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 Some or all info may be outdated.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 discrepancy in speed which gives the spy away (Scout, Medic), or a handicap in speed (Demoman, Soldier).

Information

Health

Class	Health	Overheal	Quick-Fix Overheal
Scout	125	185	158
With the Sandman equipped	110	165	139
Soldier	200	300	251
With the Battalion's Backup equipped	220	330	276
Pyro	175	260	220
Demoman	175	260	220
With weapon slot boots equipped	200	300	251
With a head-taking melee weapon equipped with 0 heads	150	225	189
With a head-taking melee weapon equipped with 1 head	165	245	208
With a head-taking melee weapon equipped with 2 heads	180	270	226
With a head-taking melee weapon equipped with 3 heads	195	290	245
With a head-taking melee weapon with 4 or more heads	210	315	264
With weapon slot boots and a head-taking melee weapon equipped with 0 heads	175	260	220
With weapon slot boots and a head-taking melee weapon equipped with 1 head	190	285	239
With weapon slot boots and a head-taking melee weapon equipped with 2 heads	205	305	258
With weapon slot boots and a head-taking melee weapon equipped with 3 heads	220	330	276
With weapon slot boots and a head-taking melee weapon equipped with 4 or more heads	235	350	295
Heavy	300	450	376
Under the effects of the Dalokohs Bar or Fishcake	350	500†	426
With the Fists of Steel equipped	300	390	346
With the Fists of Steel equipped and while under the effects of the Dalokohs Bar or Fishcake	350	440	396
Engineer	125	185	158
With the Gunslinger equipped	150	225	189
Medic	150	225	189
With the Vita-Saw equipped	140	210	176
Sniper	125	185	158
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

^†Theoretical value. Overheal does not exceed 150% of the classes' maximum health.

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 Inivisibility 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

The Spy generally depends on an uncoordinated team's mistakes to turn a game around. However, a highly efficient competitive team will make very few mistakes, and effective communication will reduce the chances of the Spy being useful in any way whatsoever. This makes the Spy one of the least played utilities in competitive games. 100% Speed classes are also not played with the normal setup of a competitive team (Pyro, Sniper, Spy, etc.) and if used will give away the identity of the Spy due to the coordination of competitive teams, so choosing a disguise usually is a problem for playing Spy in a competitive match because it will end up either slowing you down or moving slower than your disguise should be (Scout).

Common Tactics

The Spy has two main roles in competitive Team Fortress 2: Pick key members of the opposing team, such as their Demoman or Medic, and distract the enemy team to allow the Spy's own team to successfully push in. Both of these roles are performed more effectively by Spies than by Scouts during stalemates, where a highly alert team attacks at any opposition it sees. Spies playing in competitive games should try to avoid being seen, even when disguised, as a competitive team will keep track of its members and see right through any disguise. In addition, Spies should use the fact that they can see an the health of enemy players when disguised. Calling out enemies who are low on health and gunning down severely injured players with the Revolver can be very useful in breaking stalemates and helping the Spy's team make a successful push.

5-CP Push Strategies

If a team has the advantage but encounters a strong defense that stagnates the game, the team may choose to replace a Scout with a Spy. For the defending team that is turning the game into a stalemate, it may be best to keep both Utilities as classes that can actively contribute to the defense; Spies are far less capable of accomplishing this. A Spy's number one goal is to kill the enemy team's Medic. A successful pick will remove the enemy's source of health and can force a retreat if the Spy's team pushes. If the Medic is too well guarded, Spies are free to go for the team's Demoman, as he is also a very important contributor to the enemy's defense. Either of these picks will help the Spy's team push in and break the stalemate. If none of these options are available, the Soldier is also a valid target, because one less player raining rockets on your teammates greatly reduces the damage intake of your team; do note that however, challenging a Soldier or Scout is usually highly risky because the Soldier can easily take you out, and you cannot outrun the Scout as a spy, which leaves all chances on the ability to land shots with the revolver if your backstab fails.

Using a Spy at the beginning of a 5-CP map is highly impractical due to the Spy's inability to get to the mid point quickly and weakness to spam. If a team does choose to use a Spy at the mid fight, then the Spy will have to focus on eliminating the enemy Medic and Demoman while carefully avoiding the enemy Scouts and Soldiers at all costs. If a team encounters a stalemate in which both teams have a strong defense and neither team is able to push, a team may use a Spy to prevent the possibility of the enemy team using their ÜberCharge and breaking the stalemate first. By eliminating a key defender, a Spy can allow his own team to successfully push in and break the stalemate.

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 an Über. 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 an ÜberCharge.

Capture-the-Flag Strategies

Many teams will run an Engineer at the beginning of a round of Capture-the-flag. The Engineer and his Sentry Gun help stall the enemy team and prevent Scouts from taking and escaping with the Intelligence. For this reason, a team may want to use a Spy to sap and lock down the Sentry Gun while teammates rush in and destroy it, saving their Medic's ÜberCharge for a later conflict and allowing a team member to run off with the enemy intelligence and capture it. Aside from helping a team attack an enemy team's Engineer, Spies can also try to score picks on other key players and weaken the enemy defense that way, but their ineffectiveness in direct combat makes Spies poor defenders of the friendly intelligence. One way to play defense indirectly as a Spy though is to slow down and distract the enemy team, and once your team has captured the intelligence, they can return with criticals to finish off the enemy team before they cap your intelligence.

See also

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