TF2: Spy Psychology - How to Improve

[@Jontohil2]

8:38 *postive feedback loop It’s not a Jonto video without a grammatical error EDIT: my fucking god the first word of this comment is a typo, I’m not even going to correct it because of the irony

[@Naito9874]

postive

[@capnMAN]

Silly goose! Now you have to reupload the whole video! Shame! Go to the corner!

[@FFFr3sHHH]

Jonto as the typical trickstab spy main that everyone hates when I enter a server, this advice was genuinely good and true and I think people should take it more seriously than they alr are. During my lower hours I found myself using the same flanks and being frustrated, progressively doing worse and worse, and being scared of failing again but what I didn't know was failure was part of the path of being a cracked spy main and keeping your composure. Also that "it's just a game part" I still had this prob recently but once I started to relax and started thinking of it as a casual game like I'd think about playing pacman the game just flowed like water and I was getting chains pretty easily. To other beginner spy mains out there, keep going and don't let anything stop you bro, if you're far from your goa then you're only gonna get closer.

[@TF2x32]

So... When are you going to launch a trickstab montage?

[@Anarqism]

so you _did_ make it up this time

[@FastGameOverLol]

"You have to start somewhere, and that somewhere involves dying" so mastering spy is just playing dark souls nice

[@neosuduno]

Lovely comparison, and very fitting.

[@b____oobies]

Lord of Cinder (pyro)

[@FFFr3sHHH]

Literally yea, theres multiple aspects to spy u need to get good at to fully master him

[@n3ckb3ard35]

The sad thing is that darksouls is sometimes easier.

[@redactedoktor]

SPY IS THE DARK SOULS OF TF2 CLASSES

[@thecalliezone6332]

I like how this video just boils down to “you need to be mentally organized to be good at video games” and you just talk about ways of treating yourself properly and fairly for like 70% of the video. Its honestly a kinda refreshing take of gaming tutorial.

[@JamesTheAce0]

You can't play mindgames if you're stuck in the wrong mindset

[@warmonger-zc2sf]

“Everyone I fail a trickstab, I consider ending my own life” -average martincitopants moment

[@halalouis3814]

Frogman funni

[@Duck-not-clickbait]

@@halalouis3814 very funny

[@aleknjejenja5903]

Tf2 video confirmed

[@RIPSmalls08]

Frogman make me laugh daily.

[@Jontohil2]

Fun fact, I let him write that joke

[@notayoutuber-h7g]

You can't master spy, but spy can master you.

[@T-P-M_405]

Huh

[@donanilao7724]

*Scout's Mother got DOMINATED by Spy*

[@MrMisfortune]

Don't threaten me with a good time

[@dshilohMajor-e8u]

true

[@agentblackbird9435]

🤨

[@capnMAN]

A week ago i was playing on 2fort and i was in a particularly spy playing mood! And while i was playing i was doing well really well! I got a 12 kill streak (my heighest as spy) with only backstabs! My team then proceeded to kick me and telling me "You can't become one of them!" "We need to save him!" Still my favourite time i have ever been kicked it TF2!

[@ZenithPeak1]

But still. Do not become one of them.

[@GooberInternet]

ONE OF US. ONE OF US. ONE OF US.

[@randomlol-ya3063]

I love theses two people above with whole different views One is rejecting the snake But the other wants you to taste the forbidden fruit

[@ZenithPeak1]

@@GooberInternet SILENCE WHENCH *airblasts you off the cliff*

[@bootstrapphoenix6456]

​@@randomlol-ya3063but the fruit is very tasty its an apple; it convinced me.

