How to catch spies 99% of the time.

This is how you catch the spah.

Identifying Spies

Do you struggle with catching spies? Many people do. One of the most valuable skills to learn as a TF2 player is how to catch that frenchman. The spy is the weakest class in the game, but he is still quite powerful in the right situation. If you let him get behind your team, you may all end up with knives in your backs.

The most important thing to know when searching for spy is one little tip: Spy checking costs nothing. Ammo is barely a resource unless you're in a 100 player team fight. If you see an ally who is even slightly suspicious (at most, you can check them even if they look completely normal.) Then just check, they might be a spy! If they're not, no harm done. In fact, anybody who sees you spycheck will not only know that you're not a spy, but proactive and will actively check for spies.

There is one more thing to know about identifying spies. Most spies suck at acting. Seriously, that's why observing your team is so important. Not just to see if they're eyeing your medic's back or if they're hiding in corners. If you see a sniper who never scopes in, or a heavy who never revs up, make sure to check them.

Once you do find a spy, what do you do? You kill them of course. That's a task that's easier said than done, though. Spy has many tools for getting away once he's found, and a good spy might take you first! This next section will be all about taking out spies.

Killing Spies

Spy is an easy class to kill, right?

(I couldn't figure out how to insert a gif, pretend Kevin Spacey's Lex Luthor is yeling wrong here.)

Spy has many tools to keep you from killing him. His Revolver is a formidable tool, his cloak lets him get away, and an experienced spy might even trickstab you. The easiest way to work out what to do is figure out whether the spy is running away or fighting back.

If the spy is running away, you will have to keep watch of whether or not he's cloaking. If a spy is cloaking, you have to watch for a few different tricks. A spy might start running down a path as they cloak, then stop moving once they do, leading you to keep going while they stop. A spy could start running one way, then once they're fully cloaked go the other way. Jukes like that could easily allow the spy to escape.

If a spy doesn't cloak, watch out for the deadringer. It's a surprisingly situational item, but if a spy finds themselves in that situation... The deadringer's speed boost combined with its activation conditions will cause even the most experienced of spies to panic. It's very likely they won't try any special jukes, and will instead just run. Keep chasing them until they run out of cloak, then kill the mostly defenseless spy.

Some spies won't try to run, they might try to fight you. A spy will use one of two things to fight, their revolver or their knife. A spy using their gun will be reliant on aim, so keep moving! It'll take em a few shots to take you down, so don't panic if you get hit. Shred through all 125 of those health points.

If a spy using their knive, they're probably going for a trickstab OR they just butterknife'd you. If a spy is doing tricky movements and seems like they're inviting you over for a tea party, don't fall for it and use your gun (Sorry demoknights!). If they just butterknife'd you, they're probably shocked and unprepared. I can't give you many tips, and if a spy like this kills you then maybe you should pick up Overwatch.

Conclusion

Spy's a pain in the ass to deal with, but that's about it. If you follow my advice, you can deal with him without much issue. Of course, some spies are good actors, or can hide their trickstabs better. Just keep vigilant, and you'll improve at taking out spies on your own. If you really struggle, watch spy guides on youtube and reverse the tips they give. I hope you enjoyed my first guide, and I hope you keep killin' those spies!