Dealing with Spies (TF2)

[Yokai]

Any ally that is running directly towards you and is at full health is probably a spy. A newbie spy. Set him on fire, or jarate him, and watch him flail around like a lunatic with the knife once his cover's blown.

It's important to remember that spies are harmless when invisible. They can't attack until they decloak, so you don't have to worry about being killed by an invisible guy. Just watch for strangeness on your own team. If you see the same guy walk past a doorway twice in three seconds, it's not a glitch in the Matrix, it means one of them's a spy. If you see a front-line class like soldier or scout hiding in a corner somewhere, shoot him to be sure.

If you encounter a spy in the field, remember to constantly face him. Always backpedal, don't run past him, because then his knife has a clear opening to your immensely vulnerable spine. And finally, don't underestimate the revolver. It's the third most accurate weapon in the game after the sniper rifle and rocket launcher, and three or four hits will kill most classes. Don't stand there firing and let yourself get hit.

Keep moving, keep him in your sights, engage him at range, and watch the bullets.

 

[Hurray Forums]

1: Listen for the sound of a decloak. This is the most important one of all.
2: Check your back CONSTANTLY. Obviously you can only do this when you're not in the middle of a fight but whatever.
3: If there's no bad guys shoot at teammates/spy hidey holes(you will learn where spies like to hide with practice)
4: Play spy to learn how they play, this is the quickest way to figure out the telltale signs of a spy in the area, and to learn how to see through disguises. Disguises are pretty much garbage though so they shouldn't give anyone any trouble.
5: Watch the killfeed. If a teammate near you got stabbed you should probably be wary of a spy in the area.
6: Be careful going around corners/up stairs/past small gaps as these are prime spots for a quick stab. Just keep your back away from the area where a Spy could potentially be.
7: Watch for randomly disappearing health kits/ammo as they're a sure sign of a cloaked Spy.
8: Use voice commands or better yet your mic! Alerting your teammates to the Spy dramatically decreases his effectiveness and makes your life much easier. If your teammates take care of the Spy for you you don't have to worry about them for a while.
9: Get an unusual hat, preferably an extremely obnoxious/unique one. I went for a Festive Tree because it sticks out like a sore thumb and no one wears it making it very easy to find Spies disguised as me, even at a distance or when I just catch a glimpse of them around a corner. Spy disguises won't reproduce the effect of an unusual hat, it will just look like the default hat. This only really works if teammates are smart enough/play with you enough to notice that you wear an unusual hat but if they do it makes disguises even less of a threat.

Congratulations. If you follow these simple steps you are completely Spy proof when not engaged in combat. In combat there's always going to be a slight chance of getting stabbed as it's impossible to always be watching your back when you have to worry about the Spies teammates. The most important steps to follow in battle for combating Spies are:

1: Kill him before the battle starts. Proper spy checking before hand means the Spy will be busy respawning/unable to get in position for when combat actually starts. Kill him enough and he might switch to a different class or start avoiding you altogether.
2: Listen for the sound of a decloak. Seriously, can't overstate how important this is.
3: Move erratically. You should be doing this anyway to dodge bullets/projectiles and not get Snipered.
4: Turn your back towards areas a Spy would have a hard time getting to. This is map dependent but very effective.
5: Stick with teammates. A Spy has to completely expose himself to kill someone, and if a teammate catches it they will most likely make short work of a Spy. One because he sucks at direct combat and two because people fucking hate Spies. I've seen people stop chasing a Medic just so they can kill the Spy that got caught out in the open.
6: If your team simply sucks and is getting destroyed by Spies just go Pyro and flame the shit out of everything and everyone. On some maps a single Pyro can make an infinite amount of Spies completely useless. You shouldn't have to resort to this as Spies are pretty crappy against good players and not much of a threat in comparison to other classes but it's a last resort that's there if you need it.

 

[Troublesome Lagomorph]

Shoot anyone and everyone who is acting in the slightest bit off. Also: if you feel like you're being watched, spray. If you say anything suspicious, shoot in that direction.

