TF2: Spy Enemy Prioritization

There are two main things that set Team Fortress 2 apart from other major first-person-shooters on the market: its refined art style inspired by J.C. Leyendecker, and the variety of the nine classes that form a team. In games like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Battlefield 3, selecting a class offers as much variety as weapon type (which includes all standard military-grade weaponry) and perks (which can be customized and homogenized). In Team Fortress 2, class choices go beyond this and offer completely different play-styles, utilities, roles and a tight dynamic relationship between other classes that work towards building a game where team work is not just recommended, but required.

I have about ~500 hours played in Team Fortress 2, and since the beginning, my favorite class has been the Spy. Save perhaps the Medic, the Spy is the class that is the least like any other role offered in other first-person-shooters on the market. His popularity, especially since the Sniper/Spy update and, subsequently, the Free-to-Play update, has exponentially exploded. On any public server, you can expect at least two people to be playing this class. Unfortunately, as Spy’s play-style is extremely unique and includes an extensive learning curve, this can cause a lot of new spies to get crushed under the heel of opposing teams (especially if there are multiple spies, which causes the paranoia of the enemy team to erupt and make it very difficult to pull off backstabs).

There are a lot of components to learning how to play Spy, and there’s a ton of good information out there that pinpoints proper watch, gun and knife usage. There’s also a great deal of wonderful video tutorials (Watsyurdeal, SubtleArt, Tf2gentleman and Stabbystabby come to mind) that will help new spies refine their movement, aerial awareness and stab methods. In this article, I want to hit on another very important aspect of playing the Spy: enemy priority.

After a stab, make your handsome getaway!

While chain-stabs and dead ringer decloaking a few feet behind players is acceptable in public servers, it is just not possible when going against a team that is thoroughly communicating and watching each other’s backs. Thus, the Spy has to be on his toes and utilize special opportunities to take out key targets (formally known as getting a “pick”).

   While I will outline my own personal thought-process, I want to emphasize that there is no “end-all” strategy to playing the Spy. Each map and team is very different and compensating for the situation is a vital Spy tactic. Without further ado, I will list, from most important to least, the key threats that a Spy needs to deal with:

   1) Medic: In the Spy world, it’s a completely acceptable scenario to get killed when killing the enemy’s medic. The Medic, with his over-health healing buff and ability to uber his patient, is pivotal to taking a contested point. The death of either team’s Medic often determines which team will successfully capture the point. Considering the Medic runs slightly faster than the Spy (~107% in comparison to the Spy’s 100%) and they tend to watch what’s coming up behind them more often than most classes, getting a Medic pick can often be difficult. As with many important backstabs, you must rely on a distraction supported by your team or come out of nowhere (utilizing height or blind-spot advantages) to get a Medic backstab.

pl_Barnblitz has a lot of places where Spies can take a height advantage.

   
   2) Sniper:  While originally the Sniper was an easy kill for the Spy, new tools since the game’s release have made the Sniper a much more formidable foe. Jarate and the Razor-back ensure that you must “gun down” a competent Sniper. If left alone, the Sniper will easily get rid of major players on your team, such as the Medic or Demoman. Fortunately, the Spy comes with an array of powerful revolvers: three body shots from the standard revolver/L’tranger, a headshot/body shot combo from the Ambassador or two body shots from the Enforcer should do the trick. If the Sniper is not wearing the Razorback, backstab them (although make sure you decloak from far enough away – good Snipers utilize their surround sound and intentionally seek out a decloak).

   3) Engineer: The Engineer can make assaulting a point a living nightmare for your team. Unless your team is willing to blow an uber, it is entirely possible to lose several members to a well-placed and guarded Sentry gun. Do not be fooled by the Spy’s sapper utility tool: we are not the Engineer’s counter-class. A good Engineer is aware of all of the Spy’s tricks and is constantly aware of the surroundings. Regardless, it is our job to ensure that teleporters are down and that, in the heat of the moment, the Sentry and the Engineer go down. There are many combinations of stab/saps that you can utilize to take out an Engineer, but I find the most effective method is to use the Ambassador or creep in with the Invisibility Watch, stand on him and crouch + stab his backside when the Sentry is the full 180 degrees away from you.

   4) Demoman: If your Sniper is having a hard time getting a pick on the Medic or Demoman, it’s your turn to try and take him out. I don’t need to write too much about the Demoman, because the simple idea is that he’s way too powerful to leave alive. The sticky launcher is the best area denial tool in the game and well-placed pipe bombs can wreck friendly players. When attempting to get a pick on a Demoman, ensure that you don’t run into a sticky trap. Research the map or play Demoman yourself for a little while to know where the most optimal trap spots are.

cp_freight_final1 is a common lobby map and one of my personal favorites.

   5) Heavy: This doesn’t need much explanation either. The heavy’s loud and slow nature makes him a prime target for the Spy. Unless it’s an extremely paranoid Heavy who is constantly checking his rear, he shouldn’t be that much trouble to get a stab on. Also, his lack of long-range damage, slow-speed and fat head makes him a pretty easy target for the Ambassador.

   6) Soldier: Aside from random-puff Pyros, Soldiers are probably the next class I get randomly killed by. They seem to have Spy sensors under that helmet, as every time I get close to one, they make a quick 180 and rocket my feet. In general, leave the Soldier to the Sniper, but if the opportunity presents itself, wait until they are reloading and take them out.

Even Dirty Harry has nothing on the sexiness of the Ambassador.

   7) Spy: The more you play Spy, the better you become at recognizing an enemy Spy. The Spy is low on my list because I rarely will go and hunt down a Spy I noticed. When dealing with enemy Spies, alert your team to the Spy’s current disguise, watch load-out (if possible), and position and let your Scout/Pyro handle him.

   8) Scout: Although Pyros can be annoying to Spies, I truly believe that a good Scout is the counter to the Spy class. The Scattergun can do an immense amount of damage and, if you don’t see it coming, you are almost assured to die if cloak is down. The Scout spends a lot of time trying to flank your own team or protecting his team from the Spy. Thus, the Spy's job is to avoid getting caught by the Scout. If it comes down to it, pull out your revolver and hope your aim is better than his.

   9) Pyro: The Pyro generally has two roles in the enemy team: one is to flank/ambush key targets like your Medic, and the other to make sure you don’t get a pick on theirs. The Pyro’s puff/sting tactic makes them an annoying opponent to the Spy. My best advice is to learn corner/stair and matador stabs, fine-tune your revolver aim and try to see them coming before they see you. There are classes much more suited to taking out the Pyro, so I placed it at the bottom of the list. There will be many times where fighting one is inevitable and it just comes down to player skill at that point.

Jesus Spy floats to next target.

That concludes my short guide on enemy prioritization. Once again, I’d like to remind readers that this is not an etched-in-stone solution and many times, the key target will be what is holding your team back. Spy is a problem solving class, and thus you need to play it like a solution to those problems.

Thank you MouseFace for all the pictures of me dominating you. You're the best cannon-fodder- er, I mean girlfriend, a Spy could have.