Taunts

“

Yeah, why don't you come over and say that to my face, tough guy? Click to listen — The Scout's final words to an angry Heavy

”

Each class has its own series of taunts. These can be performed using default key: 'g' for the PC and OS X, "X" for the Xbox 360, and "Square" for the PS3, with most weapons possessing their own unique animation and dialog line(s), though some taunts may be shared between similar weapons. Several lines of dialog are chosen at semi-random during a taunt, with one line being chosen at random and every line after it following a specific order. Taunts are generally used for gloating purposes after killing an opponent, to celebrate a victory, provoke living opponents or simply for comedic effect and for the most part have no direct effect on gameplay. However, certain taunts have effects such as healing the player and his teammates, stunning, damaging, and usually killing opponents. Taunts that kill enemy players are known as "Attack taunts" or "Kill taunts". Several achievements also require the use of taunts. Although taunts can be used during humiliation and Stalemate, related achievements are not awarded. Caution should be exercised when performing a taunt; while a player performs a taunt, they are left vulnerable and the view shifts from first to third-person, leaving the player unable to act until the taunt is concluded (though Demomen are able to activate their Stickybombs while taunting).

Taunting cannot be performed underwater or while airborne. The effects of knock back will instantly cancel any taunt. All taunts, including Kill taunts, can be successfully performed while stunned.

A minority of weapons, such as the Battalion's Backup, Scotsman's Skullcutter, Pain Train, Engineer's PDAs, Jarate, and Electro Sapper, all lack taunts. The Heavy's food and Scout's drinks function as both a consumable and taunt when activated, moving the player into a third-person view. While the Heavy's consumable taunts activate upon pressing the taunt key, the Scout's consumables only activate upon pressing the primary fire key. All weapons that have been released in "Community" updates do not have unique taunts, instead using a pre-existing taunt or nothing at all.

It used to be possible to switch weapons with quick-switch (Default 'q') after pressing the key to taunt but before the taunt animation actually plays. This would result in your character performing the taunt for the weapon you had before pressing the taunt key but holding the weapon that you switched to. This glitch was unintentionally "fixed" in the Mann-Conomy Update, but Robin Walker has stated in emails that it might be reinstated in the future due to its popularity.

Taunts by class

• Scout taunts
• Soldier taunts
• Pyro taunts
• Demoman taunts
• Heavy taunts
• Engineer taunts
• Medic taunts
• Sniper taunts
• Spy taunts

Special taunts

Also known as "Attack taunts" or "Kill taunts" (with the exception of the Medic's Oktoberfest and his Medicating Melody), these taunts have the ability to kill any opponent in a single hit, as they do 500+ damage.

Taunt	Kill Icon	Class	Weapon	Damage	Duration	Details
Grand Slam		Scout	Sandman Atomizer	500 (Instant kill)	5 seconds	Sends the enemy flying Slowest kill taunt
Grenade		Soldier	Equalizer	500 (Instant kill)	4 seconds	6ft blast radius Kills player upon completion Destroys buildings
	(Lumbricus Lid)
Hadouken		Pyro	Shotgun Flare Gun Detonator	500 (Instant kill)	3 seconds	Kills with fire effect Can kill more than one opponent at once Slightly slower than Showdown Destroys buildings Knocks enemy back a few feet
Barbarian Swing		Demoman	Eyelander Horseless Headless Horsemann's Headtaker Claidheamh Mòr Half-Zatoichi Persian Persuader Nessie's Nine Iron	500 (Instant kill)	5 seconds	Adds a head to the killer's head count when wielding the Eyelander, Nessie's Nine Iron, and the HHHH. Counts as an honourable kill with the Half-Zatoichi and allows you to sheath the weapon
High Noon		Heavy	Fists Saxxy	400-500 (Instant kill)	3 seconds	Has medium range and a wide bullet Fastest kill taunt
Guitar Smash		Engineer	Frontier Justice	500 (Instant kill)	4 seconds	Will smash the target's head in, so it appears their neck has been broken
Arm Blender			Gunslinger	14 (Swing, stun effect) 500 (Instant kill)	4 seconds	Gibs the opponent if they were killed by the final blow, ragdolls if killed by the spinning
Oktoberfest		Medic	Kritzkrieg	None	4 seconds	Heals player for 11 health
Medicating Melody			Amputator	None	4 seconds	Heals nearby teammates
Uberslice			Übersaw	1 (Swing, stun effect) 500 (Instant kill)	4 seconds approx.	Initial stab has stun effect (1 damage), followed by the killing Übersaw removal Adds 100% to ÜberCharge meter
Arrow Stab		Sniper	Huntsman	None (Stab, stun effect) 500 (Instant kill)	4 seconds	Arrow stab with stun effect (no damage), followed by the killing arrow removal
Fencing		Spy	Knife Your Eternal Reward Conniver's Kunai Saxxy Big Earner	50 (Swings) 500 (Instant kill)	5 seconds	Two swings followed by a killing thrust Can kill more than one opponent in a single thrust Destroys buildings

Action taunts

Some taunts can be equipped in the Action slot.

