This, this is probably you, you've earned your gibus, or you still don't even have one yet. Now you think your tough and want to kill people in 1 swing of your knife. Too bad, its not a good idea. I know your eager to learn spy but its not your best idea. You've got less then 300 hrs, you've never played spy before, and you've seen lots of youtube videos showing how they kill instantly. Tip: Those videos are edited to make people look good but don't show whats behind the seens really.

"So why shouldn't I play spy first?" is probably what your asking. Well, can you aim your gun to good precision, can you predict what players will do, are you willing to die alot, have you learned all the ammo and health packs locations, and have you mastered traveling across a map without getting lost.

If the answer is NO to 2 or more of those questions then your not ready. It's not me trying to be rude, but Spy has the highest learning curve, is a magnet to pyros and all classes, dies to alot of random stuff when cloaked, and needs lots of knowledge.

"Well how do I get these things to be better to play spy?" Your best option is to start with getting to know the weapons of the game, preferably "Stock" or "Vanilla" aka the weapons you start with.
The weapons you unlock or get from drops aren't upgrades they're sidegrades and to be used situationally. Get familar with how each stock weapon works and aims. I suggest Soldier, Scout, and Sniper to learn the 3 types of Weaponry being explosive, hitscan, and pinpoint. If you want to practice without going into a game, download the map TR_Walkway_RC2 and practice on the bots. Its a great way to get used to the different weapons.

Create servers with the maps you want to learn and take a walk around them for map knowledge and learn of all the different routes there is to walk and sneak around in. Maybe that lower bridge on Upward is a good route, why don't I just stroll around the bottom of Dustbowl Pt 3 when everyone is taking the upper route. Its those routes that help get you around and throw players off where you are for your surprise attacks.

Getting paitence to die alot is a real hard deal and not alot of players can manage it cause they just don't want to waste time dying. Reality Check, you're not god, you're not invisible 100%, and you're going to die alot to Pyros, it is your hard counter. If your not one to take dying easily, I suggest playing Soldier, Pyro, Demo, or Heavy and get good with them instead. Also going Rage Pyro or Heavy to get even with a player proves to that player you are easily upset and makes you an easier target cause your going to be acting stupidly trying to get petty revenge, if you stay your class and kill them in revenge you've proven that your willing to take death as a lesson and improve from your mistakes.

Predicting what players are going to do comes from viewing them while your under disguise or cloak. You might find that the sniper likes to be up close so you imitate him when disguised as that sniper, or you find the scout likes to stand still alot, so why not match what he does. If you can think like another player by playing them instead of the game, predicting how they will react is easier. Say if the soldier doesn't go to his shotgun usually, and he's spammed out his 4 rockets, you now have the fighting chance with 6 shots in your revovler if you messed up your stab or missed. He'll take time to reload 1 shot and by then you can have killed him with 4 shots from your revolver or less. (Depending on Random Crit Server or Not.)

"What if I don't want to listen to your advice?" Thats your choice, I'm not forcing you to, but this is coming from someone with 4k Hrs on the PS3 version of TF2 who only played with stock, and with over 1k Hrs on PC learning the sidegrades and still being good at them. If you just want to go in willy nilly, Best of luck to you, for those who actually want to learn something stick around and you'll see why its good to learn Stock weaponry.

Meet the 3 classes that make up the Spy. Scout, Sniper, Pyro. Now you may be wondering why do these 3 classes make up the Spy, they have nothing in common with the Spy. Well you would be correct if your going by weapon aspect or looks, but your wrong if your not looking at gameplay mechanics.

All of these classes Ambush. Scout and Pyro get jumps on weaker enemies, and Sniper takes out bigger from long range. Spy does what Scout and Pyro can't do though, blend in with a crowd and take out the big guys at close range.

"Well he can't spew fire, or run fast, or headshot like those 3 can." Think again. He doesn't need those abilities when he can mascarade as a class then kill someone with a single stab or gun someone down who's at low HP. He's ment to take out important targets that are causing teammates pain and annoyance. He can be the last second hero. Trust me on this I've spy capped I don't know how many times using my Dead ringer with 0 seconds left on the cart feigning about 7 or 8 times to get that 1 cap to give my team some hope and courage to push up and use the time gained to push and gain more time. Headshot wise Sniper can be headshot long range with an Ambassador but it has its drawbacks but its still a powerful gun if used correctly.

"Well he still isn't like pyro cause he can't use fire to kill stuff." Sure he can't use fire, but Pyro is also his hard counter meaning you're going to be a big target for pyros, so keep an ear out for the sound of flames. A W+M1 pyro is easy to hear coming, but a smart pyro will sneak up on you. Thats why Pyro is like a Spy, he sneaks around to get his job done if he's roaming around. He's going to give you .5 secs to react which is near death. Just like a pyro, a spy is doing the same thing, you're giving them very little time to react sometimes no time to react.

