If you have a spare 30 minutes, check out these vids, great tips for the spy class. hopefully will be upgrading my spy skills from absolute noob to regular noob.

Yeah I've watched a fair few vids, I know what to do, but it just never works out. Like the heavy will turn around, or the pyro will run too fast and I can't catch him. And the sniper's knife can reach you from a bit too far it seems.

There are just too many things you gotta press in order to make the spy attack (such as on an engy with sentry) successful :(

I can usually get a kill after a few horrible stabs or take down a dispenser or something minor like that.

And then when I am the Engy, Ph00ks comes and owns me even though I SEE HIM AND I KNOW HE IS A SPY AND I AM SHOOTING HIM

Yeah I'm rubbish at being a spy and dealing with skilled spies. I seem to be able to do just as much sneaking around as any class, with the bonus of then being able to do something decent.

i watched the first vid lastnight. some really good tips in there. i will be using a few to get better with the spy.

I have been learning over the past 2 weeks, will watch these when I get home.

Some observations from my short time so far.
* People are DAMN unpredictable and do so much random s***.
- suddenly turn around for no reason
- run halfway down a hallway, stop and come back bumping into you
- stand still for ages then suddenly move as you go to stab
- suddenly veer off into you while you are cloaked when they have been previously running in a straight line... again for no good reason

* Leave pyros alone if they are near ANY of your team mates... the chances of getting set alight is extremely high

* Be patient and don't be too greedy, stab 1 or 2 then go hide and wait, then make another pass. Getting too greedy and getting 5+ stabs in a row generally results in stabbing the first 2 and then someone spinning around after hearing the screams of their buddies getting raped and you getting pwned.
Sometimes you will get a golden run where everything just works and you kill a mass of people in a row, usually when they are trying to push the cart in goldrush :P

* A lot of the time backstabs fail to register as a 1 hit kill... then other times they will count as a 1 hit kill when it clearly should not be. Something is really broken there.

* 99% of melee hits against you when playing spy seem to be crits.

* Leave the spawn teles alone unless it is your goal, all it does is alert the enemy team a spy is around the spawn.

* Disguise as a different class but still the same colour when running around near your team mates, this way the enemy team is not aware there is going to be a spy cloaking past them shortly (I find this has made a massive difference in getting detected as often)

last edited by rubba-chikin at 14:03:02 22/Jul/08

Leave the spawn teles alone unless it is your goal

I disagree. I reckon always destroy teles unless you happen to spot a better goal nearby (e.g. a heavy mowing down your team). Being able to temporarily stop the enemy from teleporting across the map can often break their current wave of attack. Once you sap, just run away from their spawn asap and run up to them from behind.

Disguise as a different class but still the same colour when running around near your team mates

It's a shame not many spies do this. I find often they either:

a) disguise as the enemy class upon leaving spawn, or ...
b) pop out into the open while there's still a disguise cloud around them.

It seriously gives them up and half the enemy team will drop what they're doing and hunt him down to avoid being backstabbed.

last edited by parabol at 14:08:12 22/Jul/08

I find by the I've decided to sap the spawn teles the door opens and I get killed by respawners right after I put the sappers on.

Sometimes I like to stand near the spawn and stab them as they step out. Thats a big gamble though cause if they turn in your direction you are in trouble, funny as hell when you pull it off though :P


That is another thing that amazes me, people will NOT give up if they see a spy. They will chase you across the entire bloody map often resulting in their own death after you lead them to the closest sentry or HWG :)

One other thing I will say is USE THE PISTOL! It is damn powerful, if you can hit your targets it takes them down pretty quick.

^ yeah the revolver is good.

It's accurate enough to snipe and destroy sentries from a distance when there's no engi around, I'd highly recommend trying this :)

a) disguise as the enemy class upon leaving spawn, or ...

What's the big deal? if they see and undisguised spy, they still know there is a spy. You can switch disguises when you go around a corner or something.

b) pop out into the open while there's still a disguise cloud around them.

How can you determine if that cloud is still hanging around you? Also how many seconds do you wait after you hit the cloak before you can go?

Also does running with the sapper or knife out, give you up? I don't switch to sapper till the last second in case they can tell what I'm holding. Pity you can't make it look like you are shooting your weapon.



last edited by thermite at 14:34:13 22/Jul/08

What's the big deal? if they see and undisguised spy, they still know there is a spy. You can switch disguises when you go around a corner or something.

Huh? I'm reinforcing the comment I was replying to: i.e. people insta-disguising as an enemy when they leave spawn instead of blending in with their own team-mates until they're ready to use their spy skills. It attracts unwanted attention as it's very obvious that he's a spy (why would a teammate be able to freely walk around enemies?)