Taunt	Class	Duration	Details
Meet the Medic	Medic	5 seconds	When executed, the Medic strikes a heroic pose and glows as doves fly out from around him.
Director's Vision	All classes	5 seconds	When executed, the player puts their arms out and forms a square with their fingers.
Schadenfreude		Variable	When executed, the player revels in the humiliation of their opponents.

Thriller taunt

During the Haunted Halloween Special events, an extra taunt was added for all classes referencing a dance move from the hit song "Thriller" by Template:W. The taunt will play at random upon hitting the taunt button and will always activate if a player taunts with an item that possesses no taunt animation, e.g. Jarate. It is only available during the annual Halloween event. However, there are hidden NPCs on Thunder Mountain that can do the Thriller taunt year-round.

Notes

• All classes perform this taunt slightly differently, as an example: the Sniper will lift his feet up and the Demoman will look straight forward without moving his head when performing this taunt.
• When the Engineer taunts with the Frontier Justice and the Thriller taunt occurs, guitar pieces are immediately dropped.
• If the Thriller taunt occurs when a Special taunt would normally activate, the taunt will not have its usual effect. Currently, the only exception to this is the Medicating Melody.

Unused taunts

There are a number of taunt animations in Team Fortress 2's files, the purpose of which has not been explained yet by Valve. Each class has a set of four High-Five taunts, each one either slightly positive, slightly negative, very positive, or very negative.

The first of these animations (Soldier and Demoman) were added during the WAR! Update, the Engineer's animations with the Engineer Update, and the remaining animations during the Mann-Conomy Update. It should be noted that the negative animations appear to be failed or missed High-Fives as the classes' hands do not stop suddenly as they do in the positive animations.

The original Soldier and Demoman High-Five taunt animations were replaced by the ones added in Mann-Conomy Update, while the Engineer's animations were removed entirely from the game files. The Engineer's High-Five taunt animations were later added back into the game files with the Replay Update.

Based on a similar mechanic in Portal 2, it is possible that these animations are intended as a sort of co-op taunt.

Related achievements

 Scout

Out of the Park Bat an enemy 25 meters.

 Soldier

Gore-a! Gore-a! Gore-a! Provide the enemy with a freezecam of you taunting over 3 of their body parts. Spray of Defeat Use a grenade to gib a player.

Worth a Thousand Words Provide the enemy with a freezecam of your 21 gun salute.

 Pyro

Dance Dance Immolation Kill 3 enemies while they're taunting. Got A Light? Ignite an enemy Spy while he's flicking a cigarette.

Freezer Burn Provide enemies with freezecam shots of each of your taunts. OMGWTFBBQ Kill an enemy with a taunt.

 Demoman

Bloody Merry Provide an enemy player with a freeze cam of your smiling face. Second Eye Provide an enemy player with a freeze cam of you shaking your rump.

Scotch Tap Glory in the slaughter of your enemies using the Eyelander.

 Heavy

Konspicuous Konsumption Eat 100 sandviches. Show Trial Kill an enemy with a taunt.

Photostroika Provide an enemy with a freezecam shot of you taunting while invulnerable.

 Engineer

Six-String Stinger Provide an enemy player with a freeze cam of your guitar playing skills.

Honky Tonk Man Smash an enemy player's head in with your guitar.

 Medic

Autopsy Report Provide an enemy with a freezecam shot of you taunting above their ragdoll.

 Sniper

Be Polite Provide an enemy with a freezecam shot of you doffing your hat. The Last Wave Provide an enemy with a freezecam shot of you waving to them.

Shafted Stab an enemy with an arrow.

 Spy

For Your Eyes Only Provide an enemy with a freezecam shot of you flicking a cigarette onto their corpse.

The Man from P.U.N.C.T.U.R.E. Stab an enemy while fencing.

Replay achievements

Star of My Own Show Spend some time editing a replay. Reward: Director's Vision

Update history

November 20, 2007 Patch

• Fixed jump/taunt exploit.

April 29, 2008 Patch (Gold Rush Update)

• [Undocumented] Added new sounds to the Medic's melee taunt if he is using the Übersaw.

June 19, 2008 Patch (Pyro Update)

• Hadouken taunt now kills people it hits.

July 8, 2008 Patch

• Fixed broken Medi Gun taunt.

August 19, 2008 Patch (A Heavy Update)

• [Undocumented] The Heavy's Showdown becomes a taunt attack.
• [Undocumented] Added a new taunt used by the Killing Gloves of Boxing.

February 16, 2009 Patch

• Demoman's bottle taunt has received a new 'burp' sound.

February 24, 2009 Patch (Scout Update)

• [Undocumented] Added Home Run taunt for the Sandman.

