TF2 Advanced Spy Guide.

[Phoenixxx Wright]

Since Cheese made his spy recognition guide, I have no choice but to make the opposite of that, if you will.

I realize that I, as a spy, rarely follow these tips. They're all stored in my brain but rarely are they used. But if you're not a horribly mediocre player, like I am, then this will come in handy. : D

SubtleArt left YouTube, so I have no video guides to show. ): I'll upload my own later.

The Intro and All Related Info

Hello there. Yes, you, the spy who keeps getting shot in the face or lit on fire or taunt killed. Are you tired of getting shot in the face or lit on fire or taunt killed? Then this guide is for YOU!

In this guide, I will hopefully teach you how to become a spy that does not fail miserably on every level. Or at least that is what I hope.

The Basics

I will assume you already know how to play spy. If not...well, sorry. Learn.

When I say 'The Basics,' I simply mean I will go over the stuff that all spies should learn at some point.

1. Always change disguise. When you redisguise as the same thing, you keep the name you had before. So if there's any chance you've been seen by your poor victim before you severed his spine, or by anyone in the surrounding area, for God's sakes, change your disguise.

2. If you're running around in their base and wreaking havoc like a good little spylet, and you happen to see a pyro coming towards you, you have three options.
- 2a. Do not make direct eye contact and keep running past him.
-2b. Look into his face so he can see the power of death in your eyes. And then get lit on fire and die.
-2c. Run towards him, retreat a little, and get him to run towards you. When he's running towards you, string him along a little bit, and then all of a sudden run towards him, pass him, and flickstab him. (I'll get into flickstabs later on.)

3. Keep your revolver out if you're in range of the enemy team, but not close enough to stab. Because of our new awesome buff where we can see enemy's health, we have a new annoying strategy. Stay back and watch their health. When you see a guy with little health retreating, shoot him in the face. It's fun. All spies do it.

4. If you get caught, run away. Revolver spam to deter enemies, or if you feel adventurous and/or annoyed, then there are a few more options which I will get to later.

5. Always get to higher ground if you can. It's easier for you to plan your next move, it's harder for enemies to get to you, and if you're disguised as a sniper, no one will notice you.

Advanced Techniques

The Almighty Flickstab
I would argue that this is the stab I used the most in the past, because it's fairly easy to pull off, and has amazing results. Most likely will not work against older, better players. Here's the rundown.

You and the enemy are running towards each other. As you pass him, you quickly turn to where his back is, stab, and then continue on your merry way. Do not stop running. It's called a flickstab because it's a very fast motion, and you can do it by simply flicking your wrist. I'll get a video up later, maybe.

Death From Above
<3 this stab. It's not really a special stab so much as convenient positioning, but it's amazing nonetheless. This is also fairly simple. Position yourself high up somewhere, above a path that enemies take. Wait for one to pass under you, and then drop and stab. They won't know what hit them, and more often than not, you can get away before anyone can even notice you. I'll also get a video up later.

Stairstabs
The holy grail of stabs. If you can pull these off, no one will kill you. (With the exception of Masterpiece, who is immune.) This will be almost impossible to explain, so I'll try to get a video up asap. But here's what you do:

Say a guy is following you. You run around the corner up a slope. When he starts to walk up that slope, you jump over his head and stab him. It's hard to do. And text does it no justice. Come on Blackmesa and I'll show it to you firsthand. >: D

To Summarize
Anyone can be a good spy. It just takes a lot of hard work and practice. And you need to know the map like the back of your hand. And you need to know the tendencies of everyone you're fighting. And you need to pay attention to who's fighting who, even if you're not involved. Playing spy is more of a mindgame and a strategy more than anything else. Practice practice practice, and you too can become a good spy.

I need to get to work, so I'll have to cut this short. I might fix it up later today, or just leave it like this. If you have any questions, ask them. I'll reply when I can.

 

[iGreen]

Looks good, nice quick guide. Like you said, would be better with some videos to go with.

I play spy a LOT more than i used to, it's an incredibly fun class to play once you get the idea, I'm still a fair way off having the ability to stair-stab and raining down death from above, but it's something i'm working on. There are a few vids. already on youtube i think, would be awesome to see what you're uploading Phoenix.

 

[Phoenixxx Wright]

There WERE some videos on Youtube. SubtleArt left, however, and all his videos were deleted. So I'll have to make them again from scratch.

And I'll do it in slow motion, too. : D host_timescale is the best console command ever.

