Spy Psychology

Overview
As players gain more experience in TF2, they also become more aware of the Spies in disguises. This section will discuss the psychology of matching your actions to your enemies. This will largely apply to public games, but many tactics can be also used effectively in pug or tournament matches.

Who are you facing?
Before you engage an enemy, you need to know what kind of enemy you are facing. As it is easy to see, there are many different skill levels in a general public TF2 match. If your opponent is a skilled player, it might not be such a good idea to bring your gun to a rocket fight. On the other hand if the enemy is unskilled, it is much more likely that you can plug him full of holes, before he does the same to you. Below are some ways of telling player skill.

Tab Scoreboard

 * While not the best way to judge a player, the tab scoreboard is extremely useful for making a quick check to see what you are up against. As a general rule, players 40 points ahead of the rest of their team can be judged to be fairly skilled (this only really applies to servers that rotate the map regularly). Similarly, if a player has maybe 1-2 points and at the bottom of the scoreboard, it can be judged that the player is less skilled. Now, this ruling system is especially inaccurate. Points themselves are mainly decided by the amount of time spent in the server, and thus a player with low points could have just joined and not had the time to build up the number of points as other players. The more often a server switches maps, the more accurate this heuristic will be.

Player Actions

 * This is a big one. Judging a player by their actions is obviously the best way to find a players skill level. If a player runs directly into you, and then passes by, you can be fairly sure that they are not used to playing against spies. If a player bumps into you, spins around and headshots you on the spot, you can be fairly certain they're extremely skilled (or using aimhacks). I'm not going to go into too much more detail here, but I'll go into it in detail in the next section.

Long Term Experience

 * Another big one, but it doesn't apply quite as much in generic public matches. By simply staking your claim in one server, and becoming a regular, you will learn about each player's habits over time. This is by far the best method of judgment, but it takes a lot more effort and can only be used in a single server. And remember, the longer you study the other regulars' habits, the more they study yours. So don't be surprised if they start to see through your tactics.

Reading the Player
As discussed in the previous section, player actions are the most important way of judging what you are up against. This section will attempt to list many signs of player skill for various classes. This is by no means a comprehensive list, it only serves as a framework for understanding. Feel free to add on if you like.

Scout

 * Skilled:
 * Using the pistol when necessary
 * Hit 'n' run tactics
 * Prioritizing Medics
 * Utilizing side-routes
 * Objective Focused
 * Unskilled:
 * Continuously using the Bonk
 * Ignoring the Objectives
 * Suicide runs (do as much damage until they die)

Soldier

 * Skilled:
 * Accuracy
 * Airshots
 * Knows when to retreat
 * Rocket jumps to reach advantageous positions, and can shoot from the rocket jumps.
 * Uses shotgun
 * Unskilled
 * Constantly rocket jumps for no reason, or attempts to rocket jumps and fails.
 * Spams rockets in the hope of killing
 * Only reloads when they have to, rather than constantly.

Pyro

 * Skilled:
 * Ambushing Targets from behind
 * Uses Airblast when needed
 * Skilled at timing Airblast
 * Protects Sentries from Spies and Soldiers.
 * Uses shotgun when at range
 * Unskilled
 * Mindless suicide runs
 * Only using airblast (except when defending Sentries)
 * Retreats when necessary
 * Uses the Axtinguisher effectively (ie. Is successful)

Demoman

 * Skilled:
 * Uses Pipe Bombs offensively, and accurately
 * Sets stickies in hidden places
 * Accuracy
 * Sticky jumps well
 * Unskilled
 * Only uses stickies
 * Spams either pipes or stickies
 * Bad Accuracy with Pipes
 * Places stickies in plain view

Heavy

 * Skilled:
 * Very spy-cautious; checks the area around him frequently
 * High awareness
 * Uses Shotgun well, and often
 * Jumps around corners with the Mi
 * Unskilled
 * Keeps their Minigun spinning a lot
 * Low awareness
 * Never uses their Shotgun, or uses the Sandvich incorrectly
 * Walks around corners with the Minigun spinning

Notes: It's very easy to tell a smart Heavy apart from an unskilled one

Engineer

 * Skilled:
 * Smart building placement
 * Very Spy cautious
 * Very aware
 * High accuracy with Pistol/Shotgun
 * Helps out other Engineers
 * Hovers around his/other setups with his Shotgun as an aggressive defense
 * Unskilled :
 * Bad building placement
 * Buildings facing the wrong way
 * Low General/Spy awareness
 * Facing one way while working on buildings
 * Attacks with Wrench, and not his Shotgun or Pistol (varies, depending on what they're doing, this is mostly talking about Engineers that will chase you away from their setup with a Wrench)

Notes: It's a good idea to observe Engineers carefully before attempting an attack. Try to figure out their patterns first, because neglecting to observe Engineers is a quick way to get a Wrench to the face.

Disguise Psychology
Somebody famous probably said, "Only when you know your enemy can you be your enemy". This section will discuss knowing the thoughts of your enemy with disguises.