[@tyrusing]

top 5 mistakes i made when starting to play Spy: -attempting to butterknife people chasing me instead of just shooting them -thinking that the enemy players are deaf and decloacking too close -not using ammo packs to refill my cloak -trying to fight the long range class at close range and instantly dying to jarate+bushwacka, a random crit, or a quickscope -believing that Medics are free kills and getting ubersawed to death as consequence

[@1qxd]

quick tip: decloaking right behind people can work you just need to observe them first, the easiest way is to look at hats

[@themerchant1968]

​@1qxd as someone who started playing recently, I recognize my decloaking directly behind the enemy only works bc I'm probably also getting paired with newer players (one of my first times playing 2fort I heard someone who said they had just got a frontier justice for the first time and shenanigans ensued until the pybro showed up)

[@maybe_sans9853]

Istg the medic one is just I have a bad addiction of playing kunai + dead ringer, I just like to trickstab, and whenever a medic fights me, it's either i get a stab or they get a one hit krit on me despite me having over 100 HP from kunai. Oh and the decloaking one isn't 100% true. With a cloak, you can easily decloak behind an enemy ONLY if there are a lot of other noises (fighting) I often decloak a literal dead ringer when there are a lot of fighting. (of course not exactly behind them) but you know what I mean.

[@robertbosch8142]

one more : SPY HAS A GUN

[@QTwoSix]

remove sniper

[@idavid8391]

I followed your advice and looked inside. I found a Frenchman there. I truly am a monster worthy of playing Spy. Thank you, John Two Hills. Loved the cameo section and did not expect Martincitopants--great inclusion, sir, and your editing, scripting, and humor continue to be top-notch.

[@orlandodanielgonzalezalcar3360]

Spy tf2 spy tf2 spy tf2 tf2 tf2 tf2, spy has a gun, spy tf2 gun, disguise spy tf2

[@Lamadon_Pyreus]

〘SPY〙 『Team Fortress II』 "We thought Roman Numerals were cooler." @@orlandodanielgonzalezalcar3360

[@butlazgazempropan-butan11k87]

Pyro tf2 is being sent to your location

[@VagueCastle649]

A thing to note for quick cloaking is that if you swing your knife, you cannot cloak for the entire duration of the swing animation. If you use your *GUN* , you can instantly cloak the next frame after clicking mouse 1 to fire, regardless of how far into the firing animation your revolver may be (this also applies for the sapper as well)

[@Ezezetayin]

SPY HAS A GUNNNNNNNN

[@Fesh3314]

You can also reload right before cloaking, it's a very useful thing to learn

[@Pudding404]

Spy as a class is souls-likes incarnate as a character. No matter how good you get at him, you'll always die in an embarrassing way once in a while. There's a sense of beauty in that.

[@A.Singularity]

The ragdolls do be funny sometimes

[@ricefarmer-kr4yv]

And still have more fun than play medic in a lobby of 5 snipers 3 scout

[@Gust_The_Man]

Bruh im sick of tired of seeing your @$$

[@Brown95P]

Actually, an anger-based negative performance making you more angry is called a *_Positive_* Feedback Loop; a Negative Feedback Loop is essentially what counter-balancing methods are, like sweating and shivering among others. So no, you didn't make up that term; you just used it wrong. :^]

[@Halberds6]

I first learnt that term in a Homeostasis lesson, and it was the opposite of what I thought it was, probably because we think that negative = bad. Negative feedback is usually good as it brings the body to a stable function (e.g. temperature). Positive feedback is usually bad as it increases the usually bad change.

[@baconboi2455]

something i learned while playing spy is that playing semi-aggressively can actually work. When you retreat from a fight, you could just instead turn around and go back in. People dont usually expect a teammate to be a spy as soon as they just chased one out. Its really effectivs until the paranoia kicks in

[@candlestone5397]

Making everyone on the enemy team Paranoid is actually Great I think. Makes them distracted, so if you can make it so everyone is paranoid enough you can swap class and make use of that paranoia amd spychecking.

