Hey guys. A lot of my friends play TF2, so when I go hang out, I usually play a bit (generally at home I stick to SC). I have been playing casually for a few years now, and my most played class by far is the spy. Nothing feels so good as the quick 180 stab or the clutch medic or heavy kill. I wouldn't say I'm a good spy, but I wouldn't say I'm bad either. I'm looking to play a bit better (as my friends are quite good), so I was hoping for some advice.
My main problems: Wmouse1 pyros...also pyros. A lot of the time I just feel really frustrated becuase a pyro will just be running around with his flamethrower on and I'll get caught going around a corner or hiding in the side of the room waiting for him to pass while I have my invis watch on. It feels like luck a lot of the time (although I know there are ways to minimize these deaths).
Knowing when a trade is worth it. A lot of the time I choose a target, uncloak closely behind him and run in for a quick stab, recloak and run. Sometimes I will choose to suicide to get kills. Generally I figure a heavy whos putting on some pressure is worth it (doubly so if I get the medic). An engie and his TP or sentry I usually go for as well. Sometimes I wonder if the trade I made was worth it though.
What to do on a turtle game. When the enemy is balled up, I find it really hard to play spy (most of the time). Generally it's hard to close in to get any stabs or saps (they're sitting on the point and defending entrences, they're paranoid, etc).
Positioning. I get hit by stray rockets (fire, but I already coverd that) and bullets a lot, which gives me away. I would like to be able to approach at better angles/paths to get caught by random fire less.
How to Improve. This is super vague, and I'm sorry, I don't know how else to put it. I just don't know how to improve my mechanics, strategies, etc.
Any other advice is great too!
My loadout: Watch: Cloak and Dagger (I get caught where I have to stop sometimes, so standard watch doesn't work well for me a lot.
Knife: Stock. I don't like having the downsides some of the knives give, I generally do a lot of double stabs which some knives stop, etc
Revolver: Stock. I don't like the ambassador much becuase I don't have the aim to get the headshots on anything other than snipers with the shield. I don't know about the other revolvers
My spy tip number one is just patience I sometimes spend minutes just standing and observing. scout out the turrets find the heavy and medics find your route and GO.
Ofc I never had a problem with stray stuff like pyros and rockets mostly i think cause pyros have to be at the front and you are supposed to be at the enemy's back. Also have you tried the dead ringer it's so good for suicide runs cause u become immortal XD It´s also good for those pesky rockets cause you can activate just before one comes at your face
My loadout is deadringer with eternal reward witch is probably the most fun cause backstabbing doesn't break disguise.
1. dead ring your way to enemys back
2. backstab the first one you see take em on one by one all the way to their front then rinse n repeat.
Your first step should be to modify your loadout. My suggestions:
Watch: Stock, cloak and dagger forces you into extremely passive playstyle, whereas having stock (and knowing ammobox spawns) allows you much more mobility and allows you to maintain cloak through ammo pickups.
Knife: Use the knife that gives -25 hp but +cloak on backstab; The hp loss is negligible. If you are taking that much damage, you are probably dead anyway. Absorbing cloak on backstab is very useful to just backstab and run with.
Revolver: Use the enforcer. It is very effective against engies, snipers, and medics. The +20% damage allows you to 2shot then iirc. (Especially useful against razorback snipers) You have to get used to the extra cloak time though.
Trades are worth it if you can take out a key team unit (Medic / Heavy) or take out a large time investment (Engy + Buildings primarily)
Avoid pyros like the plague; always stay like 10 ft from them
Idk there is extremely general advice on acting the part of spy, for example, don't look people in the eye, behave like the class you are playing as (Such as don't disguise as a scout), learn to switch weapons very quickly to pretend you are not a spy,
EDIT: If you happen to have the familiar fez you can go the saharen spy route with dead ringer. Having the set reduces dead ringer uncloak sound to the normal watch uncloak sound, which makes dead ringing a million times easier. However getting the first disguise with eternal reward is a real pain.
I used to refuse to use Dead Ringer on principle, as I absolutely loved the cloak and dagger. However, recently, I've been finding DR may be the way forward. These trades you agonise about aren't really trades anymore once you get good with the DR: you get the kill and can come back around for a second run very quickly and safely (unless pyros!). Also, the rate of killing when using DR is much faster than the playstyle using cloak and dagger, so you'll actually have more of an impact on the game usually. You should try it out, give it a chance and see what you think!
Oh yeah, and The Enforcer pistol combos very well with DR, as the additional recloak time doesn't really make a difference when you're using it. So you get lots of extra damage for free basically.
On January 03 2012 18:39 MiB wrote: My spy tip number one is just patience I sometimes spend minutes just standing and observing. scout out the turrets find the heavy and medics find your route and GO.
Ofc I never had a problem with stray stuff like pyros and rockets mostly i think cause pyros have to be at the front and you are supposed to be at the enemy's back. Also have you tried the dead ringer it's so good for suicide runs cause u become immortal XD It´s also good for those pesky rockets cause you can activate just before one comes at your face
My loadout is deadringer with eternal reward witch is probably the most fun cause backstabbing doesn't break disguise.
1. dead ring your way to enemys back
2. backstab the first one you see take em on one by one all the way to their front then rinse n repeat.
I agree with trying to get to the back and using the dead ringer. Its so good, its literally a second life. The only problem you have to solve is actually finding a way to the enemy's rear so you can go on a backstabbing spree. I don't really agree with using the eternal reward but i've seen it put to some good use before. I personally prefer to just insta disguise the moment i kill someone/dead ringer just in case.
Saharan spy set is the most imba set in the game(fez + L'retanger + dead ringer + enternal reward). You can't go wrong with a SILENT dead ringer. All you need is that first backstab and you can string together so many kills.
I used to use the Cloak and dagger but I found myself becoming too patient and ended up not doing much of anything throughout the round. Using the eternal reward keeps me active and usually ended up with a ton more kills and points overall.
Also, shameless plug for my youtube channel which has 4 vids using the spy set(check my profile).
I'm pretty sure this channel was recommended in the TF2 main thread, but I found the advice and tips very helpful myself, so I guess I'll mention it here: http://www.youtube.com/user/tf2gentleman
I don't usually promote youtube videos, but when I do, it's the best of the best. stabby is crazy good that just hit 3000 hours in tf2; he mainly uses Ambassador, butterfly knife, and Dead Ringer, but often uses other weps as situations demand it. You will learn A LOT from his videos. Kill w+m1 pyros with side stabs.
EPT
