Difference between revisions of "Dead Ringer"

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m (Auto: EnforceCapitalization(Dead Ringer), EnforceCapitalization(L'Etranger), EnforceCapitalization(Dispenser), WordFilter((?<!I )Spy → Spy), EnforceCapitalization(Cloak), (Content filters applied to links) (Review RC#1449909))
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*bleeding will stop
 
*bleeding will stop
 
However other status effects will remain:  
 
However other status effects will remain:  
*[[Jarate]]will not be removed
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*[[Jarate]] will not be removed
 
*[[Mad Milk]] will not be removed
 
*[[Mad Milk]] will not be removed
 
<!--what about other status effects? Eg: "marked for death". -->
 
<!--what about other status effects? Eg: "marked for death". -->
 
Thus, whilst under these status effects, activating the Dead Ringer will not be at all convincing. In addition, the player must be careful since once cloaked the Spy can easily be, for example, re-ignited.
 
Thus, whilst under these status effects, activating the Dead Ringer will not be at all convincing. In addition, the player must be careful since once cloaked the Spy can easily be, for example, re-ignited.
 +
 +
The dead ringer decloaks with a very Loud noise.
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The dead ringer is automatically awarded to players who complete 17 [[spy achievements]]
  
 
==super-cloak==
 
==super-cloak==
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If standing next to a Dispenser whilst cloaked then the level of the Dispenser will determine how fast the Cloak meter will fill (remember that only the duration of normal Cloak, not super-Cloak can be extended). A level 1 or 2 Dispenser will merely make the Cloak meter drain more slowly. A level 3 Dispenser will slowly refill the Cloak meter.
 
If standing next to a Dispenser whilst cloaked then the level of the Dispenser will determine how fast the Cloak meter will fill (remember that only the duration of normal Cloak, not super-Cloak can be extended). A level 1 or 2 Dispenser will merely make the Cloak meter drain more slowly. A level 3 Dispenser will slowly refill the Cloak meter.
 
The Dead Ringer decloaks with a very loud noise.
 
 
The Dead Ringer is automatically given to any player who obtains 17 [[Spy achievements]].
 
  
 
==Feign death effects==
 
==Feign death effects==

Revision as of 14:35, 20 July 2013

By the time your adversary races towards your 'body' to frisk you for cash and pull gold fillings out of your mouth, you'll already be behind him, poised for the killing blow.
— Dead Ringer publicity blurb

The Dead Ringer is an unlockable PDA weapon for the Spy. It is a gold-plated pocket watch with an engraving of a hummingbird on its lid, and a circular Cloak display within.

This weapons main property is that the Spy cannot choose when to Cloak. Instead, the player may either hold the Dead Ringer out, in which case he cannot attack, or not. While the Dead Ringer is out, any damage the Spy takes will activate the dead ringers Cloak, and will drop a fake corpse (along with several other mechanics, see the section titled "feign death effects"), in order to trick enemy players into thinking that the Spy is dead. The Cloak of this weapon lasts for less long than the stock watch, but on the other hand it offers damage reduction from all sources for a certain amount of time. This is explained further in the section "super-Cloak".

When the Dead Ringer activates, the Spy will be healed from some status effects:

  • fire will be extinguished
  • bleeding will stop

However other status effects will remain:

Thus, whilst under these status effects, activating the Dead Ringer will not be at all convincing. In addition, the player must be careful since once cloaked the Spy can easily be, for example, re-ignited.

The dead ringer decloaks with a very Loud noise.

The dead ringer is automatically awarded to players who complete 17 spy achievements

super-cloak

The Dead Ringer Cloak has two parts. A normal cloaking effect, identical to that of the stock invisibility watch, and a 'super-Cloak' which takes precedence over the normal cloaking mechanics.

The super-Cloak lasts for a maximum of 6.5 seconds (the duration of super-Cloak is unaffected by the equipping of L'Etranger). All damage that the Spy takes whilst cloaked reduces this time. Whilst under the effects of super Cloak:

  • the Spy's Cloak will not flicker whilst bumping into enemies or whilst being damaged.
  • the Spy receives a 90% damage reduction to all incoming damage, including the initial hit that activated the Dead Ringer. This damage reduction allows the Spy to survive backstabs, headshots, sticky traps, etc. however, as previously mentioned, each of these hits will drain the super-Cloak.
  • there is no visual cue, not on the HUD, nor on the watch itself, that tells the player how much super-Cloak remains.
  • The super-Cloak cannot be extended in any way, it will never last for more than 6.5 seconds.

The normal Cloak lasts for a minimum of 6.5 seconds (9.2 seconds if L'Etranger is equipped). In comparison to the supercloak:

  • the Spy's Cloak will flicker if he bumps into an enemy or if he takes damage
  • the Spy receives no protection from incoming damage.
  • the amount of Cloak remaining is shown on the HUD and on the watch itself.
  • The Cloak length can be extended by picking up ammo packs or dropped weapons, and by standing near a Dispenser (even an enemy Dispenser provided that the Spy is disguised). The Cloak length is unaffected by the amount of damage that the Spy takes. The Cloak will always last for at least 6.5 seconds (or 9.2 if L'Etranger is equipped),

provided that the Spy does not get hit with the beam of the Pomson 6000.

