The rules in this video also apply to Engineer. Especially the point about how both are most effective when the teams are balanced. I have played many games where the team pushes to fast for me to properly set up buildings, and also ones where we are getting stomped so hard that the same is true.
More engineers are less effective, if the enemy has lots of stock uber medics, soldiers, heavies, demos, and snipers engineer is less effective. As the time goes on, the enemy learns the locations of buildings. And of course, certain maps make buildings less valuable.
It is also funny that the classes that counter spy are opposites of those that counter engineer, and engineer's counters are the best prey for spy. Engineer prey: Scouts and pyros Engineer counters: Medics, heavies, snipers Spy prey: Medics, heavies, snipers Spy counters: Scout, pyro Soldier and demo are generalists and thus basically counter everyone, but they counter engineer slightly more.
0:53 this engie was actually a huge help here, shooting at you to make the enemies you were going for see you as a retreating teammate who was merely out of place and safe not to check
It would've helped, but I don't think anyone actually saw it. That being said, I have been fooled by spies pretending to be friendly spies. For some reason it's the only disguise that actually fools me, and it makes for some hilarious situations. Underrated disguise.
@@strangejune I always disguise as a spy. When you see a pyro on your backlines acting sus it's pretty obvious. Spies are just built different so you don't really pay attention to them.
Two spies is the ultimate double-edged sword. The enemy either lets their guard down because they've "seen or killed the spy," or they're extra aware because they saw the other spy, but then think you were him.
@@irregularassassin6380 Tbh I use the second spy as a partner in crime for example when I pyro is tunnel visioning and chasing me I walk back while shooting and let the second spy backstab him works everytime somehow
A propely used Dead Ringer will do the job just fine (unless the attacker is keeping track of their kill count on the scoreboard, or notices you still have the number of your Killstreak still on, but that's your problem, why would you play Killstreak weapon with the Dead Ringer, you dips*)
The points brought up are also why Spy is actually quite good in Competitive, especially in 6v6 where the enemy team doesn't have the thought that a Spy or even 2 Spies are sneaking around and only thinks that the opposing team has 2 Scouts and with this mindset, it's going to be much easier for a Spy to sneak up and kill their Medic where other classes may have a harder time doing so. But the downside of this is that it's something you can only do once or twice before the enemy team becomes more Spy aware. There's a reason why the Spy is marked as a "Support" in the Class Selection Screen.
In comp, people are a lot more likely to actually be communicating with each other, and it’s easy to notice a Spy when you only have six people on your team compared to 12. Sniper does Spy’s job better and from a distance
@@NepSpoon Sniper shouldn't even be in the game imo. Every other class fights by deathmatching eachother. Spy is the only class that can kill without deathmatching.
@@Spork888 And even then, to get to that point with Spy, you’d have to sneak pass the entire enemy team. With Sniper, you can pitch a tent miles away and pick people off before they even know you exist. Sniper isn’tthe most unfun class to fight against because you don’t even fight the dude. You either kill him, or he kills you, both without a fight(except for the pisswacka combo, that’s the equivalent to attempting a no damage boss fight).
@@ajobapplication9707 Stop-Motion specifically refers to taking pictures of real life objects (often clay sculptures made to mimick larger creatures/people/etc) and moving them slowly over time, taking pictures during the process. Putting the photos together creates the illusion of movement, though many stop motion pieces do have a sort of "choppy" look to them. This is traditionally done 3d animation, simply done at a lower framerate for stylistic/ease of animation purposes! This isn't to say its poorly done, as it oozes with style and flavor, but rather to merely to demonstrate the difference between different genres of animation.
The "Later Alligator" Trailer scene-for-scene recreation was actually incredible. Such a random reference for me to get but I loved how well made it was. Great video.
Dang, I knew engie was quite handy with the guitar but I didn't expect him to absolutely obliterate it out of the park. Amazing production, especially the intro.
Totally agree with this. As a spy main, I really dislike getting into games where my team is getting absolutely rolled, but I've also found that being on the team DOING the rolling isn't much fun either, even if I'm one of the main contributors. Sure, decimating a casual match is fun, but if the teams aren't at least close to balanced, then the fun dies out quick.
basically, effortlessly easy is not much fun. you want to feel like you contribute to the team, and need at least some challenge to be entertained. i understand that feeling
Spy is something really special. He’s the most unique and nuanced class of any first person shooter. We’re lucky to have him here to study and get better with together. ❤️
You son of a gun! I finally played through Later Alligator yesterday, and you hit me with this magnificent opening? You're taking "Spy main" too literally!
