With a redesigned chat system added this past year, we’ve continued to look for ways to make player interaction more fun and social. In Patch 3.3, we’re happy to announce a feature that provides players a new way to express themselves – chat emoticons!

Read on to learn how to use them, and discover which ones will be available in the new patch.

Using Emoticons

In Patch 3.3, you’ll find two simple ways you can use emoticons in your chat.

• Using the emoticon menu – The chat interface will now have a new emoticon menu button on the left hand side. Clicking on it will display all existing emoticons. Emoticons will display in a grayed out disabled state if you do not have access to them. When you select one of the available emoticons it will enter its text command into the chat box for you and then will display in any channel or whisper message once you send it. You can also view the text command or unlock criteria for each emoticon in the menu by mousing over it and viewing its tooltip.

• Typing the emoticon name in chat – Once you’re familiar with the emoticon’s commands, you can also use them by typing their text command in the chat window – for example: (glhf). This method will also allow you to utilize emoticons while in any game, so you can greet your opponent in style.

Currently, emoticons are only available in StarCraft II. That means emoticons won’t appear for your chat companions if they’re playing a Blizzard game other than StarCraft II.

Express Yourself

All players will have access to 23 basic emoticons, with an additional 16 emoticons available exclusively to those who own certain expansions or additional content. See below for the full list.

Coming Soon

Patch 3.3 is right around the corner, so start memorizing the list above and get those typing and clicking fingers ready. In the meantime, (GLHF)!