Stratégie communautaire du Spy

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Le Spy est l'une des classes les plus difficile à maitriser complètement. Il est spécialisé dans le sabotage, peut backstab ses ennemies, se rendre invisible, se déguiser et saboter les constructions ennemis.

Général

• Votre invisibilité et votre déguisement met une seconde pour être complètement effective. Un pas dans les lignes ennemis avant que l'opération soit complète et vous vous retrouverez mort sur le champ. Vous pouvez voir si vous êtes complètement déguisé/invisible grace à l'image en bas à gauche de votre écran. A cause de ça, vous ne pouvez pas staber un Engineer et vous déguiser immédiatement après pour éviter les tirs de sa mitrailleuse.

• Essayez de vous déguiser en une classe à laquelle il est facile de se faire passer, éviter le déguisement du Medic ou du Scout.

• Quand vous vous rendez de nouveau visible, il y a une période de 3 secondes pendant laquelle vous ne pouvez utiliser aucun équipement. N'oubliez pas de prendre ce moment en considération avant d'attaquer un ennemi.

• La montre d'invisibilité par défaut prend une seconde pour se rendre invisible, et une seconde pour se rendre de nouveau visible et vous obtenez 8 secondes d'invisibilité totale (à moins que vous rechargiez votre montre avec des munitions). La recharger quand elle est à vide prend 30 secondes, gardez ça en considération quand vous êtes caché derrière les lignes ennemis.

• Toutes les sources de munition, incluant le métal des bâtiments détruits, rechargera votre montre d'invisibilité par défaut et votre Dead Ringer, même si elles sont actives. Les distributeurs rechargeront aussi votre montre, cependant, seuls les distributeurs de niveau 2 ou 3 peuvent restaurer complètement votre taux d'invisibilité. Les distributeurs de niveau 1 gardera votre taux d'invisibilité à un niveau fixe sans la recharger entièrement. Vous devez utiliser un déguisement ennemi pour utiliser un distributeur ennemi. Le chariot ennemi dans les cartes Payload ne rechargera pas votre montre quand vous êtes invisible, mais vous pouvez toujours l'utiliser comme source de munitions et de vie quand vous êtes visible et déguisé.

• Utilisez des angles morts (zones ou le joueur ne peut pas vous voir, généralement dans un angle de 90°) pour recharger votre invisibilité si vous n'utilisez pas la Cloak and Dagger. Un exemple de cette technique dans 2Fort, dans le coin juste avant l'entrée de la base ennemi, la plupart des joueurs passeront sans même regarder sur les côtés, vous permettant de recharger votre invisibilité ou surprendre un groupe s'apprêtant à traverser le pont.

• Seule votre montre peut vous gardez en sécurité. les déguisements doivent être temporaires - ne comptez jamais dessus car faire du Spy-check est simple et tout le monde en fait en permanence. utilisez vos déguisements uniquement quand vous sappez des constructions adverses ou si vous faites face a la base ennemie. aussi pour réduire les chances d'être découvert, déguisez vous en une classe qui convient a votre comportement, et essayez d'agir comme cette classe. par exemple sur 2Fort quand vous entrez dans le camp ennemi déguisez vous en Sniper pour que les ennemis qui vous voient vous croient a votre place.

• Quand vous êtes déguisé, les Mitrailleuses ne vous attaqueront pas et vous pouvez utiliser les Distributeurs. Les Medic ennemi peuvent vous guérir si vous arrivez à les faire croire que vous êtes un allié. Notez bien que même si vous êtes déguisé, les mitrailleuses peuvent toujours vous tuer si vous vous trouvez malencontreusement dans son champ de tir quand elle tire sur un de vos alliés.

• Évitez de montrer des signes évident que vous êtes un Spy, ne courez pas à travers la foule, ou sur un Demoman se tenant près de ses stickies, ou courir vers un Engineer ne faisant rien se tenant à côté de ses bâtiments. Si quelqu'un commence à vous tirer dessus, vous pouvez essayer de le tuer avec votre Revolver, ou vous rendre invisible et rapidement aller sur les côtés (mais n'oubliez pas qu'il faut 1 seconde pour se rendre entièrement invisible).

• Évitez à tout prix les Pyros, ce sont vos bêtes noires attitré. Ils sont aussi rapide que vous, leurs flammes rend votre invisibilité inutile et le costume du Spy en est vulnérable. Les Pyro ont tendances à enflammer toutes les zones pour vérifier si un Spy est invisible, et si vous en cognez un il se mettra directement à enflammer tout autour de lui. Ils adorent chasser les Spy.

• Ne sous-estimez pas la puissance du Revolver. Si vous êtes pourchassé, courrez en arrière tout en tirant sur votre ennemi.

• Si vous êtes en feu, laissez tomber immédiatement votre invisibilité et courrez chercher de la santé (des packs de santé ou un Distributeur ennemi). Avec un peu de chance vous pouvez vous échapper et vous perdre dans la foule. Etant donné le faible nombre de points de santé du Spy, trouver des packs de santé et des munitions est votre problème principal.

• Toujours allez derriere le dos de vos ennemis avec le Couteau. Le Couteau ne fait pas tout le temps des Backstabs, votre Couteau est faible autre part que sur le dos. Si vous avez besoin de fuir, prenez le Revolver. Toutes les autres armes du jeu sont plus puissantes que le Couteau. Cependant, le Revolver est plus puissant et plus précis, donc vous aurez peut-être envie d'utiliser le Couteau pour ne pas attirer l'attention.

• Utilisez le Revolver pour Sniper. Le Spy fait un Sniper décent à longue portée mais les dégâts sont faibles, mais il a une bonne cadence de tir et est très précis. A long terme, le Revolver peut faire plus de dégâts que le Fusil à pompe et même plus qu'un Heavy armé du Minigun, si le Heavy est assez stupide pour rester à grande distance. Un Spy sachant bien viser peut même abattre un Scout prenant la fuite.

• Quand on vise les bases d'Ingénieurs ennemis :
  • L'Ingénieur est derrière sa mitrailleuse: Poignardez l'Ingénieur, sabotez la mitrailleuse avant qu'elle se retourne.
  • L'Ingénieur n'est pas là: Sabotez la mitrailleuse, Poignardez L'Ingénieur quand il reviendra. L'autre alternative est de changer immédiatement pour le Revolver et tirer sur la construction sabotée pour la détruire plus rapidement. Pour les mitrailleuses, cela marchait avant le Patch du 20 décembre 2007; avec le nouveau saboteur, cela ne marche plus - Même après un sabotage et six balles de Revolver, L'Ingénieur aura toujours le temps pour enlever le saboteur et la mitrailleuse vous tuera quand vous n'aurez plus votre déguisement.
  • La façon la plus simple pour détruire le nid d'un Ingénieur est de coopérer avec votre équipe. Prenez un Pyro, Soldat ou Demoman allié juste après avoir saboté la mitrailleuse.
  • Quand vous surveillez le nid d'une mitrailleuse et que l'Ingénieur n'est pas visible, Regardez une construction pour trouver son nom et après regardez son nom dans le tableau des scores pour voir si il est mort. Si il est coincé dans le spawn vous serez souvent capable de détruire ses constructions sans pitié.

• L'un des meilleurs moyen de stopper un ennemi est de poignarder un Medic, spécialement si ils possèdent leur Ubercharge. Un meurtre rapide sur des Medics ennemis peut rapidement détruire une attaque de l'équipe adverse.

• Si il vous arrive de poursuivre un duo Medic et Heavy, utilisez votre jugement pour choisir votre cible. Si plusieurs ennemis sont aux alentours, le Medic est prioritaire puisque il peut soigner tout le monde. Si le duo est seul, Poignarder le Heavy laissera le Medic sans Défenses. Si le duo est autour de vos alliés, la meilleure solution est de poignarder le Heavy et laisser passer votre équipe tuer le Medic si vous n'en n'êtes pas capable. Si le Medic a du mal à suivre le Heavy, occupez-vous du Medic en premier et du Heavy juste après.

• Les Snipers, et les Heavys seuls sont les meilleurs cibles des Spies débutants, du fait de leurs lents déplacement lorsqu'ils se concentrent ou tirent. Et aussi, en éliminant les Snipers se sera plus facile pour votre équipe d'avancer dans la base ennemie. Tuer plusieurs fois des Snipers doués sans protection pourrait leur donner envie de changer de classe !

• En agissant tout le temps comme personne d'autre dans l'équipe ennemi pourrait vous coûter un poignardage venu de nulle part. Soyez "très" prudent en approchant les ennemis qui ne sont pas distraits par le combat.

• Vous pouvez élaborer un plan si il y a de l'action dans un endroit clos. Déguisez-vous et devenez invisible. Avancez aux alentours du paquet d'ennemis, soyez extrêmement prudent à ne pas rentrer dans quelqu'un et rendez-vous visible derrière un ennemi pour le backstabber. Choisissez vos cibles en fonction de leur position, en commençant par le plus en retrait et en finissant par le plus avancé. Vous pouvez enchainer plusieurs morts avant que l'ennemi ne tourne son attention vers vous. Il y a un délai d'attente entre chaque backstab avant que vous ne puissiez poignarder à nouveau, soyez donc très prudent.

• Se déguiser comme un membre de votre équipe peut être un bon moyen pour approcher la base ennemie, la Dead Ringer est conseillée. Si vous approchez avec un déguisement d'un ennemi, c'est évident que vous êtes un Spy, et si vous approchez en étant invisible, vous épuisez votre temps d'invisibilité qui est précieux. Aussi, approcher rapidement et avec une classe dangereuse comme les Pyros peut être utilisé pour effrayer les ennemis Spy et Scout qui vous éviterons. La plupart du temps enemies vont être floués par le déguisement si ils vous repèrent; utilisez cela comme avantage. Disparaissez et soyez hors de vue et allez derrière eux, ils seront plus facile à backstabber / se faire tuer par le Revolver pendant qu'ils seront attaqués par leur ennemi imaginaire.

• Quand vous vous déguisez ou que vous changez votre déguisement, votre corps va être couvert par de petites fumées visible pour tout le monde ( même les ennemis !). Si vous êtes invisible, cette fumée ne peut être vue que par vos alliés. Cependant, si vous avez la Dead Ringer équipée, la fumée sera visible plus longtemps si vous vous déguisez trop rapidement avant que vous soyez " mort ", ce qui fait que ce sera évident que vous serez toujours en vie !

• Si vous marchez sur L' Intelligence ennemie, vous allez immédiatement la prendre et perdre votre déguisement. Cela peut résulter à une mort due à une Sentry Gun ennemie, donc regardez où vous marchez quand vous opérez près de l'intelligence ennemie. Notez toutefois que vous ne pouvez prendre l'intelligence ennemie en étant invisible.

• Le nom sous lequel vous apparaissez pour l'ennemi est le nom d'un joueur ennemi qui joue la même classe que vous avez choisie. Si l'ennemi n'a pas de joueurs jouant la classe dont vous êtes déguisé, un nom de joueur ennemi sera choisi aléatoirement (Cela arrive à chaque fois que vous changer de déguisement !). Cela peut facilement vous trahir, alors assurez vous de vous déguiser en une classe dont vous êtes sur qu'un ennemi joue.

• Si un ennemi voit votre disparition, allez dans une direction quand vous êtes encore visible partiellement, puis quand vous êtes totalement invisible, changez brusquement de direction afin de leurrer l'ennemi sur votre position.