Stellar content, the information gone over is exactly what I think to myself when going through the motions as spies, organized in a really clean manner. And that intro was so clean, dude your content is popping off
The new mic sounds fantastic, the intro was glorious, and as always Hint, your video production, visuals AND points are all presented wonderfully, great video. Stay well.
My god, that into animation... I'm never gonna get this close to making frame-by-frames with this much character - EVER! Great video! - surprising how much info you cram into a 11 minute video, good job!
I also always felt that spy is better on defense, simmilar to scout. Since in some way when blue is keeping to move forward all to you have to do to get in their back lines sometimes can be just not moving at all. Red is sitting in one place and is more aware as they are "protecting" their ground when blue will make an actual effort to extend their back line for you.
If you ask me the reason why is more on offence, blu is constantly orchestrating something, whether a push or uber or healing. On defense, more players are waiting for blu to make a move, and waiting players are players that can and will spy check.
It's easier to play spy on defence, but it's *much* more impactful on offense. The defending team generally builds their strategy around being turtled, taking advantage of terrain and being able to react to whatever pressure the enemy throws at them at any time. If you dismantle a key portion of defenses (such as a sentry nest, removing the medic, killing a couple power classes) then the offensive team can turn that small crack into a canyon and power through (and use their momentum to prevent red regaining a foothold, or at least forcing them to regroup much further back on the map). If you're at the end of the map, then killing the blu team's medic barely does anything other than wasting time, but killing the red team's medic could be a literal game ending play.
10:42 FUCKING TRUE!! As someone who mains "crit magnet", it does really help to play the frail class that is Spy on a server without the instant-death mechanic.
Great points, I’d like to add onto the fact that he’s a support class: Spy and medics rolls aren’t too dissimilar when it comes to team comp. You’re power classes effectively have to play like their down a player (this is because both medic and spy get folded in 1v1 combat). Spy isn’t supposed to win the race for his team, he’s supposed to be tying his opponents shoelaces together so his teammates can win. That’s why he has a sapper, a sentry can be the central point of a foothold, a dispenser prolongs and centralizes your teammates fight, and a teleporter keeps you’re numbers up so you don’t get over ran. Spys job is to be able to pull all of this out from underneath the enemy, and cripple them so his team can make a push. Medic is like this but the opposite, he keeps your team alive and has a tool to help your team break through a hold. You’re 100% right when you say that you control the paranoia and chaos when you’re the only spy. And that control is vital. Because when you have control, you make the enemy paranoid and you get to make the necessary picks. When you have 3 spies, you have 3 people who are fighting for that. 3 people who are all gunning to stab that one heavy, and since everytime you turn around there is a spy, their pyro is already onto you all and is ready to drop all 3 of you. Not only are you useless (and this goes back to my earlier point), your team now has to put in 33% more effort/skill each just to compensate for the 3 players they’re down.
In terms of editing and pacing this is definitely one of your best vids yet, but OH MY GOD THAT INTRO I FORGOT HOW MUCH I LOVED LATER ALLIGATOR AND YOU PAID HOMAGE TO IT SO WELL
Probably the best video you've made so far. Incredible work. It's obvious you actually know what you're talking about and more importantly - that it's personal. You're speaking from experience and that makes it much more relatable, enjoyable and easier to understand. And of course the production quality was awesome. Keep doing what you're doing. You deserve more subs. Edit: The comedy/humor is on point as well!
A strategy that would be pretty cool to pull of would be getting in the base of the enemy team (with the invisibility cloak and taking advantage of hide spots to preserve charge), go to your own base disguised as the enemy spy (using the invisibility cloak wouldn't alert anyone), tell your team's pyro to 'kill' you and use the dead ringer, tricking the team and letting you backstab them by surprise. You could do something similar shooting a teammate spy (disguised as the other team's spy) at a range that he can see that you're the one shooting and make him use the dead ringer, increasing the credibility of your disguise. Although none of this can save you from paranoiac pyros.
Intro was absolutely superb. Also felt like i was going crazy - spy has always felt v similar to engineer and his gameplay loop to me. Engineer sets up, repairs, retreats, and sets up. A spy saps or stabs, retreats and tries again. He and engi are the only classes with a selector tool in the 4th weapon slot as well. In the games code, a sapper is considered a building as well.
