What playing Spy taught me about Soldier [TF2]

So what does Spy have to do with playing Soldier? Honestly, I didn't know at first, but then after playing him some more, I got a good idea for it! BOOM BACKSTAB!
Special thank you to: ​⁠​⁠‪@HintShot‬
My Twitch: / rocketmanfran
Discord server: / discord
Subscribe: ​⁠​⁠‪@RocketManFran‬
Twitter: / rocketmannfran
Thumbnail creator: ​⁠​⁠‪@PumpkinJucio‬
/ pumpkinjucio
Songs:
Intro music: Rocket Man [ Bitpop Chiptune] - Tribute to Elton John by Gavin Graham
Team Fortress 2 - Right Behind You
Professor Layton and the last time travel - The Professor's Trunk (Minicar)
Tobu - Mesmerize
Toad Town - Paper Mario
Hades - The Painful Way
Ghostbusters Theme
Reef Area - Kirby's Return to Dreamland
More Than Anything - Piano Duet Arrangement (Hazbin Hotel)
Go Quickly! - Sonic Runners [OST]
The Batman (2004) Theme
Team Fortress 2 - My Petit Shuffler
Special Thanks to:
Duds and Boxcutter for the Spy ghostbusters art and Medic and Heavy heads
#tf2 #TeamFortress2 #Soldier #Spy

[@HintShot]

"Oh Soldier, who will they ever find to replace you?" Was fun working on this with you man, it turned out great!!

[@WarHelmetCombine]

*switches to soldier*

[@sharkotario808]

@Xx_Peter_Griffin_Gaming_xX have a look around

[@VTAOVT]

@Xx_Peter_Griffin_Gaming_xXHave a look around

[@greenoftreeblackofblue6625]

When spy said "Anyone!" And destoryed his mind with the reality of war it said chills down my spine. -Twitter spreadsheet

[@Bluestlark]

"nobody likes to turn around" as someone who has survived a few french revolutions let me tell you I love turning around.

[@HaaskaChan]

heavy main?

[@regalblade8171]

​@@HaaskaChan1 life as Medic

[@dytona1223]

This is such a clever pun and nobody got it, my deepest condolences

[@Gooby1024]

i played spy for 100+ hours and i can confirm all these kills were paid actors

[@Sugar_freenow]

How pyro main i can approve this words

[@BaconAnimatic]

Yeah theres no way hes using the Y.E.R and got good with it like that

[@macyk113]

Same

[@phantomforcesnewbie7848]

​@BaconAnimatic yer is actually good, it just encourages you to wait for the right moment to strike

[@BaconAnimatic]

@@phantomforcesnewbie7848 Same goes for the C.A.D and its playstyle so passive everyone's gonna get bored of how slow it is

[@Pudding404]

We usually play video games to rest and avoid using our brains, but Spy really makes it fun and rewarding to think critically. Skill ceiling is so high with spy, that there's always something to learn.

[@bananaraptor7747]

social engineering, wonder if pirate software man would be good at it

[@lukasampapa6188]

You forgot spy´s biggest downside. He´s french

[@That_one_guy_on_yt]

Damn I forgot about that downside

[@Dearender]

@@That_one_guy_on_ytreal

[@peika8324]

Playing spy make me realize just how tunnel vision and unaware people are if you just be patient sneaking.

[@supersmash64dnothing57]

What playing tf2 taught me about tf2 [TF2]

[@Dandy-Man]

Holeh moleh

[@rosant7074]

"That soldier is a spy" They said.

[@DylanDaPhantom]

Dude you were gone for so long I finally picked up sfm. Then blender then got a job at dreamworks where I became lead animator and retired after making multiple blockbusters during your absence on yt btw!! Now I’m just here in my couch finding this video and typing up this bs cause why not

[@demoman5864]

6:05 sentry busters!

[@KingKayro87]

If there's Engineers In your neighborhood Who ya gonna call? SENTRY BUSTERS!