[@Plantify9339]

8:38 Erm, 🤓 that's actually a POSITIVE Feedback loop. (Name is deceiving, yeah) but a negative feedback loop is where the loop DECREASES the stimulus that caused the loop, eventually ending it, while a positive loop increases said stimulus, which leads to the loop increasing more and more, and so on

[@denisdubovik228]

1. Lose your job 2. Stop dating your gf or divorce your wife 3. Stop showering and stop changing your underwear 4. Lock yourself in your house 5. Play tf2 all day 6. Gain 9000 hours of playtime in a month despite a single month only having 700 hours 7. Enjoy your skill

[@TrueChaosLord]

I love how if you have 30 days in a month, you would need 300 hours in per day(24 hours in one day) so you basically just break the laws of time to get good at spy

[@LoganReynolds-ys4sd]

You forgot step 6 remember that SPY HAS A GUN

[@Flamma_Dreemurr]

i was having an awful time palying spy earlier today. kept requeing to no avail. then as i ragequit i decided to scroll youtube when i found this video. after watching it i decided to give it another try, already being able to point out some errors i had made before. i managed to play a 2 hour long 2fort game with the cloak and dagger, spycicle, and diamondback and topscored. the "spy loop" thing is what helped. once i realized that not every server would be the same, and that the players would find me predictable after a bit, i started switching up my paths like you said. and not ONLY did i topscore, but in the next game i also partnered up with the engineer player i had dominated in the previous round and pybro'd him. so not only did i learn to play spy effectively, but i ALSO made a new steam friend. 10/10 guide

[@donanilao7724]

Wholesome story.

[@TristanG217]

Awesome, good for you!

[@TheIrishvolunteer]

You are one of my favourite TF2 youtubers around! Your content has improved along such a spectacular scale it is hard to believe, please keep it up!

[@lzboi1144]

9:25 THERE IT IS!

[@vendepapas_7267]

SPY HAS A GUN

[@jeeequeue]

You can just hear the frustration out of that scream

[@firehornetgamer2698]

1:14 This screenshot is interesting out of context…

[@HawasGames]

Scout's mom obviously

[@andyannie4250]

Jontohil: "Dying as spy can make you angry" Also Jonto: "Even the most experienced spies can get silly deaths"

[@hmmm2359]

8:31 this is actually a positive feedback loop as it keeps on increasing

[@GamingZ_enith]

Bro used Bury the Light in a TF2 video. Mad respect. Edit: And then proceeds to use the MGRR main menu music right after, SSS video already (I'm one minute in) Edit 2: Another based DMC reference 7:46

[@alittledeezer6415]

2:03 Ain’t no way he’s still watching the Pyrocinical Incident Man’s been around since the Behind the Lines episode

[@Fordbonelab]

Bro I googled that shit BAD IDEA BRO BAD IDEA

[@CursedSFMS]

@@Fordbonelabwhat is it

[@Fordbonelab]

@@CursedSFMS YOU DO NOT WANNA KNOW BRO

[@CursedSFMS]

@@Fordbonelab i know the pyrocynical incident but dont know the behind the lines episode

[@CursedSFMS]

@@Fordbonelab ohhh the Inflation incident

[@AngryCheeseGirl]

The Demo rolling up with the impact of a freight train at 11:00 reminds me why TF2 fucking rules.

[@FuntimeGoose]

AYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY NIce vid :3 keep up the good work

[@flamethegame1]

i was NOT expecting that martincitopants cameo holy shit

[@LordRemiem]

8:06 ISAAC :D Jonto, one thing I always bashed my head against is how enemies were more paranoid than the NPCs in Hitman 2 (the old one), and they spychecked every single player of their color. I then remembered an old advice from you and tried to get them while they were engaging in combat and... let me say it's so satisfying to kill the heavy locking down the corridor and sneak away ❤

[@SarutinMcWhotookmyname]

one of my favorite ways to deal with paranoid players is to just look for easier targets or go to a different area. or both. sometimes the only winning move is not to play, so playing somewhere else and only coming back every so often leads to longer lives, at least for me

[@bluecrystalsouls861]

I generally don't click tab to check my death and kills, I usually use it to see if I actually kill a dead ringer spy or see if the cheater had left the game yet.

[@Minetello-cq5lr]

"most of my audience don't main spy" yea i main medic, i just want to understand my enemy

[@TJ-Henry-Yoshi]

This series has done so much to help me appreciate spy. Its a major excercise in patience but when things go well its just a good feeling, even as someone who doesnt know fancy techniques like trickstabs. As someone who plays TF2 through the insane method of changing my class every single life, it feels like the way I think changes every single time I play spy and its nice because i never have to get used to enemies being ready for me at every second. 11:38 unrelated but words cannot express how sad i was when the Rules of Nature lyrics didnt come in at the drop and how happy i was when the did a few secons later. Truly the work of a spy main to mind game even the music choice.