I will always describe Spys role as this: Imagine a Scale, perfectly balanced. Spys job is to tip the scales in his teams favor just long enough so his team can build momentum to win the game before letting go of the scale.
Or you could become a trickstab god and repeatedly slam the scales, before realising that the scales are now going to swing in the other direction as you get slammed by 5 pyros
Another point although not readily picked up is team communication. Teams that are proactive in their communication will alert team mates about spys who backed stabbed them, and if the team is cohesive, someone will change class to better deal with the spy. I find this communication increases if the spy is equipped with your eternal reward, as the enemy is more likely to report the spy and their subsequent disguise. But a team that fails to communicate means that you can play spy for longer against such an oblivious players. But this is not something that can readily be picked up unless actively paying attention to your enemies reactions, or you get auto-balanced and know your old team was really good at communicating.
My last comment didn’t sum up how amazing this video was so I wrote another one! But holy shit this is amazing! So many little references! Keep making amazing content!
“The effectiveness of Spy depends on the other teams experience/skill.” This is true the most for Spy, although you can easily argue that your success as any class becomes much better if the enemy is bad. Even as a Medic, this applies, but also hugely based on my own team’s competence.
That intro was so, f*cking amazing with the cameos and references. That's not even to mention that's it's a Hintshot explanation video. So much quality...
I would have never thought someone would make a later alligator x team fortress 2 reference of all things , both are amazing games and both have delightful artstyle.
So much effort poured into this. All of that sfm animation, tight script and voiceover. Hope this comment bolsters algorithmic potency, this deserves to be seen
this is a really good video. you get all of your points across well, the editing and graphics is on point and every punchline hits amazingly. good job!
A more important factor for getting stomped being bad for spy than enemy skill: when you're getting stomped, the enemy has plenty of free time to look around. The most skilled player in the world can't avoid a stab when they're forced to look forward and shoot bad guys
I instantly fell in love with this video solely for the later alligator intro, the well put together and interesting rest of the video was just an extra bonus
It's strange to admit here, I don't play TF2... but watching efficient spy gameplay and hearing your calm tone deliver words of advice and wisdom I may never get to act on is oddly addicting. Been binging your content all day, so thank you for that-- you're definitely a creator who deserves more attention. [If I ever do decide to properly play TF2, Spy does seem like my kind of class]
This video is fantastic and brings up a lot of great points that highlight spy's importance and viability in both competative 6v6 and highlander, though in different ways. A compitent spy like you said can get picks that single handedly swing fights in sixes with patience and coordination. But in highlander, the best thing a spy can do is sometimes to just exist as the fact that there IS a spy somewhere nearby will always be stealing attention away from the opponents for your sniper or scout to get a pick just in time for the medic/engi to suddenly have to take a mysterious leave of absence
Hey HintShot, have you considered making a video about the applications of Friendly Disguises? Pretending to be a sniper so people don’t push a sight line, tricking the enemies into overcommitting on the back line because a random scout appeared, etc
Not playing spy for the entire duration of a game is to me probably the most important tip here. The amount of times I keep dying and wondering what to even do because I forgot I can just play other classes lol
I love how so many people are praising the intro seemingly without understanding the Later Alligator reference. Either way, if I’m talking about anything and that game in the same breath, that’s how you know it’s damn good, phenomenal job on this video
Probably the best spy youtuber for info and gameplay, thx for being a good channel (: (loved the see you later alligator intro, I love how you kept the character of the intro)
I personally ask myself 3 questions: -does my team have at least 3 power classes?(if no then I play as one) -does my team have a support?(medic on offense, engi on defense) if not then I play as one. -does my team have a spy? If the answers are yes, yes, and no, then that’s when I play spy. Also I love that you acknowledge that spy can be really useful but not mandatory. People call his a “specialist” class for a reason.
I really wish spy had an abylity or 2 to recon for his team, at minimum if sapped a building should be outlined for your team, and then let him control if he matches his disguise speed this would also maybe give spy a small overhead if he disguises as the same color as you, which would make that be an actual tactic, make it take like 15 seconds to kick in and last for a little while
If Valve ever adds more items to the game, Spy could seriously benefit from an invisibility watch that lets him pass through enemies. Imagine being able to actually get behind the enemy on tight maps. It'd seriously shake up the (usually stale) gameplay loop on maps like Dustbowl.
