Anti-Spy strategy

“

That's what my daddy taught me to do to backstabbers. Click to listen — The Engineer

”

The Spy is a cunningly swift espionage agent bent on stabbing everyone's back. The Spy's primary attack is his backstab ability which allows him to instantly kill any class in one hit from behind. The best defense against a Spy is good observational skills; Spies only have so many ways to infiltrate your team and experienced players can usually detect them if there is little to no combat occurring at the time. When caught, most Spies will try and escape rather than engage in a fight because of their limited attack capability. Keep in mind that Spies have different ways of cloaking and backstabbing, including the ability to fake their own death. Pyros are generally considered the first defense against enemy Spies due to their great Spy checking ability.

General

Attributes	Anti-Spy strategy
Role	Spies will usually try to get behind your team with his ability to Cloak and Disguise. Run and fire around corners and props in order to expose any cloaked Spies; should you find one, alert your team and try to kill him before he does any damage. Disguised Spies will not act like your teammates do; Spy-check often to avoid becoming the victim of an unnoticed enemy Spy.
Health	The Spy is quite weak, with only 125 health points. Once he is spotted, he should not be difficult to kill. However, he may fake his death using the Dead Ringer, so remain on guard.
Speed	Spies move at the speed of the class that they are disguised as, unless that class is slower than they are.
Power	The Spy is quite weak by himself, but if he passes by undetected, he can kill players instantly with a backstab. He also has the ability to see the health of enemy players, allowing him to pick off weakened enemies with his Revolver.

Weapon-specific

A list of useful tidbits about the Spy's tools, and how to counter them.

Secondary weapons

Weapon	Anti-Spy strategy
Revolver/Big Kill	The Revolver fires quickly and accurately; make yourself a more difficult target by strafing from side to side. Increase the distance between you and the Spy so that his Revolver deals less damage.
Ambassador	A Spy using this weapon will use similar tactics to a Sniper using his Sniper Rifle. Use cover and make erratic movements to reduce your chances of getting headshot. Take advantage of the Spy's increased vulnerability due to the Ambassador's emphasis on aiming for the head, as well as its slower firing speed.
L'Etranger	Spies using the L'Etranger often use hit-and-run tactics, making them particularly elusive. Once you find a Spy, light him on fire or douse him in Jarate/Mad Milk to render cloaking useless.
Enforcer	The Enforcer fires accurately, but 20% slower than the Revolver. Use the fact that it fires more slowly to your advantage. If you suspect an enemy is an Enforcer Spy, goad him into shooting without undisguising first. The Enforcer only does 20% more damage than the Revolver if the Spy is undisguised when he fires it. Combine this with the 20% slower firing and you will deal with this sort of Spy easily.
Diamondback	The Diamondback will only store Crits if the Spy successfully saps a building; Engineers and Pyros equipped with the Homewrecker must be extra diligent in protecting buildings from Sappers.

Melee weapons

Weapon	Anti-Spy strategy
Knife/Saxxy/Sharp Dresser/Festive Knife/Black Rose	If you hear the screams of teammates behind you and notice their deaths as backstabs on the kill feed, turn around immediately to avoid being the next victim of a Spy ambush. The Knife does less damage than most other classes' melee weapons, so attack a Spy head on to discourage him from switching to his Revolver. Always keep an eye on the Spy while in close quarters combat; one false turn will give him a chance to backstab you.
Your Eternal Reward/Wanga Prick	Be careful traveling alone, as a Spy using this weapon can instantly replace you without your team realizing it. Traveling in a line is also very dangerous, especially if no one watches the back. Communication is a vital countermeasure against Your Eternal Reward. As this weapon prevents use of the Disguise Kit, have your team set up multiple Sentry Guns to limit where enemy Spies can lurk for their first backstab(s).
Conniver's Kunai	The Conniver's Kunai reduces a Spy's max health to 60 HP, but it allows the Spy to receive the health of whomever the Spy backstabs - up to an overheal of 180 Hit Points. If he has just left his team's base, he should be relatively easy to kill; if left unchecked, he could become a more formidable foe. You can locate one of these Spies by the presence of Overheal on an injured "teammate."
Big Earner	The Big Earner is similar to the L'Etranger, where a Spy will use either one (or both) to use hit-and-run tactics against your team; he becomes even more problematic if he also uses the Dead Ringer. Burn or douse him to render cloaking useless; killing the Spy should take less time, since the Big Earner reduces his health to 100 HP.
Spy-cicle	The Spy-cicle allows the Spy to have some ability to avoid the Spy-checks made by Pyros. Look out for frozen corpses and use bullets to track him down if you melt the icicle. Also, once it does melt, the Spy will generally try to hide until the icicle recharges. Spy-check feverishly to find him, as this is when he is vulnerable. If hit with fire, the Spy will shout out that he is on fire as the current class he is disguised as, even though he is temporarily free from fire. When the Spy-cicle melts, you can hear a loud extinguishing sound; further contact with flames during the two-second interval will still produce the crackling sound. You may use this fact to identify a Spy-cicle Spy.

