Why the CnD deserves some love

Howdy! First post on the SPUF blog here, and since I noticed a certain lack of Spy posts, here’s one about possibly the most unloved (and probably least mentioned!) weapon in TF2:

The Cloak ‘n’ Dagger.

At first, it seems like a straight upgrade, but when moving it actually drains cloak faster than you’d think, certainly faster than the Invis Watch, and it refuses to collect ammo. Most people just craft it off or let it be as a keepsake or a Spy weapon to collect, but it’s actually damn useful at times. Here’s why.

It’s not meant so much for an active role, but for stalking, picking and stealth. And maybe some griefing/trolling with smexeh girl sprays or on arena.

Here’s an example: Say you’re defending on Attack/Defend, any map. BLU has already taken the first point. By this time, you might find an Engineer building his stuff at spawn ready to teleport them to the first point or the area between the two points.

With the Invis Watch, you might be able to hover around the first point, but you’d have to seek either a Dispenser (which isn’t always available) or wander around for ammo packs. With the Dead Ringer, you’d be completely unable to stalk the enemy consistently, since its mechanic is more designed for being right behind the battlefront.

The Cloak and Dagger? Cloak, stay somewhere near the spawn gates, and wait for some unsuspecting back to stab. You can take a few lives (and deny potential pushes!) before people start getting wise and chase you down. And when they finally stop, restart the vicious cycle.

It’s also good for smallish/cramped maps, like 2fart 2fort. Patiently sneak past the Team Deathmatch at the middle area (bridge+battlements) and you can either camp in a corner with frequent traffic (hence a friend’s nickname: the “Camp ‘n’ Dagger”) or actually try to go for the intel. If someone spots you, just jump into a corner and stay very, very still until they move on. Remember to crouch if you’re hiding from gunfire – smaller hitbox means less chance of getting revealed. The Spy-Cicle may be of use when it comes to Pyros – they generally  expect you to run straight away from them, which most Spies do anyway – but should it melt, problem solved with the Cloak ‘n’ Dagger – just sit and wait for the not-really-a-knife to regenerate. (how does it do that, anyway?)

In a nutshell, it requires a completely different mindset from the standard Invisibility Watch or the Dead Ringer. Instead of moving around quickly or being able to feign your death (read: sponge up some damage), it’s a sheer stealth tool. Hide, wait, pick, hide again. After all, that’s what Spy was originally designed for, right?

I still want it to have silent decloak, though. It’d make more people use it. It’s nowhere near as unfair as the original Polycount Saharan Spy with the Dead Ringer. That was cheap as hell.

Thoughts?