Personally I disguise as one of my team-mates, walk across the map to the front lines and then cloak through the enemy base .. while cloaked I disguise as the most appropriate enemy depending on what enemies are around. Then uncloak around a corner.

How can you determine if that cloud is still hanging around you? Also how many seconds do you wait after you hit the cloak before you can go?

Generally when the disguise overlay flashes up it means you're disguised, but I give it about 3 seconds in total to make sure ALL the smoke is gone. If you're already cloaked, there is no smoke if you disguise .. hence the disguise-when-cloaked tactic I mentioned earlier.

Also does running with the sapper or knife out, give you up? I don't switch to sapper till the last second in case they can tell what I'm holding. Pity you can't make it look like you are shooting your weapon.

Regardless of what weapon you are really holding, you will always look like you're holding your disguised-class's primary weapon. You only lose your disguise if you attack with the knife or revolver, but sapping is safe.

last edited by parabol at 14:41:04 22/Jul/08

wow awesome thread

my tip is dont disguise yourself as an enemy class that no one is playing on the enemy team. for example, if there are no pyros on the enemy team dont disguise yourself as a pyro. i always look at the scoreboard to see what classes my teammates are playing and if i see a class that isnt on the scoreboard then i know immediately that its a spy.

If you're already cloaked, there is no smoke if you disguise .. hence the disguise-when-cloaked tactic I mentioned earlier.

so if i am invisible, then disguise myself as another class, there is no smoke?

there is no smoke

in clan play or against people with a clue, disguises are next to useless. all they will give you is a split second before someone realises you're a spy.

l2cloak. play spy until you can judge how far you can run with the amount of cloak you have and then it just comes down to practise/experience. it takes a little while to get used to when/where you can backstab someone from and where you can't.

playing spy isn't about being a pub hero and taking the easy noob stabs and building destructions. playing spy is about taking out strategic targets like the defensive medic with uber before your team pushes, etc. it's not about how many people you kill it's about who you kill.

edit: also spy is harder to play on larger servers like 12v12 (though there are usually tonnes more noobs in pub so that makes it easier). they are much more useful in smaller games like 6v6 clan matches. they tend to get used a whole lot less in 8v8 because there's more action/spam so it's harder to get behind the enemy. also a good stab in a 6v6 is much more significant than in an 8v8 because of the number of players.

last edited by taggs at 16:09:34 22/Jul/08

Just stab the opposition in the knee, it usually results in a "backstab". Does when im on the receiving end anyway.

I watched a vid the other day, probably 1 of the 3.

It outlined a lot of nube mistakes like...

* running out of cover too early when cloaking - it takes about 1 full second before you are totally invis.
I still make this one sometimes, eg. cloak and run around a corner near where a sniper is situated, he will suddenly whip out his machette and run around swinging blindly so he obviously saw you shimmer into nothingness. I find the best tactic it just to run back and recharge your cloak and let him run around airswinging at nothing.

* disguising while still cloaking, you go invis but the smoking lasts longer and its totally obviously if you see a ball of smoke heading towards you from around a corner.

* disgusing as an enemy colour as soon as you spawn (this is pretty obvious)


Most of it is finding the paths less travelled and learning how far your cloak will take you. Also learning where your nearest hidey spots are in the maps incase your usual route is full of bodies and have to make a quick decision on the fly.

so if i am invisible, then disguise myself as another class, there is no smoke?

Only as long as you do it when you're completely cloaked, and if your disguise is fully complete before your cloak begins to wear off. As someone above said, if you do it during a cloak or uncloak, the smoke is there. So aim for initiating a disguise at about the 5-6 second mark of your cloaked sprint. If you get it right, all that'll be visible is the quick 1 second uncloak instead of a 3 second smoke disaster.

running out of cover too early when cloaking

I see that -all- the time in 2fort with a spy flash-jumping off the battlements and wondering why people knew he was running across the bridge.

last edited by parabol at 17:56:54 22/Jul/08

Personally I disguise as one of my team-mates

I don't know how to do that :/ Are you sure that is possible?

open up the disguise kit and hit - (minus)

Just watched those vids... that guy is elite :o

Some of those leaping jump over the targets heads to behind stabs are insane!

* A lot of the time backstabs fail to register as a 1 hit kill... then other times they will count as a 1 hit kill when it clearly should not be. Something is really broken there.

That really s***s me to tears. I supposedly got backstabbed in the face last night as a sniper while shooting at the guy. I don't get how that works.

it happens to me once or twice each time i play. pisses me off.

The video highlighted in one part just how WTF the system can be with registering hits...

Don't forget to take out teleporters.

