TF2 Spy: Watches, Sappers and Stuff

This guide is 1 of 3 when it comes to weapon selection for the Spy in the game Team Fortress 2.
These guides will primarily be covering what each weapon does, along with a demonstration and advice when using such a weapon.
This guide will be covering the Watches and Sappers the Spy uses

Introduction

Hi!

I main Spy in Team Fortress 2, with hundreds of hours as Spy. The Spy, to me, has been the most intriguing, as it is the weakest, and yet the most deadly, requiring the player to constantly be thinking and adapting to any given position. Also, personally it is the most fun class.

This guide is me trying to share some of my experience of the spy, to hopefully help the newer rising spies. I will be going over some mistakes that new Spy Players do and how to use each watch and sapper to its highest potential.

If there is anything missing, or you want to ask a question, please notify me in the comments
All help is accepted

Sappers: Function

The Sapper is exclusive to the Spy. The Sapper is held in either the Spy's right hand or left hand, depending on your settings.

Interesting note:

• The spy seems to hold the Sapper with one hand, but everyone else sees him holding it with both his hands

The Sapper, when placed on an enemy building, will disable that building, and slowly drain its health, until destroying the building, sending metal flying all over the small area. This is all Sappers can do. There is only 1 way the enemy can get rid of your Sapper, and that's to knock it off.

Weapons that counter the Sapper:

• Wrench
  
• Homewrecker,
  
• Neon Annihilator
  
• Maul (reskin of Homewrecker)

Sappers: Stock Sapper

The Stock Sapper is probably the best Sapper available in the Spy's arsenal. No funny gimmicks. It simply drains the health of a building until it is destroyed. Nothing to it.

Note: Ap-Sap, Snack Attack, and the Festive Sapper are all re-skins of the Stock Sapper and so behave exactly the same. The kill icons will vary.

Note: Ap-Sap will not leave metal behind after destroying a building (Strong against engineers)
Note: Snack Attack will not make the typical hissing sound of the other Sappers, it is silent.

This demonstration belongs to OfficialTF2Wiki

Tips:

• Don't sap everything. There is no point in sapping a building if the Engineer is around the corner. Chances are, you will damage it slightly before he repairs it with 1 swing of the wrench.
  
  
• Sapping buildings alerts the enemy that you are nearby, reducing your chances of survival.
  
  
• Try to remember how long it would take to destroy a level 1, 2 or 3 Sentry gun. This is most important when you know the Engineer will return. You will know whether to stall the Engie or not.
  
  
• If your team is passing by the enemy's Sentry gun, sap it so that it won't be able to attack your team, allowing them to finish the job. ( You will still get points for the destroyed building)
  
  
• If the Engineer is alone, but is not leaving his Sentry gun, simply walk up to his Sentry gun, and start clicking the left mouse button as fast as you can.
  
  
  • This will place your Sapper on the building. When he removes it, in the small time frame before his next hit repairs the building, you place down another sapper. He is helpless and will have to abandon his buildings to kill you.

Sappers: Red-Tape Recorder

One of the most infamous weapons, hated by all Engineers.

The Red-Tape Recorder is a gimmick weapon. It does not do what the Sapper was intended to do. Instead of damaging buildings, it downgrades them (e.g. lvl 3 -> lvl 2)
The lower the level of the building, the longer it takes to downgrade it.

The Red-Tape Recorder takes very long to destroy a building, and thus should not be used to do so.

This demonstration belongs to OfficialTF2Wiki

Tips:

• This Sapper can be used in a Hit and Run kind of way. You rush to the level 3 buildings, sap everything and run away. This guarantees that some buildings will be downgraded to level 2/1.
  
  
• Synchronise with your team. Sapping a large nest of Sentry guns will not only disable them, but also downgrade them to level 2, easily allowing your teammates to finish them off
  
  
• Bully Engineers. Hanging around their buildings and sapping it every so often will not only anger the Engineer, but also discourage them from building there ( or playing Engie).
  
  
• Do not expect to destroy buildings with this.

Note: This Sapper is fairly useless in removing the threat of Engineer buildings. It is also banned a lot at high level play.

Watches: Function

The Invis Watch is a weapon exclusive to the Spy. The watch is situated on the hand of the Spy that does not hold the knife, revolver and sapper.

The Invis Watch allows the Spy to go invisible and sneak behind enemy lines. It is also pretty good at making an escape.
The watch the Spy uses allows him to turn invisible. As soon as you right click, the Spy brings up his wrist, showing the cloak meter. The Spy is completely invisible, and for some reason, allows the Sniper's lasers to pass through him. Bumping into an enemy will make your silhouette appear ( buildings are an exception), and will quickly disappear as you break contact from the enemy. The cloak meter gradually increases, but can increase more rapidly with ammo boxes, or visiting the resupply closet.

Watches: Invis Watch

The best of the best when it comes to a French rogue's accessory of murder. The Invis Watch allows the Spy to stay invisible for a period of time before decloaking.

"Why not get the Cloak and Dagger?" I hear.

