Tip of the Day: Spy

[DemiPixel]

So spy. This is a bit harder than medic, because medic, you can just follow those tips, and you'll be fairly good to go and play half-decent. Spy requires a LOAD of work and practice. Here are some tips to speed that practice up so you don't have to figure EVERYTHING out yourself:

Stay sneaky
A spy is not built for doing trick stabs. Sure those are fun, and you might want to practice them, but they're built for emergencies. Remember to stay sneaky whether it's going invisible or disguising. If your team is on the last point and they're an inactive enemy entrance at their spawn, chances are it won't go anywhere good even if it does become active. Don't bother sapping it or people coming out of spawn as well as the engineer will be aware of your presents.

Sapper
The sapper is important. The default sapper is usually good as it can do quite a bit of damage quickly. It also means you can shoot along with the sapper to speed up the process. On the other hand, the red tape recorder can do damage over time, meaning that if an engineer CAN get to it, it may have been downgrading: Helping your team. This won't help in an engineer nest as upgrading is very fast. Also, you can't speed up the process by shooting because it goes back to full health after downgrading.

Invis Watch
You don't always have to use your new fancy weapons! Dead ringer and C&D can be useful, but sometimes, you need a long cloak to get past enemy lines. This also means you may have to rely on your disguise around the map. Also, if you know the map well, you can take ammo to your advantage as oppose to the C&D or dead ringer which can't load all the way with ammo. All loadouts are situation-dependent, but the invis watch can mainly be used in general if you're not 100% sure where to start.

My Eternal Reward (Actually what I've renamed my knife)
Like I said, everything is situation-dependent, but one nice place to use YER is when taking out a sentry nest. Yes, it may be difficult if they are spy checking, but YER allows you to take out all the engies before sapping, as oppose to the other way around which is much more difficult since the engies can take your sapper off. There aren't too many situations in which you need this only because you can get the same effect by disguising as somebody. Other situations could include taking out many people pushing the cart without making it obvious that you are there, or taking out a heavy so you can get health (if a medic is healing him).

Dead Ringer
One amazing weapon because it allows you to be almost invincible. Yes, it did get a nerf, but it is very nice if you expect lots of spam. At the start of a round, most entrance-spammed maps I go deadringer so I can at least get past it and then sneak around. This means, though, that you need to be able to pull off disguises VERY well. This is what you'll mainly rely on and you need to take full advantage of it.

Guess Who?
Your disguise is very important. Somebody in the wrong location can give away who you are immediately. The classes for when you should disguise:
Scout: Plz dunt
Soldier: Walking to battlefield, can be in battlefield, but could be hard due to slow movement
Pyro: Very good, as they can be most places except the back: Watch out for enemy pyros who see their own name though
Demo: Similar to soldier
Heavy: Probably not the best unless theres a dumb medic and you want heal/uber
Engineer: Nice to hide near an engie nest or by a sentry if the real engie is gone
Medic: Don't. Not healing = spy
Sniper: Stay in the back, fairly nice, allowing you to stay in a corner, also not always shooting, can't fake a zoom though.
Spy: Good if you pretend you're backing up from your own team: Allows you to come from basically anywhere, but he usually won't be in the back unless he just came out of spawn

Cloak 'n Dagger
Mainly for waiting around. The only time this is really useful is with YER if you need to wait for the perfect time to get the disguise. Otherwise, you're just wasting time you could be getting kills with.

Ambassador
GUN! USE YOUR GUN! Spies ALWAYS forget this. Practice your aim, and make sure you're walking around with your gun out if you don't plan on stabbing anybody. Your gun can be so useful so make sure you use it. Wether it's headshotting somebody or taking out a sentry quicker. Ambassador usually, but you can use some others if you prefer them or you suck at headshotting.

Trick stab
Practice on tr_walkway, this is one of the most fun parts of spy. Spy is meant to predict people's movement while being sneaky. Try looking at some tutorials for stair stabs or corner stabs! I personally love this part, as you can take out enemy pyros, or practically any class who is chasing you!

Spycicle (Is that how you spell it?)
Very good if you're worried about enemy pyros. This with the DR is a perfect combo. It doesn delay you, as the knife becomes unusable, but it's good if you're stabbing an engineer, sapping his stuff, and need to get out without that stupid pyro...

Thanks for the feedback on the last one! Remember to post your feedback or other spy tips here and I'll add them to the list!

 

[Mr. Monday]

Your Eternal Reward is terrible. Stock knife is the best, followed by spycicle.

Also, for revolvers I order them like this: Diamondback -> Amby -> Stock (while using the Dead Ringer). If you're not using the DR, the Le'tranger takes precedence.

 

[Orange [INACTIVE]]

Also key to playing Spy effectively is pressing the TAB key occasionally to see if there are other Spies on your team. If there is another, you should pick another class.

 

[Rawburt]

Your Eternal Reward is terrible. Stock knife is the best, followed by spycicle.

Also, for revolvers I order them like this: Diamondback -> Amby -> Stock (while using the Dead Ringer). If you're not using the DR, the Le'tranger takes precedence.

Spy-Cicle is honestly just for cosmetic purposes and silent kills. Still, a ragdoll on the ground and a scream isn't very noticeable on the fast-paced battlegrounds as opposed to a shining ice statue. Plus, fire + icicle = melted.

YER is definitely one of the best knives. It cloaks the kill, and gives you the perfect disguise; that heavy you just stabbed. I used to always use the Wanga Prick (reskin of YER) no matter what. I dominated Egypt every day. Check Gameme, I'm the 2nd top user of the Wanga, and I only used it for around a month. Using stock Invis Watch with YER or Wanga is also a very great idea because you pick up metal from the fallen weapons of the enemies you'd just stabbed and disguised as. I honestly can not stand Cloak and Dagger. The only map I have actually found it to be useful in is 2Fort when the other side is turtling in their base. Otherwise, Cloak and Dagger is just plain bad.