I love defending spy on Goldrush and cloaking to their spawn, keeping 2 teleporters down 90% of the round has a MASSIVE effect.

Cool I'm getting better at the spy, got top score, the only thing I lack is an awareness of whether I'm cloaked, or disguised, and which team I'm diguised as - thought I was getting lucky when I waltzed up to an unattended sentry only to realise that I was using my own team's disguise.
I'd like to have a couple buttons, like last blue disguise, and last red disguise, or something.
And I always go to sap while I'm cloaked, it doesn't work, so I decloak, and the sapper doesn't take because I'm holding down the button, and the sentry spots the cloak and owns me.


last edited by thermite at 21:17:41 22/Jul/08

Why are you disguising as your own team?

I agree with taggs, a really good spy doesn't even need a disguise, you just need to time your decloaks right.

Only noobs fool for diguise :) That's why pub spy is mega fun.

It's still a good idea to have a disguise on, if only so you don't get WTFPWNED by a random sentry.


I do hate the way I always randomly get killed by random shots fired at nowhere. Always with the crit rockets damnit!


I've topped the score as spy a few times now, but I'm still pretty s*** at it.

Why are you disguising as your own team?

Well because sometimes you find yourself running along with your team, so you may as well save the cloak. But then later I hit 'b' instead of choosing an enemy disguise.

Disguise is great for popping out to a sentry too, especially if you've just used up your cloak to get to the location :/

I do hate the way I always randomly get killed by random shots fired at nowhere.

f***ing pyros!

I will be running through the enemies base, nobody on our team in sight and a pyro just randomly spams a flare or a puff of flame out of boredom and lights me up.

Terrible luck.

Also I hate it when a heavy is running in a straight line for 10 seconds, you go up, go for the stab and at the exact time he randomly turns around :S

Spy has too much luck involved.

Well because sometimes you find yourself running along with your team, so you may as well save the cloak. But then later I hit 'b' instead of choosing an enemy disguise.

I never find myself in that situation, ever.

If I'm running with my team and there's enemies, I use the revolver... undisguises me and kills them.

If I'm running and there's no enemies, the point is moot.

last edited by CHUB at 21:29:28 22/Jul/08

i can only offer one tip; memorise where the player classes are on your keyboard. For instance if i wanted to disguise as a scout or medic to get into the enemy base i would press 41 or 47 respectively. then, cloak again after a few stabs and disguise as 44, 43 or even 45 if you feel like living for a while.

Nobody spychecks heavies as much as other classes, and (lone)heavies never spycheck medics.

Also, as a note, the better you become at spy the more a backstab becomes a "chore" rather than an exciting awesome experience. i pull out my revolver just to make things interesting these days... Can't wait for spy updates!

After watching the videos "stalking" seems like a very good tactic, one that I currently do not employ.

I generally cloak, get behind enemy lines set disguise on the way while invis, take out anyone I can on the way back, if still alive wait till cloak has recharged and repeat.

Will have to start learning the stalking technique cause it seems damn effective.

There is some awesome sneaky map routes along ledges etc I would never have though of in those vids too

last edited by rubba-chikin at 22:35:33 22/Jul/08

For instance if i wanted to disguise as a scout

I hope you were giving that as a careless example, and not an indicator that you actually pick a slow scout to disguise as. They stand out like chicks in an engineering lecture :)

Nobody spychecks heavies as much as other classes

That's correct, though the challenge is:

1) making sure they have a heavy, as you'll stand out otherwise

2) avoid any existing heavies .. since a team usually has 1 or 2 heavies tops and you're very likely to get the name of the heavy you bump into.

3) being able to get anywhere useful at the slow heavy speed

I agree with taggs, a really good spy doesn't even need a disguise, you just need to time your decloaks right.

This thread needs less elistism and more strategy.

If you don't use a disguise then you're doing it wrong.

Spy has too much luck involved.

Nah, all you have to do is time your decloaks right.

I've got a Captain America suit, people usually know its me tho, but if I wear the mask aswell that usually f***s them up.

I hope you were giving that as a careless example, and not an indicator that you actually pick a slow scout to disguise as.

It's that type of thinking that makes disguising as a scout all the easier.

Nobody suspects you when you're dashing and jumping around the corner.

last edited by Phooks at 23:33:28 22/Jul/08

It's that type of thinking that makes disguising as a scout all the easier.

Nobody suspects you when you're dashing and jumping around the corner.

Not really.

