How to Play as a Spy in Team Fortress 2

2024 Author: Samantha Chapman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 09:13

Spies; the French agents of Team Fortress 2. Spies play a supporting role by stealing and gathering information. Not only do they serve for their spying skills, but they can also quickly vanish and disguise themselves as one of the enemies, trick them, and then stab them in the back for an instant kill. If discovered, they can draw their highly accurate Revolver and eliminate enemies with bullets. And to top it off, spies can deactivate the engineers' contraptions using sappers, lure the original engineer and eliminate him.

Steps

Step 1. Look at your equipment:

each spy has a lethal and accurate Revolver 6/24 (Primary), the class-specific Sapper (Secondary) and a Lethal Knife (Melee). In addition to all this, it has an Invisibility Clock that can completely hide it from the eyes of enemies (Secondary Fire) and a Suitcase of Disguises, useful for deceiving the opposing team (button 4).

Step 2. Understand the nature of the disguise:

there are several things to consider when trying to disguise yourself.

One of the biggest improvements to spies in TF2 is the spy movement speed effect, depending on your current disguise. For example, if you disguise yourself as a Heavy, you will slow down to its speed.
Remember that you will not move as fast as a Scout or Medic (even if the Medic's speed is slightly higher than yours).
Make sure your disguise makes sense. You probably won't find a Scout running around in your Intelligence room, just as you won't see a Pyro defending in the water or a Sniper charging the front line. The general idea is to blend in as much as possible with the members of the other team, so don't engage in unusual behavior. Also try not to disguise yourself as the enemy spy, because most players go crazy when they see a spy, partner or opponent, and attack her instantly. Also try to stay away from your teammates; when enemies see you close to your teammates without shooting them, they will start to get suspicious.
Remember that enemy doctors can heal you when you are disguised. Your health life will be the same as the player you're playing, so you'll often feel like you need treatment. Calling a doctor when you're in disguise can often give you an excuse to break into the enemy base, a particularly useful aspect with the Dead Ringer.
Enemy Engineer Distributors can also heal you when you are disguised. Level 3 dispensers restore the energy of the Invisibility Clock and Dead Ringer faster than they use, so you can remain invisible near a level 3 dispenser for an infinite amount of time.
In the days of Team Fortress Classic (TFC), a disguised spy appeared as an enemy player to his teammates, and this caused a lot of confusion: when you are disguised in TF2, you will appear to your teammates as a Spy wearing a cardboard mask of the class that you chose. This way you will not be mistaken for an enemy player.
Before the Snipers vs. Spies update, the enemy spy disguise was useless, as it didn't make you wear a mask. Now, with the update, if you disguise yourself as an enemy spy, you will wear a mask, and your disguise will be much more effective.

Step 3. Don't hide from the battle:

invisibility allows Spies to remain hidden indefinitely, but a good Spy does not take advantage of this ability. When you are in hiding, you don't help your team.

Step 4. Be deceptive and unpredictable:

players are people, and they will become more cautious if you are successful in your actions. Always hide in a different place, without stopping for a long time in one place. When you're in disguise and a suspicious enemy starts shooting at you, the best thing to do is go invisible and hide. This is because the Spy's revolver and knife don't do much damage in a direct confrontation. When you are safe, disguise yourself as a different class and return to the enemy lines.

Step 5. Try to understand the nature of your invisibility:

As expected, invisibility hides you from the eyes of enemies. It's very useful, but it doesn't make you invincible. Remember these tips when using invisibility.

