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Hey there Timmy! Sayyyy whats the matter champ? Shouldn’t you be off playing some “Team Fortress 2″? I thought you loved to play it!

“Well I do, Mister but now all my Friends have been making fun of me cause I cannot play the Spy class.”

“But it’s just so hard! I have not played shooting games for long and the Spy is getting harder to play every day that goes by. Even when I am try to practice with him, I always get killed!.”

“It just makes me so mad! Maybe I should give up on the Class and stick to Sniper.”

Whoa there Timmy! Thats taking it a little too far dontcha think? Little do some people know, but the Spy is one of the greatest classes of them all! It’s very enjoyable, you get the satisfaction of taking out some of the most powerful classes in one hit, sentries cannot see you and you can go invisible!

“But I can never do those things, Mister. When I try to stab someone I always miss and get killed, or if I use a disguise they catch me anyway!”

Well then Jimmy. I’m going to tell you a few helpful pointers on how to practice being a great spy.

Lets start with a picture:

As you can see here, Billy, this Spy just got away with destroying an entire forward base in a matter of seconds! Only a few lived to not respawn, and those who did respawn waisted very valuable time in the remainder of the match.

This could easily be you, Billy! Now there are plenty of fantastic tutorials on how to be a good Spy out there, but I am here to help you, the person who is feeling the Spy blues and simply cannot get around without getting spotted.

So here are some helpful tips:

“They’re in a real funny order mister…all out of place an’ everything”

Yeah well, I suck as a Narrator…

Play a different Class

As odd as this may seem, if you are being taken out by Rocketmen all too much, then play one! Learn how the Soldier mindset works, and keep playing until you have a kill:death ratio that is skewed toward the Kill. Then try again. You may be very surprised at your results. This obviously applies for any other class too.

Beat them blues! Go with Red!

That’s right! Red team are far easier to play for Spies. While this is not true for maps like ctf_turbine or cp_granary where the players attack and defend from both sides, a Red Goldrush Spy will have a far easier time than a Blu one. Red teams will pack together in small groups, full of all kinds of scary gangs, while Blu will more often than not be fairly scattered. Leaving it easier for you to pick off people without the worry that you will be caught/killed in a matter of seconds.

Listen Carefully. Very Carefully.

Again this seems like a no brainier, but you can constantly hear things that will keep you alive or that can help line up a five stab combo, or mark out prime targets.
Things worthy of mention are:

• Water splashes. Even from your respawn point in 2fort you can clearly hear someone splish-splashing their way to your base from the sewer system. Could it be an enemy? Only one way to find out. Cloak up and wander down.
• Character Calls. Often you might hear things such as “Spy!” “Sentry ahead!” or “Medic!”. When you hear any of these or similar ones that leave a piece in the message box, check it. If you hear a medic shouting “Go Right!”, but do not see a line of text, you have a medic incoming. And Medics mean more enemies…
• Crackles and Zaps. Listen out when near an enemy medic. If you hear fizzles and snaps from him, he is your current prime target. He must be taken out. Get to it.
• Spawn Medi cases. You know the sound when you go to get a boost from these boxes? Listen carefully for this, as the same noise is heard when a bunch of players get respawned. If you are hanging around an enemy spawn point and hear this, now is a great time to get ready for some quick stabs, or to get out of there. For all you know, a great mass of Pyros are about to flood out the door and you are left there in the open.

On a side note, I recommend you get some good sound equipment and keep the volume high enough to hear everything. I use Sennheiser HD 515 headphones and quality is constantly top notch, and I recommend headphones over Speakers as it is easier to point out height differences and those quite noises that you might not usually hear.

Back range is a lot bigger than you think…

Here is another thing that is not known too well by players. The range of a Players back is actually huge. It is a good 160 degrees on their back where you can stab. This will help a ton versus that Sniper who has his back hugged to a wall. Wait for him to turn, ever so slightly, then stab. It will work. Or if it does not, the guy should be pushed to the side enough to leave another opening. Keep in mind though there is no such thing as a real side stab, although you can get pretty damn close.

Here are some pictures to help but it is best learned by trying for yourself.

Yeah, you’re dead. Again.

A very sad fact is, that Spies are not known for their tremendous lifespan. You will die. A lot. Suck it up and get back out on that field and keep trying. Some classes will get you tons of points from the get go, but the Spy… you will need to keep practising to get it right. So get back out there and try again!

L33t Players = Your worst Nightmare

These guys are tough there are no two ways about it. The Heavy who, when you kill his Medic will turn around and get you in a flash. The Soldier who watches his back and is not afraid to Rocketjump before mowing you down while still in the air. The Demo who seems to always get you bang on with his stickies every single time. The Pyro who has fifty more score points than any other player right now.

Sadly there is little you can do about these guys. They are tough. and are not afraid of you. Luckily there is rarely more than one or two on any given pub server at time, not including Clan Stackers.

That’s not to say that they are invincible though. But you will have to go around them in a different way.

The Heavy who snapped 180 degrees when you killed his Medic? Just go for him first. He won’t expect it then. The Spy savvy Soldier or Demo? Catch them when they are in a battle with some of your fellow team members. Get creative. And, although very rare, there will be those guys who you will just not be able to kill (as Spy). Look out for them and try to avoid them if you can.