[@Anarqism]

woah tj henry yoshi

[@zheben984]

PLEASE release your remixes, they're so good. Also, great video, very insightful on Spy & the mindset a player needs to have for him.

[@disastercal1]

2:41 ITS MART

[@DrBright5558]

I didn’t know Mart played tf2, a pleasant surprise.

[@Error_Detected404]

that opening remix of Bury the Light goes hard

[@blacklight683]

3:34 how did i die: 1-pyro looked at me funny 2- random crits

[@Woodland_Adventures]

Honest to god, two thousand hour player here. I have *never* been good at spy, until recently I haven't noticeably imrpoved at all.

[@EccentricDrDino]

He got us the first half , not gonna lie

[@larhyperhair]

If at first you don't succeed, find out why -Ms. Frizzle

[@bait1021]

2:00 Alright Martincitopants, calm down.

[@akirachisaka9997]

I do feel like often, I would look and my team and be like “man I really wish we have a good spy on our team right now”. Like for Medic, if your complaint is “we don’t have a medic”, you can always just play it yourself. But a Spy… you can’t just say “I’ll play Spy” and instantly be able to contribute

[@TristanComputer]

0:12 Knife controls everything

[@EriTheFish]

These videos are the only reason I actually play spy, otherwise he'd be my least played class

[@elgatochurro]

Weird, it's actual stealth gameplay in a multiplayer shooter

[@candlestone5397]

​@@elgatochurrohonestly, it's better stealth than most stealth games as well. Spy is so sneaky, he snuck into a different genre of game.

[@blueslime32]

8:50 THOSE COWS ARE BEAUTIFUL!!!🐮

[@engifromtf2]

sir, those are hiffers, you have been deceived

[@blueslime32]

@@engifromtf2 man…

[@Gust_The_Man]

Bro i cant do anything right as spy, i cant even get behind enemy lines , people make it look so easy these days , im ending my own life irl- nah just kidding but i might do it in the future Edit : 10:55 wow guess i already broke that tip because im a very pessimistic guy that gets depressed so easily that i always think hard on myself and say "Wow im worthless, im the worst spy in all of TF2"

[@Cynic15]

same

[@Mf69-W]

The intro hits HARD

[@StockFerjitsu]

YOOOO!!! Martincitopants the funni frog man!

[@Gears_Engineer]

As a (semi-aggressive) engineer main, I can confirm that switching class is very important for relaxing a little your brain. Also I'm trying to get better at spy to complete a Foundry achievement. Very nice content, I would recommend it for everyone just to learn a little this bizarre class

[@masonkay7024]

8:57 that was way funnier then it had any right to be

[@thesuperintendent4290]

Same with 10:59

[@masonkay7024]

@@thesuperintendent4290fair point

[@TheSin-O-Pride]

How dare you make me question the identity of cucumbers.

[@99999bomb]

10:40 this is good advice for improving in general, focus on what you did well and improve on deficits instead of chasing arbitrary points, especially for support oriented classes like spy medic and engi

[@Iteration456-8_codename_goblin]

For the times that the games just aren’t happening that day A great therapy game is Mortal Sin, a first person hack and slash roguelike, at some point early on you unlock the berserker class which is just heavenly when you get in the groove of cosplaying as Guts without Grifith hounding you 24/7

[@iamglassthingy3373]

5:58 Holy mary, a fellow Dream Team enjoyer? Mr. Johnny Tohil is so BASED

[@32-Volt]

Dreamy Sumnom Woods goes hard, wasnt expecting to hear it

[@beebee4639]

I'm glad that I wasn't the only one who noticed that.

[@nateno8965]

All of the classes I like to play are on the harder side of the fucking thing that's why I've been so slow and shit at learning how to play well!! (I have 500 hours in the game I have no excuse)

[@crazinventor4442]

I feel this. My top played are Medic, Spy, and Engie, and I get burned out from playing medic and usually only last a couple rounds.