Hence in the first few seconds of being cloaked whilst using this weapon, the Spy's Cloak will not flicker, he will take less damage, etc. If he then extends his Cloak, or gets hit by damage, his Cloak will eventually revert to the standard Cloak, and he will flicker, take full damage, etc.

cloak refilling

If the Spy chooses to uncloak before 3.9 seconds have elapsed then the amount of Cloak remaining will drop down as if he had been cloaked for that long. In other words, a Spy using this watch will always decloak with between 0% and 40% Cloak remaining, never more than this.

A large or medium ammo pack will refill this weapon's Cloak meter by 35% and a small ammo pack will refill it by 25%.

If standing next to a Dispenser whilst cloaked then the level of the Dispenser will determine how fast the Cloak meter will fill (remember that only the duration of normal Cloak, not super-Cloak can be extended). A level 1 or 2 Dispenser will merely make the Cloak meter drain more slowly. A level 3 Dispenser will slowly refill the Cloak meter.

Feign death effects

Feign deaths have certain characteristics that affect the game. Some kill effects are replicated or faked as if the Spy is actually killed, while others are not, which may alert vigilant players of the feign.

Mechanics replicated
Mechanics faked
Unaffected mechanics

Function times

Function times (in seconds)
Effect 90% damage reduction
Cloak maximum duration 6.5 s
9.1 s
Cloak fade time Instant
Decloak fade time
Player:
2.2 s
World:
1.8 s
Recharge time 16 s
Activation time Instant
Values are approximate and determined by community testing.

Demonstration

Crafting

See also: Crafting

Blueprint

Class Token - Spy Slot Token - PDA2 Scrap Metal Possible Results
Item icon Class Token - Spy.png + Item icon Slot Token - PDA2.png + Item icon Scrap Metal.png =
Item icon Cloak and Dagger.png Item icon Dead Ringer.png Item icon Quackenbirdt.png

As a crafting ingredient

Dead Ringer Huntsman Tribalman's Shiv
Item icon Dead Ringer.png + Item icon Huntsman.png = Item icon Tribalman's Shiv.png
Dead Ringer Reclaimed Metal L'Etranger
Item icon Dead Ringer.png + Item icon Reclaimed Metal.png = Item icon L'Etranger.png
Reclaimed Metal Frontier Justice Dead Ringer Diamondback
Item icon Reclaimed Metal.png + Item icon Frontier Justice.png + Item icon Dead Ringer.png = Item icon Diamondback.png

Strange variant


Related achievements

Leaderboard class pyro.png Pyro

Spontaneous Combustion
Spontaneous Combustion
Ignite 10 cloaked Spies.

Leaderboard class demoman.png Demoman

Shorn Connery
Shorn Connery
Decapitate a cloaked Spy.

Leaderboard class heavy.png Heavy

Spyalectical Materialism
Spyalectical Materialism
Kill or assist in killing 10 cloaked Spies.

Leaderboard class engineer.png Engineer

Search Engine
Search Engine
Kill 3 cloaked Spies with a sentry gun under control of your Wrangler.

Leaderboard class sniper.png Sniper

Jarring Transition
Jarring Transition
Use Jarate to reveal a cloaked Spy.
Shoot the Breeze
Shoot the Breeze
Kill a fully invisible Spy in a single hit.

Leaderboard class spy.png Spy

Burn Notice
Burn Notice
Survive 30 seconds after being ignited while cloaked.


Sleeper Agent
Sleeper Agent
Kill an enemy who triggered your feign death in the last 20 seconds.
Spies Like Us
Spies Like Us
While cloaked, bump into an enemy cloaked Spy.

Update history

May 21, 2009 Patch (Sniper vs. Spy Update)
  • The Dead Ringer was added to the game.

May 22, 2009 Patch

  • Fixed Spy feign death not being reflected in scoreboard.

May 26, 2009 Patch

  • This item now fully drains the Cloak meter, even if the Spy uncloaks early.

May 29, 2009 Patch

  • Fixed Spies not being telefragged when standing on an enemy teleporter exit with this item enabled.

June 8, 2009 Patch

  • This item can now be activated while carrying the flag.

June 23, 2009 Patch

  • This item's Cloak consume rate has been slightly reduced, giving about an extra second of Cloak time on a full meter.
  • Emerging from this item's Cloak now drains up to 40% of the Cloak meter instead of 100%. This drain only happens if the meter is at least 60% full.
  • This item's Cloak meter can now be regenerated from ammo sources.
  • This item's "extra" Cloak powers (damage reduction and no-flicker) are not extended by obtaining ammo.
  • Being attacked while taunting with this item out no longer triggers a Spy's Cloak, but instead keeps the damage reduction for the remaining duration of the taunt.