• Quand vous vous déguisez, Le niveau de santé de votre déguisement (ce que l'ennemi voit) va mimer le niveau de santé du joueur que vous êtes en train de vous faire passer pour au moment ou vous activez le déguisement. Donc si le Demoman que vous êtes en train de vous faire passer pour à un niveau de santé faible, votre déguisement laissera apparaître le même niveau de santé, même scénario si le Demoman en question est overhealé. Vous pouvez augmenter votre faux niveau de santé en vous faisant soigné par un Medic, en restant près du Wagon (en étant en défense) ou d'un Distributeur ennemi, et prendre un medkit, mais sachez que vous prendrez les medikits même si le niveau de santé de votre déguisement est au maximum, alors évitez de les prendre si les ennemis sont aux alentours sauf si blessé car il semble louche que vous preniez un medkit alors que voit santé est pleine

• Faites attention à votre apparence et aux bruits que vous faites, un Scout se déplaçant à la moitié de sa vitesse d'origine est un signe évident d'un Spy comme le coup de feu de votre Revolver et la fin de votre invisibilité. Retenez que tout, incluant l' Electro Sapper, ait un bruit fort et identifiable par la plupart des joueurs talentueux pourront reconnaitre et localiser. Alors rester discret jusqu'à ce que vous pourrez causer de lourds dégats à l'attaque/défense ennemie.
  • Méfiez vous des hautes chutes quand vous êtes invisible, vos ennemis peuvent entendre le son de votre chute. Quand c'est inévitable (ou simplement plus rapide), essayez de tomber sur des rampes ou d'autres plates-formes surélevées pour éviter les dommages de chute. Marcher sur du métal cliquetant provoque aussi du bruit pouvant vous faire repérer.

• Si des joueurs proches ont des soupçons sur vous et essayent de vous tirer dessus (principalement avec une arme secondaire comme le SMG ou le Pistolet, pour ne pas gaspiller de munitions principales), ils vont leur prendre une décision suivant votre réaction. Essayez de ne pas leur prêter attention, puisque tourner autour ou paniquer est le meilleur moyen de détruire votre couverture, simplement continuez d'avancer. Ils vont généralement arrêter si vous ne réagissez pas ou si vous ne mourrez pas dans les deux à trois secondes. Si le joueur est un Pyro, ignorez les phrases du dessus, courrez et tirez!

• Les Spy peuvent choisir quelle arme doit utiliser leur déguisement actuel. Cela vous aidera à paraître plus convaincant aux yeux de vos ennemis. Par exemple, sortez le Kukri du Sniper qui vous sert de déguisement dans les endroit clos; vos adversaires croiront que vous tentez de débusquer un Spy, ce qui semble plus logique qu'avec le fusil du Sniper. Accompagnez même votre mise en scène avec un "Spy!". De la même manière, équipez vous de la Clef de l'Engineer prêt des constructions adverses.

• Le changement d'arme se fait par la touche "Dernier Déguisement Utilisé". Cela changera votre "fausse" arme que le Spy déguisé utilise. Utiliser votre Revolver changera votre "fausse" arme pour l'arme primaire de la classe qui vous sert de déguisement (Le Fusil à Dispersion du Scout, le Lance Roquette du Soldier...). Même chose avec le Saboteur, votre déguisement utilisera son arme secondaire (Pistolet du Scout, Fusil à Pompe du Soldier...). Enfin, utiliser votre couteau et votre déguisement utilisera son arme de mélée (Batte de Baseball du Scout, la Pelle du Soldier...).
  • Le changement d'arme est instantané et n’émet pas de fumée ou de miroitement; cela ressemble juste à un changement d'arme classique. Utilisez précieusement cet atout pour semer la confusion chez vos ennemis !
  • Vous ne serez qu'en mesure d'utiliser l'arme primaire, secondaire et de mêlée de votre déguisement; les PDA de construction et de destruction de l'Engineer et la boite à outil (juste avant de poser une construction), tout comme le Kit de Déguisement et le Saboteur du Spy ne seront pas utilisables comme "fausse" arme.
  • Vous pouvez manier n'importe quelle "fausse" arme du jeu. Par exemple, si vous êtes déguisé en Pyro utilisant le Brûleur arrière, vous serez visible avec le Brûleur arrière équipé, et non le Lance-Flammes de base.

• Le Spy peut voir les noms des ennemies et leur santé quand ils sont déguisés. Ceci peut être utile pour planifier si vous avez une chance de tuer votre ennemi ou pas,vous pouvez aussi prévoir sa direction (un ennemi blessé est plus susceptible d'aller vers une trousse de santé). Le Spy peut également voir la santé,le niveau des constructions des Engineers mais aussi qui l'a construit.
  • Utiliser votre revolver plutôt que le couteau contre les ennemies possédant une faible santé. The ability to keep at a distance will allow you to score an easy kill without (completely) blowing your cover. If this is against a high threat target (Pyros, Demomen, Scouts, anything that can kill you quickly once they know you're there), all the better for your next backstab run!
  • You can also spot enemy Spies this way! Enemy Spies using Cloak, regardless of their disguise, will show the Spies name and health. Of course, as you cannot see them, you'll need to scan around to keep a track of him, but this can be a great asset to your team by keeping a running tab on a dastardly Spy and keep your Medics and Engineers safe from their backstabbery! Be wary, though, as Spies using your team's disguise (same color as you) can also spot you too! Keep in mind that you need to assume an enemy disguise to see the Spy (friendly disguises or your normal Spy mode won't activate the enemy name and health display when you mouse over them).
  • The moment you lose your disguise by switching to a friendly disguise, attacking, or what-have-you, you won't be able to see the name and health display until you re-disguise.
  • You can also see the Medic's ÜberCharge / Kritzkrieg charge status! While it's always been somewhat obvious when a Medic is at 100% charge, it does help prioritize targets when that enemy Medic is at 80+% charge!
  • Try to single out the better enemy players and target them for assassination (Medics still have priority though). Sometimes you can stop a push in its tracks by killing the good player acting as its mainspring.
  • More deviously if the teams are uneven and the next player killed is due to be rebalanced to your side sometimes you'll be in a position to 'headhunt' a good player to your cause.

• Si vous savez qu'il y a un Spy ennemi dans la base déguisez-vous en Pyro de votre équipe, ainsi le Spy vous tournera le dos et vous aurez une chance de le backstaber. si il cours face à vous essayez de l'emmener vers un coin ou un groupe de coéquipiers.

• Si vous posséder l'Intelligence ennemi, déposez-là et rendez-vous invisible, car vous gagnerz rarement un combat directe, vous pourrez ensuite passer derrière l'ennemi, le Backstabber et ramassez l'Intelligence à nouveau.

• A Spy can be healed by an enemy Medic if he's disguised. Depending on the situation, Spies can get heals, and even get an ÜberCharge out of enemy Medics. The easiest way of achieving this is to wait for the Medic to gain an ÜberCharge. If his heal target dies, disguise as a target a Medic would normally Über (Pyro, Demoman, Heavy). The Medic is in hot water, being out numbered by your team mates without a heal target. In such situations, the Medic will be in panic, desperately trying to find someone to heal. The Medic probably won't even take the time to Spy check you. Once you're disguised properly, start calling Medic and see if you can get his attention. When he starts to heal you, simply walk to whatever your team is defending and tell your Medic to hit his Über charge. There's a high chance the Medic will waste his ÜberCharge on you.

• Méfiez-vous des serveurs alltalk, car votre bulle de voix est visible même par les ennemis, même si vous l'avez masqué. La plupart des serveurs alltalk permettent aux joueurs de désactiver les voix individuellement (en général en disant "voiceall /", mais cela varie); soyez donc sûr de l'avoir fait avant de prendre le Spy. Si vous ne pouvez pas, utilisez la Cloak and Dagger et surveillez le chat ennemi.

Spéciqique par arme

Armes Principales

Revolver / Big Kill

Arme	Icône de frag	Munitions		Dégâts
		Chargées	Transportées	A bout portant	A moyenne portée	A longue portée	Critique
Standard Revolver		6	24	55-60	35-45	16-25	120
Promotionel Big Kill

• The Revolver is the Spy's primary weapon. While not as powerful as the Knife's backstabbing capabilities, it is still an integral part of the Spy's arsenal.It is moderately accurate and has a fast reload time.

• Use the Revolver for killing low-health classes and when Backstabs are not easy or possible due to the location of the enemy. It's also viable when you are being chased; 6 medium range shots will take down most classes.

• Due to the Scout's quick movement, it can be better to shoot Scouts rather than try to stab them.

• Use the Revolver against Snipers who use the Razorback. While the Ambassador can deal critical damage on a Headshot, the Revolver is also a good option because of it's fast rate of fire. It is also better against Huntsman-wielding Snipers, as they tend to move around more.

• Use the Revolver in conjunction with the Elector Electro Sapper. Sap an Engineer's Sentry Gun and when he returns to repair it, shoot him. 3 to 4 hits will kill him, after which you can shoot his buildings if necessary.
  • If the Engineer has just begun building his Sentry Gun, Dispenser, or Teleporter, 1 to 2 shots will take it down - use the Revolver instead of the Electro Sapper for a long-range destruction. This will help prevent you from being discovered as well.

• Remember that the Revolver is 100% accurate if you allow 1.25 seconds between shots (approximately how long it takes to reload your Revolver). Use this to pick off wounded enemies or to snipe buildings from a distance. Long range shots, despite only doing about 20 damage to players, will deal full damage to buildings.

• When navigating narrow corridors, keep your Revolver out. If they are fooled by your disguise, run by them and backstab them. If they begin to attack you, begin to backpedal while side-strafing and shooting them.

Ambassador

Weapon	Kill icon	Ammo		Damage
		Loaded	Carried	Point blank	Medium range	Long range	Critical
Unlock Ambassadeur		6	24	46-56	31-37	15-19	102
		6	24	102	102	102	102

• At the cost of weaker bullets and slower firing rate, The Ambassador deals crits upon a headshot.
  • The Ambassador will only headshot if the crosshair is at its smallest size. Allow just under one second in between shots to ensure your ability to headshot.

• The Ambassador can also be used to snipe Engineer buildings from a distance, similar to the Revolver, as an alternative to sapping. Remember, if an Engineer is working on the building, killing the Engineer first is preferable.
  • Headshotting the Engineer may lead him to run away to find a source of Health. Use the time that he is away to destroy his buildings.

• With good aim, the Ambassador can be deadly against a Scout. If you manage to headshot him at close quarters, he will only have 23 health left (8 with the Sandman, 48 with The Special Delivery set's health bonus), therefore you can finish him off with a single slash of the Knife or another shot, depending on your range.

• Razorback Snipers have resistance against backstabs, but not against bullets. Take the time to headshot enemy Razorback Snipers. Assuming the Sniper is not overhealed, a single headshot followed by a simple body shot - which can be fired faster than the Sniper is able to react - is enough to kill him.
  • Conversely, if the Sniper is wearing The Croc-o-style Kit and he could be finished off with a headshot, either backstab him or shoot him several times in the body. If you do headshot him, he will be left with one health point, still requiring another shot.

• The ability to see enemy health is invaluable when equipped with the Ambassador. When it drops below half of its base value, the health meter is shown in red. Against all classes except the Heavy, this means a guaranteed kill upon a headshot.

• If you miss a backstab on a low-health class (but still get a hit), switch to the Ambassador and a headshot will likely dispatch the enemy.

L'Etranger

Weapon	Kill icon	Ammo		Damage
		Loaded	Carried	Point blank	Medium range	Long range	Critical
Craft L'Étranger		6	24	44-48	28-36	15-18	96

• The L'Etranger converts firepower into potential fleeing power. It allows you to turn scenarios where scoring a kill with the Revolver or Ambassador is too difficult into the ability to run away - and save your life.
  • Be aware that the L'Etranger has a very distinctive "crack" sound when fired, which will alert nearby enemies to your presence.

• The +15% Cloak per hit is applied regardless of the amount of damage you do to the opponent or your distance from him. Remember that the L'Etranger is 100% accurate 1.25 seconds after shooting and use this to recharge your Cloak safely from a distance.

• Keep in mind that both the Invisibility Watch and Dead Ringer's Cloak timers can be replenished by picking up Ammo boxes or weapons or standing next to a Dispenser.
  • As the Cloak and Dagger is not recharged by sources of ammo, the L'Etranger can be very effective when used with it.
  • Nonetheless, always be aware of your surroundings when using the L'Etranger. It is not recommended for you to try and regain Cloak via the L'Etranger if there are many enemies around with no allies. In a case like this, it is better to hide instead.

