ok for taunt basics: press the "Express" button for a character's specific taunt; holding this button leaves you standing still with an outline. pressing any direction keys during this time gives a certain phrase, so remember:
Up = Nice
Down = Bring It
Left = Oops
Right = Wow
ok now that you've learned the basics, forgot about this. completely.

reasons why taunting's not so great:
1) You look silly: one thing to do the whole timing thing when the announcer says "GAME", another thing to run at the corpse, mash, miss, and taunt last minute.
2)You're wasting precious time: ok, they last 3 seconds, tops. around. sure, whatever.
anyway that's precious time! you could actually try with your serve, avoid the ball coming at your candyhead, juggle the corpse a bit, go get your sodie pop or chips or whatever, hug your parent(s) [just trying to not trigger anyone :c], scream "THIS GAME'S RIGGED WHERE'S MY REFUND", rabble about how you totally had that, curse the existence of the windows key, and more
3)You're fairly limited: ok, sarcasm exists. ESPECIALLY ON THE INTERNET. thing is, there's no way to identify it. "Nice" could mean "That was an especially nice burst man!"; it could also mean "NICE WHIFF DUMMY TROLOLOLOL". Wow's sort of alright, Oops makes you look like a rude person no matter what, and Bring It should mostly be used last stock when you're not gonna run into the ball. also, characters have the same taunt, same line, and same timing for them. so it's the same thing. please don't spam it everytime you enter the game or everytime you die/win.
don't get me wrong, not saying "YOU SUCK IF YOU TAUNT, YOU IMMEDIATELY DIE AND LOOK DUMB xd", mess with people you're friends with or even know
just don't overdo it, and don't do it mid-round while it's 53 speed and this switch really is still missing. unless you're good, then you're just being a rude person who's still good and people's feelings will vary for you. :w

I SWEAR TO ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ GOD GO TO YOUR SHADOW RAPTOR SKIN ONE MORE FUC you know how there's the in-game level system where after every level-up you get a skin or even a different ball type? yeah that doesn't show skill
also, 25 hours in this game doesn't make you a pro, I still get my lovely incredible tush
slammed by people, and I have no life with this game D:
learning different, complex methods of corpse juggling doesn't make you a pro either
act like everyone's an equal player, constantly; if they're worse they're holding back, if they're better they're on their A-game
a) taunting players don't immediately suck buals, so don't spit racial slurs seeing a thumbs-up
b) players can be AFK. signs include: not choosing a char immediately in the select screen, standing completely still in-game, headaches and nausea.
c) lag exists. if someone walks into a 17 speed ball, don't spam Oops for the in-betweens of the bursts. hey, if you're a sweetie you could even downbunt your serve to wait for spikes to go down
now don't you look like a cool guy! oh yeah don't go friendly, this game indicates winning. FOR YOU AND THE OTHER PLAYER, JUST PLAY THE GAME.
c) taunts have their own timing, but for being polite, ignore Nice and Oops after winning a burst;
other than that, Wow could be whenever (besides mid-burst) and Bring It for top league-ery
d) Results screen is a bit painful. if you're gonna be gone for a bit, just leave. a player looking for games is gonna hate that you had to be at the dinner table for 30 minutes, so do the immediate thing. don't kick someone from your lobby unless you have a legitimate reason
1v1s: they're not picking a character, slowly cycling through one's flavors. don't boot a player for joining your lobby or going a character they've gone for 3 games, mains exist
FFAs: same thing for the above, don't just boot players of a higher/lower skill level than you, people wanna have fun
e) have fun. this is pretty surprising but this game's actually not meant for you being tortured as your character gets tossed around by someone with +100 more hours. learn from mistakes, leave on a good note, and just relax. ... o-or taunt after you win a stock, whatever helps I guess.

getting there is pretty easy: community, search Lethal League or go to it under Your Recently Played Games. click group chat, boom, you're in. keep in mind people aren't always gonna be talking. if you want a game, come in and ask for one, don't just join and say "hosting". also keep in mind, THE CHAT'S A CHAT. everyone has the ability to discuss other things. it's a game's chat, sure, doesn't mean everyone has to type "Looking for games with someone with around 200 hours in this game, 8 stock 5 minutes blahblah" they can be talkin about somethin like this:

11:00 AM - Connected again and rejoined chat.
11:00 AM - shftd: porpyborts!!!!!!! :D entered chat. (Blocked.)
11:00 AM - porpyborts!!!!!!! :D: :C
11:00 AM - Zea: LOL
11:00 AM - porpyborts!!!!!!! :D: well ♥♥♥♥ you too then, jeez

also, people in chat are lovely, especially that handsome lad they call Morph
don't worry about being new, it's like highschool. cruel, career-making, friends are made, you hit each others' balls ( >uo ), and it's an alright time.
also peeps can be snooze/busy, they still talk. o-ocassionally.