You will become partially visible if you take damage while invisible. For this, do not run towards enemies that are firing, even if you are invisible. With the Dead Ringer you will not become visible when you take damage, and this will be significantly reduced.
When you become visible again, you will flash with your team color. This means that if you are on the RED team, you will flash red before becoming visible again. This happens regardless of your disguise, so enemies can immediately spot you if they see you when you come back in sight.
Note that you cannot use weapons or reload your revolver when invisible. You will have to wait a few seconds after becoming visible before you can attack again.
Remember that you can still clash with enemies when you are invisible. This makes running around a corner dangerous, as you may accidentally collide with an enemy. If you hit an enemy while invisible, you will be spotted for a short period of time, and your cover may blow. You will block and be blocked by enemies even with the Dead Ringer, but your invisibility will not stop.
Remember that you can only clash with enemies. You will easily pass through your mates.
Going back into view directly behind enemy players is generally a bad idea. It takes about two seconds to become visible again, and at that time you can be easily seen and cannot attack. Also, returning visible makes a distinctive sound, especially with the Dead Ringer, and an alert enemy will notice it.
Use the Cloak and Dagger to infiltrate enemy lines. The Cloak and Dagger allows you to regenerate invisibility when you are invisible and stand still. If you move, the invisibility will reduce faster than normal, but you will remain partially invisible even while running. This makes it much easier to hide in the enemy base and dress up safely. The Cloak and Dagger makes invisibility a much more powerful weapon, because you won't have to become visible again until you want to. Just be careful when you are reloading invisibility not to bump into enemy players.
If you run after stealth is over, you will flash in your team color as if you have collided with an enemy or become visible again. However, if you crouch, you can remain completely invisible.
Use the Dead Ringer when under enemy fire. This item makes you invisible when you take damage and shows your enemy the animation of your character's death. Therefore, it is most effective when your team is charging the front line or the enemies are checking if you are a spy. Even after you have used it, the enemy may not understand that you have the Dead Ringer if there is another Spy on your team. Try not to use it too much though, or the enemies will become much more alert to the spies. Be careful though, when you've activated the Dead Ringer and you're not invisible, you won't be able to shoot your weapon anyway.
Find a safe place to return to sight with the Dead Ringer. This item makes a loud crackling sound when you return invisible and enemies who hear it will quickly know that you are the spy with the Dead Ringer. Find a place away from enemies.
Pay particular attention to the Piros. The Dead Ringer can put out the flames, but if you use it under the fire of the flamethrower, it will catch fire again.

Step 6. Stay away from enemy Pyro:

in general, Piros are one of your nemeses, because they can set you on fire and make your invisibility useless. If you are spotted by a Pyro, it becomes invisible and finds cover. Make sure you stay out of range of his flamethrower.

Step 7. Backstab your enemies:

one of the first things that come to mind when thinking about a Spy is their ability to take out any enemy with a dagger strike in the back. When disguised, try to sneak up on an unsuspecting enemy and stab him in the back.

Always attack the farthest player in the group. If you manage to sneak behind a group of five players, start with the last one and slowly move forward stabbing them all in the back, making sure no one sees you as you do so. This tactic also works in Payload mode, because all your enemies will be busy pushing the cart and taking out the enemies in front of it.
Avoid using the knife as a melee weapon. TF2 offers much more powerful melee weapons than TFC's old knife and crowbar. The knife is excellent for backstabbing, but it has a downside. It is the weakest melee weapon in the game when not used from behind, like the Scout bar, but much slower, and cannot deal critical damage. It's generally a good idea to switch to the Revolver if you find that you won't be able to backstab your target. The spy is not suitable for close combat. If you get caught, become invisible, step away and try again.
Snipers can unlock a secondary item called Razorback. A wooden shield attached to their back, which makes them immune to a backstab, and a Spy who hits him with his knife cannot attack for a few seconds. If you encounter an enemy Sniper with a Razorback, shoot them in the head with the Revolver instead of stabbing them.

Step 8. Establish your primary goals:

seeking "Personal Glory" and consecutively stabbing four enemies in the back is very satisfying, but it may not be the best way to favor your team. Cross the enemy lines and watch your opponents. Do you see well-positioned turrets and teleporters? Is their Heavy ravaging your team and being healed by a Medic who is about to overload it? You will always have to choose which target to attack first.

Step 9. Understand how your sapper works:

Sappers slowly damage Engineer buildings (turrets, teleporters and dispensers) and disable them, rendering them unusable unless the engineer removes the sapper in time.