• Remember that the L'Etranger does less damage than both the Revolver and Ambassador. If you need more firepower, consider using one of those alternatives.
  • The L'Etranger also does less damage to buildings, making a Sap-n-Shoot technique harder.

• Though the L'Etranger can be used effectively with the Dead Ringer, be aware that once players realize both items are being used, they will likely Spy check around your fake corpse and try to make sure you are actually dead.

• Positioning is key as Spy, and when using the L'Etranger is no exception; when shooting from a relatively hidden position, you are less likely to be found while regaining your Cloak.

Enforcer

Weapon	Kill icon	Ammo		Damage
		Loaded	Carried	Point blank	Medium range	Long range	Critical
Craft Exécutant		6	24	70-72	41-55	24-26	144

• The Enforcer is a Revolver replacement that trades stealth for extra firepower. In exchange for a bonus 20% base damage inflicted, the Spy takes 0.5 seconds longer to cloak.
  • While 0.5 seconds may sound insignificant, it is in fact approximately a 42% increase in Cloak time for the Invisibility Watch/Enthusiast's Timepiece and Cloak and Dagger.
  • The Enforcer is a wise choice when using the Dead Ringer as the Cloak time penalty does not affect the watch's instant Cloak when feigning death.

• Use cover when cloaking - although the Enforcer reduces the time you can effectively cloak, you do not want to be caught in the process of cloaking.

• The Enforcer allows you to kill low health classes in 2 shots at point-blank range. Therefore, you can kill Razorback Snipers or Engineers trying to remove an Electro Sapper easily.

• The Enforcer will destroy any Engineer buildings faster than the Revolver, taking 5 shots for a Level 3 Sentry Gun. You can use this to take down enemy buildings faster, by sapping them and then shooting at them while they're disarmed.

• A Critical hit with the Enforcer can kill any non-overhealed low health classes with one shot.

Diamondback

Weapon	Kill icon	Ammo		Damage
		Loaded	Carried	Point blank	Medium range	Long range	Critical
Promotional/Craft Diamondback		6	24	47-51	30-33	14-21	102

• The Diamondback is a promotional weapon for the Spy. It does less damage per shot than the Revolver and is incapable of random Crits, but has the ability to store Critical hits when your Electro Sappers are involved in the destruction of enemy buildings. Each destruction or assist involving your Electro Sapper will give the Diamondback one guaranteed Critical hit.

• Consider using the Diamondback if the enemy team has several Engineers. When you have several Crits, you can drop any non-overhealed class in 3 shots, thus becoming a major threat.

• You can use the Diamondback's rather loud firing to lure enemies into a backstab trap.

• Even if you lack Crits, the Diamondback is still a relatively viable weapon. It does the same about of damage as the Ambassador, but with no firing speed penalty.

• The Diamondback is 100% accurate if you allow 1.25 seconds between shots. When combined with the Crit boost, the 100% accurate bullets can effectively snipe enemies at long range. Most enemies will die in 2 to 3 shots.

Secondary weapons

Electro Sapper

Weapon	Kill icon	Ammo		Damage
		Loaded	Carried	Point blank	Medium range	Long range	Critical
Stock Saboteur		1	∞	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

• The Electro Sapper is a tool used to take down an Engineer's buildings. You have an unlimited supply of Sappers, and there is no "reload" delay between placing them. A Spy can continuously sap a building until it has been destroyed even if an Engineer is repairing it since as soon as the Engineer knocks off an Electro Sapper, a new one immediately replaces it. Sappers still do damage during the two Wrench hits it takes to remove them.

• Holding MOUSE1 when approaching a building will place the Electro Sapper as soon as you are in range. This also allows you to replace an Electro Sapper immediately after an Engineer removes it.

• In many instances, you can sap a building from well below or above it, allowing you to confuse its Engineer. This can also allow you to more safely retreat from the Engineer's nest if your sabotage efforts are interrupted.

• The Homewrecker allows Pyros to remove Electro Sappers from Engineer buildings. This, combined with their Flamethrower's Spy checking ability, will make your job much harder. Therefore it is strongly advised to either eliminate these Pyros before attempting to sap any buildings or to avoid them completely if possible.

• When sneaking up on an Engineer who using the Wrangler, stab first and then sap. Killing the Engineer will cause his Sentry Gun to become disabled for three seconds, which will be more than enough time to place an Electro Sapper.

• It is possible to stab an Engineer and then quickly sap the Sentry Gun. When attempting this, it is recommended that you circle strafe away from the Sentry Gun to have more time to sap.

• If an Engineer has his Wrench out and you sap his building, he most likely will attempt to repair the Sentry first instead of trying to kill you. Since it take two hits to knock the Electro Sapper off, this gives you a window of opportunity to stab him. This can be easier then the stab and sap method because you don't have to account for which way the Sentry is facing and circle-strafing the opposite way.

• It also can be rapidly deployed to slowly destroy buildings while the Engineer removes them. This is best applied on Teleporters, where the Engineer will only be able to try and remove your Sappers from one end, while you eventually destroy one or both sides outright.

• When dealing with Teleporters, it may be ideal to forgo the Electro Sapper and use your Revolver. If the Engineer is not near either end, it will attract less attention if you destroy one end as the Engineer will not automatically know a Spy was the culprit. Additionally, you can combine both to ensure one end is destroyed, while the Electro Sapper encourages the Engineer to leave his other buildings unprotected.

Melee weapons

Knife / Saxxy / Sharp Dresser / Festive Knife / Black Rose

Weapon	Kill icon	Attack interval	Damage
			Point blank	Critical
Stock Couteau		0.8 seconds	40	120
		0.8 seconds	N/A	6× victim's health.
Promotional Saxxy		0.8 seconds	40	120
		0.8 seconds	N/A	6× victim's health.
Promotional Stylet Aiguisé		0.8 seconds	40	120
		0.8 seconds	N/A	6× victim's health.
Uncrate Couteau festif		0.8 seconds	40	120
		0.8 seconds	N/A	6× victim's health.
Promotional Rose Noire		0.8 seconds	40	120
		0.8 seconds	N/A	6× victim's health.

• When you are in range for a successful backstab, the Spy will ready his Knife for a stab with a reverse-grip stance. If the Spy doesn't have his Knife in a reverse-grip, you may perform a low-damage slash instead. Look for the change in grip before attempting a backstab if you're unsure if the backstab will actually register.
  • Although a backstab grip guarantees a backstab, many other pokes will register a backstab as well. As long as your stab connects with the enemy's rear-facing half, any swipe or poke should kill him.
  • The Knife does nearly no damage when it's not a backstab. Only attack with it if you are certain it will backstab or else you will deal minimal damage and give away your position.
  • The Saxxy does not have a backstab stance.

• In most scenarios, you should switch to the Revolver to fight enemies once you've been discovered. Even in close range, the Revolver is significantly more powerful than non-backstab Knife swipes.

• Because a backstab is always a critical hit, enemies killed by a Knife backstab will always emit a blood-curdling scream upon death. It is important when killing an enemy that you have a plan to either run from or kill nearby foes as soon as you perform your first stab.

• A quick stab with the Knife into air is generally the fastest way to silently drop your disguise. This can be used to perform covert Capture Point captures.

• If you encounter a Sniper with the Razorback, it is generally a good idea to shoot him with a Revolver, rather than trying to stab him.
  • If a Sniper equipping the Razorback is standing near a corner, it is much quieter to stab his Razorback, turn the corner and cloak. When the Sniper either finishes Spy checking or doesn't react, backstab him. If he returns to a Resupply Cabinet, shoot him; even though it's louder, he will quickly catch on and possibly find you.

• Be aware that the Saxxy and the Spy-cicle leave very noticeable corpses, the former being made of shimmering Australium Gold, the latter being an ice sculpture. They are very likely to reveal your presence.

• When discovered, an advanced technique to help fend off the pursuer is to run up a slope, jump over the head of the pursuer, do a 180 degree turn, crouch, and backstab him. This is commonly called the stair-stab. [1]

Your Eternal Reward / Wanga Prick

Weapon	Kill icon	Attack interval	Damage
			Point blank	Critical
Craft Ton Éternelle Récompense		0.8 seconds	40	120
		0.8 seconds	N/A	6× victim's health.
Craft Aiguille de Wanga		0.8 seconds	40	120
		0.8 seconds	N/A	6× victim's health.

• Since you cannot disguise at will if using Your Eternal Reward or the Wanga Prick, you will have to rely more heavily on efficient cloaking and teammate distractions to acquire kills.
  • This restriction also means that in most scenarios at least one person (your last victim) will know what your disguise is at all times. Because of this, it is important to continue to rely on your Cloak as a primary stealth tool.

• Kills with Your Eternal Reward are truly silent; the victim will not scream and their bodies disappear upon death whether they are backstabbed or not. Also, the enemy will not see their kill notification.

• This weapon is extremely well-suited for taking out Sentry Guns when you already have a disguise. The Stab-n-Sap technique is made easier and kills in front of Sentry Guns are safer because the Sentry Gun will not detect you between disguises.
  • If you do not have a disquise and an Engineer is still guarding his Sentry Gun you can uncloak behind the Engineer and use him as cover as the Sentry Gun turns around to face you. Stab him, and then sap his Sentry Gun.
  • Consider switching back to the original Knife when fighting off multiple Sentry nests, especially if the Engineers can watch each other. Those situations usually have a greater need to disguise at will than the ability to quickly disguise after attacking. Remember that it is likely all of the Engineers will react to one Sentry Gun being sapped.

• Your Eternal Reward is very good when dealing with a crowd of enemies. After backstabbing the enemy farthest back in the group, you are able to continue to push forward without raising suspicion from those around him. Continue stabbing until you kill all of the enemies or you need to escape.

• Using the Dead Ringer alongside Your Eternal Reward will instigate a strong element of luck and skill, whether the Saharan Spy set is worn or not. The inability to Cloak or disguise at will will render backstabs much more difficult. However, once a disguise is acquired, the Dead Ringer can make an excellent escape plan should anything go wrong.
  • The Saharan Spy set will reduce the sound of de-cloaking with any watch, notably the Dead Ringer. Since the Dead Ringer has a characteristically loud sound that can be deafened, its only major drawback is solved. Use this to your advantage.

• Be aware that successful backstabs with Your Eternal Reward will not stop enemies capping a Control Point or pushing the Payload Cart. It will, however, slow them down until there are none left. It may be a better choice to shoot enemies with the Revolver so that you can inflict damage while stopping the enemies from capturing.

• When using Your Eternal Reward on Control Point maps, be wary when defending the final control point. Because the Eternal Reward disguises instantaneously, stabbing enemies capping your last point will not disrupt the cap (it will, however, slow the capping with one less person). This can allow for survivors to continue to cap while you frantically try to stab them. Pulling out your selected Revolver at this time to stall for friendly backup is usually the best response.

• Try finding lone targets to gain your first disguise.

• Try to prioritize disguise over kills. While getting a lone, low-health Heavy seems good, you'll be restricted in your movement and will likely want to lose your disguise anyway, to regain that speed.
  • Remember that if you cloak with a slow disguise, you will run at your normal walking speed until you uncloak.

• If you accidentally overrun an enemy Medic but retained your disguise, simply run past him and go for other enemies. It is possible that, because Your Eternal Reward dissipates enemy ragdolls with very little sound, the Medic will not notice you stabbing his allies until it is too late.

• The Cloak and Dagger works well with this Knife because you can wait for people to backstab without having fear of being exposed. This works especially well on commonly used paths - wait for a straggler, then begin your attack.

• Remember that in close encounters, even if you or a teammate kills your target, unless you finish the enemy with a backstab, you will be left without a disguise.