PDA weapon

Weapon	Anti-Spy strategy
Disguise Kit	Walk into your teammates; if you cannot pass through one, he is an enemy Spy in disguise. Occasionally attack your teammates, preferably with fire, Jarate, Mad Milk, or weapons that cause bleed damage; disguised enemy Spies will immediately be affected. For more info, see Spy checking.

Cloaking devices

Main article: Cloak

• Cloaked Spies can be revealed if they are doused, lit, or bleeding. Try using Jarate, Mad Milk, Flamethrowers, and melee weapons that cause bleed damage in areas where you suspect a Spy is hiding.
  • Emerging from water also compromises a Spy's invisibility. Try chasing a Spy in and out of water.
• The Invisibility Watch and Dead Ringer can be recharged by picking up ammo; Spies can pick up ammo even while they're cloaked. If health kits and ammo boxes are mysteriously disappearing nearby, there may be a cloaked Spy trying to elude you.
• The Invisibility Watch and the Cloak and Dagger will show a silhouette of a cloaked Spy if he bumps into an enemy or is hurt (even by a fall); if a Spy's silhouette is revealed, press against him and/or attack to keep him visible until he is killed.
• Disguised Spies can receive health and ammo from enemy Dispensers, even while they are cloaked. Check near and on top of Dispensers occasionally.
• If you hear an excessive amount of voice responses near you from an unknown source, check the area around you for Spies trying to spook you while cloaked.
• Spies make a fairly loud, distinct noise when they uncloak. Be sure to scan the area around you if you hear it, and spycheck teammates that appear shortly after the sound was made.
• If you see a Spy disappear, alert your team and tell them (in team-only chat, so the Spy won't notice and flee) exactly where you are. If there are teammates nearby, call for help and spycheck them just in case.

Weapon	Anti-Spy strategy
Invisibility Watch / Enthusiast's Timepiece	If a Spy tries to flee with the Invisibility Watch, grab all surrounding ammunition boxes and dropped weapons to prevent him from increasing his cloaking time, and thus shortening the distance he can run before his Cloak deactivates.
Cloak and Dagger	Spies using the Cloak and Dagger will often wait in corners or secluded areas to recharge their Cloak. Check those areas if you think a Spy is nearby. A Spy may also choose to hide near you, yet at a different elevation; anywhere you can reach, a Spy may be lying in wait there to try to catch you off guard. The Cloak and Dagger cannot pickup ammo to replenish Cloak; while this limits the distance he can travel, it can also make it harder for you to notice a Spy's presence.
Dead Ringer	The Spy has huge damage reduction while cloaking with the Dead Ringer. Try to isolate and/or out-damage him before he gets away. An easy way to follow the Spy is to set him on fire, use Jarate, or use Mad Milk, and follow the trail he leaves, which doesn't disappear on "death". You can also use melees such as Southern Hospitality, Boston Basher, or Tribalman's Shiv to track the Spy as he bleeds. When dueling someone, if you are not given a dueling point after they die, then they died with the Dead Ringer activated. If you are having a shoot out with a Spy and he suddenly stops firing despite looking at you, he is probably waiting for you to trigger his Dead Ringer. Be extra careful if you're staying in the surrounding area. Likewise, when a Spy dies in one hit, you can be very sure you triggered his Dead Ringer. If a Scout activates the Cloak with the Candy Cane, the free medkit won't drop. If he uses the Holy Mackerel, the FISH KILL! symbol will not be displayed, instead showing the FISH HIT x1 symbol (unless he primed it after you hit him, then hit him again). The Dead Ringer can only be activated when it's fully charged. When a Spy wielding the Dead Ringer uncloaks the charge is at least half-empty, so finish him off as quickly as you can and be sure he doesn't take any ammunition crates. Killing a Spy with a primed Dead Ringer will not activate effects on certain weapons, such as the overheal of the Conniver's Kunai, or the quick-disguise of Your Eternal Reward.

Buildings

Weapon	Anti-Spy strategy
Sapper	A Spy can quickly replace any Sappers removed from the target building(s); locate the Spy (who is most likely in disguise) and kill him before removing his Sapper(s). An Engineer who needs to leave his buildings should have another Engineer or a Pyro guard them while he is away. Keep special notice of the Teleporters of you and your teammates. Left unguarded, a Spy can place a Sapper on one end and continue to replace those that are removed by the other end, eventually sapping more health that an Engineer can repair and destroying both ends. This can deal a huge blow to your team.
Red-Tape Recorder	The Red-Tape Recorder's ability to reverse a building's upgrades can leave buildings vulnerable for enemies to destroy. Try and quickly regain the upgrades lost to minimize damage from this.

Item set effects

Main article: Item sets

Set

Anti-Spy strategy

The Saharan Spy

Try to check your back at all times, especially when you are by yourself, for a Spy who decloaks while equipped with this set will be practically silent. If a Saharan Spy is not using the Dead Ringer, his Cloak will blink a half-second longer if he bumps into enemy players; have your team populate key pathways to make it easier for these Spies to become exposed, and keep hurting or pressing up against any that flee to make them obvious to nearby teammates.

See also

• Spychecking
• Team strategy