Spy has Team Fortress 2’s most difficult set of weapons to compare in strength because they all operate in very similar ways and do not have overwhelmingly different stats, making them all slightly more or less effective. But these small differences can be very important in defining a Spy’s playstyle and making the right decisions for your loadout are essential depending on your intended playstyle.
Primary Weapons
Diamondback
The Diamondback is a powerhouse of damage, you are given an insane amount of killing power. The prerequisite for free crits? Just playing Spy as normal, getting backstabs, and sapping buildings. The downside is a reduction of damage by 15% and no random crits. Base damage as a result is 34, and crits deal 102 damage. Up to 35 crits can be held at once, and they are rewarded for each successful backstab or building destroyed sap. Crits are of course not impacted by damage falloff, so you can shoot 102 damage as far as you can shoot your revolver accurately. Nothing compares to this.
The Diamondback revolver as it appears in Deus Ex: Human Revolution (left) and as it appears in Team Fortress 2 (right).
Stock Revolver
The Stock Revolver has become the weapon of choice for many Spies who do not want to stoop to the level of the Diamondback. The Ambassador used to be the best option for Spy by far, with Diamondback having situational advantages. But with all his options being nerfed repeatedly, the Stock Revolver has become more popular than the Ambassador. The “Gun Spy” subclass generally revolves around using the Stock Revolver, as it is able to do very consistent damage. With a somewhat careful aim and a close target, you can hit all 6 shots in 3 seconds. This deals a total of 240 damage. However, with bullet spread kicking in on consecutive shots, you are safest using this at close range. With damage ramp-up from close range, this can deal up to 60 damage per shot, for a total of 360 damage in 3 seconds. Spy’s primary weapon should not be underestimated.
L’Etranger
The L’Etranger has a 20% damage reduction, dealing 32 damage on hit as opposed to 40. The upside is a 40% increase in your cloak duration, and each successful hit will recharge your cloak by 15%. If you make active use of your cloaks, then this can make being a sneaky Spy much easier. The damage reduction is pretty minor when considering how much value it brings to your cloaking.
As opposed to using your revolver for killing power, this offers the utility of an increased cloak duration and recharged cloak on hit. If you do not plan on using your revolver whatsoever in your playstyle, then this is a direct upgrade to the stock revolver and should absolutely be used. However, the damage and cloak charge still makes it worth using beyond just the passive effect of a 40% longer cloak duration. When used in combination with the Big Earner, you will have a surplus of cloak after you deal any amount of damage. Additionally, with a 40% larger cloak meter, the 30% cloak charge gained on backstab offers even more value.
The L’Etranger is one of the three items making up the Saharan Spy set, which was added during the Mann-Conomy Update. The added sets were all winning entries to the Polycount Pack modeling contest which was held during the summer of 2010. Using the entire set and taunting will create unique particle effects around the taunting Saharan Spy, which resembles a sand tornado.
The L’Etranger from the promotional materials for the Saharan Spy set.
Ambassador
The Ambassador has fallen quite far indeed. Crits are powerful because they have no damage falloff. The Ambassador was given damage falloff, greatly reducing the amount of damage that a critical headshot deals. The maximum damage for a crit headshot is 102 damage, but at a large distance can deal as little as 54 damage. This is pretty pathetic, especially compared to the 102 damage that the Diamondback can deal across the map, by only shooting the body. Using the Ambassador at this point is really just for showing off your aim, the reward is so abysmally weak that it is not ideal in any situation.
Enforcer
The Enforcer gives a 20% damage increase, provided that you are disguised when firing. Your bullets also have increased penetration through resistances and defensive buffs. The downsides are 20% reduction in firing speed and no random crits. With the firing rate reduced, the damage per second comes out to about the same as stock, with the requirement of only firing while disguised, and no random crits. So really the only upside is bullet penetration through resistances. It is not a surprise this is likely the least used revolver available to Spy.
Melee Weapons
Stock Knife
When coming to melee, the stock Knife available to Spy is the weapon of choice for most. His alternatives are true sidegrades, as they offer differing playstyles but do not objectively improve upon the stock Knife. For this reason, the stock Knife is considered the best option for the majority of playstyles and situations and is the most widely used option.
Conniver’s Kunai
The Conniver’s Kunai is the concept of high risk and high reward infused into a knife. Upon equipping it, max health is reduced by 55 health, bringing total health down to 70. This is the lowest max health in Team Fortress 2, and that will become apparent if you take a stray rocket while disguised or cloaked with this knife equipped. For tremendous risk, you get the reward of stealing all of your opponent’s health on kill, but gives a minimum of 75 health. You can be overhealed to a maximum of 210 health, or 300% of your max health after the reduction. This can turn a Spy into a very tanky killing machine once a stabbing spree gets started.
Concept artwork of the Conniver’s Kunai with the stock Knife for scale.
Big Earner
The Big Earner is in a similar vein to the Kunai, offering slightly less reward at the cost of a smaller risk. Upon getting a kill with this, Spy recharges 30% of his cloak meter and gains a 3-second speed boost similar to the effects of the Disciplinary Action in both speed and duration. The downside is a reduction of max health from 125 to 100. This is a considerable change and does make you squishier, but this is nothing compared to the risk of running the Kunai. After getting a kill, you have a good chance of escaping quickly and cloaking if you need to.
