Spy

Spy
Basic Information
Icon
Type	Support
Health	125 (185 with overheal)
Speed	107%

The Spy is a support class who operates behind enemy lines and specializes in killing enemies when they least expect it. He has 125 health and 107% speed, making him the second fastest class in the game, matching the Medic's speed. His Disguise Kit allows him to camouflage himself as an enemy or as even his own teammate while still taking damage from them as usual. His Invis Watch allows him to cloak and turn invisible, only being revealed when he bumps into an enemy or is shot by them. His Sapper is an anit-building tool that can disable and destroy enemy Buildings unless the Engineer destroys them. His Knife's backstab feature allows him to instantly kill any class that is looking away from him, which is especially invaluable to take down targets like Medics, Heavies and unaware Snipers. His Revolver is a good backup option in case he gets caught out and can ward off or potentially kill enemies chasing him down. Spy's arsenal allows him to flank behind enemy lines and wreck havoc in the back line, backstabbing targets and disabling Sentry nests.

However, Spy is not without weaknesses. These include vulnerability if caught out, being vulnerable to spam while trying to flank, spy-checking from enemy players, afterburn from Pyro making a Spy a french fry, and aware players who periodically turn around. Spies must watch out for spy-checking players. Many players have learned to blast any "ally" that approaches them, which can force the Spy to retreat or possibly kill him before he gets a chance to return fire. His cloak "shimmers" when taking damage, which can make him easy to spot, and status effects like afterburn make him even easier to spot. This in particular can make it difficult when trying to go down a hallway that is currently being spammed with explosives. Decloaking creates a sound that can alert enemies to his presence, and running out of cloak while in the open can leave a Spy incredibly vulnerable without an escape option. Picking up Ammo mid-cloak can refill it, but Ammo packs mysteriously vanishing can also make enemies notice his presence. The Revolver, while a decent option, can be difficult to use, and the Knife is a terrible melee weapon outside of backstabs. This leaves unprepared Spies as little more than easy pickings for everyone else.

Spy is a high-risk, high-reward class, with growing pains for anyone trying to use him effectively. A caught-out Spy with no cloak only has a Revolver which is unfortunately out-damaged by most other primary weapons. It is usually far easier to kill a caught-out Spy than it is for the Spy to kill you, and competent Pyros can almost destroy a Spy's hopes of ever approaching an enemy. Engineers, while usually a high-priority target, can be difficult for the Spy to kill, as the minute a Spy un-disguises to backstab the Engineer while in range of a Sentry, he will get shot at unless the Spy immediately saps it. Multiple Sentries in one spot makes this even harder, but grouped-up Sentries are usually vulnerable to explosives.

The Spy is a backline specialist with poor up-front combat tools compared to other classes. A predictable Spy is like a Sniper with difficulty aiming: near harmless. A Spy constantly causing havoc will be caught on to, and on-guard enemies are incredibly difficult targets. Once the enemy team raises their guard against a Spy it will be difficult for a Spy to do much, as simply turning around can negate a backstab. It can sometimes be best to switch off the Spy until the enemy lowers their guard and switch back to Spy to punish their lowered guard. And remember: enemies who are constantly turning around to face a Spy won't be facing the other team and become vulnerable, so a Spy just being a distraction in a team fight is already great.

On offense, his main goal is to disable or destroy the enemy Sentry Gun, which is accomplished by killing the Engineer and sapping all his buildings. He can also go deep into enemy territory to sneakily capture an objective, something other classes have a hard time achieving. On defense, his main role is to constantly kill the enemy Medic and his patient, preventing them from building up enough momentum to mount a successful assault, though killing enemy Medics is always a priority no matter the game mode. A Spy standing around an obscure corner can get more kills than even a Heavy standing there, and is especially useful in killing the VIP. While the Spy has a high skill floor and can be difficult to be consistently effective, his playstyle and mechanics are unlike any other, with a technical skillset that takes full advantage of the player's game knowledge, allowing him to play mind games with the enemy team while dropping targets left and right. He can be incredibly punishing for new players, and even veteran players can find him difficult. But a competent Spy is a constant threat, preventing any kind of ÜberCharge and can even win games singlehandedly through back-capping or VIP killing. Players using the Spy combine skill and a bit of luck, pushing both to see just how far they can take the so-called "worst class in the game", and finding joy in the unexpected depths and brilliance of this one class.

Bio

Country of Origin: France

Job: Uncloak & Dagger

Motto: "..."