Incredible video, great insight! I laughed when you lost your point about balanced teams while talking about Seasonalander, because I had also forgotten what you were talking about walking those sick picks and chains
As a long time spy main of like 10 something years this is absolutely correct! Spy is very unique being made to tilt the balance in his team's favor, your point about team balance being best when it is equal is very accurate, a team that is holding strong will always be ready for you and won't leave you a chance. You can "carry" with spy but you're also getting inadvertently carried by your own team's effort, a lot of people see spy as a selfish solo class but he cannot function by himself even with good aim every other class will outdo what you can do. "Everything spy does sniper does better." While spy is not the strongest he will always be my favorite class, the risk you take for the reward you get is always worth it.
This was a really good and entertaining video! I didn't learn anything I didn't already know about picking my favourite class but I'm glad to see you explain it in such a fun way. One thing I really hate that wasn't mentioned is when the game starts and I see that we have 0 spies on our team so I tell myself "oh this is the perfect opportunity to play spy". Then later in the game our team gets ran over by one competent engineer (and sometimes his pybro) and for some reason we have 5 spies so I'm forced to switch to demo or something because we no longer have powerclasses. I feel that would also have made a great point in your video but it was really good regardless! I really enjoyed it!
The intro alone took about 40 hours to make. Enjoy :)
My Patreon - www.patreon.com/hintshot
My Discord Server - discord.gg/Z3PUnw8
Dude nice vid!
40 hours sounds about the right amount of painfully long
definitely worth it lol
Hey what's the hud you're using?
The best intro by far
Worth
Spy is a reverse engineer. An engineer focuses on stabilizing their own team, while a spy orchestrates chaos in the enemy's backline.
This is probably my favorite way of thinking of Spy now, Reverse Engie works so well
The rules in this video also apply to Engineer. Especially the point about how both are most effective when the teams are balanced. I have played many games where the team pushes to fast for me to properly set up buildings, and also ones where we are getting stomped so hard that the same is true.
More engineers are less effective, if the enemy has lots of stock uber medics, soldiers, heavies, demos, and snipers engineer is less effective. As the time goes on, the enemy learns the locations of buildings. And of course, certain maps make buildings less valuable.
Oh and like spy, Engineer is better on defense =w=
It is also funny that the classes that counter spy are opposites of those that counter engineer, and engineer's counters are the best prey for spy.
Engineer prey: Scouts and pyros
Engineer counters: Medics, heavies, snipers
Spy prey: Medics, heavies, snipers
Spy counters: Scout, pyro
Soldier and demo are generalists and thus basically counter everyone, but they counter engineer slightly more.
0:53 this engie was actually a huge help here, shooting at you to make the enemies you were going for see you as a retreating teammate who was merely out of place and safe not to check
It would've helped, but I don't think anyone actually saw it.
That being said, I have been fooled by spies pretending to be friendly spies. For some reason it's the only disguise that actually fools me, and it makes for some hilarious situations. Underrated disguise.
@@strangejune spy is best for spy
@@strangejune I always disguise as a spy. When you see a pyro on your backlines acting sus it's pretty obvious. Spies are just built different so you don't really pay attention to them.
@@strangejune spy is spy!
@@TrialDubz That spy is a spy
Loved that later alligator intro recreation, that was scarily accurate for a tf2 SFM
I knew I recognized it from somewhere!
Sometimes 2 spies can be good because once they kill one of you they drop their vigilance drastically. They simply werent expecting the second spy
Two spies is the ultimate double-edged sword. The enemy either lets their guard down because they've "seen or killed the spy," or they're extra aware because they saw the other spy, but then think you were him.
@@irregularassassin6380 Tbh I use the second spy as a partner in crime for example when I pyro is tunnel visioning and chasing me I walk back while shooting and let the second spy backstab him works everytime somehow
A propely used Dead Ringer will do the job just fine (unless the attacker is keeping track of their kill count on the scoreboard, or notices you still have the number of your Killstreak still on, but that's your problem, why would you play Killstreak weapon with the Dead Ringer, you dips*)
2 good spies is pretty good combo for a pub
Mr president a second spy has backstabbed the pocketed heavy and medic combo
The points brought up are also why Spy is actually quite good in Competitive, especially in 6v6 where the enemy team doesn't have the thought that a Spy or even 2 Spies are sneaking around and only thinks that the opposing team has 2 Scouts and with this mindset, it's going to be much easier for a Spy to sneak up and kill their Medic where other classes may have a harder time doing so.