[@BoxCuttar]

Nice tips, tricks, SFM, gameplay, and more! You have truly become the spy

[@RocketManFran]

Right behind you ;)

[@petershaneracoma7844]

​@@RocketManFran Good Joke :)

[@BasicallyBaconSandvichIV]

Spy, with his role as disruptor, is essentially engineer flipped. Engineer builds up his team, spy breaksdown the other team. Engineer is behind his team, spy is far infront. To understand the bare basics of what a spy is supposed to do, flip engie's behaviour.

[@zaviki7819]

I remember seeing a video from a spy main talking about the psychology behind playing spy, as in trying to gauge and control how paranoid you make the enemy team to control how often they are likely to spy check or how closely they scrutinize you as well as the little things you can do to sell your disguise and avoid a spy check. Pretty interesting stuff.

[@laddershuffle9998]

Its totaly the same guy that says "SPY HAS A GUN!"

[@MainDotLua]

Spy is a ton of fun. Sadly, I am REALLY bad at Spy. But those small moments where I can actually get stabs feel amazing. Great video as always! ♡

[@Risemonger]

Oh hey, here's a face I've not seen for a while lol But yeah I'm not exactly good with Spy either, but it sure is a whole different experience playing him for myself as opposed to just frying them alive.

[@kdevelopergw]

i came here just to see smugdodofart's art (the ghostbuster's spy thing) but then saw this man is rocking my favourite spy loadout at 6:30 and recognized immediately that i am seeing a cultured person with a refined taste in trolling the enemy team

[@kdevelopergw]

oh also im friends with them on discord and they just dmed me the message you sent with a screenshot of this comment and ngl it was hilarious lol and while im here i did end up watching the video in full and i wanna note that at 5:36 i kinda disagree - spy is not engineer's counter, and he never was. Spy vs Engineer matchup is pretty equal in my eyes (and i play both). Engineer has a lot of tools to counter spy (ahem, why'd you bring a knife to a shotgun battle), and Spy has a lot of tools to fool an engineer (sapper baiting). If anything, demoman and soldier are the biggest counters for engineer (demoman even moreso given... he has some of the most powerful weapons in tf2 with what are basically TWO primary weapons)

[@RocketManFran]

@@kdevelopergwhello. Wonderful to see you! So I think you misunderstood that part a little bit, fair honestly because I can see what you thought based on the sfm part. I wasn’t trying to say Spy was engineer’s counter cuz you’re right, they’re basically equal, which is why I mentioned Spy being outclassed by everyone. In the SFM part I was showing that Spy is probably one of the best things to be whenever there’s a lot of sentries on the enemy team AS LONG AS YOU HAVE A PLAN…cuz you can get behind the engineer’s to at least distract them from rebuilding their sentry while your team can try to take it out. But obviously if Engi is distracted then you can backstab and sap the sentry, but yeah just pray that the engineer isn’t super cautious and starts destroying you and your team regardless if you play Spy lol. Thanks for commenting and watching the full vid btw, glad to see you enjoyed the full vid even tho you came for Duds’ art :)

[@kdevelopergw]

@@RocketManFran ah I see

[@rexmurphy1054]

As someone who plays spy, I’d say that no matter what your teammates have this primal instinct to be in the same spot as you no matter what, and that whenever you go for a backstab source spaghetti gets you or they turn around for no actual reason

[@MrXtr1]

Maining Spy has had the same effect on my mental health as constant crack intake

[@OpossumFan]

The way backstabs and markets feel aimilar is exactly why spy and trolldier are two of my favorite classes

[@BoxCutterYT]

Spy is honestly my least favorite class in TF2, but maybe I might give him try. Once again, another fantastic video from the RocketManFran! :)

[@tpgildersleeve]

I think a lot of people get caught up on the classes that make up the core fighters (soldier, demo, and scout), the other classes are harder to really sell to them without breaking them out of their comfort zone. Heavy is the slow team anchor, pyro needs to balance tic and burst damage, medic is rarely going to get kills on his own, engi is managing his buildings, sniper needs to lock down chokes/sight lines for his team, and spy has to find prime vulnerable targets. These ideas are far flung from “rush in and kill fast” which is how most like to play, but everyone has their place and it wouldn’t be as engaging without the other classes.

