### Spy Tracking --- Spy tracking starts with good awareness of the players who are currently alive and dead. Do this by using the match HUD and making it a habit to check it regularly. The goal is to be aware of who is alive on each team at all times. With this awareness, one of the key players to keep tabs on is the spy. When the spy is dead, you should never be spy checking, regardless of coms. ### The Cross --- When the spy spawns, you can start making reasonable predictions based on the the map, the game state, your knowledge of the player, and your ability to eliminate options. The first thing to consider is: What, if any, other players were part of the same spawn wave? If the spy spawns alone, it is relatively safe to assume that he will take a teleporter and be attempting to cross behind you sooner. On some maps this is a pretty insignificant time save, but there are others where this can cut the cross time almost in half. Refer to the spy timing tables for each map to begin to get an understanding of what cross times look like. Counting these times in your head from the time the spy spawns can be an effective way to learn until the timing becomes engrained. 1. When spy spawns, note who else is in the spawn wave 2. Consider the likelihood of spy taking a teleporter and account for reduced cross time 3. Use player positions to determine the most likely route for spy to take 4. Check the cross and [[Communication|communicate]] with your team where to check 5. Using process of elimination, keep in mind the pathing the spy likely took, and where he can come from to make a play > [!example] A tip for those struggling with spy time >Try loading into a map on spy and understand the paths there are to take and how long it feels to get there. You can get a general idea of the pathing from the videos in [[Overview#Map-based knowledge |Map-based Knowledge]], as well as the specific timings of common crosses. In other games, like quake, items are timed by either adding or subtracting 25 from the timer or by using "feel" (cycle) that's developed over playtime. So, if you cant understand spy cross timing, try feeling it out. Try the crosses yourself, watch spy demos, and see how the cross happens in order to help you visualize it in game. Now that we know roughly how long it should take for the spy to cross, we can make educated guesses on where he will cross. To do this, take into account the positions of the players on your team and where the openings are. For example: Let's say you have the point on [[Product]] and your entire combo is holding dog-bread. Your sniper may be on boxes, and your flank is scattered around connector/their concrete. If the spy is attempting to cross in this situation, the best place for him to get by without walking into spam or enemy players is going to be his left side point/connector coming from their main. Obviously, depending on the player, the spy isn't always going to go the safest or most likely path, but with this observation, you can eliminate the most likely spy positions during cross time. Some players always cross the same way on certain maps, regardless of the game state. If you learn what that path is you can easily lock then out of the game by continually stopping their cross. Another key here is keeping an eye on ammo packs that could be used during the cross, assuming the spy in on stock Invis Watch. ### Recognizing Spy Time --- Once the spy has crossed behind uncaught, there are a few common timings to watch out for. The most obvious spy time is going to be during and after sacs. The spy should be coordinating with his flank to collapse together. You should expect the spy to go for a stab during or directly after the sack. Obviously, you can't both deny the soldier and the spy at the same time in most situations, so you should coordinate with your team to make sure that someone is handling the other threat. Optimally, you should be immediately looking for the spy as soon as you successfully deny the soldier or looking to deny other threats as soon as you melt the spy's knife. Once you stop an immediate threat, you can adjust your focus on other threats instead of tunneling on the first threat you see. The other most common spy time is around ubers. Spies will look for players alone and out of position during ubers, especially snipers, and will commonly look for an opportunity to stab combo members immediately after an uber ends and players are setting up for post. If you are not part of an uber, and are not needed for stuffing an exchange, make sure to account for players that are most vulnerable to being stabbed. Shifting to protect your sniper for a few moments during ubers can commonly catch out the spy and keep your advantage in the post. Immediately after an uber, regardless of whether you were part of it, be aware of spies making a play on your combo members as they reposition for the post-uber. ### Transition Periods ^b46c3d --- Put simply, a transition period is any time where your team as a whole, or combo, are repositioning to a new area. Common examples of this are when you are moving to a forward hold on [[King of the Hill (KOTH) |KOTH]] map, or repositioning to a new point while either attacking or defending on a [[Stopwatch |stopwatch]] map. If the spy is alive and able to be in the area of that new position, you should expect him to try and take advantage of your teams collective lack of positioning. Spies will commonly be waiting around corners or looking to drop down on your players as they walk into new areas and under walkways that you won't have the chance to clear. Make sure to be aware of common areas that the spy will try to take advantage of on a given map. Actively push forward with your team to clear out angles and be ready to react to a play being made as your team takes new space. ### The Dead Ringer --- Tracking a Spy using the dead ringer is a completely different beast. Due to the escape potential of this watch, especially combined with other tools like the Spycicle, actually killing the spy can become near impossible for a pyro. As a result you will have to adjust your focus to a few key aspects of spy timing and communicate with your flank to actually hunt the spy when caught. > [!example] A tip for better micro To ensure the spy doesn't commit to stabs and give yourself the space to worry about the frontline, make sure to use your flares to break his knife, buying you 10 seconds at a time to reflect spam and focus your presence forward. 1. Watch for the cross. Cross timings will be about the same except the spy won't be invisible. The best you can do it prevent him from crossing with his DR and having to wait for it to be back up to recross, otherwise knowing that he is behind you is extremely important. 2. Know where the spy can be. When the spy has crossed, he can only be in positions that are out of sight before his attempted collapse. For example, on [[Product]], the spy can only really be in house, in spawn, or hiding behind the sheet metal on cliff/base cliff. 3. Spies using the dead ringer will likely opt to use their gun when possible instead of committing to a stab. Because of this communicating where the spy can be after his cross and where you spot him trying to chip away at people is super important. This allows your more mobile teammates to chase him down and secure the kill.