[@midnellight]

This series is so entertaining and helpful keep it up! 😄

[@WishMakers]

That remix of Bury the Light is so ABSURDLY good please upload it if it's presentable......... I would listen regularly lmao EDIT: This is just a fundamentally really good video, introspection is so important when trying to analyze the psychology of...anyone and understand why they think the way they do

[@ktz1185]

Love it!!! These videos motivate me to practice more :) Keep it up man!

[@blacklight683]

0:07 when you get 8h of sleep and for no reason your feel 9000% better than usual I swear I had one of those days and I was trickstabing left and right and bearly missed any shots I felt like a god For 30m then all my skill evaporated away and I could not hit a shot or a backstab to save my life and I have 0idea why

[@Spiked_mango]

I don’t even play spy often, but I still get excited when these come out because there so well made.

[@ChangedCauseYT-HateFoxNames]

"When you get angry, you don't think straight", hearing this line single handedly cured my gayness.

[@Dorelaxen]

The thing that clicked for me was learning the POV angles. When I figured out exactly how much other players could actually see around them, I could start manipulating the angles where I was juuuust outside of their view. This also worked for above and below. Catching someone from around a corner when they never knew I was even there, drop stabs, things like that just made Spy SO mush more fun for me. Never was a trick stab type of player. I always found it more satisfying if they never even saw me in the first place.

[@disastercal1]

8:09 things spy mains don’t have

[@koopatroopa7968]

_“There’s no getting around it, if you’re as predictable as yesterday’s weather, it’s just not gonna go well for you.”_ - SoundSmith 2023

[@vendepapas_7267]

5:10 I might not be a spy main, but it teaches how to combat them

[@monkeeboy830]

4:18 this reminds me of a very good quote that can be applied to quite alot of things "if you know yourself and you know your enemy you shall not fear the result of a hundred battles" Sun Tzu - The Art of War. if any of you haven't read it i would highly recommend.

[@subplaydest8724]

3:59 wait... february 27 is my birthday! i was born in 2004 tho

[@m4teusgw10]

Anti birthday

[@edgarsilva4744]

The music choice for this video was absolutley perfect! DMC, The binding of isaac (wait, what? hell yeah!) and Metal Gear Rising, all have banger soundtracks

[@oy_oy_]

5:10 I don't play tf2 your videos are just so good

[@Emanig.sumtin]

Dont worry cucumbers are a fruit as they have seeds and while trying this but with other classes i found five spys with the exact same cosmetics all gibus and maneged to live before a 6th got me they were definitly in on it but still funne

[@ArtiKenzie]

From how to play spy to how to master spy, this has been a fun journey! Good job all throughout the years and good luck with you future work!

[@stryder06]

8:37 Um ackshully that'sh a poshitive feedback loop becaush the reshponsh increashesh the shtimulus ☝️🤓

[@nitefurie.]

For anyone wondering what the text at 2:47 says, short answer is it doesn’t say anything. It’s filler text used to look like actual words and sentences at a glance, mainly used in design, or aperantly spy tutorials

[@Anarqism]

lorem Ipsum dolor sit amet

[@audriusskebas3099]

8:38 IT'S A POSITIVE FEEDBACK LOOP Since positive basically means encouraging/facilitating the same thing to keep repeating If it was a negative feedback loop you'd get happy quite soon after getting angry

[@Barakon]

This also fits for assassin's creed or spy games in general.

[@Cheeser409]

"Spy is hard" Spy need slef control

[@ZomBro_BOSS]

11:04 Hehe, Fustrating

[@hampoof6087]

damn, my life is a lie, I didn't know those were actually hippos

[@culinaryartificer5123]

9:51 About that cucumber joke: I don't know where I got this information, but using the same logic as the tomato argument, you do get the answer of both: Tomatoes are biologically fruits but do not fit the culinary definition of fruit, but tomatoes cannot biologically be vegetables due to the lack of a biological definition and thus can fit the only (relevant) definition of vegetables with immense ease. Cucumbers, following the same rules as tomatoes, are technically both fruits and vegetables, being biologically fruits and culinarily vegetables.