[@meikahidenori]

A good spy is someone who makes an entire team paranoid. It's the reason I'm terrible at it😅 but you learn SO MUCH about the game as one😊

[@KingKayro87]

Spy is my second favorite class to play as, and weirdly enough he actually helped me learn to calm down and not get frustrated when I die in TF2

[@superasax3245]

He can cloak around, unless you use the deadringer, destroy an enemy's buildings, unless you use the red tape recorder, disguise as enemy's himself, unless you use the your eternal reward, and get a instant kill with a backstab, unless you use the spy-cicle.

[@clothandleather2838]

The phrase "spy is to basic" is insane when propped up against the class that doesn't even really need to engage to wipe a team

[@leafofyume7838]

2:30 i ask myself if its a good or bad thing that this song sounds like roblox tycoon music to me. you know the classic genuine tycoons.

[@Zicrixdoesart]

man I was not expecting that batman 2004 needledrop

[@RocketManFran]

You like? This is my favorite Batman show :D

[@Zicrixdoesart]

@@RocketManFran yeah, I never got to catch it on TV, but I've watched it more recently and it's definitely underrated

[@keshakuznetsov7881]

Loved the Superman vs Batman analogy

[@saikopoppity]

FRAN... YOUR VIDEOS HAVEN'T APPEARED IN MY RECCOMENDED IN SO LONG... IM SO GLAD TO SEE YOU AGAIN.......

[@A_Doofus]

want to know something? SPY HAS A GUN.

[@Kimo_uwu]

Aye, great comeback with with a great video, really love your style, dude ;)

[@FighterDood]

Always great to find one of these vids after not seeing them for awhile

[@JMObyx]

That Batman vs Superman analogy was SUPERB!

[@cheese1008]

Oh someone not bitching that the diamondback is allegedly “op” and instead just saying it’s a fun gun to use finally a reasonable man.

[@Eccetie]

7:45 dont think we didnt notice "more than anything" playing in the background

[@RocketManFran]

I'm glad y'all do :)

[@benceszuszekos7129]

Thank you for your continuing work. If players and KZbinrs like yourself keep up the good work community will never die ❤

[@peterkershaw11]

The montage with Tobu's Hope in the background brings back major Mr. Paladin vibes. Oh, and great video btw!

[@RocketManFran]

It’s actually Mesmerize. But glad you felt like that, was hoping to give y’all some nostalgia :)

[@ag3g]

the song at like 2 minutes is nostaligic af

[@ShadowBoltTF2]

8:44 That demoknight's name is shown 4 times on the freezecam. You only censored 2 of them.

[@laddershuffle9998]

I am a certified spy main and this video triggerd me. Alot. BUT I am glad to see u trying him out haha. Great video.

[@Sirebellum1337]

This has made me realize how little I actually "main" anything in tf2. I've got at least 100 hours on each class in casual (with my least played being sniper), but the difference between my other classes' playtime is negligible. I guess I never really committed to mastering any of them...

[@jokermiles27]

Hi!, u got another subscriber man!, congrats, and nice video and work! :D

[@TheWhiteFoxStory]

*Me checking on the 3 sections of the team that has been equally made for the 9 mercenaries* Me:it's a support class? No wonder how he's good not being there, then being there makes him bad.😂

[@TheOriginalFoxManDan]

11:47 Jhontohil cameo?!

[@RocketManFran]

Something like that

[@jericb]

That batman vs superman analogy was dope asf

[@reeeboi1]

He has the same spy loadout as me. Besides the Sapper. (I mean the loadout from when he says “This is my favourite loadout for Spy.”)

[@phillipanderson7899]

Me, a Spy Main: Strongest? No we have a strong gimmick, we're one of the weakest actually

[@rottenroads1982]

I remember one time, I was playing in a Trade Server, and I had Low health, and their was a Soldier rocket jumping away from me. And I Managed to Land a Back Stab. It was honestly one of the most Epic things I have done. But those epic moments are extremely rare.