• If you backstab the target of a Medic, you will become the new heal target. This is best applied when the Medic is not watching his target, as the Medic may notice a player disappearing when you backstab an enemy.
  • Due to the instant disguise, you can backstab enemy players while being Übercharged without stopping the Übercharged, unlike any other knife.

• Be aware that weapons will not disappear when you kill an enemy. If your Revolver or Cloak (except for the Cloak and Dagger) is not at full ammo or charge respectively, you should instantly pick a dropped weapon up, hiding the evidence.

• Be aware that visiting a Resupply locker will remove your disguise.

• If you plan on using the Saharan Spy set, it is advisable not to use the Wanga Prick as a substitute to Your Eternal Reward since it doesn't count as part of the set.

Conniver's Kunai

Weapon	Kill icon	Attack interval	Damage	Healing
			Point blank	Critical	From backstab
Promotional/Craft Kunaï du Conspirateur		0.8 seconds	40	120	N/A
		0.8 seconds	N/A	6× victim's health.	Target's current health, capping at 180 health.

• The Conniver's Kunai decreases your default Health to 60. However, backstabbing with the Kunai will leech all of the victim's health and overheal you to a maximum of 180 health, which decreases at 2 health per second back to 60.

• With the Conniver's Kunai equipped, you will have to efficiently use your Cloak. Enemies can kill you much easier due to your reduced health. The Dead Ringer and Cloak and Dagger are recommended over the Invisibility Watch.

• Prime targets for the Kunai are Heavies and Soliders. A backstab on one will fully overheal you, assuming they have taken little (if any) damage.

• Be aware that many weapons can kill you in one hit while you are at 60 health. Choose your initial targets carefully to ensure that you don't die before gaining any overheal via backstabbing. A successful backstab will keep you in the fight much longer than other Spies.

• Be careful when you exit your spawn room or turn corners - one stray rocket, grenade, or other attack can easily kill you.

• You can be a bit quicker to getting behind enemies and stabbing them, because even if you begin to take damage from another source, you can out-heal it with a backstab.

• Remember that effects such as afterburn and bleed can be instantly negated by a successful backstab. However, you cannot heal from health packs if you are overhealed. Therefore, if you have one of these effects you will not be able use Health packs to stop these effects until your overheal has ended.

• It is generally a bad idea to use your Revolver in a 1 on 1 confrontation with an enemy. Due to your low health, you will likely not survive.

Big Earner

Weapon	Kill icon	Attack interval	Damage
			Point blank	Critical
Craft Grand Gagnant		0.8 seconds	40	120
		0.8 seconds	N/A	6× victim's health.

• The Big Earner reduces your overall health to 100, but grants a 30% Cloak refill for any watch upon a melee kill.

• The Big Earner will generally allow for easier escapes due to you getting your Cloak back in exchange for riskier assaults, as you lose 25 base health.

• Consider using the Dead Ringer or Cloak and Dagger over the Invisibility Watch in conjunction with the Big Earner. As you have reduced health, your survival may depend on the use of cloaking.
  • The Big Earner's ability to regain Cloak faster and the Dead Ringer's survival ability can negate the health loss caused by the Big Earner by significantly reducing damage when activated.
  • Normally, the only way to regenerate your Cloak and Dagger is through waiting or visiting a Resupply Locker. The Big Earner bypasses this hindrance.

• Remember to pick up the enemy's dropped weapon after you kill them. The combination of the Big Earner and a dropped weapon can nearly refill your Cloak entirely.

• Note that non-backstab and taunt kills will still reward you with a 30% bonus to the charge on your Cloak. If you're in a desperate situation or the enemy is low on health, try to stab any way you can, if you need Cloak. If you do not need charge on your Cloak, it is generally a better idea to use your Revolver and shoot the enemy.

Spy-cicle

Weapon	Kill icon	Attack interval	Damage
			Point blank	Critical
Uncrate/Craft Spy-lactite		0.8 seconds	40	120
		0.8 seconds	N/A	6× victim's health.

• The Spy-cicle causes any backstabbed players to leave a frozen ragdoll, but causes a relatively silent death. There is still a rather distinct sound emitted whenever you backstab an enemy. Upon any contact with flames, the knife provides a two-second fire immunity, but requires a fifteen-second recharge period before it can be used again.

• This knife allows for a nearly silent kill like Your Eternal Reward, but leaves a unique corpse not unlike the Saxxy; as a result, it draws minimal immediate attention, but alerts anyone finding the body to your presence, requiring the player to employ hit-and-run tactics to remain undetected.

• Be aware that once Pyros notice you are using the Spy-cicle they may begin to follow you for an extended period of time to ensure your death.

• If you are disguised or cloaked and a Pyro Spy checks you, be aware that you'll be instantly extinguished and are immune to fire for two seconds, but you will still exclaim that you're on fire, so it's unlikely you will be ignored. Use the fireproof time to put some distance between you and the Pyro.

• Since any contact with fire renders your knife temporarily useless, you may have to rely on your Revolver to defend yourself. Consider picking a gun that doesn't suffer from a damage decrease like the L'Etranger.
  • Try to avoid the Diamondback with this knife; since it comes with a damage decrease and requires a successful sap in order to grant guaranteed crits, players without a knife will be unable to stab-sap an Engineer near a Sentry Gun, temporarily trapping them with a weak gun and no crit bonuses.
  • Be cautious when choosing the Enforcer; its additional damage is useful when without a knife, but being caught due to additional Cloak times can leave you with low health and no knife.

Fencing

	Kill icon	Weapon	Damage	Duration	Details
Escrime		Knife, Saxxy, Your Eternal Reward, Conniver's Kunai, Big Earner, Wanga Prick, Black Rose	500	4 seconds	The Spy transfers his weapon to his left hand and begins to practice a deadly Fencing maneuver, resulting in damage or death for anyone in the way.

• This taunt can be used with any of the Spy's knives (except the Sharp Dresser and the Spy-cicle) to kill distracted enemies with one hit; however, due to the taunt's long duration and the minimal damage dealt by the first two swings, using a taunt kill is a very risky strategy.
  • The Fencing taunt is a viable last resort during the Humiliation round.

• It can be effectively used to destroy Engineer buildings with one hit, so the Engineer won't have time to see his building being sapped or damaged and return to save his buildings. However, do not attempt to destroy an enemy Sentry Gun in this way because you must remove your disguise in order to be be able to perform the taunt, and attempting to do so will cause the Sentry to target and kill you.

• If a Sentry is close enough to a Dispenser, then you can hide behind it without being detected and perform the taunt. The extra reach of this taunt means that it can often destroy both buildings.

• Also, keep in mind that, even if you are able to catch anyone unaware, the Spy speaks during the taunt, and this may give your presence away. This can be negated by quickly performing a voice command, preferably a short command, such as "No."

• Fencing with Your Eternal Reward is not recommended as you have to remove your disguise in order to taunt, and you won't get a disguise even if the taunt kill succeeds.

• Successfully Fencing with the Big Earner will still grant the 30% Cloak bonus, but it is still not advised as it also requires no disguise and your lowered health may put your life at risk if you fail.

PDA Slot

Disguise Kit

Weapon	Ammo		Damage
	Loaded	Carried	Point blank	Medium range	Long range	Critical
Stock Kit de Déguisement	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

• The Disguise Kit is the Spy's major infiltration tool. Most of your time spent disguised will be done pretending to be an enemy. Each plays differently when trying to blend in.

Scout

• Statistics
  • Speed: 100% (33% slower than actual Scout.)
  • Stature: Short, Skinny
• Inconspicuousness
  • Element of surprise: Medium
  • Believability: Low
• Fake-Reloads
  • Scattergun: Partial, Short
  • Force-A-Nature: Partial, Short (Wrong animation, visible shells!)
  • Pistol: Full, Short

The Scout disguise is best applied when you are trying to hide or when you will only be visible to the enemy for a short period of time. The Scout's character model is very small and is rather useful for hiding. However, it is not very believable, as you will not gain speed to match that of the Scout and because you cannot double jump. As Scouts tend to wander for extended periods of time, the Scout disguise is usually viable for quick glances, especially from long distances. The Scout disguise is common in competitive play due to the nature of team composition and the fact that disguises do not work well for blending in against coordinated teams, regardless of disguise.

Soldier

• Statistics
  • Speed: 80%
  • Stature: Normal
• Inconspicuousness
  • Element of surprise: High
  • Believability: Medium
• Fake-Reloads
  • Rocket Launcher: Partial, Short
  • Shotgun: Partial, Short

The Soldier disguise is useful for blending in when stabbing a slow-moving target, as most people do not suspect Soldier Spies due to their slow movement speed. However, you will likely have trouble dodging enemy fire and avoiding blocking enemy movement. If your target starts moving at full speed, unless it is a Heavy, you might not be able to catch up to him without losing your disguise. You may be able to infiltrate enemy lines by simply walking in backwards, as it is common practice for Soldiers to retreat this way - you might even get an enemy Medic healing or ÜberCharging you. Try not to have your disguise weapon as the Equalizer; you will not go faster and enemy Medics will still be able to heal you, easily giving you away.

Pyro

• Statistics
  • Speed: 100%
  • Stature: Normal
• Inconspicuousness
  • Element of surprise: Low
  • Believability: Medium
• Fake-Reloads
  • Shotgun: Full, Long

As a class with 100% move speed, no need to reload primary weapons, and reasons to hide by himself among teammates and near Sentry Guns, the Pyro disguise is fairly well-rounded. Pyros aren't expected to attack until they get close to others, and they commonly patrol their own bases. Therefore, a Pyro disguise can get in and out of enemy areas nicely. However, the Pyro disguise has a couple of flaws that make it less than perfect. The Pyro disguise is common and very easy to Spy check (Pyros don't catch on fire, but you will). Also, Pyros are expected to Spy check constantly, so enemies may attack you once they realize you are not doing so. If you are trying to hide, switch to a secondary or melee weapon, as all Flamethrowers have long weapon models and can sometimes be seen through walls or props. The Pyro disguise's fake Shotgun reload is arguably tied with the Engineer's for being the best in the game.

Demoman

• Statistics
  • Speed: 93%
  • Stature: Normal
• Inconspicuousness
  • Element of surprise: Low
  • Believability: Medium
• Fake-Reloads
  • Grenade Launcher: Partial, Short
  • Sticky Launcher: Partial, Short

The Demoman disguise is very average, with slightly reduced move speed counteracted by a Demoman's reasons to stay in his team's base. However, if Stickybombs are not place and your disguise does not include a shield, you will easily be discovered as a fraud. While the Demoman is used in both offense and defense, he is generally expected to constantly use his weapons. The disguise has average body and weapon size, and is therefore good for quick glances. However, enemies are generally not fooled if you stay in one location for too long. Both fake reloads are moderately believable.

Heavy

• Statistics
  • Speed: 77%
  • Stature: Tall, Wide
• Inconspicuousness
  • Element of surprise: High
  • Believability: Medium
• Fake-Reloads
  • Shotgun: Partial, Short

Because of its severely reduced move speed, a Heavy disguise is rare. This disguise hinders your ability to chase for a backstab, to move around the map quickly, and to hide. However, due to its rarity, many players won't expect it. The Heavy disguise is a great choice if you want a Medic to heal or possibly ÜberCharge you regardless of your health level. The Heavy's primary weapon is not usually fired on whim, due to its spin up and spin down times; therefore an enemy Medic will not immediately Spy check you if you don't shoot. While this disguise is good for backstabbing enemy Heavies that are revved up, there are other, better alternatives, and the large model size and extremely slow move speed make the Heavy disguise generally a bad choice.

Engineer

• Statistics
  • Speed: 100%
  • Stature: Short
• Inconspicuousness
  • Element of surprise: Low
  • Believability: Medium
• Fake-Reloads
  • Shotgun: Full, Long
  • Pistol: Full, Short

The Engineer disguise can be useful for taking down enemy structures. The Engineer has 100% move speed, small character and weapon models, and a reason to stay around his own base and buildings. Enemies are prone to Spy checking Engineers that do not use their Wrench for too long, though. Engineers are rarely seen outside of their base unless they have the Gunslinger equipped, so be aware of which melee weapon your disguise has. The Engineer disguise's fake Shotgun reload is arguably tied with the Pyro's for being the best in the game.

