Team Fortress 2/Spy

The Spy is perhaps the strangest class in TF2. Though he is not effective in direct combat, he can use a combination of cloak and disguise in order to infiltrate the enemy. His knife produces an instant kill from behind and his sapper can disable and destroy buildings, making a good spy a huge asset to the team.
 * Health: 125
 * Speed: 100% (93% disguised as demoman, 80% disguised as soldier, 77% disguised as heavy)
 * Type: [[Image:TF2_achievement_with_friends_like_these.jpg||20px]] Support
 * Special Ability: Cloak

Primary Weapons

 * Revolver - Clip Size: 6 - Reserve Ammo: 24

The revolver is not really meant for heavy combat; while the rounds are more powerful than a conventional pistol, they fire slowly and come in clips of six. Use this weapon when getting away from enemies, running from Pyros, and helping your teammates kill an enemy from a distance. When facing enemy spies, it is generally advisable to switch to the revolver if you miss a backstab.


 * Ambassador

The ambassador is a variation of the revolver. While it inflicts less damage, headshots inflict critical hits.

Secondary Weapons

 * Sapper - Infinite ammo

Clicking on an enemy building in melee range will plunk one of these down on it. Once it's on, a structure will be unable to perform it's function and will slowly lose HP until it is repaired or dead. An engineer can remove a sapper with 2 hits of his wrench, but you can resap immediately if you wish. A common strategy is to decloak (with a enemy disguise on) near a engineer nest, hold onto the fire button with the sapper out and run around sapping all the buildings, causing confusion and most of the time destroying a few dispensers (which could be carrying massive amounts of metal), and opening up a hole in the enemy's defense which your teammates can exploit. Prepare to die several times before you succeed at taking it all down, however.

Knife
The weapon is one of the weakest weapons in the game, but with the backstab, it posseses the only reliable instant kill attack in the game. While holding this weapon out, the spy will hold it normally, but once you come into the range of backstabbing, the spy will automatically reverse his grip on the knife, and attacking during this time will register as a backstab. The backstab range is actually quite wide, in that you can get a backstab while facing to the side of the enemy.
 * Attack Interval: 0.8 seconds
 * Normal Damage: 40
 * Critical Hit: 120
 * Backstab: 6 times the enemy's health
 * Fencing Duration: 4 seconds
 * Fencing Damage: 500

The backstab is one of your main tools of assasination. Go for high-priority targets such as Medics or Snipers and pick them off. Remember that backstabbing an enemy will make them emit a loud dying scream which can alert enemies of your presence, so run or cloak as soon as you perform one. Never wildly swing the Knife wildly at an enemy, as it deals little to no damage. Switch to your Revolver when discovered instead.

All of the Spy's knives share a taunt kill called fencing. The spy does a fencing maneuver which stuns enemies, then thrusts his knife forwards, killing anyone in it's path. The taunt can be used to kill distracted enemies and Engineer buildings, but don't try removing sentries with this taunt.

Your Enternal Reward
This is the Spy's unlockable knife. It disables your ability to disguise, but upon a successful backstab you instantaneously disguise as your victim, and your victim will not scream upon death or drop the body, nor will the kill appear on the enemy's kill feed. The lack of a Disguise Kit means you must rely mostly on your cloak. Try infiltrating into a bunch of distracted enemies while cloaked. Then, as they're busy fighting your teammates, take them out one by one from behind. The silenced kills and instant diaguising can let you backstab multiple enemies unnoticed. Have a disguise already as you approach a Sentry nest guarded by an Engineer and you can backstab the Engineer there then easily sap his buildings, since the disguise is quick enough that sentries doesn't notice it.
 * Attack Interval: 0.8 seconds
 * Normal Damage: 40
 * Critical Hit: 120
 * Backstab: 6 times the enemy's health
 * Fencing Duration: 4 seconds
 * Fencing Damage: 500

When using Your Eternal Reward, try focusing on backstabbing enemies with disguises you want. You don't want to get stuck with an unconvincing or inconvenient disguise like a Scout or Heavy. Backstabbing an enemy being healed by a Medic also let's you get be the next heal target. you can also do the same by backstabbing a foe under a non-invulnerable Ubercharge and be the next receiver of the charge.

