In a game devoid of text or voice chat during live matches, communication between players is restricted to a carefully curated selection of animated emotes.
This article explores the psychology behind emote usage and how to protect your mental state from the toxicity of the arena.
Psychological Warfare
The timing of the emote is critical; dropping a ‘Thanks! For more information on tower rush take a look at our own website. ‘ emote right after the opponent accidentally misses their fireball is guaranteed to induce rage.
In this way, the emote actually provides a tangible, strategic advantage; it is a zero-elixir spell that directly damages the opponent’s decision-making ability.
- Crying when you are actually happy might trick the opponent into thinking you made a mistake.
- Be a good sport.
- Spend your gems on progression first, cosmetics second.
The Ultimate Defense: The Mute Button
Fortunately, developers eventually realized the massive toxicity problem and implemented the single most powerful defensive tool in the game: the Mute button.
When you play muted, the opponent is reduced to nothing more than a silent, predictable AI; they lose their human ability to annoy you.
| Emote Category | The Theory | How Players Use It |
|---|---|---|
| Joyful Emote | To celebrate a funny, chaotic moment where both players made silly mistakes | Spammed relentlessly when destroying a tower to mock the opponent’s defensive failure |
| The Crying Emote | To express genuine sadness when you make a bad play or realize you are going to lose | Used sarcastically after you easily defend a massive push to say “Aww, are you sad your attack failed?” |
Beyond the Cartoons
Treat the BM as a compliment; they are trying to tilt you because they respect your ability to win.
The best revenge is winning the game.