Medic

• Statistics
  • Speed: 100% (7% slower than actual Medic.)
  • Stature: Tall
• Inconspicuousness
  • Element of surprise: High
  • Believability: Low
• Fake-Reloads
  • Syringe Gun: Full, Short
  • Blutsauger: Full, Short

The Medic disguise is not very good for maintaining believability. While most enemies will not notice the lack of increased move speed, the Medic disguise is incapable of healing. Because Medics are expected to heal whenever they're with a teammate and are rarely alone, your disguise quickly loses credibility. One benefit of the disguise is the ability to lure enemies into thinking they can get healed by you, and then you may dispatch them anyway you like. You can also use the disguise to come from behind an enemy for a backstab, as it is completely natural for a Medic to be behind his patient. The Medic disguise also has a rather good fake reload.

Sniper

• Statistics
  • Speed: 100%
  • Stature: Tall, Skinny
• Inconspicuousness
  • Element of surprise: Low
  • Believability: High
• Fake-Reloads
  • SMG: Full, Short

The Sniper disguise is generally effective if you are standing on a balcony or other common sniping location. It is not suspicious for Snipers to stay within their base for extended periods of time, and are not expected to Spy check allies. However, you are unable to zoom in, which can reveal your identity after a while and if you stray too far from Sniper posts, you are likely to be Spy checked. Also be aware of enemies attempting to light your arrow if you are disguised with the Huntsman. The Sniper disguise is relatively small with 100% move speed.

Spy

• Statistics
  • Speed: 100%
  • Stature: Tall, Skinny
• Inconspicuousness
  • Element of surprise Medium
  • Believability: High

• Fake-Reloads
  • Revolver: Full, Short
  • Ambassador: Full, Short

The Spy disguise can work, but it primarily relies on the Spy checking habits of your enemies. It is the only disguise where you have a reason to be with your teammates without attacking. Be aware that the enemy Spy disguise will not affect the color of your disguise smoke or your Cloak, so enemies can still recognize those effects. The Spy disguise can be risky because many players instinctively fire at all Spies, even friendly ones. The Spy disguise as a good fake reload.

Friendly disguises

Friendly disguises can prove handy in a variety of situations. Friendly disguises are useful at the beginning of rounds, especially during setup time, because they will avoid giving away there you are a Spy, while making the enemy team prepared for a class that isn't necessarily in use. If you're having trouble getting behind enemy lines, a friendly disguise can be used to scare enemies (for example, a friendly Pyro disguise in close quarters) or to feign a death more convincingly. If an ally needs help, you can use a friendly disguise, such as a Heavy, to draw enemy fire. Your hit box is not the same as your disgusie class, so you can draw Sniper fire with some disguises with a reduced risk of being Headshot. Friendly disguises, particularly Medic and Sniper, are good for baiting, as many enemy will not expect a friendly disguise. Use this bait to prepare for a stab or by shooting the target with your Revolver. These tricks can be used more safely and repeatedly with the Dead Ringer, as you can fake friendly deaths.

PDA2 slot

Invisibility Watch / Enthusiast's Timepiece

Weapon	Cloak
	Cloak type	Duration	Activation time	Deactivation time	Recharge
Stock Montre d'invisibilité	Standard Recharge	9 seconds	1 second	1.8 seconds	30 seconds
Promotional Montre du Passionné

• Cloaking is an ability exclusive to the Spy, which renders him fully invisible to enemy players. Your teammates will still be able to see you, albeit faintly. While cloaked you cannot use any weapons, but you can still switch weapons and disguise. Taking damage or running into an enemy will make you flicker for a brief period of time.

• When your Invisibility Watch runs out you will automatically uncloak, revealing yourself. While you are cloaked, pick up ammo packs or weapons to recharge your watch.

• When compared to the other watches, the Invisibility Watch allows for the farthest distance traveled while invisible.

• Cloaking can be pivotal when attempting to infiltrate an enemy base. Be aware that cloaking will take 1 full second while uncloaking will take a little over 2 seconds, during which you can be recognized by the enemy, even if you are disguised, but cannot attack or use your Electro Sapper. Therefore, you should attempt to look for a safe, hidden spot to uncloak.

• Plot your course and approach targets carefully - being spotted may result in a quick death, as you can not feign a death, as with the Dead Ringer, or hide in one spot until an opportunity arises, as with the Cloak and Dagger.
  • Always try to move while you are using the Invisibility Watch. You will only regain Cloak if you are not cloaked or if you pick up ammo boxes or fallen weapons. However, the Invisibility Watch lasts longer than the alternative watches.

• If you know an enemy has seen you Cloak, head in one direction while you are partially visible, and when you are fully invisible, change your path to trick him.

• Grab dropped metal whenever you can while cloaked. Some enemies will notice an ammo box disappearing for seemingly no reason, but even if they do (and realize it was a cloaked Spy who took it) you should be able to escape, if you remain invisible for long enough. If they do still try to chase you, their efforts will likely only divert their attention from the game objective.

• Hiding near an enemy Dispenser of any level will maintain or lengthen your Cloak's charge if you are disguised. This will give you as much time as you need to wait to strike an Engineer's sentry nest, whether you need the Engineer to leave or you are waiting for your team to make a push in.

• Knowledge of a map's layout, especially locations of ammo boxes, will prove very useful for crossing the map quickly, while invisible. Take not of shortcuts and the locations of ammo boxes as you learn a map.

Cloak and Dagger

Weapon	Cloak
	Cloak type	Duration	Activation time	Deactivation time	Recharge
Unlock Cloak and Dagger	Motion Sensitive	6.2 seconds	1 second	2.2 seconds	15 seconds

• The length of time the Cloak and Dagger lasts, while constantly running, is shorter than the Invisibility Watch.
  • This time can be elongated through crouch walking. If you stand still or uncloak, your watch will regenerate to 6.2 seconds of cloaking time. You cannot extend the Cloak and Dagger's length through picking up ammo sources of any kind, but Dispensers will hasten your Cloak regeneration.

• Although the Cloak and Dagger promotes laying in wait, it can be useful to travel through maps that lack enough ammo boxes to get you past a group of enemies, such as if the enemy controls the center of Turbine.

• The speed at which the Cloak and Dagger drains depends on how fast you are moving, but is capped at the Spy's normal walking speed (being launched by Stickybombs will not increase your drain rate, for example). Taking fall damage will still cause you to make sounds associated with falling.

• While you can go further without having to wait to recharge if you crouch-walk, it is generally more efficient to run to a low-traffic area and recharge rather than slowly progressing with a crouch-walk.

• When using the Cloak and Dagger, you can report information to your team, such as Sentry Gun placement or when an enemy is pushing, with a much lower risk of being caught.

• If possible, hide in an open area that is rarely traveled. Most enemies will not expect you to high out in the open. However, many enemies will Spy check in common hiding areas for Spies.
  • Standing on top of objects or rocks will prevent many enemies from bumping into you.

• Because you can Cloak indefinitely while not moving, it can be useful to lead an enemy around a corner, cloak while out of sight, and then hide to the side. If the enemy is a Pyro, it may be better to simply run.

• Consider using the Your Eternal Reward with this watch; you will have to rely more heavily on your Cloak as you cannot disguise on command.

• Using this watch, you can assist teammates in destroying Sentry Guns hidden behind proximity-activated doors. If you cloak and stand near one of these doors, it will remain open while a teammate, such as a Soldier, can safely destroy the Sentry Gun from a distance.

• The Cloak and Dagger can be used for 'Spy capping'. To Spy cap, sneak past enemy lines and wait, while cloaked, on a Control Point. Once the Control Point is open, uncloak (making sure you are not disguised), and capture the final point.

Dead Ringer

Weapon	Cloak
	Cloak type	Duration	Activation time	Deactivation time	Recharge
Unlock Dead Ringer	Feign Death	6.5 sec	0 sec	1.8 sec	16 sec

• The Dead Ringer makes a loud, distinctive sound which can reveal your location. Try to uncloak in a safe area, then move in for the kill. Note that the Saharan Spy set will reduce the magnitude of this sound.

• Try being damaged for about a second and then pull out the Dead Ringer. It will make your feigned death appear more realistic.

• While cloaked with the Dead Ringer, you take 90% less damage and you do not flicker if you take damage or bump into an enemy. Use this to your advantage when crossing choke-points.
  • Note that these effects only work for the Dead Ringer's initial duration.
  • You can recharge your Cloak with ammo while cloaked, however after the Dead Ringer's initial duration has passed, you will resume taking full damage and flickering if you take damage or bump into an enemy.

• Disguising as a friendly offensive class, such as the Heavy, at the beginning of the round will make for a more convincing death and easier passage into enemy territory.
  • This can also be used to cause a Demoman to trigger his Stickybombs unnecessarily, clearing the way for your teammates to come in, especially at the beginning of rounds.

• You can hold the Dead Ringer out while capturing a Control Point, carrying enemy Intelligence, or pushing the cart on a Payload map. Use this in combination with a friendly disguise to cause for a convincing death while helping out your team. You will need to uncloak to continue capturing an objective, however.

• If ignited while you are cloaked, you can run to your teammates, as the Pyro will either not follow, or will be killed when he does.

• Jarate and Mad Milk will not wash off if you use the Dead Ringer while covered in it.

• If you are waiting or you are in an open area, keep the Dead Ringer held out if you aren't fighting. An enemy Spy or stray enemy fire could kill you while you aren't ready.

• When using the Dead Ringer, try choosing friendly disguises while heading into enemy lines and then switching to an enemy disguise once you have infiltrated the enemy base.

• Try to disguise after you use the Dead Ringer. If the watch activated in the middle of you disguising, you will still emit smoke visible to the enemy team.

• If possible, don't pick up the nearest Health or Ammo pick-up. Many enemies will look to see if the pick-ups disappear. If you are low on Health, however, go for the pick-up and then escape.

• If you need to take a long fall but don't have the Health to survive it, hold out your Dead Ringer to negate a large portion of the damage. You can also use fall damage to trigger your Cloak to get behind enemy lines.

• You can prevent enemy movement for a short period of time by Dead Ringing and standing in front of a doorway or hall. This may allow your team enough time to regroup.

• Disguising as a friendly Medic, staying on the outskirts of your team's territory, and then Dead Ringing may trick the enemy team into pushing forward.

Item Sets

The Saharan Spy Set

Article principal : Ensembles d'objets

Spy du Caire
	L'Étranger Ton Éternelle Récompense Fez et gestes
Effet(s)	Ajoute des effets de particules personnalisés lors d'une raillerie

• The uncloak volume reduction this set grants you is invaluable when using the Dead Ringer; its main problem of people detecting you upon uncloaking is nullified, and as such it is entirely possible to backstab targets who just triggered your Cloak by uncloaking directly behind them.

• The Invisibility Watch is completely silent when decloaking in conjunction with the Saharan Spy set.

• However, with the normal Invisibility Watch or the Cloak and Dagger, bumping into people or running out of Cloak will cause your silhouette to flicker for a lot longer, revealing you much more easily. As such, it is inadvisable to use these unless it is a situation where the Dead Ringer cannot be used effectively.

• A regular Spy works wonders among packs of enemies, where he cannot be noticed, while the Saharan Spy is much better at dealing with lone targets or in very big maps, where a regular Spy's decloak noise would give his position away. Keep this in mind and change your loadout accordingly.

• Remember that even if you can uncloak silently, trying to stab and steal someone's disguise in an area guarded with Sentry Guns is not recommended unless you already have a disguise. This makes using the Dead Ringer to proceed behind enemy lines a lot more risky, as if you uncloak in a hostile area there will be no escape.