A scout-disguised spy still stands out and can't "dash" or jump like a scout at all. I pick them out easily and lob a rocket/grenade at them when they've taken their third [slow] step or haven't double-jumped within 2 seconds. It's got nothing to do with skill at all on my part .. it's just so bloody obvious, yet people keep doing it and they keep getting a rocket placed into them.

last edited by parabol at 23:46:17 22/Jul/08

i usualy disguise as a dispenser when im spy, no one ever guesses that im just sitting there and not moving

A scout-disguised spy still stands out and can't "dash" or jump like a scout at all. I pick them out easily and lob a rocket/grenade at them when they've taken their third [slow] step or haven't double-jumped within 2 seconds. It's got nothing to do with skill at all on my part .. it's just so bloody obvious, yet people keep doing it and they keep getting a rocket placed into them.

Yeah scout is terrible.

Heavy is a good disguise for spy checking, but you're just too slow and once you use it once everyone wises up.

Demo IMO is one of the best disguises but I never use him because of the speed... I need full speed so I use pyro/sniper/engi 99% of the time.

Soldier is good too if you're attacking SG's.

This thread needs less elistism and more strategy.

If you don't use a disguise then you're doing it wrong.

of course if you don't use a disguise you're doing it wrong - it only costs you half a second and two button pushes, and even a very small chance of it helping you is better than nothing.

all i'm saying is if you're playing people who aren't complete retards then 9 times out of 10 disguises won't fool them. spying is all about the cloak.

Scout is good to disguise as so the enemy thinks "ooh there's a stupid spy disguised as a scout" and then you weave around the corner and become a medic, it's like respraying your car in GTA

Depends on what you are doing as the spy.

A sniper dicking around a sentry/dispenser is surly a spy.

An engineer pottering around without a sentry/dispenser nearby is surly a spy unless he is shooting at stuff or collecting metal.

A pyro not spamming his flame at enemies is surly a spy.

http://www.donthaveacowman.com/Simpsons/Cards/Tempo/7D-5B.jpg


seriously though. i employed some of these techniques last night and had my best scoring game ~90.

http://blog.syracuse.com/axeman/medium_leslie neilson.bmp

"And don't call me Shirley"

and become a medic

You are the ultimate fail.

A pyro not spamming his flame at enemies is surly a spy.

Which is why I uncloak 1 second prior to backstabbing.

You should never be wandering around with a disguise on.

I just use pyro because he's fast and always running... engi's are suss if they don't have a SG and snipers are always zooming so it's not very good.

last edited by CHUB at 11:27:19 23/Jul/08

i find snipers are good disguise cause you can hang back near enemy spawn, observe what they are up to and plan a strike.

even good to just hang around uncloaked and rack up another cloack charge.

Disguising as medic can work pretty well.

A heavy will never spy check a medic running up to him.

TF2: meet the music video montage. it has nothing to do with spy tips. i just thought it was cool.



last edited by ravn0s at 13:00:31 23/Jul/08

the only worthwhile spy disguises are pyro, demo, soldier, engi and sniper. and even then, ppl tend to spycheck any engi not holding a wrench.

scout: moves too slow, obvious
medic: no uber meter, obvious
spy: people always shoot spies no matter what team
heavy: just too slow, the slower you're moving around the more likely ppl will catch up to you and inevitably one will check you


last edited by orbitor at 13:51:43 23/Jul/08

haha, that was good.

I rarely use heavy, but it is sometimes useful.

It can often be a good idea to take the identity of the player you just killed as it will be a while before they will be coming back to the front lines. That way theres less chance of running into them with their own name.

Medics stand around a lot healing, so if you stab a heavy and theres a medic up ahead standing around healing some other pleb... heavy is an excellent choice.

Now that I have the basic mechanics of spy down I have been experimenting with using voice calls for the characters I am impersonating to see if it helps blending in. Running around spamming medic is not a great idea, but regular cheer/jeer/thanks etc I reckon can help with your cover.

spy, heavy, medic and scout can all be utilized effectively in different situations.

Disguise as a scout to get past a tight corridor or corner (where it is hard to judge walking speed), disguise as a spy when walking behind your teammates and they'll usually attack your teammates before they attack you, and then not be suspicious when you cloak.. as i said before, disguise as a heavy if you want to attract medics and check out the enemy base without being spychecked.

I can't even begin to explain how easy it is to fool someone when you're disguised as a medic.

and then not be suspicious when you cloak

actually a keen observer will pick up on the 'red' or 'blue' shimmer of the cloaking

there is also a red or blue shimmer when you are on fire

Actually a keen observer would be 'dead' because he's too busy 'focusing' on the colour of a spy cloaking rather than the enemies shooting at him.

Christ it's like i need to defend myself for every tip i put up here

last edited by Phooks at 21:18:50 23/Jul/08

Nice vid, the medic should have the ghostbusters music

Haha that vid was awesome ravnos. Pretty well done to them.

haha at the music video and the cartoon both good.