Communicating with your team

Throughout this guide I have been mentioning for you to communicate with your team. Spy alone is not enough to defeat a whole entire team which may have 16 players at a time. By communicating with your team, you prepare them for whats to come, make plans to push through their defenses, and keep Prime Targets down. Doing this will win you many games and earn you respect through your team. Always tell your team these things:

1. Enemy Postitions
2. Enemy Movement throughout the map
3. The status of the enemy Medic
4. If it's safe enough to push forward and take more ground
5. Where enemy Spies are and who they are disguised as
6. The condition of an enemy Sentry Nest
7. Loadouts and enemy team composition

If you do not own / use a mic then that may make playing as Spy harder, as it is faster than typing. Also make sure to type in safe locations to make sure you don't die. Stop typing if you are going to die and run. You may also want to use a voice chat system such as Skype to communicate without holding down a button all the time. If you are on an AllTalk Server, you may want to use voice chat systems with your friends, or type it out. You can talk about obvious things such as if a Medic has ubercharge or if they are pushing through a certain area. Do not talk if near enemies who can see you. In AllTalk servers a bubble pops up above your head indicating you're a Spy. Why you would go on a server like this to train or to play competitivley is beyond me but it's your choice. Spies are the eyes and ears of the team so always be preparred to communicate.

Knowing the map / Spy Friendly Game modes and Maps

It's very important to know where everything is. If you do not know where certain health kits, ammo crates, etc. are, you may end up in a bad situation. You also have to know what kind of game mode it is. Anyone can pick this up quickly but to new people, studying basic maps is essential to playing Spy. I find that Spy flourishes in the following game modes: Payload, Attack / Defense, Control points, and Capture the Flag. These maps I find to be the best for playing Spy because they either have both sides making Offensive / Defensive plays, or 1 side is on Offense, the other on Defense. Practice on Payload and Attack / Defense to learn how to set up a good Offense or Defense by themselves, then move onto Capture the Flag or Control Points to do both at the same time. Learning to adapt to the map is crucial in surviving as Spy. If you don't know where you are, you're going to die. If you're new, go to a ctf_2fort server or a pl_goldrush server, and study the map. They are very basic and serve as a place to train strategies and tactics. Avoid going through tight, confined areas, such as narrow hallways (Dustbowl, 3rd stage, Underground) because Pyros and Heavies thrive in these parts of maps. Always know where the nearest water sources, and health sources are, as they may save you. Know good spots to ambush the enemy team. Finally know where you can and can't go, as you may accidentally trap yourself.

Taking one for the team

In the situation the last point is being taken, a Heavy / Medic Combo is pushing through your defenses, etc. Be preparred to save your team. You can save your team in many occasions, and some of them will require you to sacrifice yourself. If a Medic is about to charge his friend, you must kill him if it endangers your Engineer, flag, or anyone else who needs to live. When you kill the Medic the Heavy may respond by turning around a hold the trigger, but don't be afraid to do what you need to do for your team. Without the Medic the Heavy will rarely survive a fight with a Sentry unless a Spy intervenes and disables the Sentry Gun. Also if an enemy Spy is going to kill your Medic and you can stop him, do so. Your Medic will thank you, and your team can push that much further into enemy territory with him. If your Scout is going to die while holding the flag, either get ready to pick it up or kill the Sniper aiming at his head. Which brings me to my next point. If you have the flag, carry it as far as you can, a friendly Scout or any other team mate there will take it when you die and move it as far to your flag room as possible. They may even cap it, winning the game. Your goal is to obviously survive, but if the team requires you to be sacrificed in order to win, do so. Try to find a way to survive though as you are much more useful alive than dead.

Last Stand

As a Spy, you will find that you are close to death, and there is absolutley no way out. While you may still search for something, you may still die. If the situation is that you are against the wall with the whole other team ready to kill you, take them down with you. Kill as many as you can. Thinning their numbers and making them sorry they ever came after you. This will help your team get past them by creating a distraction. If you use the Dead Ringer you may be able to escape but a Pyro may still kill you if they light you on fire after you feign death. Avoid these situations as much as possible. These are rare and brief but you can do whatever it takes to take someone with you as long as you don't hurt someone else on your team.