Contraptions: Disguise Kit / Cloaking Watch

He is a puzzle, wrapped in an enigma, shrouded in riddles, lovingly sprinkled with intrigue, express mailed to Mystery, Alaska, and LOOK OUT BEHIND YOU! but it is too late. You're dead. For he is the Spy - globetrotting rogue, lady killer (metaphorically) and mankiller (for real).

Weapons

Primary

Weapon	Kill icon
Revolver
Tranquilizer Gun

Sapper

Weapon	Kill icon
Sapper

Melee

Weapon	Kill icon
Knife

PDA

Weapon
Disguise Kit

Watch

Weapon
Invis Watch
L'escampette

Tips

Main article: Basic Spy Strategy

As a Spy…

• …disguise yourself as an enemy with your disguise kit. Beware, attacking will remove your disguise.
• …call for enemy Medics by hitting E while disguised.
• …try to act like an enemy while disguised. Observe where enemy team members are, and disguise as one of them.
• …press Shift to run at normal speed while disguised as slower classes.
• …your revolver is a very useful tool for when a stealth operation doesn't go your way.
• …place your electro sappers on enemy buildings to disable and destroy them. Disguises aren't lost when placing sappers.
• …your electro sappers disable sentry guns before destroying them. Sap a sentrygun before attacking the engineer.
• …use your knife to backstab enemies from behind, killing them instantly.
• …hit MOUSE2 to cloak and become fully invisible for a short period of time.
• …use your cloak to get behind enemy lines, and your disguise to move around amongst them.
• …your tranquilizer gun slows down your target and decreases their ranged gun damage. This helps create an opening for an escape.
• …the darts from your tranquilizer gun cause your target to take guaranteed critical hits from melee damage. Let your teammates gang up on them.
• …the L'escampette allows you to move quickly to or from the enemy base. Make quick escapes, or quick infiltrations!
• …you lose cloak taking damage with the L'escampette equipped. Stay out of the line of fire.

Related achievements

Achievement		Description
	Deep Sleep	As a Spy, kill 10 tranquilized players with your melee weapon.

VIP achievements

Achievement		Description
	Fraudulent Transaction	As a Spy, kill the Civilian using the boost given by him.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Bulgarian	Шпионин	Spy
Spanish	Spy	-
English	Spy	-
French	Spy	-
German	Spy	-
Hungarian	Kém	Spy
Italian	Spia	Spy
Polish	Szpieg	Spy
Brazilian Portuguese	Spy	-
Romanian	Spy	-
Russian	Шпион	Spy
Turkish	Spy	-
Ukrainian	Шпигун	Spy

Update history

2.0.0

• Updated the Spy's Cigarette “shell” to be slightly higher poly.
• Added Spywalk for Spies. (Bound to Shift by default)
• Added a glow to the Spy's cigarette.
• Updated the Spy’s mask textures to be consistent with the 10 classes.
• Being touched as a Spy now also affects the viewmodel.

2.0.2

• Updated tf2c_spy_gun_mettle to include updated Sapper damage modifier
• Fixed Spywalk not being applied clientside

2.0.4

• The move speed increase from tf2c_gun_mettle_spy now only affects Spy, rather than all classes

2.1.0

• Updated the Spy:
  • Increased the Spy's movement speed to 107% (from 100%)
  • Set by tf2c_spy_gun_mettle 2, the new default setting for tf2c_spy_gun_mettle; can be changed by server operators
• Heal points are now given for Shock Therapy healing, Medic passive regen, Kritzkrieg self healing, being healed by an enemy Shock Therapy as a Spy, and stealing enemy Sandviches
• Added the tf2c_spywalk_inverted convar, which sets Spywalk (moving at Spy's regular speed while disguised as slower classes) as the default behavior, with +SPEED (Spywalk bind) imitating your disguise's speed

2.1.2

• The Spy now has a +20% damage resistance and reduced debuff duration while cloaked
• Added a Spywalk indicator on the Disguise HUD (enabled via tf2c_spywalk_hud, enabled by default)

2.1.3

• Spies now gain double the amount of cloak from building gibs

Trivia

• The Spy used to have 100% movement speed in both Team Fortress 2 and Team Fortress 2 Classic, but both iterations were eventually changed to 107%.
• In Team Fortress 2 Classic, Spy gets another line for his "Thanks!" voice command where he says "Prego" ("Translation: "You're welcome"). This was lifted from the prerelease versions of Team Fortress 2.
• The RED and YLW Spy smoke white cigarettes, while the BLU and GRN Spy smoke brown cigarettes. Despite this, the class selection portraits in-game have the BLU and GRN Spy smoking white cigarettes.