EDIT: My computer was horribly violated by a virus. So I'm getting that fixed. I can't have videos up until Friday or so, and I have finals on Friday. So expect them up as soon as I can get them.

 

[Cut Chem!st]

I have a 4 person stairstab somewhere on my comp. Ill upload it when i get home if i can find it

 

[Phoenixxx Wright]

I have a 4 person stairstab somewhere on my comp. Ill upload it when i get home if i can find it

I love when that happens. So, so much.

 

[midget31394]

I really, really think someone should incorporate all the guides we have had in the past into one large sticky.

So far using search I have found:

Please Do Not Post In These Threads As Many Are Dead And Buried


Engineer
Pyro
Soldier
Sniping Etiquette
Demoman
Spy Recognition Guide
Engineer 2
Spy 2
Medic
Spy 3
Engineer on 2fort
Sniper



I mean, I'm willing to do that (Yes, I am that bored )

 

[Phoenixxx Wright]

I think that's a good idea.

 

[Fragbait]

Well if its written by Phoenix it has to be good. I've spent way too much time on the wrong end of his knife.

 

[s3rv0]

How you get to be a good spy is the same way you get to Carnegie Hall, as the old joke goes: Practice, practice, practice.*

Watch youtube videos, they help alot in helping you get your technique off the ground. Then, just practice practice practice practice. Don't stop, even when you're doing bad. You'll come around. It worked for me.


* For you kids who aren't familiar: A guy visits New York, and, wanting to go see some entertainment, asks a passerby, "How do you get to Carnegie Hall?" The passerby replies, "Practice, practice, practice."

If you still don't get it, the passerby is assuming that the man wants to be a venue at Carnegie, as opposed to visiting one.

 

[Phoenixxx Wright]

Servo, the amount of damage you just did to that joke exponentially surpasses the hitpoints of said joke. You killed it. ):

And I'd link to videos if I thought they were useful. Most of them are not, since SubtleArt left.

 

[? Frisky Dingo ?]

Its an ok guide, but you left a ton out...you left out how to stalk as well as knowing the shortcuts on maps 2 key points needed to play spy well. Another important one imo, is know when to get out and when to stay put, but the most important spy tech imo has to be positioning...knowing how to get where you need to be as fast as you can so you can do the most damage. If you fail at stabbing someone, dont push for the stab, most often then not you will die. Keep your cool while in enemy territory, as tempting as it may seem just to kill a heavy and run, its often better to lay back a bit longer and kill 5 guys as opposed to just 1. Here is a link to a post I made for shortcuts on all maps, I didnt make the vids and post all remarks on this thread and leave the other dead.

http://edgegamers.org/forums/showthread.php?t=73842

You can probably also post evildeadalus vids on how to play spy advanced tutorials. He goes into detail about what he is talking about.

 

[Vandall]

what....subtleart...left?!

/sob

 

[DoctorJo]

Most noob spies stand there while waiting for me to go up the stairs, so I just shoot them.

 

[Deja]

I can tell you firsthand that Masterpiece is not immune to leap stabs, falling stabs, or flick stabs...

 

[xKoreanboy]

Nice tips

 

[Phoenixxx Wright]

True. With Masterpiece, though, usually I'm lit on fire and axtinguished and forced to watch my corpse fly from one battlement to another. ):

 

[iGreen]

Servo, the amount of damage you just did to that joke exponentially surpasses the hitpoints of said joke. You killed it. ):

Dissecting jokes are like dissecting a frog; it just makes a mess and once it's done everyone's lost interest.

Think we could do with a spy training camp akin to the pyro and soldier ones we've had so far, keep it up guys!

 

[Phoenixxx Wright]

If we did a spy training camp, as much as I'd like to host it, I'd probably be bad. ): I say an eGO does it.

 

[The Icon]

Nice guide but one question, when i'm a spy and wanting to kill a sentry with an engineer, what should i do first? kill the engineer or sap the sentry first?

 

[Phoenixxx Wright]

Nice guide but one question, when i'm a spy and wanting to kill a sentry with an engineer, what should i do first? kill the engineer or sap the sentry first?

That depends almost entirely on positioning. And the engineer. If he's on top of his dispenser next to the sentry, sap/stab is probably best. Or even sap/revolver. It varies. I'll put that up in a video as well if it would help.

A lot of the time you can get on TOP of an engineer. If that's the case, look down and crouch, stab, sap. Or vice versa. I prefer stab/saps, because they're more humiliating.