June 25, 2009 Patch

  • Fixed this item's damage reduction exploit involving Spy taunting.

July 14, 2009 Patch

  • [Undocumented] This item's recharge time was shortened from 18.5 seconds to 16.5 seconds.

January 6, 2010 Patch

  • This item now reduces Cloak to 40% when uncloaking early.
  • Made a 35% cap on the amount of Cloak it can gain from an ammo pack.
  • It now has a quieter decloak sound.

January 13, 2010 Patch

  • Feigning death can now play custom death animations like a normal death (head loss, Sniper shot, backstab, etc).
  • Feigning death due to explosive damage now has a chance to gib, like a normal death.
  • Corpses from a feign death now use the correct wearable behavior (hats stay on, or fall off as they should).
  • The weapons dropped by feign death corpses now have appropriate physics and collision for their type.
  • Fixed Spies that feign death while disguised as enemy Spies dropping fake ragdolls wearing a mask.
  • Fixed a couple of physics issues on ragdolls created by feign death.

May 20, 2010 Patch

September 30, 2010 Patch (Mann-Conomy Update)

  • [Undocumented] The Dead Ringer was added in the crafting blueprint for the L'Etranger.
  • [Undocumented] Your silhouette can be seen if touching an enemy.

October 13, 2011 Patch (Manniversary Update & Sale)

  • [Undocumented] The Dead Ringer now plays a tone if Cloak is fully recharged.

February 2, 2012 Patch

  • [Undocumented] Added Strange quality.

June 28, 2012 Patch

  • Death pits on sd doomsday now properly kill Dead Ringered Spies.

December 21, 2012 Patch

  • Fixed a Dead Ringer Spy exploit in Mann Vs. Machine mode.

July 10, 2013 Patch

  • Changed attribute:
    • When under the effect of Feign Death, damage taken decreases the duration of the effect.

July 11, 2013 Patch

  • When disguised as a teammate, the Dead Ringer will drop the body of the player the Spy is disguised as.

Unused content

  • The Dead Ringer has an unused world model featuring a chain which would have likely hung on to the Spy's suit.

Bugs

  • The Cloak meter displayed on the watch does not properly correspond to the actual amount of Cloak available, similar to Enthusiast's Timepiece.
  • If the Spy takes any damage while taunting – with the exception of taunt kills that stun the enemy like the Organ Grinder – with the Dead Ringer activated, the Spy does not feign death and a fake watch is created. However, only the first hit will have reduced damage. Each hit after that takes full damage. The player can right click again to activate the actual Dead Ringer.
  • If the Dead Ringer is out during a taunt and the Spy takes damage after he is finished taunting, the Dead Ringer will not activate.
  • Feigning death on circumstances that should trigger an unique death scream will issue a normal death scream.
  • The damage reduction from the Dead Ringer applies to drowning damage as well. However, the Spy will recover the full amount of health that would have been lost without the Dead Ringer, allowing players to heal themselves by intentionally drowning.
  • Activating the watch upon round start will sometimes cause the Spy not to hold up the watch. This can only be fixed by dying.
  • There is an occasional bug that occurs with the Dead Ringer where, once activated, the watch will report that the Spy's killer "got revenge" on him, even if they were not dominated or don't exist. When the Spy is killed by environmental hazards or fall damage, "ERRORNAME" will get revenge on the Spy. These messages are only broadcast to the other team, just like all faked mechanics of the Dead Ringer.
  • Causing an enemy Spy to feign death with the Dead Ringer may trigger the domination sound cue and notification, even if said Spy was already being dominated by the player.
  • When reloading the Revolver, changing weapon to the Sapper, or using the Sharp Dresser while quickly activating the Dead Ringer, three hands can be momentarily seen.
  • Some achievements that involve killing cloaked Spies can be achieved by attacking a Spy with his Dead Ringer ready.
  • Often the fake body will slide on the ground without moving its actual limbs upon faking your death for enemies.

Trivia

  • Dead Ringer is a phrase used to describe an exact duplicate of something or someone else; for example, "He's a Dead Ringer for that BLU Spy we shot earlier!". The "ringer" part of the phrase refers to a replacement or impostor, especially in sporting events, making the fake corpse an actual "dead ringer".
  • The ability to feign death was present in Team Fortress Classic, and the Dead Ringer's function was likely inspired by that ability. However, in Team Fortress Classic, feigning death was limited to being rendered immobile and having to hope that the enemy would have already passed by when you uncloaked.
  • On the third day of the Sniper vs. Spy Update where the Razorback was introduced, the Dead Ringer can be seen in the "dead" Spy's hand, despite the fact that it wouldn't be officially announced until the next day.[1]
  • The Dead Ringer is mentioned by the Heavy in Poker Night at The Inventory during a fold response with the line; "The cards flop worse than Spy with Dead Ringer."

Gallery

References

See also