As for revolver, I always use stock. I'll be honest, I can't snipe without a scope, so Ambassador's out. Diamondback gives you a thirst for backstabs, and this can often distract you. You'll make a hasty stab at some Sniper, but because you weren't paying attention and you just really wanted that stab, a Pyro notices and you're toast. L'Etranger is horrible in every aspect. There are reasons why you don't normally see people running around with a Big Earner and a L'Etranger and dominating with them.

The disguises for Spy depend on mostly the map. Scout is actually a very strategic disguise in many maps. Never ever disguise as Pyro though. Never. Pyros obviously are the ones who should be spychecking, and even if they aren't, any Pyro will scorch you if you've got the same name. Stay away from Pyros at all times.

 

[Ken the Kitsune]

unlike all the other mercs both the sniper and spy are assassins for hire. So be sure to aim for those heavy-medics that are giving your team trouble ♪

 

[Mr. Monday]

...did you honestly just say that the Le'tranger is terrible in every aspect? It's not like most major spies use it while using the cloak and dagger or anything. On the same note, if you're calling out the diamondback for making people want backstabs, that's not the weapon's fault, that's the spy's fault. They need to be more careful. The weapon encourages it, perhaps, but it's an incredibly powerful tool.

And on top of that, let me explain: spycicle is godlike. It keeps you alive, allowing you to torment the other team and keep them paranoid. There are times when this is far more important than getting a pick and then dying.

YER stops you from disguising. This means that sentries will shut you down completely, and it limits your watch choices. Thus, it sucks.

 

[Nix]

Spy is unique.

Spy has, IMO, the biggest equally dangerous weapon selection. Each set has its own unique playstyle. For example, I run Amby/DR/Stock and can do fairly well with it. As soon as I switch to Invis Watch, I can't play at all. It's a completely different ball game.

Stock Knife: No upsides, no downsides. Perfection. Plus the Black Rose is just beautiful.

YER: The main reason I don't like this weapon is you can't disguise to get close to an enemy. They are usually pretty aware if an enemy spy suddenly appears behind them. A disguise is required to get good positioning. However, if you can perfect the art of getting that first disguise, you're unstoppable.

Spycicle: Besides making cool ice sculptures, it saves your life. DR/Spycicle combo makes a perfect getaway. Honestly, the silent kill doesn't help much, but the real potential in the Spycicle is survivability.

Big Earner: -30 hp isn't worth it.

Kunai: Like the YER, if you can get that first stab, you're set. Good luck not dying from spam before that happens.

Stock Revolver: Random crits.

Amby: Use it. Perfect this, you'll be a god.

L'Etranger: Amazing. Longer cloak? Extra cloak if I hit people? If you don't need your revolver for kills, it's perfect.

Enforcer: Upside: Kill everyone you meet. Downside: Everyone hates you.

Diamondback: Actually, a fairly good weapon. Saves your life sometimes.

Invisiwatch: Good if you know the map. Perfected with L'Etranger.

CnD: Nah. Unless you like waiting for the perfect moment (Who has time for patience?), you can't really use it to reposition while invisible.

DR: YOU'RE INVINCIBLE. (Honestly, I didn't even notice the effects of the buff. It's the same weapon to me. Still OP)

Every one of those weapons can be used to great effect. With the exception of the Big Earner and to a lesser degree the Kunai, you can mix and match these weapons to make terrible combos.

Spy is wonderful.

>use your vintage amby

 

[Rawburt]

Invisiwatch: Good if you know the map. Perfected with L'Etranger.

I've tried Invis & L'Etranger. It's bad. L'Etranger, even though I despise it, is only bearable with DR.

 

[UnderCoverSpy16]

Okay, just saying L'etranger is only good when you need to cover long distances when cloaked. Like in dustbowl

 

[Puliping]

Best sets for me are Amby/Festive Sapper/Stock/Dead Ringer and Diamondback/Festive Sapper/Conniver's Kunai/Enthusiast's Timepiece (Stock). But it all depends on your playstyle.

1st one is for Defense, second one is for Attacking (also known as Defensive Payload).

Also have my Dr. Tapeforcicle set. (Enforcer/Red-Tape Recorder/Spy-Cicle/DR - Trolling Set)
Also, again, there's this guide on Steam Community that shows the most common playstyles for Spies. It's great for checking wheter you are Pro or Newb.

 

[fatyguy]

Spy-Cicle is honestly just for cosmetic purposes and silent kills. Still, a ragdoll on the ground and a scream isn't very noticeable on the fast-paced battlegrounds as opposed to a shining ice statue. Plus, fire + icicle = melted.

I'm sorry but this is entirely wrong, spycicle is by far the best knife because it counters the spies hardcounter, screams and killfeed are generally the best give away that a spy is making his move and can easily be used to stop the spy. As for melted icicle you aren't really going to survive an encounter with a pyro 9 times out of 10 and so the best option is to just run while it's recharging anyways.

 

[Sanctified Aberration]

Spycicle needs a goddamn nerf.

 

[The Sloth]

Spycicle needs a goddamn nerf.

This, just a bit.
And its definitely stock/spycicle for best knifes, that's what you see most plat spies using. As well, amby is almost always the go to, some prefer l'estranger. Watches mostly depend on the map, your opponents, if you're attacking or defending and your play style, and whether your team wants you calling targets(CND), or if you want kills (DR/invis).

 

[Royal81]

Amby: Use it. Perfect this, you'll be a god.

This man knows what hes talking about.