But the downside of this is that it's something you can only do once or twice before the enemy team becomes more Spy aware. There's a reason why the Spy is marked as a "Support" in the Class Selection Screen.
If spy has harassed the enemy team enough to make them waste time spy checking a non-existent spy, then they have successfully done their job.
There's also the important matter of having one less person in the teamfight while you're sneaking around waiting to strike.
In comp, people are a lot more likely to actually be communicating with each other, and it’s easy to notice a Spy when you only have six people on your team compared to 12. Sniper does Spy’s job better and from a distance
@@NepSpoon Sniper shouldn't even be in the game imo. Every other class fights by deathmatching eachother. Spy is the only class that can kill without deathmatching.
@@Spork888 And even then, to get to that point with Spy, you’d have to sneak pass the entire enemy team.
With Sniper, you can pitch a tent miles away and pick people off before they even know you exist. Sniper isn’tthe most unfun class to fight against because you don’t even fight the dude. You either kill him, or he kills you, both without a fight(except for the pisswacka combo, that’s the equivalent to attempting a no damage boss fight).
A few seconds in and this is already a good video. Like seriously that was a phenomenal intro you’ve just made
Later Alligator? More like Later Spy!
(I apologise)
Agreed, love the stop motion (is that what its called?) animation style.
@@ajobapplication9707 Stop-Motion specifically refers to taking pictures of real life objects (often clay sculptures made to mimick larger creatures/people/etc) and moving them slowly over time, taking pictures during the process. Putting the photos together creates the illusion of movement, though many stop motion pieces do have a sort of "choppy" look to them.
This is traditionally done 3d animation, simply done at a lower framerate for stylistic/ease of animation purposes! This isn't to say its poorly done, as it oozes with style and flavor, but rather to merely to demonstrate the difference between different genres of animation.
One of the main things every considerate person will do is to shoot at your own spy
Yeah that intro is a direct parody of Later alligator’s intro.
The "Later Alligator" Trailer scene-for-scene recreation was actually incredible. Such a random reference for me to get but I loved how well made it was. Great video.
Dang, I knew engie was quite handy with the guitar but I didn't expect him to absolutely obliterate it out of the park. Amazing production, especially the intro.
Amazing intro
Its so good
it’s quite similar to the intro of later alligator.
@@zEr-ne5ri its a game reference bruh
@@p4rad0x701 what am I not allowed to Point out of the obvious like how you obviously look like a broke tv
@@zEr-ne5ri lol did u really get mad for that comment. it wasn't even to make you rage
Totally agree with this. As a spy main, I really dislike getting into games where my team is getting absolutely rolled, but I've also found that being on the team DOING the rolling isn't much fun either, even if I'm one of the main contributors. Sure, decimating a casual match is fun, but if the teams aren't at least close to balanced, then the fun dies out quick.
basically, effortlessly easy is not much fun. you want to feel like you contribute to the team, and need at least some challenge to be entertained. i understand that feeling
Spy is something really special. He’s the most unique and nuanced class of any first person shooter. We’re lucky to have him here to study and get better with together. ❤️
You son of a gun! I finally played through Later Alligator yesterday, and you hit me with this magnificent opening? You're taking "Spy main" too literally!
Stellar content, the information gone over is exactly what I think to myself when going through the motions as spies, organized in a really clean manner. And that intro was so clean, dude your content is popping off
Love your smash content
smash 4 lightning kick combos
That Later Alligator opening was THE SHIT good stuff
The new mic sounds fantastic, the intro was glorious, and as always Hint, your video production, visuals AND points are all presented wonderfully, great video. Stay well.
0:11 well who’s that handsome chad playing on his iPad? ;)
Great video man! Keep up the awesome work!
My god, that into animation... I'm never gonna get this close to making frame-by-frames with this much character - EVER!
Great video! - surprising how much info you cram into a 11 minute video, good job!
It took me till the end of the intro to realize what exactly it was referencing. That's some phenominal work, dude.
I also always felt that spy is better on defense, simmilar to scout. Since in some way when blue is keeping to move forward all to you have to do to get in their back lines sometimes can be just not moving at all. Red is sitting in one place and is more aware as they are "protecting" their ground when blue will make an actual effort to extend their back line for you.