 

[The Artificially Prolonged]

Best tip is to just shoot any team mates you see, they won't take any damage unless there an enemy spy. Sadly this tatic doesn't work quite as well IRL counter esiponage. Also when a cloaked spy gets bumped into you can will be able to see the cloak outline of the spy so watch out for them.

 

[WouldYouKindly]

Pyros are the anti-spy. It renders their cloak and disguise useless and can clean off their sappers easily. If you're really frustrated with spies, this is the way to go. It's also the easiest, just give everyone you meet a little fire and you'll find spies all the time.

 

[FrankatronX]

Never...
Stop...
Burning...
EVERYONE!

"It's the only way to be sure!"

 

[Ragsnstitches]

Spies love Snipers (when looking down scopes) and Engineers (mainly their buildings) - hard counters these targets

Spies will chance Heavies (because they are slow, especially when firing) and Medics (pre-occupied with healing). -soft counters these targets.

Spies ignore Soldiers (too risky what with all the explosions) and Demomen (explosions aren't a spies friend) - is soft countered by these targets

Spies Hate Scouts (too fast) and Pyros (for obvious reasons) is hard countered by these targets.

TF2, as a class based shooter, puts emphasis on counters and soft counters. If your an engie or a sniper, spies get a hard on when your back is turned to them or you leave buildings unsupervised. Heavies and Medics on the other hand, are pre-occupied with laying into the enemy and healing allies respectively to be aware of a sneaky spy (but can roflstomp a careless spy).

 

[Jinx_Dragon]

I'm a sniper and a medic so I've accept that I'm going to die a lot and mostly from spies (or other snipers). However taking out cloaked spies as they are making their way to my base never loses its appeal.

Yeah, it is a pity you can only get shooting the breeze once.

 

[Dragonborne88]

There is a 10 times easier way of spy checking as any class...run into them. You have no collision with your team and will go through them, but an enemy spy will cause you to stop like you ran into a wall. If you are a medic, run through everybody before you heal them since you are relatively quick.

And on the march to the front lines, keep an eye out behind you. Spies are generally pretty easy to spot, shoot the gun making a beeline towards your back. I loved getting accused of "Spy Hacking" since I could always tell the difference between your team and the spies. Plus, spies will be REALLY obviously trying to avoid running into people.

 

[Knusper]

I tend to play on relatively small maps (DM Store or any of the Payload races) so it's quite hard for spies to slip by unnoticed. On top of that, I tend to play Pyro and just do a quick burst at nearly any of my teammates as I pass them, quite often I can catch one.

Also, you can learn where they always hide and as you run to the enemy/ objective, methodically sweep those areas or fire your secondary weapon into them. I think perhaps 3 times I have inadvertently caught a spy by randomly firing my flare gun over some crates at DM Store.

 

[Jinx_Dragon]

Pyros are the anti-spy. It renders their cloak and disguise useless and can clean off their sappers easily. If you're really frustrated with spies, this is the way to go. It's also the easiest, just give everyone you meet a little fire and you'll find spies all the time.

And be prepared to receive high praise and love from engineers, twice so if you have the Homewrecker. I can not tell you how much I love any pyro on my team. Even the M1+W type that really have yet to grasp their skill set are still such a boon to an engineer.

 

[Jiefu]

Honestly, most Cloak and Dagger spies are so terrible that they're not worth worrying about. They're not going to cause a whole lot of damage overall. Let them get a kill or two every 10 minutes and be on your merry way.

 

[Xman490]

KILL IT WITH- oh, you mentioned that. You can bounce around if you're a Medic.
Spies and snipers almost ruin the game. They're like a very spicy pepper in a cake: you don't expect them, and suddenly you're in pain.

 

[Spencer Petersen]

The way to play spy or beat spies is to think like your enemy. If I were a spy, would I call for medic at high health to try to lure him into backstabbing range? Would I disguise as a sniper to sneak into a sniper nest? There are subtle tells that can tip you off, like if a sniper isn't looking down his scope at all, or if the spy isn't affected by enemy flame/jarate. The best thing to check is that spies of the enemy teams are corporeal to you but no one on your team is. Simply walk into people and if you hit them then start firing.

 

[A Weary Exile]

-First, and most importantly, pay attention to who's around you.
-Shoot everyone you see.
-Watch for suspicious behavior (People making a direct bee-line for the back of your allies, for example).
-Listen for decloaks.
-Stay moving all the time (This is a good tactic in general, not just for Spies).
-Make sure to look behind you every once in a while.
-Watch out for duplicate teammates and bad disguises (Slow Scouts/Medics, a class that isn't actually on your team, etc.)

I think that's a good list of general anti-Spy tips, this is coming from someone who LOVES playing Spy.

 

[Jacob Haggarty]

If you're being dominated by a spy, you could just change to a scout.

I haven't really played that long (first real match today... so proud xD) but i had a similar problem. So i changed to scout, and its quite easy to not die, so long as you dont run into someone bigger. Usually the spy cant get to you without becoming uncloaked, so he will either have to back off or risk being filled with so many bullets he resembles more of a creamy spy mousse, rather than a backstabbing agent of espionage and intruige.

Do this until you feel comfortable to go back to your prefered class, or use the time to think of an anti-spy strategem of your own.

Most of all, just dont let it get you down! Have fun, and dont worry about him/her.

So yeah, just shake up your playing style, see what happens, or see if you cant get them to just give up.

Like i said, i haven't been playing too long, about 12-13 games, most of which i got savagely owned in. There was one match, where i played pyro, and i got dominated by this heavy... a lot. Lets just say that at least HALF of his points were from killing me xD

I do like it so far though.

 

[AlternatePFG]

Pyros are the anti-spy. It renders their cloak and disguise useless and can clean off their sappers easily. If you're really frustrated with spies, this is the way to go. It's also the easiest, just give everyone you meet a little fire and you'll find spies all the time.

And be prepared to receive high praise and love from engineers, twice so if you have the Homewrecker. I can not tell you how much I love any pyro on my team. Even the M1+W type that really have yet to grasp their skill set are still such a boon to an engineer.

Thrice if you can airblast any incoming rockets and grenades flying towards their buildings.

 

[9999squirrels]

#1 tip for dealing with spies: be twitchy. Really twitchy. Me and my brother have a combined total of 1100+ hours on TF2 and that principle alone will save your hide many times. Spies won't stab the guy who is constantly looking over their shoulder, they go for the guy that looks the most unaware. It also helps to think like a spy. "If I were a spy, where would I stop for a cloak recharge?" is something you should ask yourself. Then proceed to fire a few shots into said spot. In general simply being a pyro can dettur a backstab. There is no full proof solution, just don't make a big deal of it if you get backstabbed once in a while.

 

[SupabadMan]

NEVER be the last in line.

Because I will be there, where no one is watching you, with a knife for your back. >:3

Spies using the cloak and dagger are weaker in comparison to other spies when they run while cloaked, yes they can stand still to recharge their cloak but trust me you have to stop quite often.

keep moving and check behind you often, shoot any teamates you see (unless they are obviously not a spy ie. a medic healing a heavy who is shooting.) watch out after your teamates, if you see a pyro running straight at the back of a heavy it's almost definitely a spy.

as for dealing with spies who are standing still while cloaked, shoot where you would hide if you had to wait for your cloak to recharge. most spies like small corners or hard to reach areas because very little spam reaches there. also keep an eye out for blood appearing out of nowhere (if the spy takes falling damage). and if you bump into one shoot it.

my best advice is to start thinking like a spy, if you compromise his position where would he run to? where would you be least likely to check?

also I found these awesome spy tutorial videos last night on youtube, it should give you a sense of what a good spy is doing.

This is a great video, told me lots about being a spy. Would be a good idea to review this.