Editing Spy (Highlander) (section)

== Gameplay ==

While not terribly effective for deceiving the enemy team, Spy's disguises are a valuable source of information; he can examine enemy players' loadouts - especially the enemy's Medi-Gun - by disguising as them, allowing his teammates to adjust their positioning and loadouts accordingly.

Unlike Sniper, Spy's ability to gain picks is very limited. The better the enemy team communicates, the weaker he becomes. At high levels of play, his effectiveness at assassination diminishes, which makes him expendable. This allows him to fulfill a variety of unconventional roles. Aside from his primary goals, he can distract the enemy team by revealing himself, intimidate them with friendly disguises, or lure important classes out of position. Spy may also initiate captures by decloaking on the objective, and may be able to win games on [[5CP]] maps with this technique of "back-capping."

Even if he cannot secure a kill, Spy's ability to instantly kill any class from behind makes him a valuable distraction. Revealing himself at a distance can distract the enemy Sniper, who may shoot him while his team's combo crosses the sightline. Decloaking behind the enemy combo will often cause them to whirl around in a panic, creating an opening for Spy's team to push in. Even the constant looming threat of a Spy backstabbing them as soon as they lose focus can cause paranoia in players, causing them to make mistakes that Spy's team can capitalize on.

On maps with tighter choke points or against vigilant teams, Spy may have difficulty slipping behind enemy lines. In this case, he will often equip the Dead Ringer and join the flank, chipping away at the enemy's health with his Revolver. While this playstyle does give up the ability to land key picks, it may be better to deal moderate damage consistently than to die repeatedly in an attempt to kill a high-priority target.