Spycicle
The Spycicle has a larger downside than the previously mentioned weapons, but it is still powerful and has strong situational advantages. A backstab turns the victim into ice, alerting your enemies that a Spy is killing their teammates. Additionally, it melts in fire and is recharged after 15 seconds or after an ammo pickup. When your Spycicle is melted you become fireproof and immune to afterburn. This can be a lifesaver, but losing your ability to backstab is pretty disastrous and most spies would rather just burn than lose their knife.
Your Eternal Reward
The Your Eternal Reward (known as YER) shares stats with the Wanga Prick. It has the downsides of disguising requiring and consuming your cloak charge. The cloak is drained 33% faster as well. The upsides are that you instantly disguise yourself as the person you successfully backstab without making a noise. The body of the victim also disappears, completely removing all evidence. This makes Spy very fun and interesting to play, as you cannot disguise yourself so quickly any other way, and being able to disguise yourself as your victim on the fly can make it very hard to be caught. However, these downsides are strong enough that it becomes difficult to maintain a Spy’s usual level of effectiveness with less cloak and disguising. Still, this playstyle is manageable and creates an even stealthier Spy.
Your Eternal Reward (left) and the Wanga Prick (right).
Watches
Invis Watch
The Invis Watch is the standard for Spy and is likely the most used disguise watch for Spies. Compared to the alternatives, being able to maintain a cloak by consuming ammo boxes that happen to be nearby can keep you invisible and mobile for much longer. Without picking up ammo, invisibility lasts for 10 seconds. This is the only watch that can be recharged by picking up ammo, making it uniquely powerful for that reason alone.
Cloak and Dagger
The Cloak and Dagger are consumed very quickly if moving at full speed while using them. But stopping for just a moment will begin to recharge it. Being able to maintain full invisibility indefinitely without needing ammo is a lifesaver. That being said, ammo pickups still recharge the cloak, although less than normal. But merely stopping in a good spot for a few seconds will fully recharge your cloak.
In Highlander, using the Cloak and Dagger and standing completely still in a safe observation spot is a valid strategy. Being able to relay information like enemy positioning is extremely important, and recognizing a push early can save your team. However, using the Cloak and Dagger to sneak around the battlefield generally takes much longer than the Invis Watch. If you do not want to run the risk of running out of cloak in a bad spot, consider using the Cloak and Dagger in a patient manner.
However, outside of high-stakes situations, the Cloak and Dagger can be tiresome to use. For this reason, it is somewhat unpopular in casual play. It will increase your stealthiness slightly at a great reduction in movement, likely doubling the amount of time spent alive as Spy before bumping into an enemy and getting killed.
Cloak and Dagger promotional art that was released for the Spy Update.
Dead Ringer
The Dead Ringer is a powerful option for an aggressive playstyle, and despite receiving nerfs and adjustments over the years, many Spies still swear by it. When the cloak is triggered, a fake corpse is dropped in your location and you enter the cloak for 7 seconds. The damage that triggers the cloak is reduced by 75%, and for the next 3 seconds, damage taken is reduced slowly down from 65% to 20%.
This is a large initial reduction in damage, which is why Dead Ringer spies seem to be nearly invincible. A dead-ringer spy can 204 damage from the damage source that triggers the cloak and he will still have 1 health remaining. This is a large improvement to the 124 damage a Spy can normally walk away from. This reduction in damage taken is very important with certain squishier Spy playstyles. These playstyles are a bit higher risk and higher reward, which tend to make use of the Conniver’s Kunai and Big Earner.
During the first 3 seconds cloaked you also have a considerable speed boost. It has a 50% faster cloak recharge rate and a 40% longer cloak duration. Triggering the cloak immediately drops the charge to 50% and the cloak charge must be full to be used. Ultimately, the cloak ends up being a bit weaker in terms of duration and ability to recharge. Despite these downsides, it can get you out of a lot of bad situations.
Sappers
Stock Sapper
Stock Sapper, like Spy’s melee weapon, is generally considered the safest and most effective option in the majority of situations. It takes between 4 and 8.65 seconds to sap depending on the size of the building. The Sapper reduces the health of the building until it is destroyed, so doing damage will speed up this destruction process. With the Red Tape Recorder, no damage is dealt to the building until the entire process is finished, which means this even slower process cannot be sped up. For these reasons, the Stock Sapper tends to be the most used option.
Red Tape Recorder
The Red Tape Recorder reverses enemy building construction, reverting it from as high as level 3 down to level 1, until it is destroyed. If it is destroyed during this, it reverts to the level it was reduced to, and if it was being deconstructed entirely it reverts to just a level 1. This effectively doubles the amount of time it takes to destroy a building, with of course the upside of weakening an upgraded building. It can lower the level of a building before a regular sapper would destroy the building. However, simply destroying the building is so much stronger that this sidegrade is rarely used.
Concept art for the Red Tape Recorder.
