I operate a little more slowly than most Spys. I don't mess with the Engineers much, because I use spy in a defensive manner, and my team is usually on top of that. It doesn't work for some people, admittedly, but it works for me.

Step 1) Find some hiding spots - I usually operate in an area that has several places to lay low. In a CP or Payload map, that is usually somewhere near the first control point, en route to the rest of the map.

Step 2) Cloak and Dagger - If you can stay invisible forever, you can play the long game. Wait for your moment to strike.

Step 3) Pick your target - How can you best break the other team's momentum? Is there a particular Heavy giving you trouble? Take him out. Take him out again. Keep taking him out. (This is how I got the "Dirty Backstabber" nickname. I took their best player out of the game for the second half of the map.) I avoid Medics, personally. They tend to be more suspicious than anyone else. Let the Snipers take care of them later.

Step 4) Hit and run - Kill your target, then immediately cloak and run. Don't go for the double kill. Don't get fancy. Just strike and reset. After a while, they will send in the Pyros. Just lay low and move only as much as you need to stay out of their way.

Step 4) Teleporters from Spawn - If they are bypassing you with teleporters, use them to gain the advantage. Few Engi's, in my experience, are immediately suspicious of teammates who teleport in. Have your sapper and knife ready to cause chaos on the other end.


Rule number 1, in my book, is "Draw their attention." That sounds backwards, for a Spy, but it isn't. If your opponents have to divert resources to hunt down a single, troublesome Spy, then you are doing your job.

-Phobos

I'll give you Payload strats... and some general tips too.


- The bomb cart moves fastest with three players on the point. Additional players do not make it move faster.

- The cart acts like a level 1 dispenser.

- Scouts count for two people when capping.

- Have a Pyro watch the cart and spray fire everywhere. Spies often prey on the cart pushers since they usually face the front, where the rest of RED are.

- Always assume there is a Spy watching the cart. That Heavy over there not on the cart, right next to that convenient escape route? Spy. Kill him with fire.

- Unless you see they disappear in front of you, assume all enemy Spies have the Dead Ringer on them. They're not dead. Be super paranoid.

- Tell your Engineer if his teleporter placement is off. If the enemy team is camping the exit, warn your team instead of sending them to pointless deaths.

- Camp the enemy teleporter exit. A dead player is better than a delayed player.

- As BLU team Engineer, POOT DISPENSER as close to the action as possible so your team can restock/heal up in seconds. Keep the pressure on RED.

- Upgrade, repair, and watch over your fellow Engineers' buildings! Two wrenches (and metal supplies) are better than one.

- RED takes 15 seconds to respawn on a Payload map. BLU takes 5. If RED takes a big hit, BLU will push that cart very far.

- Learn how to rocket/sticky jump.

- See that little red/blue dot on the wall at head height over there? There's a Sniper watching that corner. Hang on to your head and use the cart as cover.

- Most Pyros know how to airblast rockets back at you. Pull out your shotgun instead, it confuses the heck out of them.

- Do not try to mêlée a Pyro to death.

- A Pyro does not suffer from burn damage.

- The Pyro is neither a man or a woman. It is the embodiment of pure malice in an asbestos suit.

- A Spy drops his disguise when he uses any weapon except the sapper. Use this information to determine who is a real teammate and who has never fired a shot and is currently sneaking up behind you with his primary in his hands.

- Keep an eye on the chat. Someone without a mic might be trying to relay information to the team.