Well with the Invis Watch you are able to gain more cloak from ammo boxes than the Cloak and Dagger, and can do so while invisible, something very crucial to the Spy's ability to maneuver around enemies.

Note: The Enthusiast's Timepiece and Quäckenbirdt are reskins of the regular Invis Watch and thus have the same properties.

This demonstration belongs to OfficialTF2Wiki

Tips:

• Know the location of all ammo boxes on the map. This is crucial when it comes to the Invis Watch as ammo/metal is needed to refill the cloak meter or prolong the duration of your invisibility if you are still invisible.
  
  
• Don't bump into people. This reveals your location and unlike the Dead Ringer, you will easily die.
  
  
• Stand next to an enemy dispenser to refill your cloak meter. You need to be disguised to do this. By crouch jumping on top of the dispenser you can gain cloak and other Players will generally not bump into you. Its also a good way to heal up while not being detected by the Engineer, as he can't move through his buildings.
  
  
• The stock Invis Watch has a much better visual presentation oh how much cloak you have left, versus the more confusing Enthusiast's Timepiece and Quäckenbirdt, so it's generally better to use the Stock Invis Watch, unless you use the cloak meter on the bottom right corner of the screen.

Note: This is the best watch for the Spy, allowing him to do what Spies do best. I recommend this watch for high level play.

Watches: Cloak and Dagger

Probably the most sought after watch for the Spy by new Spies since its release; the Cloak and Dagger allows the Player to stay invisible for an indefinite period of time.

Note: You can now refill your cloak meter with ammo boxes, but not while cloaked.

This demonstration belongs to OfficialTF2Wiki

Tips:

• If you are low on cloak, but need to travel a long distance, you should crouch while moving. The cloak meter of the Cloak and Dagger decreases depending on your speed, to a max of how fast you move. Crouching decreases your speed, allowing it to decrease at a slower rate.
  
  
• When you have no cloak, instead of decloaking, your silhouette will appear. If you are low on cloak, and are away from enemies, running while your cloak meter is 0 may be better than running while being fully visible, especially as when you stop, you become invisible almost immediately, allowing for cunning trickery.
  
  
• Your cloak meter is a lot shorter than the Invis Watch. Remember this when manoeuvring through enemies or making a getaway.
  
  
• Use the Cloak and Dagger to wait and pick the MVP's on their team. Waiting for their Medic to show his face will give you the opportunity to prevent them from healing the Heavy.

Note: This watch, being very useful, is ultimately useless most of the time as it makes the Spy less mobile than with his Invis Watch, as the cloak meter will drain too quickly and you cannot quickly refill it. I do not recommend this watch for high level play.

Watches: Dead Ringer

This item goes against what a Spy is. You can't just go invisible, its decloak is very loud, and you are defenceless when it's used as it cannot be brought up until it has full charge.

I present... the Dead Ringer!

This demonstration belongs to OfficialTF2Wiki

Tips:

• Try to decloak in an empty area. Decloaking near your foes will most certainly make them search for you, as the sound of the Dead Ringer decloaking is quite distinct and VERY loud.
  
  
• When you decloak, note that you are very vulnerable if you don't have metal to refill the cloak meter. Don't try anything risky without full charge of the Dead Ringer unless you know you will survive.
  
  
• When you are on fire, particularly from a Pyro, DO NOT immediately use the Dead Ringer. If the Pyro continues to light you on fire, after you used the Dead Ringer, the Dead Ringer will no longer help you as you will still be visible due to the fire.
  
  
• You no longer take reduced damaged while cloaked with the Dead Ringer. Don't try to block rockets or bullets for your team. Also try to avoid as much damage as possible.

Note: Although you are not revealed when you bump into other Players, staying cloaked for longer than the original time period due to ammo pickups means that you will be revealed if you bump into someone

This is a very strong item for the Spy and is recommended for high level play

4 Deadly Combinations

Aggressive

This set of items is for the spy who wants to make many kills and play very aggressively. The 3 items are...

• The Ambassador
  
• The Stock Knife
  
• The Dead Ringer
  
• Stock Sapper

I recommend this setup to advanced Spy players, as the skill and quick thinking, as well as the understanding of the limitations of the Spy and other characters is crucial when playing with this role.

• Ambassador: Allows the spy to do 102 damage for a headshot. The ambassador is very accurate, allowing the spy to take down a heavy that is not over-healed with 3 headhshots, or snipe a low health Engineer in his nest.
  
• Stock Knife: The best overall knife. With this setup you will be very mobile, and will be using your gun as much as your knife. This means your knife needs to do 1 thing only: kill. + You can't go wrong with a Stock Knife
  
• Dead Ringer: This allows you to escape sticky situations, such as a Heavy coming out of nowhere after you got a beautiful headshot on his beloved Medic. The Dead Ringer allows you to keep moving, and keep the enemies guessing. This induces paranoia and the production of angry Pyros.

Vanilla

This set in theory is the best of the best. You can do everything that a spy needs and therefore can do the most damage.