Be sure to use this knife carefully when you have a disguise, as a failed backstab will cause you to lose your disguise with little way to obtain it again, usually while you're deep inside enemy territory. Also, while a backstabbed foe won't drop his body, his weapons are still dropped, and observant enemy players can still spot you disguising. A backstabbed foe will also know that you are carrying the Your Eternal Reward, and inform teammates through text or voice chat about your presence.

Conniver's Kunai
The Conniver's Kunai leaves the Spy with 65 less health, but let's him take all the health of his enemy, being able to overheal up to 180 max health. The weapon makes you extremely fragile with just 60 health, so be careful of spycheckers and use cloak to infiltrate the enemy base. This weapon is useful for taking out high health classes like heavies, as backstabbing one instantly gives you the full overheal. Being able to backstab multiple enemies quickly can let you survive longer than conventional Spies, as the heal can negate the damage dealt and being in constant overheal is considerably higher than a normal Spy's 125 health, which is almost never overhealed. Still, be very careful when using this weapon, as a quick Flamethrower burn, a stray explosive or a melee attack can easily kill you in one hit unbuffed.
 * Attack Interval: 0.8 seconds
 * Normal Damage: 40
 * Critical Hit: 120
 * Backstab: 6 times the enemy's health
 * Backstab Heal: The enemy's current health, up to 180
 * Fencing Duration: 4 seconds
 * Fencing Damage: 500

Saxxy
The Saxxy is similar to the Knife, but dead foes turn into Australium statues. This feature is merely cosmetic, thus all strategy for the Knife is also applicable here.
 * Attack Interval: 0.8 seconds
 * Normal Damage: 40
 * Critical Hit: 120
 * Backstab: 6 times the enemy's health
 * Fencing Duration: 4 seconds
 * Fencing Damage: 500

Big Earner
The Big Earner reduces your health to 100, but backstabbing enemies gives you 30% of your cloak back. This is a tradeoff weapon, as it allows you to escape better but with less health. Use this knife when you're going for aggresive and risky backstabbing, so that you can escape and find another victim easier. It is recommended that you use the Cloak and Dagger or the Dead Ringer, as these watches benefit from the increased cloak more.
 * Attack Interval: 0.8 seconds
 * Normal Damage: 40
 * Critical Hit: 120
 * Backstab: 6 times the enemy's health
 * Fencing Duration: 4 seconds
 * Fencing Damage: 500

Other

 * Cigarettes

A set of cigarettes that allows the spy to choose which class to appear as. You can choose any of the nine classes, as well as the team to disguise as.

When you set a disguise, the weapon you were wielding determines the weapon you will appear to carry. If you want to switch displayed weapons, switch to the desired primary, secondary or melee weapon class, and press the Last Disguise command (normally B).


 * Invisibility Watch

Allows cloaking indefinatly, but you will need to remain still to maintain the cloak. You can no longer restore clock power by picking up items.
 * Cloak and Dagger

When the Dead Ringer is active, the next attack will cause you to feign death. You have a few seconds to either infiltrate further and take cover.
 * 'Dead Ringer

The cloaking from this watch is more effective; you no longer flicker when you take damage (as long as the cloaking isn't extended), although you make more noise when you uncloak.