Ow! My neck…

This is explained a lot better in OMGNinja’s tutorial but, learn how to snap 180 degrees and stab. When you and an enemy are passing each other by head on, just as he is 90 degrees to your left or right, turn and stab. Might want to start a little earlier if its a scout but go ahead and try it. Keep up the practice and this is one of the best things you can learn if you get it right. Really helps in Spy knife fights too.

Pew-Pew-Pew! Go Pistol Go!

Another very obvious one, but the Revolver is a far more powerful weapon than most people think. Sixty damage per hit is not something to be scoffed at. And a critical hit is almost enough to take out any of the low health classes. That’s some serious damage you got right there.

Use it when you are caught in the act or on fire and fleeing etc. For all you know, that Pyro coming at you could be on 1hp. Its unlikely, but it could still happen.

Biggest downside of the Revolver is obviously the single-slow shot method. It’s hard to hit someone, especially scouts. But that’s no excuse! If you have a friend, you could call a shoot out for practice. No cloak, no Knife, just revolvers (Final destination!). Keep that aim straight and true.

Invisible? Of course! Unnoticeable? Never.

Another matter that’s a bother. This also relates to the listening point too. You do make noises when invisible. It’s quiet, but I have found, caught, and stopped many spies by listening out for foot steps. This is particularly heard in the sewers of 2fort again.

If you can hear them but see no one who might make them, this is a perfect time to hunt for rival Spies. Listen out for the tapping noises to find out where they are. Tapping means they are on concrete, rustling means they are in grass or dirt, sounds from above mean they are on higher ground etc.

When cloaked yourself, navigating through a choke point full of enemies can be hard, but is made a lot easier with a full cloak bar if you are still practising. Spies will often try to run through the enemies, hoping to come out the other side, but you have two options that people forget a lot more often than you think. Go back. Or stop. If you wrap around a corner to find a bunch of enemies coming at you (cloaked), step out of their way, then follow them, or carry on the way you were headed.

You feeling lucky? Punk?

The sad sad truth of the matter is, the Spy is 50% Skill, 50% Luck. There are no two ways about it. If you happen to jump on a server that is full of Spy killers, a team with good communications, or one with 4+ Pyros, thats bad luck. Not your fault. If it is way too tough, then go off and try again. It is impossible to tell if a player you have never met before is any good at the game.

With time, you will get better, and the better you become, the more the percentage leans toward the Skill, but even for the best of us, Luck plays a huge factor.

To Sap, or not to Sap?

Here is trick that will definitely keep you alive. If you are in the enemy base, you do not have to sap everything. Some clever Engis can set up “traps” of a sort to catch out the Spys or other classes. Leaving a teleporter out at the top of a stairs or such could be placed to alert the Engi’s of your whereabouts, who is down in the intel room with a sentry and is calling for help right now. This shows up a lot in 2fort as teleporters usually destroyed in seconds after placed anyway. Try to learn where all of an Engi’s buildings are before sapping like crazy. I would not count this for sentrys, get rid of them pronto.

Heavy weeks abound!

If there was ever a time to start practising the Spy, then the coming weeks are going to be (in theory) one of the easiest times in history to get some kills on TF2. You will see Heavys left, right and center, and every one of them are the slowest hulking masses with the biggest backs you will ever catch. As a turn off, after everything dies down, the Heavy’s may also become more Spy wary. So get to it!

This may also apply to later Sniper updates when Valve get around to it…

From here on, you are not a Spy, but a Shadow.

This is a tough one to pull off but in time it will come to you. The jist of it is, try to stay out of sight constantly, even when in your disguise. When you are seen by the enemy you will want to be either too far away for them to bother to chase you, or make it look like you are fighting. Its hard, but fall back on your invisibility. When you are in sight of an enemy, keep looking the way they are looking (unless its at you…).

Hug walls, take longer but less noticeable paths, do whatever it takes, just go around the enemy, then stab stab stab. As always, start from the back of the group and work up.

If you are hardcore, get into the group, then go up ahead of them and make it look more convincing. Back walk out of choke points with your own team etc. When you are running in the opposite direction of your enemys, call for a Medic. Never run toward them without doing this. For a Spy it looks like you have half health when using a disguise. For all that medic knows, you are an innocent Pyro looking for someone to take care of that boo-boo. If you are lucky, the medic will follow you. Whenever this happens, bring them to your buddies at the choke point to be picked off by their crit rockets. If you are one of those guys who finds a four leaf clover every week, they might even uber you, wasting the chance for themselves and leaving you running around with a smug on your face.

Live it.

The main reason why I go back to Spy so often is because it is so bloody exciting. Getting caught is a kick in the teeth when you see that line up for the perfect chain backstab, and then pull it off, there is nothing more satisfying in this game. So above all else, enjoy the class! You get the satisfaction of knowing you took down that pesky wave of players or that Sniper who is stopping your team’s Heavy from moving forward, single handedly!.

Now do you see what I mean Tommy? The Spy is constantly challenging, but once you get the hang of it, its among the most powerful classes! Learn to be a quick thinker and .

“Wow mister, it seems like an awful lot of work just for one class…”

Nobody said being a Spy was easy, Billy. Just keep up the practice, learn from your mistakes and you will inevitably get better.

“Gee thanks mister! Now I know!!”

And knowing is half the battle.

Sorry if I rambled on too much in some of the points. Thanks to anyone who takes their time to read it all. -oldmeme