As suggested by @level10hat , I’m going to cover the basics, how to’s and why do’s of **SPY CHECKING** since that’s something every new player needs to know for their safety and for their team’s safety.
Please keep an errant eye for the Spies, they will backstab you and sap your team’s buildings! Pyro mains especially as they are the main deterrent to the French Espionage Man called Spy.
**EDIT** Thank you @fuckyeahpisssample for catching a few minor errors. They pointed out a couple important things about dead ringers and spies changing weapons. :)
So you want to know how to find a spy huh? Well the first thing you must know is that little bolded bugger below this word mhm.
SPIES CAN DISGUISE AS THE ENEMY AND TEAMMATES
What this means is the Spy can take their disguise kit and assume the identity of everyone in the game if they so pleased (not all at once that’d be scary). This is a key element to how they get kills and infiltrate to do their job. So here are some ways to figure out who’s a spy and who is not.
1. Shooting, hitting, and trying to set your suspected target on fire.
The easiest way to check for an enemy spy is to shoot at them or hit them. Or alternatively if you’re a pyro, set them on fire. Fire instantly sets them on fire unless they’re equipped with the weapon called the Spycicle which allows them to get away by melting their knife. This is why Pyros are designated Spy hunters. Sometimes shooting at a friendly who is really a Spy won’t actually expose them.
As seen below: a Pyro is spychecking. One demo is on fire and the other is not. Guess which one is the spy....(hint: flaming faux scotsman)
Pyros: this is a habit you should get into. Just burst a little bit of flames on each teammate to check for spies since, well....that’s your job.
Everyone else: This is still something you can use and should use rather frequently to check for spies. Spies are sneaky, deadly, and they can insta-kill your most valuable players like your medics and engies.
2. Attempt to walk through them.
The most flawless way to check if someone is a spy is to run into them or “bumping” them. Bumping is the technical term for running into a spy. This is based on the idea that your teammates are people you can walk through. Which, if you go walk through your friends in spawn you’ll know to be true.
People from the opposite team are the people you can’t walk through. (You’ll opposite teams standing on each other sometimes because of this fact). So, if you can’t walk through your enemy teammate than that 99% of the time means they’re a disguised spy and you should immediately kill them because holy shit its a SPY.
Additional note, when you bump a spy you can see their invisibility cloak actually shutter and sometimes make a noise. This helps expose the invisible spies. This will not work, however, with dead ringers.
So, okay you don’t want to go running through everyone and setting them on fire....how do you spot them?
Spotting spies is an art form. But, luckily, its not always too hard to do. Spies are always going to be aiming to get at a person’s back or getting into sneaky scary places that they can catch people unguarded. They also have an obligation to sap Engineer’s buildings, so they’ll be aiming to take advantage of an unprotected sentry nest.
Just knowing what they would normally be doing can help you spot them. But here are a few other things to keep in mind too:
If they look out of place....they’re probably out of place and actually a Spy.
Be aware of the sound of a spy’s decloak. This especially applies to Snipers and Engineers. You might have a few second warning to find the spy if you heard one. (Probably will be coming at you)
Are they moving weirdly? Spies disguised as scouts will move slower than the normal pace. Most try to hide this by jumping.
Where is their focus? Are they creeping up on your medic’s back?
Are they holding a weapon that your teammate would not usually be holding? IE: A medic holding a syringe gun instead of a medigun. (Spies disguise and hold wrong weapons all the time)
Are they changing weapons, reloading, or firing their weapon. If so, they’re not a spy. Spies can re-disguise to hold a new weapon, but usually this is the thing to watch for.
This seems like a lot to memorize but as you play more and become more accustomed to the regular tf2 processes, you’ll end up spotting spies more successfully. Spychecking is always a good way to double check, be in the habit of getting ready to check anyone behaving funky.
In the ways of getting better at knowing who’s a spy, you’ll start to develop better spacial awareness in game and that will help you spot spies. Just keep these different things in mind.
But reminder, even the people best at spotting spies and spychecking still miss them sometimes. You can’t be 100% flawless and see it all coming.
And since I’d rather give you some video examples of spychecking, spotting spies, etc. I’ll give you two resources.
Mr. Paladin’s “How to detect spies” video.
NISLT’s youtube channel where there are multiple spychecking videos.
