Spy (competitive)

This article is for competitive play, based on the standard community competitive format. For the generic article on this topic, see: Spy.
The community competitive scene changes frequently. Some or all info may be outdated.

The Spy is a situational utility class sometimes used in the standard competitive lineup, valued for his stalemate-breaking and picking capabilities. However, due to the amount of coordination and usual choice of classes amongst the other team (Scout, Demoman, Soldier, Medic), it is significantly more difficult to play Spy because disguises that don't instantly give away the Spy will usually have a handicap in speed when disguised as the Soldier, Pyro, Demoman, Heavy, Engineer, and the Sniper.

Information

Health

Class	Health	Overheal	Quick-Fix Overheal
Spy	125	185	158
With the Big Earner equipped	100	150	126
With Conniver's Kunai equipped	70	105	89
Maximum overheal from Conniver's Kunai backstabs	N/A	210	N/A

Speed

Condition	Normal	Backward	Crouched	Swimming
Spy	107 %	96 %	36 %	85 %
Disguised as a Scout	107 %	96 %	36 %	85 %
Disguised as a Soldier	80 %	72 %	27 %	64 %
Disguised as a Pyro	100 %	90 %	33 %	80 %
Disguised as a Demoman	93 %	84 %	31 %	75 %
Disguised as a Heavy	77 %	69 %	26 %	61 %
Disguised as a Engineer	100 %	90 %	33 %	80 %
Disguised as a Medic	107 %	96 %	36 %	85 %
Disguised as a Sniper	100 %	90 %	33 %	80 %

Weapons

Main article: Spy weapons (competitive)

The Spy uses his Invisibility watches to move around the map, disguises with his Disguise Kit, and then approaches and backstabs a key target with one of his knives.

Primary PDA

Weapon	Kill icon	Ammo Loaded	Ammo Carried	Damage Range	Notes / Special Abilities
Stock Primary PDA Disguise Kit	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	Allows the Spy to disguise himself as an enemy or a friendly player.

Secondary PDA

Weapon	Kill icon	Ammo Loaded	Ammo Carried	Damage Range	Notes / Special Abilities
Stock Secondary PDA Invis Watch	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	Cloak type: Timed  Cloaks Spy for 10 seconds.  Cloak meter can be refilled from ammo sources.
Promotional Secondary PDA Enthusiast's Timepiece
Promotional Secondary PDA Quäckenbirdt
Unlock Secondary PDA Cloak and Dagger	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	Cloak type: Motion sensitive  While standing still, cloaks Spy indefinitely and slowly refills cloak meter .  Has +100 % cloak recharge rate.  Cloak meter can not be refilled by ammo boxes while invisible.  -35% cloak meter from ammo boxes.  Cloak consumption rate varies depending on the type of movement you use (see Function Times for more information).  User can still stay partially cloaked once the cloak meter runs out.
Unlock Secondary PDA Dead Ringer	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	Cloak type: Feign death  Cloaks Spy for 7 seconds upon receiving damage, dropping a fake corpse.  Reduces initial damage by 75%, then upcoming damage by 65% to 20% after 3 seconds.  50% faster cloak recharge rate.  +40% cloak duration.  Grants a 3 second speed boost upon receiving damage.  Feign Death stealth has no bump shimmer for 3 seconds.  Ammo kits and dispensers do not refill the Spy's cloak meter.  Has a loud, distinctive decloak sound.  Triggering feign death will lower the cloak meter to 50%.  Cloak meter must be fully charged to use.