[@omerabdelrahman7192]

That animation is great, good video

[@RocketManFran]

1st off. Thanks! 2nd. Which animation?

[@omerabdelrahman7192]

@@RocketManFran the little animation segment inbetween dialog

[@damnedtosuffer666]

Hi, hello- it is I, the one you nicknamed "I'm Stupid" in the server lol I officially fear you now because you enjoy using the diamondback- I can't stand getting yeeted by the crits XD ..... but as a soldier/scout main myself who regularly switches to spy a lot for le French time, this video was awesome to watch Nicely done, Fran and Hint!! ^^

[@Spellcastiing]

glad to see another video, i love seeing these

[@pat_krevetka]

05:20 omg i didn't know you're a TMNT fan?!🥺 great video tho!! I'm also a soldier main and spy is my least class as well,, but i try to learn him every time i see if there's a lack of people playing him...as an opportunity ^_^"

[@RocketManFran]

I’m glad you love my displays. I always nerd out about TMNT in my server lol

[@pat_krevetka]

​@@RocketManFran as someone who loves any TMNT gen... interesting

[@maxwell_edison]

that ending... liek if u cry every tim

[@PumpkinJucio]

The Man, The Myth, The Legend has made his grand return : )

[@sonicmeerkat]

spy is honestly one of the most interesting classes in any multiplayer game, specifically because he's the one character which becomes weaker with stacking while still being strong in their own right, as annoying and high skill floored the class is they are one of the most balanced classes in the game because the devs decided his melee didn't need an absurd random crit chance, even if it's only due to their design choice of activated crits replacing random ones like with snipers headshots. spy is a really well designed pick class, easily killing isolated or out of position players but the harder encounters aren't impossible and the easier ones aren't free, being alone you're more aware but being with others all it takes is one person to notice you. like sure sniper is better, but he can two tap the bulkiest character in the game from across the map without counterplay. with spy i can turn around, hit my shots when i spot him or be more aware of my team, with sniper it's stay out of his line of sight or change class and hope he doesn't put on the shield of go fuck yourself, even the cozy campers full charge flinch immunity takes away the one tool bullet classes have to cross sightlines. also it's just fun to fight him as engineer, he's the guy that makes turtling not boring and makes me consider not just using the rescue ranger when not battle engieing.

[@SnowyDayINC]

1:00 I...I think the spy never heard those words before and...i think he's gonna cry...

[@RocketManFran]

lol

[@The_dumb_luck]

Yeah probability

[@---ug4fi]

6:33 Haha, yes! That the thing because I'm playing as a eternal reward main :3

[@phone_gal]

bro said "spy is too simple" brother its the second most complex class in the game, maybe besides engineer (im an engineer main religiously and i stand by engy being the most complex)

[@SirTriton]

I’ve played some spy in my life on my crappy potato laptop before it died and the class really left an impression on me, and not for the reason you would think. Spy answers 2 questions about video game balancing of things that are hard to balance. Let me explain. First off all, invisibility. Invisibility in pvp games has always been extremely hard to balance, since when done wrong it can either be incredibly annoying or incredibly underpowered. For example in paladins some characters can go invisible yet they can still attack so you most of the time get killed by something you can’t even see which is annoying. Spies invisibility is so well balanced since it punishes you for misplacement, doesn’t allow you free kills and is interactive for both sides (unless the opponent is deaf). The other one is instant kills. Spies backstab is one of the few examples where an instant kill isn’t straight up annoying. The spy has to work for that power unlike other instant kill characters in games like widowmaker in overwatch or a random guy with a sniper in cod. Not only that, but after he has preformed said instant kill he is most of the time very vulnerable unlike the other previously mentioned characters.

