'League of Legends' Taunts Are About to Be Much More Common

League of Legends' next patch includes a series of buffs and nerfs for champions like usual as well as some big marksmen item adjustments, but one of the more underrated parts of the update is that players will hear more unique taunts through automatic voice lines.

With as many champions there are in League of Legends, many of them connected to one another through rivalries, partnerships, or other encounters, it makes sense that they'd have some words for other champions when they meet one another. The only problem is that those voice lines typically only trigger when a player manually using the "Taunt" hotkey, but that's changing in Patch 9.3.

Tucked under the "Champions" section of the notes beneath all the buffs and nerfs, Riot Games said these types of champion or faction-specific taunts will trigger every time a champion comes in contact with someone who would normally meet the requirements for having that certain taunt heard.

"CHECK THE NAMETAG: Champions with faction- or champion-specific taunt VO now play those lines the first time they encounter a corresponding champion," Riot Games said in the patch notes.

It's a relatively small change in the patch compared to the new and update marksmen items and the Akali nerfs, but it's one that'll help flesh out the characters even more and make players more aware of how the champions are connected. This feature was previewed towards the end of 2018 with Riot Games saying it was considering making the change some time this year, a feature that's now been confirmed for Patch 9.3.

For some champions, this means that you'll hear their taunts much more, but others won't be heard quite as often. Ashe, for example, has only a few champion-specific taunts for Lissandra and Sejuani, two of the archer's Freljordian rivals. Newer champions and ones that've been reworked have many more though with ones like Aurelion Sol having over 30 different champions, skins, and factions that'll trigger unique taunts from him. Aatrox also has a few taunts for factions and champions, some of which deal specifically with the Darkin.

Sylas is a good example of what it'll likely sound like when this patch roles out, if players are familiar with the new mage by now. It seems this change has already been applied to Sylas seeing how his taunts play automatically whenever he encounters champions. His quotes page shows just how many interactions he has with others, most of them filled with disdain for the highborn and rulers of Runeterra. You can hear exactly what Sylas thinks about certain champions just by walking near them for the first time and even when he eliminates some characters like Jarvan IV, and those types of interactions are exactly what players will hear from other champions when Patch 9.3 rolls out.