EDIT: ok, no, you don't have to list off your traits so you can ask for a 1v1. you can just ask for a game and you shouldn't be crucified. maybe even give an opinion on a conversation or ask a quick question. just don't treat the game chat like it's can only be LL and LL related. also, no, people don't really idle there. except for Boxed. ♥♥♥♥ that guy. :D

think of it like this: they're either competitive or salty
just because they smash at every oppurtunity
just because they want another game
just because they can juggle your body as a candyman like crazy
just because they're steamrolling you
just because they're good
they're never gonna tryhard
this is a game about winning, and people can take that seriously
also don't be like "WOW NICE MISS MAN" just because they poorly timed a swing on your corpse flying by.
be like that when they do it constantly, stubbornly, inefficiently, and OK WHAT THE HELL IS THIS GUY DOWNBUNT JESUS BECAUSE JUGGLING DOESN'T WORK THAT WAY I THINK

two large groups for them: Lethal League tourneys and ThatGuy4878's Occasional Tourney Group
for LLt, minis at 9:00 PM, normals at 3:00 PM (North America, convert yourself. >:T)
keep in mind you can be disqualified, lag's not acceptable, you gotta stick to rules, you can strike stages, etc., etc.

also, giant thing comin up
Jaw Breakers 2015
look it up along with 'lethal league', giant official one being done online. anyone can join, so don't be afraid.
winner gets a bunch of stuff, so do your best bro
do your best
EDIT: ok so J B is over, but if this game actually manages to stays alive, maybe there will be a J B 2016.
also remember that tourneys can be meant for winning, sure, but it's for a bunch else. meet new peeps and make friends, learn this game's competition, and see what you can improve on.

press the bunt button while your character's stuck hitting the ball to "parry"
this makes a small shield for about half a second, players hitting it get knocked back and stunned.
auto-bunts mostly happen for the serve burst 1, don't get mad because you got auto'd by the other guy, be patient or counter his hit
time every parry, learn when they might try to pysch you out,
and learn that parries aren't instakills
also, charges exist
they can have their own custom angle, they ignore delay, double speed, they're good.
however, they have timing (candy's the longest, dice/raptor's the shortest)
and you can swing too late/early
air-charges don't require you to hold jump
lighten the button at different times for different outcomes
also know that you can let go the button during a charge's buildup
this can slightly increase speed with some points, but they don't ignore the hitlag and double ball speed
no, I'm not fully teaching juggling. all I can advise is this
a corpse can only be hit a total of five times
if you want to lift the corpse forward bunt while jumping forward
if you want to take it down, down angles and do whatever you want next. keep in mind this works for every character except candy
another method is a straight air hit (no input) along with a downbunt
only three characters' specials work with juggling: latch's ends it, switch's moves it at a ~100° angle in front of/behind him, and raptor's can move it in 6 directions.
for raptor's, don't smash, and keep in mind it takes 3 hits off the corpse
switch's can have jumpflips and groundflips, both are pretty good for starting combos.
downfalling is done by pressing down while your character's starting to falling.
not while they're jumping up
downbunts are useful, don't mash it own your serve; instead downbunt a high-speed ball as a trap, and to kill any players stuck hitting the ball into a corner (their angles might be able to save them from this, be prepared.)

except for dice maybe
also skip if you want fun, cus this be the N O F U N Z O N E
imma list charaters' upsides and, more importantly, downsides
Tiny Baseball Troublemaker/Scout from TF2???/A good example for better parenting:
(U) small crouch hitbox, special helps put pressure on the opponent, decently fast movement speed, walljump allows for getting hits on balls up middle
(D) simple angles, bad at reachin heights (EDIT: ok fine t0ast he's alright jeez)
Fast Machine/Gnarly Metal Duder!!!/Swit-swi-sw-sw-Switchflip! (snarky laughter):
(U) fast speed, angles are deceptive, special has large hitbox on skateboard and has many ways to activate, wall riding can make wicked combos,
(D) slow build-up on speed, spec can't be cancelled for jumpflip
PewDiePie played him/Crouch and Mash Left to Right/Rejected D.A.R.E. PSA:
(U) Smash has good reach, special can be combo'd and also allows for juking, angles tricky
(D) Missing a smash is bad, horribly floaty even with downfalls, charge is incredibly long
M'lady/Hammer Waifu/FEMINIST POWERRRRRRRRRRR/FEELTHEBEATOHHELLYEAH
(U) Special allows total ball control ( ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)) , double jump helps put the ball high, good for set-ups
(D) angles similiar to candy's (besides down nair), early special can be stolen easily
Hipster Gator Robot/Reptile Games ♥♥♥♥♥♥ mascot/Incredibly Unique(?) Design Choices
(U) Special can be applied aggresively/defensively, good angles, wall hugging gives vertical climbin along with its own angles
(D) Short jump height, downbunts effective against a ground special or wall <3
LET'S ROOAWWL/Dan Fogler from that one movie/at least he doesn't have a fanny pack
(despite mention, he's not that horribly underpowered.)
(U)Smash has a giant hitbox, special can save you easily and gives good angles, super jump super stronk for super combos, corner tricksies :O
(D) Ground angles are easy to read, early special's dumb, missed smash leaves him weak, inputs slightly fall off for first frames in super jump, -100 relationship points for his getup on clothing

like 40 minutes was put into this and like no one's gonna read it. . _ .

this shouldn't be fully accurate, you can properly learn without it, and it might've been made for fun.
but it should give you an idea of this game and how it should be played:
with fun, with skill, with knowledge, and with respect.
just remember that this game's easy after learning what to do, just have fun playin casual or competitive
no character's overpowered, people can have fun too, this game takes getting used to
and you might like this game after fully mastering everything basic. C: