Team Fortress 2 Strategy

Primary Role: Infiltration

Spy getting his suit dirty

The Spy is one of the most advanced classes in Team Fortress 2 (in terms of being difficult to master), but also one of the most fun when you gain good control of him. His job is pretty straightforward – get in behind enemy lines, snoop around, and take advantage of targets of opportunity. This however is far easier said than done, and even when you have the strategy under control, there are any number of subtleties that you can work into your game depending on the situation. Something both Spies and Spy-hunters learn is that there is a plethora of ways for your enemy to identify you as a Spy, so check out the Spy Detection Guide to ensure you’re not on the back foot to begin with.

Probably the hardest part of playing as a Spy is the process of getting from in front of enemy lines to behind them, uncloaking, and running back towards your base without being exposed and eliminated. After choosing a disguise (see Tips for more on that), the first step is to get close to the enemy lines, maybe a couple of corners away, and cloak. Wait until you’re completely invisible (the white Spy outline shrinks to the bottom right of your screen), then run through the enemy lines as far as you safely can, making sure not to run into anyone. When your cloak charge starts getting low, get to a spot where your enemies aren’t looking (usually around a corner) and uncloak.

Uncloak behind your target(s) when they’re distracted

Now that you’re disguised in enemy ground, you should try and act naturally. Do what the class you’re disguised as would do, taking into account the weapon you’re ‘holding’. An Engineer may stand around patrolling near his buildings, and a Pyro may sit in a corner waiting for an ambush. The idea of infiltrating your enemy’s ranks is to be able to take advantage of opportunities that may arise, such as the elimination of a Medic running along behind a Heavy or an unguarded teleport. If one of these opportunities presents itself as soon as you uncloak go for it, but don’t rush yourself if it doesn’t. Have a look around, but remember you’re probably expected to run back towards your base, so try and fall in behind key targets, especially Medics, Heavies and Soldiers.

If the teleport exits are too well guarded, start with the entrances and work your way back

Having infiltrated the enemy team, a Spy can choose his targets. Top priorities, if you see them, should be teleport exits (but if they’re too well defended think about attacking the entrances), sentry guns, Medics (especially those with übercharges ready, evident from the lightning and crackling from their mediguns), the slower Soldiers and Heavies, and to a lesser extent Demomen who are being difficult with sticky bombs. As much as your life means to you, don’t just sit around and do nothing, since this is not only unhelpful to your team, but you’ll probably die before you get any opportunities anyway.

Medics are always one of the top few priorities, but if you miss you can still hit his buddy

Of course these are generally good targets to go for, but ultimately you should judge the importance of the available targets depending on the situation. If your team is unable to push past a sentry gun, it may be worth sacrificing yourself to remove the sentry. If they are pinned down somewhere by an enemy Sniper, he may take priority over a sentry gun that is a less immediate threat. Use your head, and don’t be afraid to change disguise to something less suspicious given your target (make sure you’re out of sight though, of course).

Sentries can be a serious obstacle – take them out whenever you can

So how do you go about dealing with these targets of opportunity? First, let’s take a look at the knife. A backstab is of course an instant kill, so the obvious course of action is to run up behind your quarry and dig in. However you may want to avoid making a beeline towards them, lest his more wary counterparts wise up to your subterfuge. Once you plant the knife between his shoulders, the best course of action is to redisguise immediately and run towards your base. Anyone behind you should stay that way, and anyone in front becomes fair game. Remember not to rush, as consistently hitting moving backs with the knife is a tough gig. The other weapon you’ll be making good use of is the electrosapper, but that only applies against the Engineer, so check out The Spy, Versus for more on that.

Fall in behind your targets then hunt them down one by one

Even the best Spies will be caught eventually, and when you are caught, it’s a good idea to have an emergency plan in place. Remember that when you are shot (assuming you’re uncloaked, and that it’s not a flamethrower), there are no signs that immediately betray you. Your assailant may just be curious, but if you start jumping and dodging you’ll give yourself away for sure. However, if they know you’re a Spy (and you can often tell) there’s no point in pretending otherwise. Choose the quickest route to cover, pull out your revolver, backpedal towards said cover and let loose on your pursuant. Too often I see Spies go down without a fight, when for all they know the guy shooting them may be one bullet away from fatality.

When this starts happening around you, look out!

Secondary Role: Objective Target

To be honest, the Spy really only has one role, that of infiltration. The objective target strategy is something of a sub-tactic, in that it works occasionally but isn’t really a self-sufficient style of play. What the objective target involves is the Spy doing whatever he can to reach the objective, be it a control point or intelligence briefcase, waiting for or creating an opportunity to capture it, and proceeding to attempt to do so.

Okay, so that didn’t make sense. I’ll explain with two examples: intelligence and control point. Intelligence is probably more applicable so I’ll cover that first. In CTF maps, the enemy intelligence is planted right back behind their lines inside their base. The hardest part of capturing the intelligence is getting it out of the base in the first place since players have to break through all the defenses first, however once the case is out in the open the attacking team only needs to keep touching it every 60 seconds to keep it alive, and it is very difficult to prevent them from dragging it back to their own base.

Therefore the priority should be on getting the intelligence to such a point that it can be reached with less difficulty than when it’s sitting 20 feet underground. This is where the Spy can use his evasiveness to great effect without even hurting anyone. Often the flagroom is undefended, but a single sentry can be dealt with if needs be. The point is the Spy can get close to the intelligence without being detected, he has the ability to deal with small defenses, and having grabbed the intelligence he can carry it out of the flagroom and into the open where, even if he dies, his teammates have vastly improved access to it. This tends to be something of a kamikaze approach, but if your team is prepared it can work wonders.

The objective target for control points is also an option, but its effects are often more subtle. It’s most applicable to tug of war maps like Granary and Well and simple team versus team maps like Hydro, so I’ll start with them. The Spy’s job here is to get behind the enemy’s front line (which will be forward of the objective they’re defending), hide and wait until no one is watching the objective, and uncloak/undisguise in the capture zone to begin capturing. In quick cap points like the last points of Well and Granary, and to a lesser extent Hydro, the Spy may even be able to complete the capture himself, but even if it’s defended in time, the sneak attack often results in uncertainty and caution from the front line troops, which gives the Spy’s team the impetus to push forward.

Just casting doubt in the defenders’ minds can open some opportunities for you

For both of these objective target examples, you should expect at least some kind of defense. If there isn’t any it’s a bonus, but if there’s only some it can be dealt with. Normally the only defense you’ll run into before you begin capturing is an engineer and/or sentry gun and defenders running past harmlessly to get to the front lines. Check out The Spy, Versus guide for tips on dealing with the engineer, and wait for a break in the flow of advancing defenders before you begin capturing to give yourself maximum time before you’re opposed.

Finally, this tactic can also apply to Dustbowl and Gravel Pit. On Dustbowl, uncloaking in the middle of the second control point just as the first is taken can have devastating results if the enemy defense is caught completely unprepared, and at the very least it should decrease resistance faced by the incoming attackers. On Gravel Pit, having a Spy embedded at the top of the C tower just as the second of points A and B is taken can sometimes finish the game off, but A and B are such slow caps that C will often be garrisoned before it even becomes active.