"He's slower then Scout, can he out race a Scout." No Spy even disguised as Scout cannot outrace the Scout. However he can out think a scout and even do some trickstabs to him if the scout is a jumpy player. Even if you seemed out match in a Scout to Spy battle, you still have your cloak, and dead ringer to fall back on to get away. Not all players will be fooled by this tactic and will try and find you, but if your smart and plan you can get away and strike them when they are back peddling away from a bigger foe.
Pro Tip: Don't chase the Scout, let them come to you.

"Well you said the Spy can headshot with an Ambassador? How is that possible, only Sniper can headshot?" True, class wise only Sniper can cause headshots at all times, but with the addition of the Gun for spy called "Ambassador" the spy can headshot every 1 sec after firing causing 102 damage regardless of distance from target. This weapon makes the Spy more versitile when not behind the enemy or dispatching targets from long range to avoid a pyro or random checking heavy. This weapon is also good for taking out Razorback snipers with a good 1 2 shot. 1 Headshot 1 Bodyshot. It'll dish out 130+ Damage and Snipers only have 125 except if they wear the Darwins Danger shield but then you can stab them. This also may confuse them when they take the headshot or they won't have time to react to the bodyshot incoming to take them out.

"So you're saying I should play these 3 classes before I play Spy?"
Yes and No. Its a good way to learn a play style towards Spy, but at the same time you don't have to play all 3, just play at least 2 of them and learn how it works to ambush players, and learn hiding spots. It's good to know your enemy.

Weapons can change how the battle is played, and how you do good in a fight. However you need to make the call on them based on your play style and situation.

Down below is a video from my channel on each of the Spy weapons and how they work.

Now that you've seen the different weapons at the Spy's disposal, the big question is what Map, Area, Mode, and Enemies are you dealing with. To answer this you need to decide based on your play style as well. Are you playing the Long Range Spy causing havoc in the backyard of Badwater, then maybe you should Use a Cloak and Dagger, Ambassador, and Stock Knife. You'll be hard to find, you'll have them searching for you in Panic of being stabbed or gunned down, and they'll be ignoring objective.

On the other hand, maybe your the spy who wants to be up close and personal, so why not Take a Knife based on what you need, the Dead ringer, and a Gun with fire power without having to aim.

These decisions will determine if you will make a good spy, excellent spy, or terrible spy.

These rules also apply to when wearing a disguise, does the weapon your carrying match what the class should be using at the time. Does it look strange when a Sniper is carrying a Flamethrower or Medigun, is it wrong for the scout to have his Bat out not swinging it randomly? Yes it is, but by changing the weapons the disguise is wearing out in front of people it causes them to think twice about wasting ammo on a potential fake spy.

I've sat in heavy gun fire with a Deadringer without activating it, I didn't panic, I was on the cart, he didn't count that fact in and I waited for the time to strike when he turned his back I stabbed him and got out of the area quickly since it was close to Blu's base. I choose a disguise that suited the situation of getting on that cart and that was Scout.

My weapon choice is also what gave me a fighting edge, I went with Ambassador, Stock Knife and Dead ringer, with that if he decided to keep checking me I could pull out my Dead ringer and get away then head shot him safely from a distance still giving me a big edge in combat.

The spy plays many roles and can be many classes based on his weaponry. Just refer to my video to see what weapons make him able to do what roles.

Well this is the end, we must depart. This is where you must discover stuff on your own such as the play style that suits you, what weapons you choose to use, and what disguises fit where.

The reason I say this is because I can't tell you how to be a perfect spy, no player can, it's impossible. Every wall has a weak point that can be exploited so does every player.

However this doesn't mean that you can't learn stuff from not trying stuff out. Go on and watch TF2Slurgi to learn how trick stabs work, Watch Awptimus Prime on how the watches vary, take a gander at Mr.Paladin's channel for mind play, or give my channel MrSpiritofFear a watch and see how I play as spy.

Watch videos, talk with other players, give advice to others on onto play as well. The game is a limitless playground for us spies, and we need to keep information in the flow of things.

I'm still working on Gun aim as spy, but that doesn't stop me from trying out different tactics in my gameplay, I adapt to my enviroment, as any good player should.

Remain vigile in the face of adversity, and you can overcome all obstacles, and by doing so you'll be rewarded with that 1 stab that was needed to give your team the edge to push.

Don't think all you have to do is stab people, as stated earlier, I encouraged people to push a cart by doing it myself and earning more time, and by gunning down people, you don't always need that stab.

Take some time to play the other 8 classes as well and learn how a spy affects them in ways so you can learn what a player is thinking to a degree. Medics will keep turning around, Engies will build hard to destroy nests, and Pyros will fan flames around to catch people off guard.

The power of learning how to play spy is up to you, and how you will play, and what class style you'll play as spy. Will you be the Pyro, the Scout, or the Sniper?