If you ask me the reason why is more on offence, blu is constantly orchestrating something, whether a push or uber or healing. On defense, more players are waiting for blu to make a move, and waiting players are players that can and will spy check.
It's easier to play spy on defence, but it's *much* more impactful on offense. The defending team generally builds their strategy around being turtled, taking advantage of terrain and being able to react to whatever pressure the enemy throws at them at any time. If you dismantle a key portion of defenses (such as a sentry nest, removing the medic, killing a couple power classes) then the offensive team can turn that small crack into a canyon and power through (and use their momentum to prevent red regaining a foothold, or at least forcing them to regroup much further back on the map). If you're at the end of the map, then killing the blu team's medic barely does anything other than wasting time, but killing the red team's medic could be a literal game ending play.
@@bezzaboyo Agreed. You speak the truth brother.
10:42
FUCKING TRUE!! As someone who mains "crit magnet", it does really help to play the frail class that is Spy on a server without the instant-death mechanic.
Probably one of your best vids so far and very useful to someone that is very cautious of being the one spy too many.
Great points, I’d like to add onto the fact that he’s a support class:
Spy and medics rolls aren’t too dissimilar when it comes to team comp. You’re power classes effectively have to play like their down a player (this is because both medic and spy get folded in 1v1 combat).
Spy isn’t supposed to win the race for his team, he’s supposed to be tying his opponents shoelaces together so his teammates can win. That’s why he has a sapper, a sentry can be the central point of a foothold, a dispenser prolongs and centralizes your teammates fight, and a teleporter keeps you’re numbers up so you don’t get over ran. Spys job is to be able to pull all of this out from underneath the enemy, and cripple them so his team can make a push. Medic is like this but the opposite, he keeps your team alive and has a tool to help your team break through a hold.
You’re 100% right when you say that you control the paranoia and chaos when you’re the only spy. And that control is vital. Because when you have control, you make the enemy paranoid and you get to make the necessary picks. When you have 3 spies, you have 3 people who are fighting for that. 3 people who are all gunning to stab that one heavy, and since everytime you turn around there is a spy, their pyro is already onto you all and is ready to drop all 3 of you. Not only are you useless (and this goes back to my earlier point), your team now has to put in 33% more effort/skill each just to compensate for the 3 players they’re down.
That last point is perfection.
This is what spy is for.
The same as things like ubercharge.
To break stalemates.
Love the Later Alligator reference! Love the jokes! Love the style! But most of all, love your clear love and dedication to this game. Cheerio!
4:34 One of the greatest jokes I've heard in a long time
In terms of editing and pacing this is definitely one of your best vids yet, but OH MY GOD THAT INTRO I FORGOT HOW MUCH I LOVED LATER ALLIGATOR AND YOU PAID HOMAGE TO IT SO WELL
That intro is a masterpiece, Jesus christ. Later Alligator is so underrated and i’m so glad to see it get some love.
The SFM part at the start is so good, and the rest of the video screams high-quality. Good stuff as always 👌
A recreation of the Later Alligator opening... that is AMAZING.
At 5:53 the video froze on the exact frame where you were gibbed to then abruptly play an ad and for some reason that was really funny to me
*I'm sorry how tf did your comment go unnoticed*
@@HANKSANDY69420 he is the spy
Probably the best video you've made so far. Incredible work. It's obvious you actually know what you're talking about and more importantly - that it's personal. You're speaking from experience and that makes it much more relatable, enjoyable and easier to understand. And of course the production quality was awesome. Keep doing what you're doing. You deserve more subs.
Edit: The comedy/humor is on point as well!
A strategy that would be pretty cool to pull of would be getting in the base of the enemy team (with the invisibility cloak and taking advantage of hide spots to preserve charge), go to your own base disguised as the enemy spy (using the invisibility cloak wouldn't alert anyone), tell your team's pyro to 'kill' you and use the dead ringer, tricking the team and letting you backstab them by surprise. You could do something similar shooting a teammate spy (disguised as the other team's spy) at a range that he can see that you're the one shooting and make him use the dead ringer, increasing the credibility of your disguise. Although none of this can save you from paranoiac pyros.
i rewatched that intro like 12 times just to catch all the little details, amazing work
Intro was absolutely superb. Also felt like i was going crazy - spy has always felt v similar to engineer and his gameplay loop to me. Engineer sets up, repairs, retreats, and sets up. A spy saps or stabs, retreats and tries again. He and engi are the only classes with a selector tool in the 4th weapon slot as well. In the games code, a sapper is considered a building as well.
