Home Strategy Stabby Stabby’s 100 days as Spy and the future of TF2 espionage

If you’ve ever followed any of Team Fortress 2’s renowned Spy tutorial video editors (I’ll assume you’re here, since I count myself among them), you know of Stabby Stabby. And while we may share some of the spotlight on YouTube and in-game, the reality is that my skills as un espion pale in comparison to those of Stabby.

What proof could I offer to back such a statement?

I’ll let Stabby’s 2,400 hours playing as Spy speak for themselves. Watch and be amazed.

Assuming you’ve pulled your jaw off the floor, I suppose we can resume our chat. Stabby’s skills are certainly nothing to scoff at, and although I generally look down on montage videos, he’s proven his full spectrum of skills in many of his other videos. In this particular oeuvre, he shows off some of the game’s most impressive trickstabs, something I’ve never really mastered myself.

Why is that? In large part, I simply don’t have nearly the same amount of practice in the game that Stabby does, and while I may have played close to the same number of total hours, only a certain percentage of them were played as Spy. It’s shameful, I know. Secondly, every time I’ve ever tried to load tr_walkway, it either crashed TF2 or the map loaded with all kinds of weird errors. In essence, Artemis had decided my will to practice was insufficient to grow in her arts.

Excuses aside, I’ve always been a bit stubborn in learning because I personally rarely fall for such tactics. I never try to melee Spies for bravado, nor do I follow them closely around corners or up inclines. These mistakes in general are the direct faults of players ignorant of a Spy’s trickiest maneuvers, and at some level I have always expected my enemies to wise up to such tactics, though it seems they haven’t.

Regardless of the graduated learning of players everywhere, playing Spy remains a glorious pursuit to those who would wield Artemis’ righteous fury. For every terrible death at the hands of a critical wrench or a flamethrower pixel, the chance at a perfect stab is dangled in front of the Spy time and time again. I’ve done my best to illuminate methods for attaining this blood-stained fruit through my own videos, but alas, my time and skill (or lack thereof on both parts) make further exploration of these matters difficult. I know Stabby has faced similar issues.

To that end, I am currently working with him to develop a bit of a Spy guide. No, not a video… a written guide for those players not entirely lazy enough to still move their eyeballs from left to right repeatedly. While we’re only in the earliest stages of planning, it’s a bit of a grand thought to be composing a bit of a killer’s code for Team Fortress 2 players who wish to wear their enemies’ faces before removing their enemies’ spines.

What do you think of this, and where do you see the future of TF2 espionage, if there is one?

 

12 replies to this post
  1. I have to say that I look forward to the written guide. Spy was and actually remains the class that is the most interesting to me in Team Fortress 2, and one of the ones that I wish I could play decently on a regular basis.

    Granted, my proclivity towards playing on Arena – by far one of the most punishing modes for any class, let alone a Spy – has probably meant that I haven’t gotten much of, if any, chance to practice those essential skills.

    Arena has, if anything, taught me to be extremely paranoid. Despite my somewhat foolish recklessness as an Arena Medic even I know never to follow a Spy or someone you suspect of being a Spy too closely up stairs or around corners, because that just leads to an embarrassing death on your part.

  2. A collaboration with stabby? That’s great news! I hope it goes well and we can all see the result fairly soon.

    As for the future of TF2 espionage, I don’t think it’s going anywhere any time soon. I think the Spy will always remain one of the (more) interesting classes in the game so I don’t think there’ll be shortage anytime soon.

    I’ve actually made a few Spy guide videos on youtube aimed at the F2P crowd and the responses have given me the feeling that the new wave of players is just as willing to go out there and learn the hard way as we were.

    Which is promising.

    (not going to post links here, I’m not sure if it’s against the rules.)

  3. Dear god.
    Stabby stabby is… Jeez. Shit. I ca-, Its hard to even describe how good he is. Lord jesus, man, He’s fucking good. He makes omfg ninja look like someone who just got the fucking game. I mean seriously.
    I am looking forward to the article.
    It’ll make me a better spy. btw.
    What can I practice on tr_walkway other than sidestabs, and stair stabs?

    • The great thing about stabby is that he’s one of the most standup guys I know. I personally have never heard him rage, and I know of only one instance where he has (a secret I will never divulge). He’s also quite humble and more than willing to help anyone who sees him in server. Just don’t spam him. He gets enough of that.

      As for tr_walkway, you can practice almost anything, from jump to trick stabs, blind stabs, there almost nothing you can’t practice if you navigate the map right. There are so many tools.

  4. Props Stabby as always, bro. I’ve never been a stairstab guy myself, but pulled one off for the first time on a pyro, and loved the feeling of accomplishment. Others have followed but not with the same consistency you have. With you tho it’s as easy as changing a disguise or switching weapons. “Chase me up the stairs, fine then.” *Splice* One of the greats man . . . Peace.

  5. Not gonna knock his skills, but a lot of these people are fairly oblivious, but he’s a great spy for being able to take advantage of these people so thoroughly.

  6. After I saw these trick stab skill level, my will to develop some got bigger, but Im having trouble creating a server and runnin tr_walkway, anyone could help me?

    There is other way around the use of HLserver?

  7. Huh, I’ve played with stabby on a fairly frequent basis. I didn’t know he was well known, although I do know he is very skilled.

Leave a Reply