• Revolver
  
• Stock Knife
  
• Invis Watch
  
• Stock Sapper

This setup, as stated before, is the most efficient for the Spy, allowing you to do everything(apart from the headshot thing, but you have a knife!). I recommend this setup for EVERY new Spy player, as this teaches them the fundamental basics of a spy.

• Revolver: This is the standard gun for the spy, dealing decent damage to enemy players. This is more of a backup, rather than a fundamental weapon. The revolver should be used to pick off far away enemies, or to gun down your pursuers
  
• Stock Knife: You just can't go wrong with this.
  
• Invis Watch: This is by far the best watch in the game. It keeps you invisible for the longest duration (when moving) and you are able to resupply the meter with ammo boxes.
  
  Engineer's Nightmare
  
  This setup is situational and therefore do not recommend it as something you should be using on a regular basis. This is more of a fun class, requiring no special ability at playing the Spy.
  
  
  • Diamondback
    
  • Conniver's Kunai
    
  • Dead Ringer
    
  • Red-Tape Recorder
  
  This setup is one I came across when I found 3 engineers with sentries and dispensers camping in a corner by the 3rd control point on Badwater. The objective is to run/jump in(depending on the map), stab and engineer, sap one of his buildings and pull out the Dead Ringer.
  
  
  • Diamondback: This enables you to gain guaranteed critical shots when getting a backstab or destroying a building. You gain 1 guaranteed critical shot for each backstab or building destroyed. When you kill the engineer and destroy their buildings, you gain critical hits, which you can use to pick off the other engineers and destroy their buildings. This enables you to weaken their defence
    
  • Conniver's Kunai: After getting a backstab on the engineer, your health will shoot to 180. This is enough health to pull out the Dead Ringer before the sentry gun kills you, allowing you to make an escape.
    
  • Dead Ringer: Primarily used as an escape.
  
  Infinite Cloak
  
  This setup allows the Spy to make kills and always have enough cloak in his meter to get away with the Dead Ringer, no matter what.
  
  
  • L'Etranger
    
  • Big Earner
    
  • Dead Ringer
    
  • Stock Sapper
  
  The idea behind this is after decloaking with the Dead Ringer, a backstab and picking up your victim's weapon should be enough to refill your cloak meter. If it is not, then shooting your pursuers with the L'Etranger will grant you more cloak, allowing you to pull up the Dead Ringer and make an escape.
  
  
  • L'Etranger: Shooting enemies will increase your cloak meter, allowing you to bring up the Dead Ringer sooner.
    
  • Big Earner: Allows you to increase your cloak meter after a kill, allowing you to bring up the Dead Ringer sooner.
    
  • Dead Ringer: Used as an escape

End

I hope that I have been able to share some of my knowledge of the Spy with you, and more importantly, that I got it across in a way that will aid you in your journey to self improvement.

If you have any questions or can point out any flaws in this guide, please do so

If you are able to upload a short clip(less than a minute) of using one of the combinations I suggested, please do so and send me the link. I will credit you, and you will be helping others.

Please rate, comment and favourite, so that I know if my guides are helping you and whether to post others

Thankyou!

Here is the guide relating to the Knives:
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=285550561

Here is the guide relating to the Revolvers:
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=285901030

[DisodiAM]

This guide is pretty outdated, so I'll just say my loadout for Spy. I use the Big Earner for it's cloak regen on backstab and speed boost on backstab, the L'etranger for it's cloak boost and regen on hit, stock invis watch because of it's reliability, and stock sapper because not having a building there is much better than having a building be downgraded.

[CheckYourPosture]

Very usefull thank you so much! I was never good at using sappers but this guide has helped me understand and given me the confidence I need to stand up to my abusive uncle. Also, I would say the Dead Ringer is the best watch, I sold my Hugo Boss irl watch to purchase some items and this was the first one, all good but now I have no way of telling the time and for the past week I have been late to work four times and late to my yoga classes twice. Thank you again, Wakanda forever.

[NifeEdge]

Glad it helped!

[Yakub NOI Gaming]

thanks for this guide i just got a red tape recorder and havent had one for a long time and i forgot the best way to use it, and this guide showed me other things about spy equipment

[NifeEdge]

Yes, noticed the new update and will do so

[TheRilonh]

I think this guide should be rewrited. Just that update, many changes...

[Jakey57]

Oh, well they must of changed it since i last checked because i tested it before and it seemed to be based on distance.

[NifeEdge]

Crouch walking with the Cloak and Dagger does increase the distance you can move while cloaked. Think of the drain rate of the Cloak and Dagger as being related to your speed rather than the distance covered.

[Jakey57]

The cloak and dagger is based on distance so even if your crouching it will use the same amount as if you were running the same distance. So it doesn't help to crouch like the guide said.

[Pillow Queen]

Want another deadly combo?
I present the anti pyro
Diamondback
Spy cicle
Any sapper (normal is best)
Dead ringer

If you can store kritz you can keep fight pyroes or any enemy attacking you. Dead ringer will save your life, and spy cicle will make you get 2 secounds against a pyro (enough time to kill if you need it) or even use it to escape with it while using dead ringer!