If you’ve ever tried to add a friend in League of Legends and got confused when they asked for your tagline after your summoner name, you’re not alone. Tons of new players run into this exact roadblock the first time they want to queue up with people they meet in lobbies or on social media. If you’ve ever asked yourself what is a tagline in League of Legends, this guide breaks down everything you need to know, from its core purpose to how you can change it to match your vibe. Unlike the old summoner name system that let you have a unique name all to yourself, the current tagline system works a little differently, and understanding it will save you a lot of frustration when connecting with other players.
What is a Tagline in League of Legends, Exactly?
Put simply, a tagline is the 3 to 5 character combination that appears after the hashtag (#) in your Riot ID, the universal account name for all Riot Games titles. For example, if your Riot ID is “ArcadeCaitlyn#NA99”, “ArcadeCaitlyn” is your display name, and “NA99” is your tagline. When a friend wants to add you, they’ll need to enter both parts exactly to find your account. Riot rolled out this system a few years back to eliminate the problem of players having to settle for messy, number-stuffed summoner names just because their first pick was already taken by someone else.
I remember when Riot first switched to this system, I was mad that I couldn’t keep my one-of-a-kind summoner name I’d had since season 3, but once I realized I didn’t have to add 12 random numbers to the end of my desired name just to make it unique, I got over it pretty fast. The tagline is only visible to you on your own client profile by default, but other people will need both your display name and your tagline to send you a friend request. That means you can pick whatever display name you want, even if it’s super popular like “GarenMain” or “CaitlynEnjoyer”, as long as your tagline is unique to your account. Taglines can include letters, numbers, and spaces, but can’t have special characters or offensive language, just like regular display names.
Key Purposes of LoL Taglines for All Players
Taglines might seem like a small, unnecessary extra at first, but they solve a lot of longstanding pain points for League players of all skill levels. First, they create a unified identity across all Riot Games titles, so you don’t need a separate username for Valorant, Teamfight Tactics, Legends of Runeterra, or any other Riot game you play. If you play multiple Riot titles, your friends only need one ID to find you everywhere, instead of asking for your username for each individual game. They also make it way easier for new players to pick a name they actually like, instead of settling for something like “ZedMain2049827” just because every other variation of ZedMain is taken.
Taglines also make it easier to verify the identity of pro players and content creators, since hundreds of fans might use the same display name as their favorite streamer, but only the real account will have the publicly shared tagline. You don’t have to share your tagline publicly if you don’t want random friend requests, which is a big win for players who value their privacy. Some of the most common use cases for LoL taglines include:
- Streamlining cross-game friend connections, so you don’t need separate usernames for every Riot title you play
- Letting players choose any display name they want, without being forced to add random suffixes to make it unique
- Making it easier to identify pro players and content creators, even if dozens of other fans use the same display name
If you’re someone who only plays League and doesn’t interact with many other players outside of your existing friend group, you might not even notice your tagline exists for months at a time. But it’s still good to know what it is and how it works, just in case you meet someone in a random lobby you want to queue up with again later. I’ve had dozens of players ask for my ID after a good ranked game, and I used to fumble to find my tagline before I memorized it.
How to Find and Customize Your League of Legends Tagline
Finding your tagline takes less than 10 seconds if you know where to look. Open your League of Legends client, click on your profile icon in the top right corner of the home screen, and your full Riot ID will be listed right under your display name, with the tagline after the #. If you’re still unsure what is a tagline in League of Legends after checking your profile, you can test it out by asking a friend to search for your full Riot ID to see if they can find you.
Customizing your tagline is just as easy, and you don’t have to spend any in-game currency to do it. To change your tagline, you’ll need to log into your Riot account on the official Riot website, navigate to the Riot ID tab, enter your new desired display name and tagline, and save the changes. You can change your tagline as often as every 30 days for free, no Riot Points or Blue Essence required. The 30-day cooldown starts as soon as you make a change, so make sure you’re happy with your pick before you confirm, unless you don’t mind waiting a month to adjust it again.
When picking a new tagline, there are a few small tips to keep in mind to avoid frustration later. Try to avoid characters that are easy to mix up, like a zero instead of the letter O, or a capital i instead of a lowercase L, because your friends will almost certainly type it wrong when trying to add you. Keep it short and memorable if you plan to share it with people often, and don’t include personal information like your real name, birthday, or address unless you’re completely comfortable with anyone who gets your ID having access to that info.
Common Misconceptions About LoL Taglines Debunked
Since taglines rolled out a few years ago, there’s been a lot of misinformation floating around about how they work. One of the most common misconceptions is that you have to pay to change your tagline. That’s only true if you want to change it before the 30-day cooldown period ends, and even then, the fee is only for display name changes in most regions, not tagline adjustments. You can tweak your tagline as often as every 30 days completely for free, no strings attached.
Another common myth is that your tagline will show up during matches, cluttering up the scoreboard or chat. That’s not true at all. Your tagline will never appear in in-game chat, on the scoreboard, or during matches, so you don’t have to worry about it cluttering up your gameplay view. The only time other players will see your tagline is if they look at your full profile after adding you as a friend, or if you share it publicly somewhere. Some players also think that if someone has the same display name as you, they’re impersonating you, but that’s not the case. Since every account has a unique tagline, you can easily tell the difference between the real account and a copy by checking the tagline. That’s why many pro players and content creators share their full Riot ID publicly on their social media, so fans know which account is actually theirs.
If you played League before the Riot ID switch, you might have been assigned a random tagline based on your region, like #NA1 or #EUW, and never changed it. If you played League before the Riot ID switch, your original tagline was automatically assigned based on your region, but you can change it at any time to something more personal. A lot of long-time players don’t realize they don’t have to keep that generic region tagline forever, and switching it to something that fits your vibe takes less than a minute.
At the end of the day, taglines are a small but important part of the modern League of Legends experience that makes the game more accessible for new players and more flexible for everyone. Once you understand what is a tagline in League of Legends, you can customize it to fit your style, share it safely with friends you want to play with, and avoid the common headaches that come with adding new people to your friend list. If you haven’t checked your tagline recently, take two minutes to pull up your profile and make sure it’s something you like, and that it’s easy for your friends to remember if you ever want to queue up together. You might even have fun coming up with a tagline that matches your main champion or playstyle.