Weapons
1 Primaries: The primary weapon for spies is, in fact, a gun and not a knife. Use this in conjugation with your knife for deadly results. All spy guns are six-shooters with a fairly fast reload time. Best targets for your primary of choice are pyro, sniper, and any class giving you chase when alone.
Stock Revolver/Big Kill: The stock revolver is best used by any spy as there are no negative side effects for this.
Ambassador: My personal favorite. Awards headshots when your crosshair has settled after firing. Max damage on a headshot is only 102 however, compared to a crit shot from the revolver at 120. Also this will never randomly crit so keep that in mind.
L'Etranger: Part of the Spy set that makes your decloak near silent. On a successful hit, it will refill your cloaking device by 15%.
The Enforcer: Or as I call it, the I can't play spy gun. If your playstyle consists or more gun play then backstabs, this is your gun. However, since the change the damage bonus only applies when you are NOT disguised. This weapon will never gain random crits anymore as well.
Diamondback: The diamond back should be used in the rare occasion that you have an enemy team with very bad engineers. The reason being you only gain crits on this for buildings destroyed that your sapper was on. Your sapper doesn't have to be the thing that kills it, so long as it is attached you gain the crit bonus. Worth noting that a working tele does count as 2 crits, unless they have changed that recently.
2 Melee: The spies potatoes if you will. The knife has the honor of being the only thing that is a guaranteed one hit kill (minus the samurai sword if both players have it).
Stock Knife/Sharp Dresser/Black Rose: My number 1 recommendation. No bells or whistles. Just a lot of pain. Best used with any watch.
Your Eternal Rewards: Part of the Spy set that makes your decloak near silent. On a successful backstab, you immediately disguise as the target of your stab. The negative on this is you can NOT disguise. The only way you can disguise is on a backstab. Best used with the full set and dead ringer.
Wanga Prick: Same as above, just not part of the set.
Connivers Kunai: A very interesting weapon where you start with with 60 health. On backstabs however, on a successful backstab you gain the targets health+overheal for a maximum of 180 health. This counts as overheal for you. Overheal from the Kunai fades after 60 seconds, much faster then the medics 15. Also worth mentioning is that a backstab does remove degenerative effects such as afterburn or bleeds. Best used with the Cloak and Dagger.
Big Earner: Another one that lowers health. This one starts you at 100 maximum health. Getting a kill with the knife, not just a backstab, will refill your cloak meter by 30%. This weapon is fun to use with the L'Etranger and the Dead Ringer functionally making you undying.
The Spy-cicle: This weapon is a pyros bane. If you get hit by fire while holding the knife, the knife melts and you are fireproof for 2 seconds. The Knife will stay melted for 15 seconds. On backstabs will turn your victim into a giant ice statue. Kinda counter productive to a stealthy class, but if subtlety isn't your thing, go for it! Best used with the Dead Ringer for ultimate escapes!
The Watches
Invisiwatch: The invisiwatch is the standard equipped watch. Its effective depletion time is 9 seconds. To increase this time pick up ammo or get to a dispenser. The recharge time is a full 30 seconds. This watch is best when you know the ammo routes. More on that later.
Dead Ringer: Dead ringer fakes your own death on hit when it is out. Use this to get behind the enemy completely when they think you are dead. Be warned, however, that without the set bonus, the decloak is EXTREMELY loud.
Cloak and Dagger: My favorite. This watch allows you to remain invisible indefinitely, so long as you don't move. moving slowly and bit by bit, you can literally watch the other team and make calls your team can't make due to LoS.
Pathing
As a spy it is important to know where to move in terms of how the enemy is going to perceive you. Using out of the way paths makes you MUCH harder to spot, however they are not always the best places. For example(I do apologise for the terribad MS paint job I did in like 3 minutes):
While the red path does show the longest, most out of the way path, it also puts you in a confined space with no way of avoiding an incoming player, whereas the green paths show more open routes. The more open routes aloow you to be more aware of what is in your FOV and to act accordingly.
I'll give some of my warpath paths away as well, cause everyone says warpath is a hard map to spy on.
In this case the red path is dead ringer, where the black dot is where I engage it. I hit the ground and "die" allowing me to get up the ramp and into the enemy teams flank. The green lines are either Invisiwatch or C&D.
Its best to become aware of the map before jumping in as spy. That way you can find all the oddball spots, the health, the ammo, ect. before you make yourself an easy target. Watch other spies that seem to be doing well. Learn their hiding places. Being aware is A#1 in this game, and it applies doubly to spy. If where you are seems wrong, MOVE.
General Tips
more to come....
