Hi!

I main Spy in Team Fortress 2, with hundreds of hours as Spy. The Spy, to me, has been the most intriguing, as it is the weakest, and yet the most deadly, requiring the player to constantly be thinking and adapting to any given position. Also, personally it is the most fun class.

This guide is me trying to share some of my experience of the spy, to hopefully help the newer rising spies. I will be going over some mistakes that new Spy Players do and how to use each revolver to its highest potential.

If there is anything missing, or you want to ask a question, please notify me in the comments
All help is accepted

The revolver is a weapon exclusive to the Spy.

The Spy's revolver does not work the same as pistols you may have come across in other FPS titles, such as Call of Duty or Battlefield. After firing a shot, an animation is played, where the revolver jumps up due to the force of the shot. However during this animation, the cross-hairs never move. This means that you can shoot this gun as fast as you can, and your bullets will always go in a certain area.



Here is a demonstration of the accuracy of the revolver. Previous Counterstrike players will be familiar with how this works, since you cannot aim down sights with the revolver.

Accuracy

This is typically the result of firing too fast. Shots tend to stray away from the cross-hair, but not too much. The accuracy decreases the further you are away from the target, as the bullet has more time to move away from the cross-hair before collision. Spamming bullets at your foes should only be done at close range (and never with the ambassador)
Knowing this, shooting enemies from a long distance should only be used to finish off or distract them, as the low damage and distinct sound of each shot will hinder your success.




Firing a single shot, with a short pause before the next will significantly increase your accuracy. This is why I said Counterstrike players would be familiar with this. As you can see, comparing the 2 images, the radius of where the bullets go is much smaller in the second image, than the first. Taking 1 shot at a time is a must for long distance kills, as after about 2 shots colliding with a foe, they will turn around and move, depriving you of a kill.

It is situational on whether you rapidly fire your shots versus 1 shot and then a pause.



"So what should I do?'

Well here's the answer!

Rapid fire:

• This should only be done when you are close to an enemy. This could be an engineer standing by his dispenser, or a scout running by.
  
• The most important time to Rapidly fire your revolver is if you are being pursued. Damage from rockets, grenades, sniper shots and most importantly, pyros, will throw off your aim. At this stage its best to aim at the centre of their body and hold in the left mouse button.
  
• (Never do this with the Ambassador)

Single shot

• This should be done if the target is far away, as your bullet will go exactly where you point it
  
• This must be done with the ambassador
  
  
  
  

The Stock Revolver, also referred to as the Vanilla Revolver, and favoured by many Veteran spies, has no good or bad attributes. It does a base of 40 damage per hit and 120 damage with a Critical hit. Damage will vary depending on the distance between you and the target. This is generally the best pistol to use as the spy, as it does what it is expected to do, with decent damage and fire rate.

Note: The Big Kill is a promotional item and is a re-skin of the Stock Revolver. It has all the same stats as the Stock Revolver

This demonstration belongs to OfficialTF2Wiki

Tips:

• Use the revolver to attract attention. Shooting a Sniper will make him look for you, pulling him away from the fight. The same could be done with an Engineer, forcing him to move away from his Engie nest.
  
  
• Use the revolver to finish off low health players. You should engage on enemies with about half health or less, as it would require a minumum of 2-3 shots to finish.
  
  
• Shooting will drop your disguise, make sure you shoot in a safe spot.

Note: You can't headshot with the Stock Revolver, so a shot to the foot does the same damage as a shot to the head.

The Ambassador is probably the most dangerous revolver in the Spy's arsenal, turning the cunning snake into a deadly marksman. The ultimate weapon...

But thats all the Ambassador has. All its other stats are terrible: less damage, slower firing speed and worst of all, no random critical strikes.

This demonstration belongs to OfficialTF2Wiki

Tips:

• Always aim for the head. This weapon was basically designed for this. Shooting the enemy in the body does reduced damage and you shoot at a slower rate.
  
  
• This gun has to be shot with 1 bullet at a time. Due to its cooldown, shooting an enemy in the head while the Ambassador is on cooldown will not grant a 'headshot'.
  
  
• Use the Ambassador to harass and kill long distant targets. Landing a headshot on an enemy sniper will not only scare him, making him run off, but will also make you seem like a pro.
  
  
• A good way to kill snipers: Make sure you are close enough for the second inaccurate shot, as it has to be done quickly.
  