February 25, 2009 Patch

• Fixed the BONK!! particles appearing in the air when the bat's taunt kill is used on a target.

May 21, 2009 Patch (Sniper vs. Spy Update)

• Demomen can now detonate their stickies while taunting.
• Added a new taunt for the Kritzkrieg, which also heals for 10 points.
• [Undocumented] The Spy's Fencing becomes a taunt attack.
• [Undocumented] Added Skewer taunt for the Huntsman.
• [Undocumented] Added "Spycrab" taunt to the Disguise Kit.

June 25, 2009 Patch

• Fixed Dead Ringer damage reduction exploit involving Spy taunting

September 15, 2009 Patch

• Eating a Sandvich using the taunt method now heals a Heavy to full health.

October 14, 2009 Patch

• Fixed being able to eat your Sandvich (via taunt) and drop it in the same frame.

October 29, 2009 Patch (Haunted Halloween Special)

• [Undocumented] Added Thriller taunt for all classes.

December 7, 2009 Patch

• Fixed the Heavy's fists being hidden while taunting.

December 17, 2009 Patch (WAR! Update)

• [Undocumented] Added new taunts used by the Direct Hit, Equalizer and Eyelander.
• [Undocumented] Replaced the Soldier's Shotgun taunt with a 21 Gun Salute taunt. The previous taunt was given to the Buff Banner.
• [Undocumented] Added unused "Hi-five" taunts for the Soldier and Demoman.
• [Undocumented] Added unused "bottle showoff" taunt for the Demoman.

December 18, 2009 Patch

• Fixed a server crash caused by the Demoman's taunt kill.

January 13, 2010 Patch

• Added Medic Übersaw kill taunt.

July 8, 2010 Patch (Engineer Update)

• [Undocumented] Added new taunts used by the Frontier Justice and Gunslinger.
• [Undocumented] Added unused "Hi-five" and "guitar playing" taunts for the Engineer.

August 26, 2010 Patch

• Fixed the new Worms gear not playing the correct sound during the Equalizer taunt.

September 30, 2010 Patch (Mann-Conomy Update)

• [Undocumented] Fixed taunt glitch involving switching weapons quickly.
• [Undocumented] Added unused "Hi-five" taunts for the Scout, Pyro, Heavy, Engineer, Medic, Sniper, and Spy.
• [Undocumented] Updated the "Hi-five" taunts of the Soldier and Demoman.
• [Undocumented] Removed the Engineer's "Hi-five" and "guitar playing" taunts from the game files.

November 19, 2010 Patch

• Added the original Übersaw taunt to the Vita-Saw.

March 15, 2011 Patch

• Fixed the Soldier/Demoman taunts not working correctly when the Half-Zatoichi is the active weapon.

April 14, 2011 Patch (Hatless Update)

• [Undocumented] The Spinal Tap taunt now fills the ÜberCharge meter completely.

May 5, 2011 Patch (Replay Update)

• Added The Director's Vision, an item that provides you with a new taunt.
• [Undocumented] Added voice responses to the Kamikaze, Skewer, Oktoberfest and Spinal Tap taunts.
• [Undocumented] Added the Engineer's "Hi-five" taunt back into the game files.
• [Undocumented] Added an unused "show" taunt for the Heavy.

June 3, 2011 Patch

• Added new community contributed response rules to various taunts.
• [Undocumented] Added the Decapitation taunt to the Horseless Headless Horsemann's Headtaker and Claidheamh Mòr.
• [Undocumented] Removed the Demoman's taunt from the Pain Train.

June 8, 2011 Patch

• [Undocumented] Added Schadenfreude taunt for the Soldier, Demoman, Heavy, Medic and Sniper, at the time unused.

June 23, 2011 Patch (Über Update)

• Added Schadenfreude taunt to the Scout, Pyro, Engineer and Spy.
• The Schadenfreude taunt was implemented as an Action item.
• Added Meet the Medic taunt.

July 1, 2011 Patch

• [Undocumented] Added the Home Run taunt for the Atomizer.

July 20, 2011 Patch

• [Undocumented] Added the Cocksure taunt, used by the Cow Mangler 5000.
• [Undocumented] Added an unused "show" taunt for the Soldier.

July 22, 2011 Patch

• [Undocumented] The Soldier is no longer able to taunt while the Cow Mangler 5000 is charging.

August 23, 2011 Patch

• Fixed supply closets regenerating players while they are taunting.

Bugs

• Some Kill taunts are affected by random damage spread and have a chance of not dealing 450+ damage, meaning an overhealed Heavy has a possibility of surviving a Kill taunt.
• Sometimes if auto-reload is enabled, the player will reload his weapon while taunting.
• Running off of a ledge or cliff and quickly taunting will result in the player being able to move at normal speed while taunting.

See also

• Responses
• Voice commands