Since sappers deactivate turrets, it can be useful to fire your revolver or hit with your knife to destroy them faster. They won't be able to hit you until the sapper is removed. Be careful when an Engineer tries to fix it, as you could get killed.
When you have your sapper equipped and are aiming at an item, your sapper's white outline will appear on it. Remember that it will be visible to all players present. Place your sapper and put it away quickly to avoid attention.
Don't forget that using a sapper won't make you lose your disguise.
As with the other "weapons", you will need to be visible again in order to activate your sapper.
Enemy turrets are generally the primary targets, as they can do a lot of damage to your team.
Do not deactivate distributors right away. Deactivate the turret and then let the distributor regenerate your ammo and health supplies. Then, when you're ready, turn off the dispenser.

Step 10. What to do when you are discovered:

in most cases, if you get caught, you will be eliminated easily; in some situations, however, you may be able to take cover.

If you are close to your squad, or if there are not many enemies in the path to reach them, you can simply walk backwards while firing your revolver, until you reach a safe place.
If you haven't caught fire, you can try to trick your pursuers by running in one direction, becoming invisible (it doesn't matter if you take a few hits) and then running away in the other direction. You should also take on another disguise when you are invisible. Usually the pursuers will keep running in the first direction and will check everywhere to find the invisible spy. This will often lead them to turn their backs on you and expose themselves to stabbing.
If you are close to an Engineer and his buildings, don't just turn everything off. Typically, an Engineer will have no problem removing your Sappers, and you will have wasted time you may have spent eliminating the Engineer. It is best to deactivate the turret, eliminate the Engineer and then deactivate the other buildings. In some rare cases you will be able to stab the engineer in the back immediately and then deactivate the turret shortly thereafter.

Step 11. Remember your revolver:

Even though it is difficult to aim, the revolver is still a very powerful weapon, which can be devastating on a critical hit. Remember that even if the revolver loses a lot of its power at medium and long range, in the event of a critical hit this does not happen.

The Ambassador is the most effective long range pistol, thanks to its perfectly accurate first shot, and capable of inflicting 100% critical damage on a headshot; this strength is balanced by lower body damage and lower rate of fire. Choose the gun according to your play style and map design

Step 12. Distract

A spy can accidentally let the other team discover and lure them into a firefight or trap. Quickly returning invisible will cause enemies to waste time on a fruitless hunt. This won't work for all classes, for example Pyro and Scout, so be careful.
Conversely, enemies in combat do not have a chance to watch their backs. It is often easier to take out enemies during a fight than when they are advancing.
Disabling teleporters near enemy access points will slow their advance and can serve to distract the Engineers who will leave their buildings to go and rebuild the teleporters you disabled.

Step 13. Sabotage and Theft

With the December 10, 2008 patch, a spy can recharge his invisibility with ammo boxes and weapons on the ground. I take advantage of this advantage in enemy territory and steal the crates of ammo they spawn from the enemy Engineers. This will slow down their buildings and cause them to head farther away from buildings and teammates to find more metal. You can use this opportunity to stab them or deactivate their defenseless constructions.
Following this update, a Spy can also remain invisible next to an enemy distributor and slowly absorb their metals.
You can also steal health packs in enemy territory. This means that the opposing team will have less health and its members will die sooner, etc.

Step 14. Learn how the turrets work

Turrets cannot fire through their team's distributor. If an Engineer is positioned so that a Spy cannot deactivate the turret and stab him quickly, consider stabbing the Engineer, hiding behind the dispenser, disguising yourself, and then deactivating the turret. This is a risky tactic, as enemies will be able to see you without disguise and the turret may kill you, but it's still a good option.
The turrets also rotate slower if they are lower level. If you stab an Engineer when he's behind a turret, you can more easily deactivate low-level turrets without getting hit, as they rotate slower. In this case, the level 3 turrets are very difficult to deactivate, because they rotate very fast and will knock you back with a barrage of shots. A Spy can still be able to deactivate a level 3 turret, but must do so from the right position by quickly switching weapons. Make sure you enable quick weapon swap in the game options to do this, or alternatively use the "last weapon" button (default: Q) to instantly switch to the last weapon you were holding. You should briefly equip your sapper before facing the turret for the "last weapon" button technique to work.

