Spy

From TF2 Wiki

Contents 1 Information 1.1 Bio 1.2 Taunts 2 Strategy 3 Weapons 4 Sapping Times 5 See also

Information

The Spy is the stealth class in Team Fortress 2, using his Cloak and Disguises to blend in and sneak behind enemy lines. A Spy can get behind his foes and silence them in one smooth swipe with the Butterfly knife. This is not instantaneous so if an opponent moves out of range after the Backstab is initiated, it can miss. The Spy cannot use weaponry at all while Cloaked, and will lose any active Disguise if a weapon is used except for the Electro Sapper. In addition to being able to eliminate enemies quickly, the Spy is a great anti-Engineer measure. The Spy can place an Electro Sapper on an Engineer's building, disabling it and slowly draining its Health until it is destroyed. However, the Electro Sapper is easily removed by an Engineer with two swings from his Wrench. A common strategy is to Sap a structure and then immediately Backstab the Engineer. Remember, if you can see the Disguise on a Spy, then he is friendly.

Bio

Voice actor: Dennis Bateman

AKA: 'You Yellow Bellied Gutless Coward' (to the Engineer) and 'Fancy Bloody Wuss' (to the Sniper) (They don't get along)

Country of Origin: Undetermined area of Western Europe

Job: Uncloak & Dagger/Sap sentry guns

Motto: "..."

In his childhood, the spy's innate natural potential was recognized and he began spy training at a young age. He soon became a master of espionage, several forms of unarmed combat and sleeping with beautiful women. The Spy always completes his mission, and looks incredibly stylish while doing so. Whatever you do, don't bleed on his suit- you won't like him when he's angry.

A master of disguise, misdirection, and the byzantine details of who really runs things, the Spy is a double reverse quadruple agent whose reflexive suspicion is entirely justified.

Taunts

	Revolver The spy brushes off his suit, fixes his tie and says: "Oh dear, I've made quite a mess." "Ahem." "I never really was on your side." "Well, this was a disappointment!" "You got blood on my suit."
	Disguise kit The spy flicks away his used cigarette and takes a new one from the case, then says: "Oh, please!" "Fine job!" "Hahah." "Hahahaha." "Cheers."
	Butterfly knife The Spy assumes a fencing position and makes several stabs while saying: "I'm going to gut you like a Cornish game hen." "Just lay your weapons down and walk away."

Strategy

Main article: Spy strategy

• Your Cloak and Disguises take one second to become fully effective. A common error is to step into an enemy's line of sight before the change is complete, and immediately getting shot down. You can tell when the change is complete by watching the picture in the bottom left of your screen.

• After de-Cloaking, there is a three second cooldown period where you cannot use any equipment at all. This means you cannot attack or use the Sappers. Always take this into consideration before starting a sap or attack.

• Use blind spots (areas where the player's view is cut off, this is normally a 90 degree angle) to recharge the Cloak. An example of this is in 2Fort, in the corner next to the enemy entrances. Most people will run past without even looking in the corners, allowing you to recharge the Cloak time or surprise a group running across the bridge.

• Only your Cloak keeps you safe. Disguises are only temporary - never count on them because Spy-checking is so easy and everyone does it constantly. Only use Disguises when you are Sapping buildings or facing away from the enemy base. Also, to reduce the chances of being Spy-checked, Disguise as a class that would be where you are anyway, and try to act like that class.

• Avoid broadcasting the obvious signs of an enemy spy, e.g. running against the crowd, or a Demoman standing nowhere near Sticky bombs, or an Engineer standing nowhere near buildings, or anyone standing around doing nothing. If someone does start shooting you, you can try to take him down with your Revolver, or Cloak and make a quick turn to escape (but don't forget the one second delay before your cloak is fully active).

• When disguised, enemy Sentries will not attack you and you can use enemy Dispensers. Enemy Medics can heal you if you fool them into thinking you are friendly. Note that you can still be harmed and killed by an enemy Sentry if it accidentally hits you while shooting at other targets.

• Your most dangerous counter-class is the Pyro. Avoid them at all costs. They are as fast as you, their flames make your Cloak useless, and the Spy's suit seems to be extra-flammable. Pyros puff flames everywhere as Spy-checks, and if you bump into one he will immediately light you up. Plus they especially love to chase down and roast Spies.

• If you are on fire, immediately drop your now useless Cloak and run for healing (e.g. Health packs or enemy Dispensers). Hopefully you can escape or get lost in a crowd. You can also call for a Medic, since you now have nothing to lose; an enemy Medic may assume you are a friendly in trouble and heal you.

• Always go for your opponent's back with your Butterfly knife. Not only are Backstabs instant kills, your Knife is weak otherwise. Note that that you can perform a successful backstab while striking the side or top of your opponent even if you are just barely behind them. If you have to go toe-to-toe, get the Revolver out; every other weapon in the game is stronger than the Knife. However, the Revolver is loud and distinctive, so you may want to stick with the knife if you don't want to attract more attention.

• Don't underestimate the power of the Revolver. If you're being chased, run backwards side-strafing and firing into your opponent.

• Use the Revolver for sniping. A Spy makes a decent sniper; at long range, damage is low but he has a good rate of fire and excellent accuracy. At long range, the Revolver can out-damage a Shotgun, and even a Heavy's Minigun if there is healing and some cover if the Heavy is dumb enough to stand there and keep shooting from distance. A Spy with steady aim can also pick off fleeing Scouts.