• If an enemy sees you undisguised with the Familiar Fez equipped, they may assume you are using the Dead Ringer or Your Eternal Reward. Try to minimize the amount of time you are undisguised behind enemy lines.
  • For this same reason, you can exploit your appearance by purposely not using the whole set, but just wearing the hat. Most players will still assume you have the pros and cons of the set bonus.

• When using the Dead Ringer in conjunction with the Saharan Spy Set an easy way to get behind enemy lines is take fall damage to activate the Dead Ringer, then move from ammo box to ammo box until a suitable backstab target can be found. This way, the enemy is unaware of your presence until you achieve the first backstab.
  • Try not to trigger the Dead Ringer when using the set, as your "deaths" will seem very obvious.

• When approaching a group of targets from behind, try to stab a faster moving class such as a Pyro, Demoman, Medic, or Sniper first. This will allow you to run up to the slower moving classes more easily than if you started by stabbing a Soldier or Heavy first.

• Just because you can't disguise without getting a backstab does not mean you are incapable of taking out a Sentry Gun. Approach the sentry while cloaked, and uncloak directly behind the sentry while holding down Mouse1 with the Electro Sapper out. The sentry will not lock on to you until you are completely decloaked, at which time the Electro Sapper will be placed. This tactic is extremely difficult if enemies are around.

The Man of Honor

Article principal : Ensembles d'objets

Homme d'Honneur
	Exécutant Grand Gagnant Chapeau de la Cosa Nostra Homme d'Honneur
Effet(s)	Aucun effet

• This set is designed for the Spy who likes to make large amounts of damage and escape quickly. The Enforcer and the Big Earner work together towards this goal, providing a higher damage output and a way to refill your Cloak faster.

• Even though this set lets you choose your watch at will, the Dead Ringer is usually the Watch of choice to carry with this set eqquiped:
  • The Enforcer's downside does not apply to it, making this weapon a straight upgrade to the default Revolver.
  • The Dead Ringer's death fake ability helps offset the Big Earner's health penalty.
  • As an extra bonus, the Big Earner's Cloak boost reduces the chance of 'coming up empty' in an emergency with the Dead Ringer, allowing more leniency for mistakes

Combinaisons d'armes

Combinaisons-types
Combo			Utilisation
Ambassadeur	ou ou ou Couteau ou Stylet Aiguisé ou Couteau Festif ou Rose Noire	Cloak and Dagger	Cette configuration est utile pour les Spies qui aiment prendre leur temps et qui veulent survivre le plus longtemps possible et est excellente contre les ennemis qui bougent peu, comme les Engineers ou les Snipers. La Cloak and Dagger permet au Spy de rester invisible aussi longtemps qu'il ne bougera pas trop. Le Spy peut faire des headshots aux Snipers qui ont le Razorback ou peuvent attendre qu'un Engineer vienne construire un bâtiment et s'en débarasser rapidement avec l'Ambassadeur. Enfin, le Couteau permet au Spy de se déguiser comme il le souhaite.
ou Revolver ou Big Kill	ou ou ou Couteau ou Stylet Aiguisé ou Couteau Festif ou Rose Noire	ou Montre d'invisibilité ou Enthusiast's Timepiece/fr	The default loadout allows for a quick-moving, versatile Spy. The Revolver is useful to pick off lone enemies, damage Engineer buildings from a distance, or as a backup when you are discovered. The Knife allows you to disguise at-will, unlike Your Eternal Reward. The Invisibility Watch is the most versatile of the watches: quieter than the Dead Ringer, allows more mobility than the Cloak and Dagger, and can be replenished with ammo or metal. Move quickly, complete your objective, and move on.
L'Etranger	Conniver's Kunai	Cloak and Dagger	This is a medium-risk high-payoff loadout for Spies who like to have a lowered risk of being caught. The Spy should hide at the back of groups, waiting for an opportunity to get the first backstab. Then he can kill other nearby enemies. If you are caught early, then the L'Etranger can be used to fill the Cloak for a quick escape. Because the Kunai can remove negative effects that mark him as a Spy (Bleeding, Fire, etc), this loadout can be used to safely hide quite quickly if there is a handy distracted enemy nearby.
Enforcer	Conniver's Kunai	Dead Ringer	This is a high-risk high-payoff loadout for Spies who like to do as much damage to the enemy as possible. The Spy should hide at the back of groups, waiting for an opportunity to get the first backstab. Then he can kill other nearby enemies. The Dead Ringer will increase your chances of surviving while using the Kunai. If you are caught early, then the Enforcer can be used to kill enemies quickly and effectively. Because the Kunai can remove negative effects that mark him as a Spy (Bleeding, Fire, etc.), this loadout can be used to safely hide quite quickly if there is a handy distracted enemy nearby.
L'Etranger	Big Earner	Cloak and Dagger	This set focuses on staying out of sight. Due to the Cloak and Dagger's fast Cloak consumption, and to it's ability to not be able to use ammo packs to recharge your Cloak, L'Etranger and the Big Earner allow you to be cloaked often and escape most situations invisibly. Keep in mind that this set greatly relies on dealing damage to regain Cloak, which means that you will often be without your disguise and therefore vulnerable. This is mostly a set for people who know ideal cloaking spots and pathways in the map they are playing on.
Ambassador	Your Eternal Reward	or Invisibility Watch or Enthusiast's Timepiece	This set is for the Spy who likes to kill an enemy, move on and repeat. The Ambassador allows him to kill the victim if the backstab misses and gives him a significant way of killing people without backstabbing. Your Eternal Reward allows the Spy to be rewarded with a disguise, so he can be ready for a follow-up. The normal Invisibility Watch forces him to keep moving quickly and to uncloak, Cloak and collect ammo boxes constantly. It also gives him enough time to catch up with his next target. Note that for this set, you want to make as many kills as possible in one life, as you are most effective at killing efficiently. This also means that if you are discovered, you do not always get killed and you have some defense. You should make every kill count if you use this set, for you cannot gain disguises without killing somebody.
or or Ambassador or Diamondback or Enforcer	Spy-cicle	Dead Ringer	This set is for the Spy who faces a team with a small number of paranoid, defensive Pyros. The Spy-cicle gives the Spy an opportunity to escape if caught by the Pyro. In the event that the Spy is discovered and knows that the Pyro will not give up, each of the three Revolver variants provides a different way to take out the Pyro quickly. The Ambassador is recommended for those with superior aim, the Diamondback for those who have buildings to sap, and the Enforcer for everyone else. The Dead Ringer provides yet another means of escape, should the above fail.
Enforcer	Big Earner	Dead Ringer	The Man of Honor - with Dead Ringer This set is especially recommended for those who use the Dead Ringer frequently or otherwise rely on it. The downside of the Enforcer will be nullified with the Dead Ringer, making it a straight upgrade to the default Revolver. The already-increased Cloak recharge rate of the Dead Ringer pairs very well with the bonus of the Big Earner. A single backstab is usually already enough to use the Dead Ringer again, once it has been used. Due to the Dead Ringer's great damage reduction, the downside of the Big Earner is somewhat negligible.
L'Etranger	Your Eternal Reward	Dead Ringer	The Saharan Spy w/ Dead Ringer This is a risky but recommended setup when using the full Saharan Spy pack, as it fully utilize the set bonus (namely the quiet Cloak) to the maximum benefit, allowing the Spy to play with his enemies. Once the Spy has got himself a disguise, he can backstab Engineers and then take out their buildings with ease, without worrying about the Sentry Gun killing him. Should the enemy discover the Spy, he could feign death with the Dead Ringer and escape relatively easily; the reduced cloaking sound provided by the set will make it far less obvious to enemies that you are using Dead Ringer, and the extended blink time offered by the Saharan Spy set is ignored by the standard duration of the Dead Ringer. Combining L'Etranger with the Dead Ringer allows for a much quicker Cloak refill in extreme situations. 3-4 bursts of L'Etranger will nearly fill your Cloak, allowing you to feign death again. Also, having the complete Saharan Spy pack of the L'Etranger, Your Eternal Reward, and the Familiar Fez will greatly reduce the sound of the Dead Ringer, making the illusion of your death all the more believable.
L'Etranger	Your Eternal Reward	Cloak and Dagger	The Saharan Spy w/ Cloak and Dagger This strategy is for Spies preferring to camp in one place, and is not recommended without the Familiar Fez. The Spy can wait in a corner cloaked until a good victim runs past him. Then he can silently backstab and instantly disguise as the victim making it unlikely for the rest of the enemies to notice anything. The L'Etranger can be used to quickly fill your Cloak when fast fill is needed since you can't pick up ammo packs to fill it. With the Familar Fez, the Spy has a more silent Cloak at the cost of a longer blink time, so it makes it easier to hide from enemies. It should be noted that in most public games the importance of killing any one single enemy player is less, so camping for too long in one space not doing anything makes you dead weight to your team.
Enforcer	or or or Knife or Sharp Dresser or Festive Knife or Black Rose	or Invisibility Watch or Enthusiast's Timepiece	This setup works well for veteran Spy players who are used to using the Spy's stock weaponry. The Enforcer is nothing more than a stronger Revolver, and can take out most enemies with two or three hits at mid range. This makes the Enforcer a much more viable primary weapon when you're just out of Knife range or when you're being chased. Long range shots will still deal about 25 damage per shot, and could seriously persuade oncoming enemies to retreat. The downside is that since cloaking takes longer, you could be frequently forced into situations where you must fight as opposed to cloaking and retreating. Therefore, it is advised to stay away from large packs of attentive enemies or more than one Pyro.

Against Engineers

Most, if not all, tactics concerning Engineers will only work if the Engineer is not surrounded by allies. Use these tactics wisely.

• A tremendously useful ability to have is the power to surprise an enemy Engineer. The worse the Engineer is at Spy checking, the better. An excellent way to check if an Engineer is in the vicinity is to Cloak, run in, and survey the area before retreating. However, this technique is less effective with the Dead Ringer equipped, as you cannot Cloak at will. When a lone Engineer is blocking an objective with a Sentry Gun, you can use the Ambassador to attempt to take out the Engineer at long range first, using nearby objects for cover.
  • An alternative strategy is to use the Engineer's own buildings against him. This can be done by disguising as a player with low health, and crouching near the Dispenser to heal your disguise, while simultaneously using the Dispenser as cover from the Sentry Gun. Using this strategy will allow you to eliminate the Engineer at close quarters, while being safe from his Sentry Gun's fire.

• A lonely Engineer building a Sentry Gun can be easily killed by the Ambassador. Shooting him first in the head and then on any body part will kill him; afterward, you simply sap the building. Very useful if the Engineer is busy wrenching said building.

• If an Engineer leaves his buildings unattended, some players may simply rush in and sap everything in sight. It is advised you do not do this, unless you are totally sure that the Engineer is dead or too far away to respond in time. What you should do is shoot at a building once, and then hide in cover to defend against the Sentry Gun. The Engineer may come rushing back to hit it with the Wrench, allowing you to then follow him back to wherever he was previously. Wait at the area and backstab him as he attempts to return to his buildings.

• A similar tactic is to find an enemy building outside of the Sentry Gun's field of vision and sap that, then pull out the Ambassador and wait. When the Engineer comes to remove the Electro Sapper, quickly headshot him then shoot him, as the headshot on its own is unlikely to kill him. Since it takes two whacks with the Wrench to remove an Electro Sapper, you should have ample time.