The clarinet in the intro was godly
Thank you UA-cam for bringing me back to this channel exactly once a year so I can watch this top-tier content
That music transition at 3:33 is so damn good.
Ok, the intro is down right INSANE
I will always describe Spys role as this:
Imagine a Scale, perfectly balanced. Spys job is to tip the scales in his teams favor just long enough so his team can build momentum to win the game before letting go of the scale.
Or you could become a trickstab god and repeatedly slam the scales, before realising that the scales are now going to swing in the other direction as you get slammed by 5 pyros
4:25 best line of the century. Im dead💀💀💀💀
man, can't believe we got the real alligator on this vid, great job on the sfm shots
Another point although not readily picked up is team communication. Teams that are proactive in their communication will alert team mates about spys who backed stabbed them, and if the team is cohesive, someone will change class to better deal with the spy. I find this communication increases if the spy is equipped with your eternal reward, as the enemy is more likely to report the spy and their subsequent disguise. But a team that fails to communicate means that you can play spy for longer against such an oblivious players.
But this is not something that can readily be picked up unless actively paying attention to your enemies reactions, or you get auto-balanced and know your old team was really good at communicating.
My last comment didn’t sum up how amazing this video was so I wrote another one! But holy shit this is amazing! So many little references! Keep making amazing content!
Oh my god dude I *adore* the intro! Such a great callback. Loved every second of it man!
Ok I’ve just seen the intro and my god that’s got to be one of the coolest intros I’ve ever seen. Very well done!
Ya it's a really impressive recreation of the later alligator intro
0:20 [H E I S W A T C H I N G]
Wow, I never realised just how well Later Alligator and it's ost work for a video about spy.
I’ve never watched your channel before, but that intro earned my sub before I even watched the whole vid
Great video!
The Later Alligator intro was wonderful and the ratio of comedy to info kept the pace going nicely!
Why does this not have more views!??! This is so gooood
“The effectiveness of Spy depends on the other teams experience/skill.”
This is true the most for Spy, although you can easily argue that your success as any class becomes much better if the enemy is bad.
Even as a Medic, this applies, but also hugely based on my own team’s competence.
30 seconds in and that intro is already an absolute banger, damn how are you so amazing XD
That intro was so, f*cking amazing with the cameos and references.
That's not even to mention that's it's a Hintshot explanation video. So much quality...
I would have never thought someone would make a later alligator x team fortress 2 reference of all things , both are amazing games and both have delightful artstyle.
That intro dou
Amazing
I thought the song that was playing was the spy Ma Petite Chou Fleur song but it was similar
amazing
This feels like FUNKe came over and helped extensively, im still searching for an appropriate adjective for this great work.
okay, that later alligators opening is insane. Props for the amazing reference
Dude, it’s a cliché but you deserve so much more views and subscribers, your editing, humor, and video topics are great.
5:35 wow that backstab must have felt really good huh? And it's a goddamn miracle... Like how?
So much effort poured into this. All of that sfm animation, tight script and voiceover. Hope this comment bolsters algorithmic potency, this deserves to be seen
Holy shit that intro animation was good
this is a really good video. you get all of your points across well, the editing and graphics is on point and every punchline hits amazingly. good job!
5:26 the demoman mumbling makes this 10x better
A more important factor for getting stomped being bad for spy than enemy skill: when you're getting stomped, the enemy has plenty of free time to look around. The most skilled player in the world can't avoid a stab when they're forced to look forward and shoot bad guys
This is a great video lol
The editing, the comedy, the perfect execution... Great job man!
The intro itself won my Like. Good Work
I instantly fell in love with this video solely for the later alligator intro, the well put together and interesting rest of the video was just an extra bonus
i kid you not,
this is the best intro ive seen
This is actually facts on god no cap and perfectly describes so many of my grievances with my fave class
that intro was magnificent
It's strange to admit here, I don't play TF2... but watching efficient spy gameplay and hearing your calm tone deliver words of advice and wisdom I may never get to act on is oddly addicting. Been binging your content all day, so thank you for that-- you're definitely a creator who deserves more attention.
[If I ever do decide to properly play TF2, Spy does seem like my kind of class]
Thank you for the kind words
Another banger from HintShot, I am pleased by this.
Once you put it into words it’s soo clear how true this is
10:38
Just wanna point out that gameplay moment was pretty hilarious
The intro alone still gives me chills, well worth those 40 hours.