Using the Spy
The spy is a stealth class, first and foremost. While you can put up a fight with the revolver, your role is better filled by getting behind enemies and stabbing them in the back. Remember to decloak in the enemy's blind spot (an example would be the two corners near the two doors on each base in 2Fort), and behind the enemy is preferable as this presents a perfect opportunity for backstabs. Do not disguise as a scout (you will not gain his speed) or you will be spychecked frequently. Avoid bumping into enemies as disguised spies cannot go through the opposing team as enemy teammates can. Enemies will generally not spycheck someone coming from their side of the battlefield, presenting many backstab opportunities, but watch out for enemy sentries. Remember to avoid pyros like you would avoid a heavy as a scout, as they can set you on fire (thus breaking your cover) unintentionally. When set on fire, retreat to the nearest health kit while firing your revolver at the pyro that set you on fire. Remember that even while fully cloaked people can still see the flames.

A spy's other huge role, apart from backstabbing, is to sap engineers' buildings. Sentries and dispensers are your main priority, as you are one of the few classes who can take on a sentry without an übercharge. Preferably, you should plant sappers on buildings (while disguised, obviously) and wait close by for the engineer to come to knock the sappers off. When he comes, backstab him quickly before he hits the sapper off (it takes him two blows of the wrench). It's worth noting that if you backstab him after the sapper has come off you must sap again very quickly…otherwise the sentry will shoot at your undisguised self.

Defeating Spies
Spies are generally very suspicious, and a few signs to watch out for are teammates on fire that glow the enemy team's color, teammates that you cannot pass through, and soap suds. A effective counter to a spy is a pyro, which can light spies up and effectively destroy their disguises and cloak. Do not melee an aware spy or you risk turning into a backstab. Spray areas that a spy has cloaked in, as cloaked spies will flicker when hit. Most spies will go down quickly when you find them, but some will put up a fight with the revolver. If you're a medic or engineer or similar, it is usually safer to back off.


 * 1) Scouts are great spycheckers. Try and run through teammates. If you can pass through them, they're on your team, if they block you, they're a spy. Since you're up close to the spy you can usually kill him with 2 quick scattergun blasts.
 * 2) As a soldier, you will normally discover spies by accident. The slightest bit of splash damage will cause a cloaked spy to flicker, so if you see one cloak, fire in his general direction.
 * 3) Pyros are the best spycheckers in the game. Puff everyone you see with fire. Puff standard decloak spots with fire. Teammates that catch fire are spies.
 * 4) Demomen are not the best spycheckers. Other than the standard walk through method, you can lob a grenade at a suspected spy. If it detonates, it's a spy and he might even be dead. Spychecking in this manner also helps your aim.
 * 5) As a heavy, you are a primary target of spies as you are slow and easy to stab. Even when you discover a spy, it's hard to catch him so generally you should leave that up to your teammates. If you have a decent medic following you around he'll usually deal with spies for you.
 * 6) Engineers are another target of spies. When repairing, look behind you frequently as spies will attempt to stab you then sap your sentry before it can turn around. If spy saps your stuff then runs away, just desap and continue. If a spy saps your stuff then stays around, you'll need to kill him or else he'll resap.
 * 7) As a medic, you don't have to focus on aim and you therefore often spot spies first. Remember; you don't have to look at what your patient is doing at all times, look behind and around you frequently. If you spot one, you can sometimes get him with your saw, but against pro spies it's not advisable.
 * 8) Snipers are an easy target for any spy. Descope frequently and look around. If you spot a cloaked spy, you can sweep your SMG back and forth to try and reveal him. When you spot a spy, chase him down with the machete. However, an experienced Spy's revolver beats the SMG hands down, so sometimes your only option is to kill him with your rifle.
 * 9) Spies aren't too good against other spies. The only good way to spycheck as a spy is the walk-through method. Of course, if you are disguised as an enemy and you see an enemy spy uncloak, you can go in for the kill as the other spy is probably not expecting you. Many enemy spies will disguise as one of your teammates immediately when they spawn, so sometimes what appears to be some random Demoman or Sniper wandering through enemy lines is a spy.

No matter your class, alertness is your best defense against spies. Don't get too caught up with the visible side of the battle.