Sentry Guns

• A sapped Sentry Gun cannot fire. If the Engineer is standing next to them, you have several options:
  • Sap the Sentry Gun and then run out of the room with the Intelligence or try and cap a fast-capping/partially capped point. Remember, if you accidentally touch the Intelligence while disguised, you will lose your disguise, and the Sentry Gun will attack you.
  • Sap the Sentry Gun and stab the Engineer if he goes to repair it. If he is already in position and repairing the Sentry Gun, the Electro Sapper will be removed before you can switch to the Knife and backstab. If he is out of position, you will have time to make the attempt. If he is in position and is repairing the Sentry Gun, all you can do is run for it, or keep putting new Sappers on the Sentry Gun. He will keep removing them as you place new Sappers, but it takes a long time to destroy a Sentry Gun this way. You will almost certainly be spotted by a teammate of the Engineer and be killed without destroying the Sentry Gun.
  • Your Revolver can destroy Sentry Guns at long range well due to no damage falloff against buildings. Firing at a Dispenser first is the key to succeeding; once it's down, fire at the Sentry Gun. When an Engineer first deploys a building, it's vulnerable to damage. One or two Revolver shots will take it down quickly before the Engineer has time to set it up. Your Revolver does more damage against buildings that aren't sapped, so if you find a lone Teleporter or Dispenser, and an Engineer isn't far off, shooting it without sapping it is the best course of action. However, when there are no Engineers near by, sapping a building and fleeing is the best way to avoid being spotted.
  • In certain situations, a Sentry Gun may be built so close to the cap point that you can reach it while capping. In this instance, you can quickly sap the Sentry Gun, undisguise, and resume sapping the Sentry Gun over and over. However, watch out for the Engineer breaking the capture with his body. Watch the Spy Guide Part#2 Engineers: Section 2 by [ESG] Orca to see how it's done.
  • Communicate with your teammates asking them to tell you via voice commands or voice chat when they need a Sentry Gun disabled, and then repeatedly sap the Sentry Gun.
  • A Sentry Gun takes about a second to execute a full 180° rotation. If you are directly behind a Sentry Gun and the Engineer is close to and facing his Sentry Gun it is possible to take out the Engineer and then the Sentry Gun. It requires that you backstab and as soon as the Knife hits the Engineer use the quick switch key to change to your Electro Sapper and place one before the Sentry Gun locks on. Strafe with the Sentry Gun's rotation (remember that the Sentry Gun will attempt to rotate as little as possible to shoot its target) so that you will have more time to place your Electro Sapper. Note that due to lag, it is possible for the Sentry Gun to shoot you between the actual placement of the Electro Sapper and the Sentry Gun being shut down. A Level 3 Sentry Gun will not always kill you immediately (although it has a good chance of doing so unless your reaction time is superb); however, it will still be sapped and most likely destroyed.
  • If the Sentry Gun and Dispenser are in such a position that you cannot reach the back of the Engineer for a backstab, try jumping on the Sentry Gun or Dispenser and sitting on the Engineer's head. This is an ideal spot as it is in your victim's blind spot and will allow you to backstab him from above (and apply the stab and sap trick above). However, if the Engineer is crouched and tries to stand or jump, they will be unable to do so and suspect a Spy. At that range, a Shotgun blast or two will kill you instantly. This trick also works well against a Heavy taking the role of a makeshift Sentry Gun.
  • A difficult trick is to take advantage of the fact that Engineers take damage from the gunfire of their own Sentry Gun. Stand in a position where the Engineer is between his Sentry Gun and you, then uncloak. You will die, but hopefully so will the Engineer. This is useful if the Engineer is in a position where you simply cannot backstab him. Use carefully as this technique can easily backfire on you.
  • A variation of this trick can be used against a common Engineer Sentry Gun/Dispenser setup. Some Engineers like to sandwich themselves between their Sentry Gun to the front and a Dispenser to the back. Disguise as a Pyro (as if you are helping the Engineer Spy-check) and walk up behind him, so the Dispenser is between you and the Engineer. As quick as you can, fire a few rounds into the Engineer with the Revolver. Duck as soon as the Engineer dies from the combined damage of your Revolver and the Sentry Gun's fire. If done correctly, the Sentry Gun will lose you as you hide behind the Dispenser. Re-disguise, sap everything and leave. Watch the Spy Guide Part#2 Engineers: Section 1 by [ESG] Orca for a demonstration of how this is done.
  • The Engineer's Wrangler weapon permits the Engineer to control his Sentry Gun entirely. Take extreme caution, as many Engineers will Spy-check with this, and it will make sapping the Sentry Gun much harder. Killing the Engineer while he is using the Wrangler will give you a few crucial seconds to sap his Sentry Gun bullet-free.

• With Your Eternal Reward, you can backstab someone in the range of the Sentry Gun including the Engineer behind it without being detected. Just remember that you need a disguise equipped before you can do this, otherwise the Sentry Gun will kill you as soon as you step in range uncloaked.

Dispensers

• Keep an eye out for Dispensers once you infiltrate the enemy base. They will still heal you and you can use them while your Cloak is still active (when using the default Invisibility Watch or while cloaked with the Dead Ringer). In fact, all Dispensers above Level 1 can recharge your Cloak even while you're cloaked. Level 1 Dispensers don't recharge your Cloak but your Cloak won't drain, either. Instead, it'll stay at the same level, giving you time to plan your next actions. Level 2 Dispensers recharge it slowly and Level 3 recharge it much faster, so Dispensers can be crucial to your plan. Note that the healing beam CANNOT be seen when cloaked and when next to a Dispenser - but be sure to watch out for Engineers, as they will constantly run back to their Dispenser, possibly running into you and revealing you. To avoid the Engineer, jump on top of the Dispenser instead of standing beside it. Be careful though, as his teammates can still run through it and, if they do, reveal your location.
• Note that on maps with narrow corridors, like 2Fort, Engineers may place superfluous Dispensers in locations that block your path. They also use these Dispensers to lure you into sapping them, thus alerting him and his team of your presence. If this is the case, you have 3 options: Crouch behind the Dispenser and use your Revolver to take it out or at least damage it (Provided there aren't any enemies around, they will hear the sound of your Revolver), crouch jump over the Dispenser (unless the Dispenser is placed in a position where you would've normally jumped on to the platform to reach it) or simply take another route.
• When uncloaked, avoid standing on Dispensers. Because most players (except the Engineer who built the Dispenser) will clip through buildings, being spotted in this position will instantly ruin your disguise, unless you are disguised as the Engineer, but he will almost certainly see a clone of himself and kill you. Unless you have backstabbed the Engy already and you disguised as him, or the Engy is dead and you are disguised as him, do not go on top of a Dispenser uncloaked.
• If you have no other option, using a Scout disguise and crouching behind a Dispenser while uncloaking may minimize the odds the Engineer will spot you instantly. This can be useful in small, commonly camped areas.

Teleporters

• If you're disguised as an enemy and take one of your team's Teleporters, the glowing ring and trail effect will not show up. Using friendly Teleporters with friendly disguises will give you a ring and trail but these are removed when you next use an enemy disguise.

• Walking over an enemy Teleporter exit when someone uses it kills you, a term called telefragging.

• When you find an exit Teleporter, watch it to see which way players come out. Then stand behind the Teleporter and wait. When the next player comes out, backstab him instantly. He should report this to his team, but he'll be dead for a bit, so you can risk waiting a little for a second Teleport and kill, or you can just sap the Teleporter and leave the area. This is called telecamping, which is usually frowned upon by most TF2 players.

• Due to the Patch du 13 août 2009, whenever a Teleport Entrance or Exit is sapped, the other automatically has an Electro Sapper placed on it as well, regardless of their distance from one another. However, the Engineer can now remove Sappers from both the entrance and the exit by using his Wrench on either. Although this makes it much harder for Spies to get cheap points by sapping Teleporter entrances outside the enemy spawn, a successful Electro Sapper on an active Teleporter will now give two points.

• If you're trying to telefrag enemies with their own Teleporters, either step over them while cloaked or use a slow disguise (Heavy and Soldier are the best) in order not to draw too much attention towards you.

• If you see enemy Teleporter entrances and exits in unusual places (often near their objectives), it could mean you are walking into an Engineer's trap - many Engineers place their Teleporters inside their base as an early warning system, hoping that you will be unable to resist sapping them and will thus alert the Engineer to your presence. (One way you can trick the Engineer in this scenario is by firing 2-3 Revolver shots at it, or if the Engineer is close by, hit it with your Knife as it is much quieter, but not enough to destroy it. Engineers will almost always expect a Spy to sap it if anything, so this may throw off the Engineer who built it)

• As of the Sniper vs. Spy Update, the Spy is now able to use enemy Teleporters. This can be useful for getting into well-defended Sentry Gun nests and/or nests that would otherwise be unreachable.

• If you can time it just right, it's possible to sap an enemy Teleporter entrance just as it teleports you. However, due to the Patch du 13 août 2009 this is rather pointless as you can achieve the same effect by taking the teleport and then sapping the exit. However, it does allow you to harass the Engineer as he attempts to knock your Electro Sapper off.

• If you are lucky, you may manage to telefrag an enemy upon taking an opposing Teleporter. While this normally applies to your own team's Teleporters as well if an enemy somehow stands on it without destroying it, the likelihood is higher as a Spy, as enemies may be clustered around the exit on the other side. In some cases, you may even be able to telefrag the enemy Engineer on the other side. However, be aware that telefragging will immediately alert the Engineer who built the Teleporter.

• A clever Spy can sneak his way to the enemy's Teleporter Entrance, sap it, and then stand on it, waiting for an Engineer on the exit side to knock off the Electro Sapper. Once the Electro Sapper has been knocked off the Spy will teleport to the other side, telefragging the Engineer if he is close enough, and is free to sap any buildings the Engineer has built. This is a risky but effective way of taking down forward bases built by one Engineer.
  • However, the above strategy becomes obsolete if there are two Engineers babysitting their buildings in the same location. The second Engineer will no doubt see/hear his buddy trying to repair his Teleporter and dying. There is usually no way to fight the second Engineer without the Sentry Guns swiveling and shooting you dead once you uncloak/remove your disguise. Your best hope in this situation is to either run, or sap BOTH the Sentry Guns as fast as you can, while avoiding the Wrench. If you're VERY lucky, you'll be able to get both of them, and then deal with your hard-hatted assailant. Assuming he doesn't just repair the Sentry Guns or Shotgun you to death, you could also try the continuous sap strategy.

• Another way to deal with Teleporters is to simply sap the entrance, and then put another back on immediately after it gets knocked off, and repeating. As the Engineer cannot repair the Teleporter while it is being sapped, you can slowly wear down the entrance and take out both sides with little to no risk; this is one of the safer courses of action if the Engineer is smart enough to stand off of his exit and Wrench whoever comes through right after he knocks the Electro Sapper off. However, beware that this takes a long time, and in the case of spawns with only one exit, greatly increases the risk of an enemy seeing you and killing you. In this case, you can simply take out your Revolver and empty it into the entrance after sapping it, this will usually kill the entrance in most cases. If the Engineer is quick enough to knock off your Electro Sapper before you can destroy the entrance, simply place a second one on immediately and repeat, though repeatedly sapping will probably work better as your Revolver may be out of ammunition. This method is faster and reduces the risk of being discovered by the enemy in their spawn, but leaves you more vulnerable as you will not be disguised.

• You can quickly kill Teleporters by sapping them and then shooting them a few times with your Revolver. Although this will attract more attention than just sapping, it may destroy at least one side of the Teleporter before the Engineer can remove your Electro Sapper thus reverting the other side of the teleport to level 1.

• Hitting a Teleporter with a Wrench will only remove Sappers from the other end if the end being hit has finished building. If you sap a teleport early in its build, the Engineer may not have enough time to save the other end even if they're able to remove the Electro Sapper.

Infiltration

• You can disguise as your own team by hitting - (or E if you have the simple disguise menu enabled) at the top of the keyboard after bringing up the disguise interface. As a friendly non-Spy class, players on the other team are much less likely to alert each other to Spies entering the base if they see you. However, the best way to get in and out is to Cloak properly.

• While it may not seem immediately obvious to the Spy, as you slowly decloak you take on the color of your team until you are 100% visible. It is vital to let the Cloak come on fully before entering into areas where you would be seen. Try to decloak around a corner where an opponent can't see you. It's very obvious that you are a Spy as no other class is able to Cloak.