  • Land a headshot on the sniper, and immediately afterwards, drag your crosshair to the middle of his body for the finishing blow. You need to aim it at his chest/stomach so that when he reacts, he will not be able to move enough for you to miss.
  
  
• Don't get caught out of position. Using the Ambassador to get out of a sticky situation is very hard and so I do not recommend the Ambassador for beginners. Perfect aim under stressful conditions can make new Spy crack.

Note: The Ambassador can be considered the most powerful revolver in the Spy's arsenal, but only if the Player knows how to use it well. The Ambassador is great at high level play, alongside the Stock Revolver.

The L'Etranger is a very strange pistol. It is not really intended to get kills but more importantly, cloak time. This is the only 'utility' pistol for the spy.

For every successful shot, a small percentage of charge is added to your Cloak Meter. On top of that you get a longer cloak duration, meaning you can stay invisible for longer on a single charge. The only drawback? Less damage. But who uses pistols anyway...?

This demonstration is slightly out dated, it's just missing the increased cloak duration

This demonstration belongs to OfficialTF2Wiki

Tips:

• Do not get into a gunfight with an enemy. The damage dealt with this weapon is significantly lower than the Stock Revolver or a headshot with the Ambassador. The reduction in damage means that they will kill you first more often than you will kill them
  
  
• Only shoot weak opponents. Knowing what the damage output of your pistol is, along with how far you are from your target, you can calculate how many shots it would take to kill that player.
  
  
• If you need quick cloak, shoot anyone (although players with more health are preferred as they won't react to you as much as a sniper would).
  
  
• Do not abuse the cloak gained per shot a lot. Doing so not only notifies the enemy of your presence, but also if they know you previously used the Dead Ringer, they will know that your Dead Ringer would have been available and will scout the area (only the smart enemies do this).

Note: I do not recommend the L'Etranger at high level play, as the revolver is a core part of the Spy's inventory. Only use the L'Etranger if you feel comfortable with not relying on your revolver.

The Diamondback may be one of the most overlooked revolvers for the Spy, but a recent update said otherwise. Just doing what spies do grants you with immense power, allowing you to take down a non over healed heavy with 3 body shots.

For every backstab or building destroyed with your sapper, you gain 1 guaranteed critical hit. Range does not affect the damage of the critical hit, which is 102.

The downside? Less base damage, the same as the Ambassador, and the inability to randomly crit.

This demonstration belongs to OfficialTF2Wiki

Tips:

• Do not take an enemy head on with the Diamondback unless you have critical charges. This is mainly because you do not get any random critical shots
  
• Keep track of the number of critical shots you have available. 2 critical shots can take down all classes except the heavy.
  
• be very careful of commiting to a kill. If you are killed, all your guaranteed critical shots will be lost.
  
• If you have guaranteed critical shots try to pick off stray enemies. Doing so is risk free, and the fear of you having guaranteed critical shots will force them to seperate.

Note: This is a very strong pistol, so long as you are getting backstabs or destroying buildings. This revolver is situational, but I feel that it will be replacing the Ambassador, due to its ease of use.

Infamous for being part of the Dr. Enfor-cicle set, this revolver has gone under a couple of changes, rendering the gun slightly less over powered.

The Enforcer has increased damage output, at the expense of a slower fire rate and no random critical shots. "Well the extra damage is nice". The extra damage is only applied 0.5 seconds after losing your disguise, meaning you can't just walk up to someone and give them a surprise.

This demonstration belonds to OfficialTF2Wiki

Tips:

• When shooting a Razorback Sniper, you should slash with your knife to lose your disguise, then quickly switch to the Enforcer before shooting. This gives you the increased damage bonus..
  or depending on your range, if you are up close, just shoot him twice.
  ( I use 'Q' to switch between the last used weapon. This is much quicker than pushing numbers)
  
  
• With the Enforcer's high damage output and slow fire rate, its best to use the Enforcer for a burst of 1-2 shots before moving away. You can be very aggressive with the Enforcer due to its hgih damage output ( just drop the disguise before you shoot if you can, you will output more damage).
  
  
• You won't be getting any critical shots with the Enforcer, so don't take too many risks, as a random crit will not save you.

Note: The Enforcer is good for high level play as critical chance hits are disabled. The slower fire rate puts you at a disadvantage, but placing your shots 1 at a time counters that.

