Do the sniper and spy have essentially the same job?

[Guardian]

So a lot of tf2 classes have extremely similiar jobs like the soldier and demoman but sniper and spy seem the closest to me.

-Their main job seems to be to eliminate high value targets from the battlefield.

-They're able to eliminate slow targets like heavies and soldiers easier then other classes

-They both weak in a straight up fight.

-You do not want to have more then one or two good ones on a team and often 2 snipers, 2 spies or 1 each can be interchangable.

-Both have deal with specific counter classes (pyros for spies and well spies for snipers)

-Both are weak to scouts


Only main difference I can think of is that spies have sappers to deal with engineer buildings and the sniper can eliminate more targets if he chooses a good sniping spot.

[Zork Nemesis]

Essentially they share the same roles: eliminate high value targets. The main difference is where they do it. Snipers typically stay in front of the other team picking them off as they approach. Spies on the other hand are free to get around them and pick them off from behind. When both are striking at the same time, it leads to a lot of confusion as you have the looming Sniper threat from the front but someone's cutting you down from behind. Spies are more suited to knocking out Engineer nests than Snipers though as that is the sole purpose of the Sapper; a Sniper can knock out Engineer nests if they have a good angle and good shot, but a Spy can just walk in, sap, stab, and walk away without much scuffle if they don't get caught.

[The Domer]

They both do basically do the same thing, but sniper works from range, but the spy has to get in close to do his work. To balance that out, the spy tends to cause more of a panic and can really disrupt a team, particularly if he makes his presence know right before a strong push.

But to most concisely answer your question, yes, they are the two "picking" classes.

[black_and_blue]

Same mission, but each works better under different circumstances. Spies would tend to really like areas with lots of hiding spots, while snipers would tend to thrive in wide-open areas.

[BlueInGreen]

When playing engineer, I prefer playing against spies because they are close enough to hit with my gunslinger or wrench.

[Boss Llama]

While they're both pick classes, I view the Sniper as essentially defensive, and the Spy as essentially offensive. This doesn't necessarily refer to which color they're on, but to what they do on the battlefield. Whereas the sniper does best if immobile (static defense), the spy thrives on mobility (offensive pushing). Snipers are predominantly opportunists who eliminate the targets that present themselves, while the Spy goes out and hunts down the target that needs to be eliminated. Snipers are difficult to coordinate for an attack, while a well timed spy is invaluable for sapping a nest right as a push comes in. Two good snipers will keep each other occupied and basically cancel each other out, while two good spies will never meet each other except by happenstance on a respawn. Spies are excellent tools for providing intel and distraction, but can't really fight. Snipers can effectively provide massive area denial, but have almost no utility for other purposes.

[prang]

There is no interaction with other people on the server as either class. Essentially the same.

[cam]

No. The sniper and the spy do completely different jobs.

You see, its the spy's job to just be terrible. In fact, the only reason the class exists is to give the simple minded something to do in the game because GabeN wanted to be inclusive.


On the other hand, you have a very valuable class like sniper who can equip a bow and arrow with christmas lights on it. After many rigorous minutes of training, a decent sniper can fire an arrow anywhere he wants and still shoot me in the head.