• While cloaked, remember to avoid all enemy fire - if you're hit, you flicker visible. The same is true if you bump into an enemy. If you plan to rush out, tell your team-mates to let you go first (cloaked), so that stray fire from the enemy team at your visible team-mates doesn't reveal or kill you.

• If you are discovered and must Cloak to run away (assuming that you are not using a Dead Ringer), use misdirection to break away from your foes. If you are running in a certain direction while you Cloak, your enemies will usually head in that direction, so you can immediately make a radical turn after becoming completely invisible, or even turn in the immediate opposite direction to get behind them for a backstab opportunity.

• While cloaked, avoid giving away your position, especially to Snipers or if you have been busted, your pursuers. So do not:
  • ...pick up medkits (unless you're burning) or ammo crates.
  • ...enter the enemies' line of sight before your Cloak is fully active. (See above)
  • Also, if you go through an automatic door while cloaked and no one else is around, it is obvious that there is a Spy. If the door is very narrow, you still will become a very easy target, as you only have one direction to run in. Also, if you come out of swimmable water, water will be visible dripping from you.

• You appear to have the same health as the target of your disguise did at the moment you took on that disguise.

• Get a friendly Medic to heal you while you are disguised, because your disguised health level also rises to 100%, thus making you less suspicious when disguised while around the enemy spawn however appearing to be injured may be a good idea so you can get an enemy Medic to heal you. Note that overhealing will also be visible on your disguise, and if the enemy team has no Medics, walking around with an overheal may be a dead giveaway.

• Avoid walking over medkits unless your real health is injured, your fake health level will appear to be injured and if you don't pick up a medkit when walking over it, it is a dead giveaway that you're a disguised Spy. You can only increase your disguised health level from Dispensers and Payload carts if your real health is injured. So if you're receiving a healing beam, and your health is not appearing to increase then those that know this telltale sign will know you're a Spy, so it's best to use a Dispenser and cart only if you're truly injured. But against less experienced players, being healed by a Dispenser or cart can makes you seem less suspicious. As of the Patch du 21 mai 2009, in the PC version, walking over a medkit will add to your disguise health. You will also pick up medkits if your disguise health is down, even if your real health is full.

• Alternatively, if you have the Cloak and Dagger equipped, you can deliberately grab medkits in order to deny them to the enemy. While they will probably know that an enemy Spy is in the area, you can assist your team in this way by making your opponents easier to kill if your teammates are also relatively close by; however, this is also a double-edged sword since you can accidentally deny the medkit to a teammate who needs it.

File:Spy for Medic.jpg

Friendly disguised Blu Spy calling for a Red Medic

• Remember that you can call for and be healed by enemy Medics while disguised. This is a great way to hold your cover, and also a good opportunity to backstab the opponent's support. Beware that this also risks drawing undue attention to yourself, especially if your alter-ego notices his own name calling for a Medic. For these reasons it is probably best to do this as a retreating maneuver.
  • Do note that if you are in a situation that you may think it is safe to call a Medic, such as separation from the other members, there is one giveaway that a person paying attention would notice. As a Spy, your Medic call copies your health, not the health of that who you are disguised as. Therefore, if the person you are disguised as has above half health, but you have below half health, then your Medic call will be red or vice versa and the deadly wounded teammate will call Medic in pure white, therefore if the Medic pays attention to the signs, calling Medic at the wrong health may be a dead giveaway that you are a Spy. If you notice that you might give yourself away, such as medicalling while almost dead while your disguise is healthy, then call Medic and look at them for signs. If they pull out a weapon like the Übersaw or Needle Gun and look at you, this may be a sign that you have just revealed your disguise to them.

• Once in the enemy's base, communicate with your team. Talking might not move you up on the Scoreboard, but reporting Sentry Gun placements if a group of enemies are taking an alternate route or building a minibase can make a big difference and bring your team closer to victory. Note that on alltalk servers, your speech bubble is your own team color even when cloaked.

• You can walk backward while heading for the enemy base, or look backwards occasionally while walking forwards. Retreating into an enemy base while disguised looks much less suspicious than running into it at full tilt (unless your disguise health is relatively low), but as this trick has been done so many times, it can appear obvious to the astute observer.

• When you disguise yourself, you take the name of an enemy player that is playing the same class as the disguise. It is crucial that you try to use a class that is well represented by the enemy side to decrease the risk of coming face to face with the person you stole the name from. As of the Patch du 21 mai 2009, you can see whose name you have taken on on your disguise nameplate.

• If you disguise as a class not represented by the enemy team, you take on a name randomly. This can be a dead giveaway as a glance at the score table will make your trickery obvious, so try to disguise as a class that you know the enemy has.

• Try to act natural. Many times, an enemy will shoot you and not notice your health go down. If you do react to their shots, you can be certain that they and the rest of their team will hunt you down. If you continue heading in the same direction and if you seem to ignore the attack (assuming that it doesn't kill you), many times you will be left alone.

• Expanding on the above, standing still while in the enemy base is highly suspicious, and most players will try to Spy check you. Making it seem like you were NOT harmed by this attack is the key to getting sneaky backstabs when they turn away. Be incredibly careful of Pyros however. If you see one heading for you, and he is actively Spy checking, RUN!

• Before the Sniper vs. Spy Update, when disguised as a Medic, the ÜberCharge percentage did not show up when an enemy targeted you. This was a big giveaway. This was fixed in the Patch du 21 mai 2009, and now disguising as a Medic you appear to have a ÜberCharge percentage that the Medic you're disguised had when you took on that disguise. If there aren't any enemy Medics you will simply have a random ÜberCharge meter.

• You may, while entering the enemy base, notice that an attack force is heading for your base. Running in the opposite direction of them will likely result in a Spy check. A great method to single-handedly stop this attack is trying to run with the group towards your base. This works well as it appears to the opposite team that you are not a Spy, and you can slow yourself down a little bit to get to the rear of the pack and backstab most, if not all, of them. Just be sure the person you are disguised as is not among them, or you will be very dead very quickly.

• A dead giveaway that you're a Spy in disguise is the fact that your enemies are unable to walk through you. Once they bump into you, they will try to kill you immediately. When in small enclosed spaces, e.g. the sewers in 2Fort, walk close to the walls and be sure to leave enough room for enemy players to run past you.

• Deliberately trying to avoid people in corridors is like saying, "Hey! Here I am! Shoot me!" and will likely get you Spy checked and possibly killed. If you see someone barreling down a corridor at you, it is usually a better idea to open fire on them then to risk bumping into them and being melee'd by them. Remember, your knife isn't exactly fantastic in a face-off. It is only good for backstabs and taking out already weakened enemies; you cannot count on facestabs to save you.

• Keep an eye on the enemy players that are about to respawn. When did they die? What class did they play? What is their skill? Remember, these are the players that are going to be on your back in a few seconds. Use this knowledge to time your actions. If you know that the opponent's #1 Scout will respawn in a few seconds, let him pass by before you take any backstabbing/sapping action. Also remember, if you've just killed the same player twice in the exact same spot, they are going to be checking the area the next time they come through in order to find you.

• Most importantly: There are many people (Pyros) who will Spy check anyone they see, regardless of team affiliation, just as a precaution. Because of this, you must remember to keep moving, change disguises frequently, and, whenever possible, avoid being seen by the enemy entirely.

• As long as there's a damage indication on your HUD, you are semi-visible. Wait until the damage indicator clears before moving to ensure that you're completely invisible.

• A good idea to make your disguise more believable is to get behind or near the enemy spawn, put on your disguise, wait until no one is around/not watching you, and then run forwards so it looks like you just respawned. Not only can it put you behind players leaving said spawn, but it also makes enemy players less likely to Spy check you thinking that you're someone who just came from their own spawn.

• Picking up the enemy Intelligence does not yet make you a suicide flag runner. You can drop the Intelligence anytime (L by default), put on a disguise, or Cloak to recon ahead for danger and/or clear out an ambush. Afterwards, return to the Intelligence and resume carrying it when the path is clear. This is especially useful against Sentry Guns, which you can sap and then return to the Intelligence and Demomen, who like to block your path with stickies, essentially trapping you between themselves and anyone pursuing you from the enemy base. It's also a good way to lure other classes out of ambush, as they will move from their spot to check why has the Intelligence been dropped.

• Disguises only fool enemies "at-a-glance". It's best to avoid being seen altogether and use cloaking more often.

• While disguised, try to use voice commands such as Battle Cry. It will make your disguised player speak and do some mimics, and therefore it can fool some enemies who don't think about Spies being able to do those mimics.

• Reloading the Revolver/Ambassador will reload the weapon equipped by your disguise. Use this for added realism.

• If you are using the Cloak and Dagger, try to jump up on obstacles and ledges as you move through the map. Players use the obvious running pathways and will run right past you if you are cloaked. Standing on a crate allows you to recharge your Cloak without being bumped into and giving away your position. Standing on top of obstacles is also a good place to avoid Spy checking and escape pursuing players as they often forget to check the top of boxes and ledges.

Backstabbing techniques

For more information, see Backstab

Approaching the target

Approaching your victim for a backstab is difficult without getting caught. It is common for an enemy player to randomly Spy check hiding places and teammates. You can expect the enemy team to Spy check more often if they are alerted to the presence of a Spy.

The easiest targets to approach are distracted players who are busy with another task. Common targets are Engineers that are building/upgrading and Snipers who are looking through their Sniper Rifle.

There are a few things to keep in mind before going in for the killing blow:

• Determine who your target is, and if they are a good target, before you approach.
• Don't panic when you are discovered.
• Make sure to double check the routes behind you before decloaking, especially in routes which are commonly used. A recently spawned enemy player might catch you decloaking.
• Check your surrounding first before cloaking. An enemy player might be looking at your general direction. If you are lucky, they might not be suspicious of you, but if they start shooting at you, run and hide.
• Check the Scoreboard for dead enemy players so you can be aware if someone will come out from spawn.
• If you know that someone has just spawned, you can wait for them to pass by you. You can also try to delay their movement to the front line by timing your kill so they would be forced to look for you.
• Your disguise protects you from passing glances, but only until they get suspicious. Kill your target as soon as possible.
• Be aware of the speed of your Heavy and Soldier disguise. While enemies may be less suspicious of these uncommon disguises, you will have a much harder time trying to hunt down your victim.
• A common mistake is to Cloak when the target is attacking you. Even if the target is aware of you, you can still kill them with techniques like stairstabbing, sidestabbing, or shooting.
• Be careful on approaching the same target too often. Even the most inexperienced player will start checking their back after being stabbed too frequently.
• When attempting to backstab during an enemy push, be sure to wait until they have engaged your teammates. Be wary of enemy players who are watching their team's back.
• When you see a friendly Spy approaching a target, choose another target. If your teammate targets an Engineer, sap their buildings while they are distracted. You can also watch your teammates' back by targeting approaching reinforcements.
• Use elevated areas to your advantage. With good timing and positioning, you can get your target within a couple of seconds.

A Spy's weapons and gadgets can drastically change how a Spy has to approach his target. Keep these tips in mind when choosing your loadout:

• If you have the Dead Ringer, refill the watch as much as possible before going for your target. It makes for great insurance in case you fail to catch your victim and you start becoming the enemy's target. Make sure your death is convincing though or the area will be double-checked.
• The L'Étranger can help quickly refill the Cloak meter in areas without ammo boxes, therefore you can Cloak in order to hide in case a backstab attempt fails. Be careful if you decide to shoot unaware players as they will turn their attention toward you.
• With Your Eternal Reward, you cannot disguise until you backstab someone. You will need to proceed with caution when attempting a backstab.
• Be aware of the level of noise each of your cloaking devices make. A common mistake is decloaking too close to your target, thus enabling them to hear you. The Saharan Spy Set nullifies your cloaking sound to a whisper, but it does not mean players cannot hear the cloaking sound.
• Also, when using Your Eternal Reward try to predict and calculate your enemies movement and patterns to look for an opening in getting the first kill.

Techniques de Backstab

• Voir : Backstab

Voir aussi

• Confrontations du Spy