Aggressive

This set of items is for the spy who wants to make many kills and play very aggressively. The 3 items are...

• The Ambassador
  
• The Stock Knife
  
• The Dead Ringer
  
• Stock Sapper

I recommend this setup to advanced Spy players, as the skill and quick thinking, as well as the understanding of the limitations of the Spy and other characters is crucial when playing with this role.

• Ambassador: Allows the spy to do 102 damage for a headshot. The ambassador is very accurate, allowing the spy to take down a heavy that is not over-healed with 3 headhshots, or snipe a low health Engineer in his nest.
  
• Stock Knife: The best overall knife. With this setup you will be very mobile, and will be using your gun as much as your knife. This means your knife needs to do 1 thing only: kill. + You can't go wrong with a Stock Knife
  
• Dead Ringer: This allows you to escape sticky situations, such as a Heavy coming out of nowhere after you got a beautiful headshot on his beloved Medic. The Dead Ringer allows you to keep moving, and keep the enemies guessing. This induces paranoia and the production of angry Pyros.

Vanilla

This set in theory is the best of the best. You can do everything that a spy needs and therefore can do the most damage.

• Revolver
  
• Stock Knife
  
• Invis Watch
  
• Stock Sapper

This setup, as stated before, is the most efficient for the Spy, allowing you to do everything(apart from the headshot thing, but you have a knife!). I recommend this setup for EVERY new Spy player, as this teaches them the fundamental basics of a spy.

• Revolver: This is the standard gun for the spy, dealing decent damage to enemy players. This is more of a backup, rather than a fundamental weapon. The revolver should be used to pick off far away enemies, or to gun down your pursuers
  
• Stock Knife: You just can't go wrong with this.
  
• Invis Watch: This is by far the best watch in the game. It keeps you invisible for the longest duration (when moving) and you are able to resupply the meter with ammo boxes and the weapons of fallen enemies.

Engineer's Nightmare

This setup is situational and therefore do not recommend it as something you should be using on a regular basis. This is more of a fun class, requiring no special ability at playing the Spy.

• Diamondback
  
• Conniver's Kunai
  
• Dead Ringer
  
• Red-Tape Recorder

This setup is one I came across when I found 3 engineers with sentries and dispensers camping in a corner by the 3rd control point on Badwater. The objective is to run/jump in(depending on the map), stab and engineer, sap one of his buildings and pull out the Dead Ringer.

• Diamondback: This enables you to gain guaranteed critical shots when getting a backstab or destroying a building. You gain 1 guaranteed critical shot for each backstab or building destroyed. When you kill the engineer and destroy their buildings, you gain critical hits, which you can use to pick off the other engineers and destroy their buildings. This enables you to weaken their defence
  
• Conniver's Kunai: After getting a backstab on the engineer, your health will shoot to 180. This is enough health to pull out the Dead Ringer before the sentry gun kills you, allowing you to make an escape.
  
• Dead Ringer: Primarily used as an escape.

Infinite Cloak

This setup allows the Spy to make kills and always have enough cloak in his meter to get away with the Dead Ringer, no matter what.

• L'Etranger
  
• Big Earner
  
• Dead Ringer
  
• Stock Sapper

The idea behind this is after decloaking with the Dead Ringer, a backstab and picking up your victim's weapon should be enough to refill your cloak meter. If it is not, then shooting your pursuers with the L'Etranger will grant you more cloak, allowing you to pull up the Dead Ringer and make an escape.

• L'Etranger: Shooting enemies will increase your cloak meter, allowing you to bring up the Dead Ringer sooner.
  
• Big Earner: Allows you to increase your cloak meter after a kill, allowing you to bring up the Dead Ringer sooner.
  
• Dead Ringer: Used as an escape

I hope that I have been able to share some of my knowledge of the Spy with you, and more importantly, that I got it across in a way that will aid you in your journey to self improvement.

If you have any questions or can point out any flaws in this guide, please do so

If you are able to upload a short clip(less than a minute) of using one of the combinations I suggested, please do so and send me the link. I will credit you, and you will be helping others.

Please rate, comment and favourite, so that I know if my guides are helping you and whether to post others

Thankyou!

Here is the guide relating to the Knives:
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=285550561

Here is the guide relating to the Watches and Sappers:
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=286378045