[@daviddimitrov3696]

Spy is the baine of my existsnce, i always get stabbed and whenever i try to play spy i suck. People always somehow find me out even if i barely play spy and i usually play other classes

[@reimuhakurei2123]

2:22 the interview part was great

[@mrtengumanncrafter2321]

What makes me happy as a clam is someone finally talking about the mental health aspects of spy in a somewhat serious note. I love tf2 and Spy as a class but boy oh boy I've certainly have had moments where I have said some pretty homicidal things over a game bc of pyros. And ultimately whilst I improve myself I heavily suggest to others to at least have a 2nd main or 3rd on standby if your not having a good day as spy. Or just don't play tf2 at all. Instead play some ULTRAKILL or some other game you like to goof around in!

[@Scott_TF2]

2:41 boat if you get it you get it.

[@murilonobrega9671]

BOAT

[@EivyGlitch]

BOAT

[@kamild_]

B O A T

[@guardianhero6124]

Ship

[@guardianhero6124]

Boat

[@capeluigigaming4348]

martin wtf are u doing here 2:40 ? the my summer guy drunk neighbor is in tf2 reasanoble continue

[@engifromtf2]

are you sayin'... that i'm a spy?

[@matthewred]

8:37 🤓actually that's a positive feedback loop not a negative feedback loop🤓

[@gekohno]

Just use the kunai, ringer, and letranger. You can then optimize your death loop, and after 190 hours of dying, you will immediately get really consistent with your trickstabs, and you can spend the next 2500 hours of your life getting mentally prepared for comp, and boom, you’re a top level frenchman

[@Jontohil2]

There is way more to spy than trickstabs (especially against teams of good players)

[@krwnlfro]

i never thought id be studying my psychology and mental health trying to get good at a video game

[@GentleSpyTF2]

Heh. Well this series has definitely been entertaining in showing me how others think and improve. It's quite nostalgic.. It makes me think back to a simpler time when Love & War just came out, when I used to get frustrated every time I died no matter how fair or unfair. And now, I can just queue up in any casual game and get a 5 killstreak almost while snoozing. And when Anger starts to appear, *I USE it to my Advantage.* I start to think more and utilise more complex strategies instead of being blinded by that anger. It's quite poetic..

[@Randomguy75080]

You know that you are good at spy when you are dominating pyro with backstabs

[@speedysgaminganddrawingcha3719]

All the videos were about mastering his tools, like a spy university. This is the graduation video.

[@Envulin]

I'm not ready for the casual spypocalypse following this video...

[@bronzetrophy2171]

3:44 5 blu heavies on mossrock?! What's in the water in New Zealand to get something like that?!!!

[@HunyyyVA]

Man, you gotta drop the Bury the Light and Laws of Nature remixes you made, straight up fire.

[@MrDoodar]

Whenever I get sick of playing spy, I just play observer spy and freak people out. It is much more satisfying giving people ptsd than getting a backstab.

[@ARed_yt]

I honestly don’t understand why I watch your videos, I don’t even play TF2 any more lol

[@quoing]

The best way to master spy is to not die, the best way to not die is to play a different class. After you have done that you are more effective than the other 4 spies on your team.

[@Rand0mCitiz3n]

You've made a video on dealing with pyros, dealing with engineers, the next step is dealing with other spies

[@deangross513]

Instead of taking my dog for a bath, I will enjoy this masterpiece of a video

[@Oddiffy]

Amazing and educational video. I am now a master baiter

[@kristopherotradovec7796]

Because of these videos i started tf2 last year in October and now i play spy for fun and i am good but not good at the same time and thats why i play engineer too.

[@FairPlayClubChads]

I love the rythm of those videos you deffinitly is my fav tf2 ytber

[@hesfallen]

Where is your motivation

[@TheSumOfAnIdeod]

Babe, wake up new spy Psychology vid just dropped

[@MotorcycleCheetah]

My guy, the music syncing with the visual effects in this video is glorious eye-candy. I know they’re pretty simple, but simple can be awesome. Very nice job mah man!