*sees HintShot's new video*
"I've been waiting for you.."
7:50 immediately entered the game as you mentioned and played for over an hour
This video is fantastic and brings up a lot of great points that highlight spy's importance and viability in both competative 6v6 and highlander, though in different ways. A compitent spy like you said can get picks that single handedly swing fights in sixes with patience and coordination. But in highlander, the best thing a spy can do is sometimes to just exist as the fact that there IS a spy somewhere nearby will always be stealing attention away from the opponents for your sniper or scout to get a pick just in time for the medic/engi to suddenly have to take a mysterious leave of absence
Hey HintShot, have you considered making a video about the applications of Friendly Disguises? Pretending to be a sniper so people don’t push a sight line, tricking the enemies into overcommitting on the back line because a random scout appeared, etc
i never even thought that this could or would be done
Not playing spy for the entire duration of a game is to me probably the most important tip here. The amount of times I keep dying and wondering what to even do because I forgot I can just play other classes lol
I love how so many people are praising the intro seemingly without understanding the Later Alligator reference. Either way, if I’m talking about anything and that game in the same breath, that’s how you know it’s damn good, phenomenal job on this video
OMFG! That was an amazing Later Alligator reference!!!!
Probably the best spy youtuber for info and gameplay, thx for being a good channel (:
(loved the see you later alligator intro, I love how you kept the character of the intro)
I personally ask myself 3 questions:
-does my team have at least 3 power classes?(if no then I play as one)
-does my team have a support?(medic on offense, engi on defense) if not then I play as one.
-does my team have a spy?
If the answers are yes, yes, and no, then that’s when I play spy.
Also I love that you acknowledge that spy can be really useful but not mandatory.
People call his a “specialist” class for a reason.
That intro was one of the coolest recreations I’ve seen done in sfm
That later alligator intro :) great work
That intro is amazing. It's also like a Who's Who of "Will they ever post again?" TFtubers.
OH MY GOD that intro is phenomenal! Absolutely stellar!
I really wish spy had an abylity or 2 to recon for his team, at minimum if sapped a building should be outlined for your team, and then let him control if he matches his disguise speed this would also maybe give spy a small overhead if he disguises as the same color as you, which would make that be an actual tactic, make it take like 15 seconds to kick in and last for a little while
That engie with a guitar from the intro creeps me out.
Love ur backstabs montages!
If Valve ever adds more items to the game, Spy could seriously benefit from an invisibility watch that lets him pass through enemies. Imagine being able to actually get behind the enemy on tight maps. It'd seriously shake up the (usually stale) gameplay loop on maps like Dustbowl.
Probably limit its cloak duration to prevent it from being used everywhere instead of tight corridors
I can tell a lot of work was put into this video. That intro was absolutely amazing
Incredible video, great insight!
I laughed when you lost your point about balanced teams while talking about Seasonalander, because I had also forgotten what you were talking about walking those sick picks and chains
That intro was godly, ty so much for putting so much effort into it
Love the use of the later alligator sound track. Such a sweet game.
the editing is actual gold in this video. that “three literal words” edit was hilarious LOL
As a long time spy main of like 10 something years this is absolutely correct!
Spy is very unique being made to tilt the balance in his team's favor, your point about team balance being best when it is equal is very accurate, a team that is holding strong will always be ready for you and won't leave you a chance.
You can "carry" with spy but you're also getting inadvertently carried by your own team's effort, a lot of people see spy as a selfish solo class but he cannot function by himself even with good aim every other class will outdo what you can do. "Everything spy does sniper does better."
While spy is not the strongest he will always be my favorite class, the risk you take for the reward you get is always worth it.
This was a really good and entertaining video! I didn't learn anything I didn't already know about picking my favourite class but I'm glad to see you explain it in such a fun way.
One thing I really hate that wasn't mentioned is when the game starts and I see that we have 0 spies on our team so I tell myself "oh this is the perfect opportunity to play spy". Then later in the game our team gets ran over by one competent engineer (and sometimes his pybro) and for some reason we have 5 spies so I'm forced to switch to demo or something because we no longer have powerclasses.
I feel that would also have made a great point in your video but it was really good regardless! I really enjoyed it!
Whenever you see that Frenchman on the class selection screen with no number above his head i ALMOST smile. But I'm a MAN AND MAN NO SMILE GOTTA ROUGH