[@bxnny5861]

watching tf2 videos makes me wanna play tf2, but then i play tf2 and remember im playing tf2 and have 0 unlocks and cant play what i want

[@no1normal750]

spy is impossible to play for me because predicting literally anything enemies will do is impossible for me

[@itzmenugget4716]

"trust me" *teleports to 2014*

[@IncompetentPotato]

bro is using hazbin hotel in the background at 8:23

[@canbbananba4451]

just noticed the music he used is the season 1 finale of hazbin hotel. Nice.

[@RocketManFran]

Not the finale, it was in episode 5. But yes, you’re right it was Hazbin :)

[@canbbananba4451]

@@RocketManFran Darn, a few songs have the same moteifs so what can you do? they're gonna sound the same as basic instrumentals.

[@THEFurfoot]

Either your team has 3 spys already or the enemy team is hyper alert I have experienced no in between.

[@hussar7733]

Spy is outclassed by everyone ? My man forgot that revolver exists

[@RocketManFran]

even with the revolver, Spy's outclassed. Sure, maybe you should use it in case you get caught, but that varies because the person you're shooting has a stronger weapon than you. Pretty much whenever the revolver works is if the enemy is on low health (like how I did the Soldier in the air), if you're close range to someone using their melee weapon (like demoknight), if the person you're shooting sucks at shooting you and you get lucky with them, or obviously if your enemy runs out of ammo. So yeah, that's my take on it

[@hussar7733]

@@RocketManFran I'd have to stromgly disagree against light classes and medics at least allow me to explain, sure in a fair 1v1 fight against engie,sniper scout or medic you have no chance because enemy has to hit about one less hit than you BUT what you're forgeting is that you can often get the jump on the enemy player thanks to your invisability. You uncloack get one shot and suddenly the enemy is at a disadvantage, you just have tu get the first shot, sometimes you don't even need that if a uber-saw medic forgets he also has a gun and just continiues to charge straight at you as you wigle him down, same about sniper or engie, and if you're using ambassador and can aim with it you kinda dom everybody. But that's just my opinion maybe you had diffrent experiences

[@RocketManFran]

@@hussar7733 I respect where you’re coming from and I see the points you made. All I was saying was using the stock revolver can be a bit challenging especially WHEN YOU GET CAUGHT. Ambassador is a different story, it’s just you need to aim precisely at their head. Same goes for cloaking, since I mentioned that I think he’s a basic class and cloaking isn’t something I like doing cuz I think it’s too easy. But yeah, that’s just my personal opinion and I get where you’re coming from

[@hussar7733]

@@RocketManFran And I get where you're coming from and respect it but please do me one favor, play spy get spotted by a pyro cloack start running away but the second you're fully clocked run towars pyro just next to where he's flaming and look how stupid he looks(works more than it should)

[@raymondbelarmino8165]

Atleast he used YER, CND and L'etranger and not the kunai spy loadout

[@Medical_playing]

As medic main i turn around every 5-8 sec ... And still dieing to spys

[@MrColgatee]

Layton music refrenced, INSTANT BANGER

[@bigiron1182]

I normally hate playing spy, but I believe I've always had a wrong approach to the class. You know, everyone tells you that you should run dead ringer and kunai to play spy effectively and I despise that loadout. Last week I tried playing as him since nobody was playing spy and I decided to try stock spy, just the revolver, invis watch, knife and sapper. I had never had so much fun with spy in my entire life, I just did the loop of cloaking behind the enemies, picking off medics, heavies, snipers and engis for the team, I ended up topscoring somehow. You die a lot more than with the kunai but it's fine, spy respawns pretty fast anyway and you can get back to getting those important picks.

[@emilygordbort7300]

"Spy is one of the strongest classes around" Okay yeah I can tell spy is your least played class lol

[@nekobeforelyfe]

Try the dead ringer and all your problems go bye bye

[@RocketManFran]

Despite the early clip, I suck with the dead ringer

[@nekobeforelyfe]

@@RocketManFran try this "op Try hard spy combo" : dead ringer,kunai,Amby or letranger

[@Thiefthebat]

this guy is support, and support he is, you can cause the entire enemy team paranoia or just get an opening for you teams other attackers, that's why spy can balance out the game, that is, if you have the patience for skill, he has practically the most basic weapons to their full potential

[@Gront517]

You need one spy on your team ONE!

