With so many players entering Team Fortress 2 every day, many mistakes are made as well. The Spy is the class a lot of new players gravitate to. The idea of disguising as the enemy and having the ability to instakill through a single backstab is understandably enticing to new players. But since the Spy is actually a very complex class, many players are prone to committing grave mistakes when they play Red or Blu's resident Frenchman.
There are different approaches to playing Spy and there are some effective tips and tricks some Spy mains live by. But for every well placed sapper and chain stab, there are methods that are just ineffective, risky, and should never be repeated by any Spy - whether they're a novice or a veteran mercenary. Without further delay, here are 10 mistakes that most Spies commit while playing Team Fortress 2.
10 Always Picking Spy
Everyone loves to pick Spy. But a good Spy main will acknowledge when his team has an abundance of Spies and will willingly switch to another class to diversify the team's abilities. By always choosing Spy, the player limits their flexibility and learning - even more so since the Spy doesn't play like the other classes.
Additionally, playing as any of the other classes will give the Spy main some insight into the shoes of other classes. This is useful information in fighting against them, and acting as them. Contrary to what it seems, playing as other classes actually makes a better Spy as compared to picking him exclusively.
9 Not Using the Revolver
This is a mistake new and seasoned players make. A Spy's melee weapon (the butterfly knife) is one of the most useful melee weapons in TF2, so much so that newer Spies forget they have a revolver. When discovered, a Spy's force of habit literally makes him bring a knife to a gunfight. Occasionally, an experienced Spy can get a technical backstab when pursued leading to an amazing instakill, but this is something often left to chance.
The problem is that a lot of players try to pull this fluke way too often and end up using their knife to engage 100% of the time, leading to a decisive defeat or an overwhelming domination. A Spy has his handy revolver that deals decent damage, and a variety of situational revolvers to choose from. Believe it or not, revolvers can be used to fend off and even kill enemies. Use it.
8 Disguising while Cloaking
Spies emit a cloud of smoke around them when disguising. What newer players tend to do when infiltrating is that they would cloak and disguise simultaneously. Cloaking takes half-a-second to be fully invisible so in a hurry, players would disguise in that brief window of time that it takes to turn fully invisible.
What this does is create a smoke effect that follows the player for a duration, even after they go fully invisible. The right way to do it would be to have the disguise already worn in set-up time before cloaking. Alternatively, wait to be fully invisible before disguising. Wait out the 0.5-second window so that Spy doesn't emit smoke when fully cloaked.
7 Not Disguising as a Teammate
A Spy's presence is something to be alert of. When an undisguised or obvious Spy walks out of spawn just to get "killed," the enemy team is 100% certain that they're still lurking around. The last thing that a Spy wants is to infiltrate a fully aware team.
When the Dead Ringer is equipped, the goal is to play a convincing death. In disguising as a friendly, the Spy masks his use of the Dead Ringer, making his death feign much more effective. Disguising as a teammate also masks the presence of a Spy from the enemy team.
6 Looking Directly at Enemies
When disguised, newer Spies will still be in the mindset of a Spy. They tell themselves that they need to sap buildings and backstab enemies, as per their job description. In doing so, they tend to look directly at enemies like a creepy waitress watching a customer's every bite. This is not suspicious; this is revealing.
A Red Demoman should be facing the direction of the Blu push, not haphazardly walking directly into his own base. Something Spies should take note of is to never walk into the opposite direction the opposing team is generally facing. Backpedal if necessary.
5 Not Acting the Part
The reason Spy is the most complex class is because, in order to play Spy effectively, one should know how the other classes perform. As mentioned, looking directly at enemies is part of blending in and acting the part. Spies should enter the mindset of their disguised class.
For example: when disguised as Sniper, Spy should be behind the team he's infiltrating. When disguised as Scout, Spy should be jumping around in the heat of battle. When disguised as Medic, Spy should have his Medigun out, not his primary. A little inconspicuousness goes a long way for Spies. If done right, a Spy would occasionally receive heals from the enemy Medic and would be spy-checked less.
4 Not Wearing The Appropriate Disguise
Spies should be like Agent 47 from Hitman. A chosen disguise should complement the true objective of the Spy, not make him more obvious than a friendly Heavy. Newer Spies tend to disguise as Demoman or Pyro because the key binds are within easy reach.
If a Spy wants to go into the intelligence room filled with sentries, he should disguise as an Engineer. If he wants to reach the far back of the infiltrated team to chain backstabs together, he should disguise as Sniper. If he wants to take out key enemies on the battlefield, he should disguise as a combat class like Demoman, Pyro, Scout or a support class, like Medic.
3 Infiltrating Through a Choke Point
There is a high chance that a cloaked Spy would be discovered when infiltrating through a choke point. Choke points are where the most exchange of fire happens. This includes explosive projectiles, sticky spamming, Huntsman arrows, Sniper sightlines, Heavy minigun barrages, and so much more.
It is highly dangerous for a Spy to sneak through a chokepoint, unless his intention is to trigger his Dead Ringer or straight up die. Some Snipers unintentionally score headshots on cloaked Spies because of this, especially when using the Huntsman. It would be better for Spies to use a flank route. While Spies are expected to flank more often than not, flank routes aren't under constant fire, which makes it a better alternative to running into a choke point.
2 Not Surveying Their Surroundings
Like Snipers, newer Spies tend to have tunnel vision. When they see backs turned towards them, they immediately pounce upon their target, unwary of the other nearby threats.
For example, a Spy is drawn to a particular Sniper nest. Being totally oblivious to the nearby Sentry, the Spy creeps up behind the nest of Snipers. As he sinks down his Knife, he is able to take one Sniper down but he is immediately gunned down by the Sentry. An important part of playing Spy is strategizing the approach based on what's around. Prioritize the Sentry and then go about the usual Spy business.
1 Relying Too Much on the Dead Ringer
A good Spy is situational and methodical. The Dead Ringer, when overused, doesn't encourage a situational and methodical approach. When a Spy is overwhelmed, they can pull out the Dead Ringer, feign their own death, and fool any pursuers. But as handy as it is, the Dead Ringer encourages hasty actions by being the Spy's get-out-of-death card.
A Spy can disregard all the tips on this list and, with the Dead Ringer in hand, still be an annoyance to the enemy team. This leads to the Spy not learning the proper methods of infiltration and not learning the use of the other, arguably superior Invisible Watches. Dedicated Dead Ringer Spies can score sweet kill streaks, but they won't be of much use to their team.