Melee

Weapon	Kill icon	Ammo Loaded	Ammo Carried	Damage Range	Notes / Special Abilities
Stock Knife		N/A	N/A	Base: 40 Backstab: 6× victim's health
Promotional Prinny Machete
Distributed Saxxy					Limited item from the Replay Update.  Killed enemies freeze into solid Australium statues (purely cosmetic feature).
Distributed Golden Frying Pan					Limited item from the Two Cities Update.  Killed enemies freeze into solid Australium statues (purely cosmetic feature).
Promotional Sharp Dresser
Promotional Black Rose
Craft Your Eternal Reward		N/A	N/A	Base: 40 Backstab: 6× victim's health	Upon a successful backstab, the Spy instantly disguises as the backstab victim.  Victims do not make any noise when dying.  Victims' bodies disappear after being stabbed.  If backstabbed, victims' death will not be shown in the killfeed for other enemies.  +33% cloak drain rate.  Normal disguises require (and consume) a full cloak meter.
Craft Wanga Prick
Promotional Conniver's Kunai		N/A	N/A	Base: 40 Backstab: 6× victim's health	On Backstab: Absorbs the health from your victim (minimum gain of 75 health points). Can overheal up to 300% of Spy's (reduced) health, i.e. up to 210 health points.  –55 max health on wearer.
Craft Big Earner		N/A	N/A	Base: 40 Backstab: 6× victim's health	Upon a kill, the Spy gains 30% of his cloak meter.  Gain a 3 second speed boost on kill.  –25 max health on wearer.
Craft Spy-cicle		N/A	N/A	Base: 40 Backstab: 6× victim's health	On Hit by Fire: Fireproof for 1 second and afterburn immunity for 10 seconds.  Backstab turns victim to ice.  Melts in fire, regenerates in 15 seconds and by picking up ammo.

Usage in 6 vs 6

General

In 6v6, the Spy has two main roles, to either distract, or to go for key kills. The Spy is not one of the core 6v6 classes, and is only played during specific situations. A Spy is most commonly played during a stalemate, where neither team is getting a kill advantage over the other. In this scenario, the Spy then goes to try and kill the other team's Demoman or Medic, as only those classes are considered important enough by most teams to warrant switching a Scout or Soldier to try and go for a kill. The Demoman is considered a vital kill because he puts out the most damage of any of the classes in 6v6, and also has great mobility. A team without a Demoman can not constantly put out damage in a short period, meaning that the use of an ÜberCharge would not be very effective for the team. They also lose the ability to try and kill non-Übered players quickly, meaning the Medic with a ÜberCharge is able to switch heal targets, allowing their Über to last longer, and thus get more kills. The Medic is considered a vital kill because of his ability to both keep his team alive longer, and to use ÜberCharges to effectively attack the other team while minimizing losses. A team without a Medic can take much less damage, and will die quickly.

5cp

A Spy is normally used on 5cp during stalemates normally occurring on a teams last point, or second to last point. During this time, the Spy tries to sneak around behind the opposing team, to try and get into a position to kill the Medic or Demoman. This will allow for the Spy's team to aggressively move forward to attempt to kill the remaining players, and capture the next one or two points.

The Spy is not used during most of the game, because of his inability to get to locations quickly, which is needed during the start of the game. The Spy is also not used because of his inability to put out damage equal to the Scout or Soldier who would play Spy.

Attack-Defend Strategies

A defending team on an Attack/Defend map such as Gravel Pit will almost never switch out one of their Utility players for a Spy. This is due to the fact that a Spy cannot contribute to spam and help defend an area like other utilities can, and their role is reduced to backstabbing key targets, something that is already very difficult in a setting where players constantly turn around and check their backs. Spies on defending teams are thus generally not the best use of player slots. The attacking team may use a Spy instead of a Scout if a strong defense that may be assisted by a well-placed Sentry Gun needs to be disrupted, without the use of a ÜberCharge. The Spy will attempt to eliminate the Sentry Gun or a key player, and distract the enemy team to allow his own team to break the enemy's defense without spending the time to build up a ÜberCharge.

Usage in Highlander

General

In Highlander, the Spy is used for both offensive and defensive roles on the battlefield. The Spy is one of the 9 classes in Highlander, which uses one of each class to complete the objective. A Spy switches between 2 key roles which will vary depending on the situation. One common method is using the Invis Watch or the Cloak and Dagger to sneak behind enemy lines to go for crucial kills to have the opposing team at a disadvantage. Another common method is staying back and watching from high positions while using the Cloak and Dagger to give informative whereabouts on where the opposing team may be on the map to help out your team. Most tactics used in Highlander can also be applied to the 6v6 format.

Anti-Spy Classes

Pyro

A Pyro is the best class for Spy-checking, as a single blast of fire can ignite the Spy and give away their cloak. This can be mitigated by the Spycicle, but it may not be a good idea to attempt to backstab a Pyro.

Scout

The Scout is the hardest class to backstab, given his high mobility and damage output at close range, where a Spy would want to be most. Avoid encounters with Scouts in most situations where you and him are alone unless he is at low health or distracted, of which in either situation you may be able to pick him off with your Revolver or knife.

See also

• Spy weapons (competitive)
• Pick
• Spy
• Classes (competitive)
• Standard competitive lineup