• Use the Revolver to take down buildings that you can't get close to. Six or so rounds from the Revolver, at long range, will destroy a Dispenser and twelve rounds will destroy an Sentry gun. If you are trying to take out an Engineer and his buildings, destroy the Dispenser first to stop him healing, then kill the Engineer next while he repairs the Sentry gun and finally destroy the Sentry gun.

• To destroy buildings faster, stick an electro sapper onto it, then immediately start firing your revolver at it. For Sentry guns, this worked better before the 20th December patch; one Sapper and six rounds immediately fired would quickly destroy the Sentry gun. With the new Sapper change, this doesn't work as well - even after the Sap and the first six rounds, the Engineer still has time to remove the Sapper and then of course the Sentry gun kills you because your Disguise has gone.

• One of the best ways to stop an enemy rush is to backstab the Medics, especially if they are close to a full Ubercharge. Quick suicide runs against enemy Medics can shut down an attacking team.

• If you happen to run into a Heavy and Medic duo, try for the Medic first. The Heavy will fall soon after the Medic, be it from you, or your team. However, if the Medic is strafing all over the place you will probably miss and then get taken out by the Heavy. In that case, consider attacking the Heavy first because he is slow, big, and if he's firing, practically motionless. Then you can take your chances with the Medic, or Cloak and escape.

• If your team is moving into the enemy base, sap any Sentry guns with your Electro sapper beforehand so your team's offensive goes smoothly. While sapped, buildings immediately stop working. This is especially effective since an Engineer cannot repair the Sentry while removing the Sapper, so while under fire from team-mates the Sentry will go down extremely quickly.

• Snipers are usually easy targets for newer Spies. Also, eliminating Snipers makes it easier for your team to move into the enemy base. Repeatedly killing skilled Snipers when they are not protected by their team is a good way to make them change class!

• You can perform a suicide strike when the action is intense and packed in a small space. Give yourself a Disguise and then Cloak yourself. Dodge around the pack of enemies, being careful not to run into anyone, then de-cloak and turn around. Pick your targets and start backstabbing.

• With the enemies' backs turned, you can chain several kills before the enemies turn their attention to you. Stab the one farthest back and move up. There is a delay after every backstab before you can backstab again, so be careful not to overrun the last enemy. This tactic often fails if enemies are moving around frantically, because the Knife strikes don't complete because the target turns around or moves away before the Knife comes down.

• Disguising as someone on your side can be a good way to approach an enemy base. If you approach in an enemy disguise it is obvious you are a Spy, and if you approach cloaked, you are using up valuable Cloak time. Also, approaching as a fast and dangerous class such as Pyro can be used to scare enemy Spies and Scouts into avoiding you.

• When you disguise or change disguise, your body will be covered by smoke puffs visible to anyone (including enemies). If you are cloaked, this smoke can only be seen by teammates.

• Spies are useful if there are enemies invading your base. Cloak and slip right behind them. Make sure there are no more enemies coming before you uncloak or you will blow your cover and die easily. If you are surrounded run behind an object where no one can see you and uncloak.

• Can use enemy dispenser and gold rush cart for health, ammo, and for fooling the enemy team into thinking you are one of them. Take note that dispensers and the cart heal cloaked spies, and the healing effect is visible to allies and enemies alike, which can give away your presence early and get you killed.

• If you step onto the enemy Intelligence, you will immediately pick it up and lose your disguise and/or cloak. This can get you instantly mowed down by enemy Sentries, so watch where you step when operating near the enemy Intelligence.

• If a friendly medic heals you while you are disguised, your disguised health level (what the enemy sees) will heal as well. Get a friendly medic to heal you after you disguise for maximum advantage.

• Be aware of what you look and sound like, a scout doing half the speed they should be doing is an obvious sign of a spy, as is the firing of the revolver and decloaking. Remember that everything, including the sapper, makes a loud and a very identifable noise that most skilled players will be able to recognise and locate. So try and avoid making overt spy moves until you can cause significant damage to an enemies offense/defense.

Weapons

Note: Weapon damage is approximate and measured at point blank range. See individual weapon pages for details.

Categorization	Name	Clip size	Carry capacity	Damage
Primary	Revolver	6	24	54-60 (120 crit) [fast reload]
Secondary	Electro Sapper	N/A	N/A	N/A
Melee	Butterfly knife	N/A	N/A	37-54 (no crit, but instant kill if it hit area 180º behind target)

Sapping Times

All times listed are approximately how long it will take for a Sapper to destroy a structure that is at full health with no disturbances.

• Sentry Gun
  • Level 1: 6 seconds
  • Level 2: 7 seconds
  • Level 3: 9 seconds
• Dispenser, teleport entrance and exit: 6 seconds

See also

• In-Depth Spy Guide
• Great Spy Guide Video by the writer of the above guide: sR+Orca
• Spy match-ups
• Spy responses
• Spy voice commands
• Spy strategy
• How to play the Spy
• I, Spy
• Spy scripts

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Classes
Offensive	Defensive	Support
Scout • Soldier • Pyro	Demoman • Heavy • Engineer	Medic • Sniper • Spy