[@TheWeird05]

2:47 oaww hell nahh dog what's that 2016 intro music

[@RocketManFran]

Tobu- Mesmerize

[@TheWeird05]

@@RocketManFran dam didn't know you chill like that I'm subscribing

[@ArtZy08]

TL:DR use the revolver like the stock shotgun. Just saying, the revolver is basically just the stock shotgun, they have about the same damage range and fall off, the only difference is that one fires a spread and the other a single shot, but both need to be aimed pretty accurately to deal good damage.

[@THPGoldenWind]

6:49 Dokkan Battle asset detected

[@unechtertommy]

You forgot about one thing...if you fight against any class...you can trickstab them...i'm a sniper that happened to me like...88 times or so before i learned how to fight against trickstabbers

[@heyer777]

DONT FORGET THAT SPY HAS A GUN

[@firegod5457]

my very first trickstab with spy was a blind stair stab and i did it with 80 hrs on tf2

[@FenSnuu]

Having only started playing more spy because I got professional kill streak weapons. I can say it's hard when up against skilled players but it helps you challenge yourself. On the other hand with new players or people with no awareness is just fun and funny because you can just either choose to kill them or play cloak and dagger and yell spy at the enemy.

[@spsdonuts]

what do , proceads to ear loud decloak sound

[@llmkursk8254]

I might have to use that starting point of playing spy when there's a bunch of power classes but no spies. Spy is my second least played class because I have a lot of trouble trying to play as him. I effectively flounder. Medic is my least played class because I want to avoid getting upset at my team for being incompetent. Even if that isn't the case every time, it's more just a preventative measure so I don't get upset.

[@fireflywhy3809]

10:25 I think you meant 3rd it's Pryo , heavy, then soilder mate.

[@loopthedoop]

MR ROCKET FRAN MAN WHERE DID YOU COME FROM!?

[@RocketManFran]

yes

[@Sylexe4prez]

Why do the best TFtubers post once in a blue moon

[@RocketManFran]

Don’t worry, I plan on making that change ;)

[@BLAZE-1001]

Highly respect good spy players.

[@bruhsoundeffect3029]

Im not sure how much you care about this but you forgot to censor the name of the player in the weapon inspect box at 8:41. Fun video!

[@lazernarwhall]

holy shit that's me! 6:12

[@SuspiciousLemonade]

Where?

[@starmaker75]

Despite spy being my least favorite class due me being nervous to do stuff like backstabs and the like. However when spy works, he really works. Seriously it great to bring in paranoid to the team and making one particular annoying to deal with player a lesson.

[@lambdrey]

based soldier main plays spy and learns a lesson

[@fancyassasin]

He is becoming one of us Its all according to plan....

[@RocketManFran]

Sorry pal but Spy shall remained least played :P But he’s still cool

[@1964catt]

i only play as spy if are team needs him to zap a engineer nest or something then go back to the other classes, i use him as a tool more then anything else.

[@idkwh4tt0puthere]

i was just trying to watch a funny video about tf2 and spy then i'm jump scared the instrumentals of more then anything and now i'm crying

[@linkster5564]

The main reason i switch to spy is to spy cap the cart

[@Connor-800-d1d]

Ngl this guy is just as good as lazy purple

[@kollega928]

I like how a soldier main calls spy basic.

[@RocketManFran]

Like I said, it’s just my opinion on how I feel about him. But still, he’s fun hence to why I made this video

[@Changed_the_box-cat]

Fran remember SPY HAS A GUN (I’m absolutely not a Jontohil2 alt I swear) (Yes I am not lying) (Please believe me)

[@lovehartLH]

I am so happy to see you use the YER.

[@RocketManFran]

What can I say, it’s a good knife

[@lovehartLH]

@@RocketManFran you are wiser than 90% of spy mains.

[@Popdosty]

spy is so, he is in my top 10 tf2 classes, just below Saxton Hale