Step 15. One method to deactivate the turrets is to crouch and jump over it without disguise (using your Eternal Reward) and return to view:

the sentry will take some time to look up and shoot.

The Spy update gave spies more options for dealing with turrets. Thanks to the Ambassador's improved accuracy and firepower at long range for headshots, the weapon can effectively take out an Engineer hiding beyond turret range or behind cover.
You can use a similar strategy using walls, crates, poles, ramps, etc. If the turret can't see you, you'll be safe.

Step 16. Learn where to hide

Players always have a tendency to follow the shortest paths and rarely stray from them, especially if their destination is far away.

For example, players pass through the inner corner of a corridor. As a spy you can move or hide in the outer corners of these corridors and observe the enemy's movements and choose your targets accordingly.
Hiding on crates, over objects on walls, etc., greatly reduces the likelihood of colliding with an enemy while invisible or being detected by enemy fire, explosions, etc.
Hide behind crates, walls, in corners or places where ammo crates spawn to keep invisibility active. Players rarely check all corners, so you'll be relatively safe if you haven't been spotted and no one suspects you might be there.

Step 17. Learn to use your watches:

the Spy begins with the Invisibility Clock, which makes it completely invisible. This watch can be used to run along the entire 2fort bridge, without stopping. The Cloak and Dagger allows you to remain invisible indefinitely because its power regenerates when you don't move. The Dead Ringer does not allow you to go invisible until you are hit after equipping it (Mouse2), creating a fake corpse and making you invisible for a limited time. When the invisibility time expires, the watch makes a loud noise, alarming nearby people.

Advice

You leave a trail of bubbles behind you if you swim invisibly in the water. More experienced players will be able to pinpoint your position.
Avoid dressing up as a doctor if you have to pass close to enemies. You'll be suspicious if you don't heal your team.
Avoid dressing up immediately after taking out an enemy, as they may take a screenshot of the new disguise while waiting to re-enter.
If you are using the Dead Ringer, once you are done with invisibility, remember that you will make a very very loud sound that can alert enemies to the presence of a spy.
A good way to practice the role of a spy is to remain incognito in the enemy base without stabbing enemies or deactivating buildings. Not only is this a fun challenge, but it will also help you figure out when are the right moments to stab opponents.
You can jump over a hiding Engineer's turret or distributor and then onto the Engineer himself. Wait for the turret to turn away from you, then quickly stab the engineer and deactivate the turret.
Try to learn the most effective techniques for backstabbing, which can be very useful when you are in trouble.
If you fall very high after equipping the Dead Ringer, you will create a fake corpse and become invisible.
If you want to become invisible, do so before disguising yourself so that enemies cannot follow your smoke.
If you are deactivating the turret of an Engineer who is rushing to the scene, quickly shoot them to destroy it, disguise and then become invisible.

Warnings

Use your revolver. Many spies have a tendency to just stab opponents. Remember that as a spy, you can see the health of the enemies. If they have low health, shooting to take them out is a better choice than chasing them for long distances.
Expect to die often as a Spy. The spy is one of the most difficult, if not the most difficult, classes to use in TF2. You will need to be able to analyze and measure the enemy's movements and their reaction to spies, and you may have to die a few times to get this information.
Teams will usually check often for spies. You should remain invisible or disguised and away from enemies until the moment of action. Distracted enemies will often not check for spies, and your job will be much easier.
A backstab will not always be successful. In some cases, even under perfect circumstances, a stab will not be recorded by the game, but don't let that put you off. Keep trying.
Experienced players know whether to aim higher or lower for the killing blow.