A few suggested loadouts

I have a few suggested loadouts which may seem obvious to many, and perhaps are not your play style. If you find one you like, feel free to use it and you can change them however you like.


My Personal Loadout


My loadout shown here, has been a reliable one. I have no Health debuffs and can gain crits from my sapped buildings. I also use the Cloak and Dagger to hide for extended periods of time in one place to suprise enemy players and to get away from danger. While I said before you can change them however you like, I strictly advise you not to use the Red-Tape Recorder with the Diamond Back. You will almost never be able to get crits and will be unable to make good use of your loadout.



The Invisible Man

While you trade in power and health for cloak, you may want to switch the Invisibility watch with the Dead Ringer for added Survivability. You can keep cloak high and ready to use while being able to escape fairly easily. Just make sure not to take too much damage and not to attract the attention of a Pyro.


Dr. Enforcicle


The reason we say Dr. is because you're using the Dead Ringer. This loadout helps new players survive a little longer because of the added fire resistance and the ability to fake death. I do not recommend a veteran Spy to use this but you can if you like. Also the Enforcer allows them to have increased fire power for killing enemies faster. Also here's a picture of what you'll look like.


I do not own the picture up here.

The End

This is the end of our guide and I hope you got something out of it. You may have not read the whole thing but I hope you read something useful. I made this guide because I knew most of the things in some of the other Spy guides and wanted to know more. I also made this because my friends wanted me to share some knowledge with them and thought it could be interesting. Again, I seriously did not expect anyone to read every single word. At least not in one day, because this isn't meant for 1 day. Keep cautious, and if you have any suggestions I will add more content to this guide. Also feel free to message me privatley and ask for help or suggestions as well. (I'm going to regret that aren't I?). Thank you for taking your time to read this and enjoy playing Spy (I know I do).

[Lord Xiphos]

True that is a good buff, but it's all up to you and how you play.

[Mr Deadeye]

Well, I usually pair it with the L'etranger due to extended cloak time, and it helps me move quickly without fully depleting my cloak if I am amongst a crowd of enemies, or sneaking past an enemy. I find it a good way to help move a bit more quickly to places without having to crouchwalk everywhere, while remaining cloaked.

[Lord Xiphos]

It depends on what watch you use. I would not pair the Cloak and Dagger with the Le'tranger or big earner because the watch regens automatically when stealthed and staying put. It all comes down to whether or not you are noticed alot or very little. If you're shot at alot and you survive by 25 or less health don't go for it. If you can stay unnoticed, which is hard for some, and land stabs then go for it. Depends on how you play.

[Mr Deadeye]

Fair enough, even thoguh I use the L#tranger, this is harder for me to do so.

Also, I would use the big earner, but im just worried about the health reduction, is it worth (since im a very stealthy spy, and are careful my cloak meter does not drop too low) in using the big earner rather than the stock?

[Lord Xiphos]

Perhaps, perhaps... I usually use my revolver/Diamondback to kill my persuers

[Mr Deadeye]

I understand that, but you dont NEED to sit and camp for certain things, like if you are being chased a stairstab or something could save your life?
Thats the way I thought of it.

[Lord Xiphos]

I'm not big on trickstabs actually, they seem risky or too dangerous to me. I do not purposely sit at the top of stairs and wait for people to walk in randomly. I do not wait behind a door for people to walk in. I move through the battlefield and communicate positions and kill key targets which I know I can get.

[Mr Deadeye]

What about trickstabs? I would have thought they would at least have a mention or a small section?

[Sentinel]

I dont know, maybe some "Moves" to do for a fast and clean kill/backstab?

[Lord Xiphos]

I just tried to cover everything, anything else I should add?