Fortnite Emotes and Dances: How to Equip, Use and Get Them

In Fortnite, emotes (dances are just one type of emote) are cosmetic animations you equip in the Locker and trigger from an emote wheel during a match: the default key is B on keyboard and mouse, and on most controller layouts it is down on the D-pad. You fill the first wheel with up to six emotes of your choice, and the second wheel fills automatically with emotes you’ve favorited in the Locker.

This guide covers how the wheels work, how built-in emotes fit in, where emotes come from, and how to hide the taunt emotes you’re tired of seeing. Menus in Fortnite change often, so treat the exact labels below as accurate as of November 2026 and check in-game if something has moved.

How to Emote in a Match

Opening the wheel works the same way in every mode. Only the button changes.

Controller presets differ, and a few third-party guides list a different D-pad direction. If down doesn’t open the wheel, open the controller tab in the Controls settings and look for the emote binding there rather than guessing.

Switching between wheels

When the wheel is open you can switch between its pages: the wheel you build yourself, the favorites wheel, and the section where built-in emotes appear. If a dance seems to have “disappeared,” it’s usually just on a different page.

Setting Up Your Emote Wheels

Epic’s support article on emote wheels explains the current layout: the first wheel holds up to six emotes you pick, and the second is filled with your favorites.

First wheel: your six picks

1. From the lobby, open the Locker.
2. Go to the Emotes section. (After the Locker redesign, Dot Esports reported that the emote section sits behind other tabs such as Jam Tracks, so you may have to scroll or tab across.)
3. Select an empty or filled slot.
4. Choose the emote or dance you want in that slot.
5. Repeat for up to six slots, then back out. The Locker saves the change for your next match.

Second wheel: favorites

1. In the Locker, browse your emote collection.
2. Mark the emotes you use most as favorites.
3. Start a match. Epic says your favorited emotes appear in the second wheel.

That means you can have more than six emotes ready at once without rebuilding your loadout. If your second wheel looks empty, you almost certainly haven’t favorited anything yet. Placing an emote in the first wheel doesn’t add it to the second.

Built-in Emotes

Some skins and vehicles come with their own emote. According to Epic’s built-in emotes help page, these:

• Only work while the matching skin or item is equipped.
• Show up in the in-game emote wheel, not in the lobby Locker.
• Can be recognised in previews by a note in the corner of the screen saying the emote is built-in.

To make room, Epic says the first wheel may leave one or two slots empty in-game for built-in emotes. If your current skin has none, those slots just stay blank. That’s expected and not a bug. Fan-run wikis describe an extra “bonus” wheel when you have several built-in emotes at once, but Epic’s page doesn’t confirm that, so check it in your own game.

Where Emotes and Dances Come From

Emotes are cosmetic only. They never change how your character performs. As of November 2026, the official ways to get them are:

Because these change constantly, the only reliable way to see what’s available today is the in-game Item Shop, Battle Pass and Quests tabs, plus Fortnite’s official news. Be very careful with any site or video promising free emotes or V-Bucks in exchange for your login. Epic doesn’t run giveaways that way, so those offers aren’t legitimate.

Hiding Confrontational Emotes

Not everyone enjoys getting “Take the L” danced at them after an elimination. In April 2024 (update v29.30), Epic added a See Confrontational Emotes setting, announced on Fortnite.com and covered by GameSpot and Nintendo Life.

At launch it covered four emotes:

• Laugh It Up
• Take the L
• Whipcrack
• Make It Plantain

You can choose to see them From anyone, From friends in party, or Never. Coverage at the time said the default was friends in party. When an emote is hidden, you see the other player standing still with no emote sound. The setting only affects what you see and doesn’t stop anyone using their emotes.

Reports differ on exactly where the toggle lives. Some describe it under the social privacy options, and GameSpot places it under Account and Privacy. If you can’t find it, search the Settings menu for “Confrontational.” Epic may have added emotes to the list since 2024, so the in-game description is the final word.

Troubleshooting Common Emote Problems

• Wheel doesn’t open: Check your emote keybind in Settings > Controls, especially if you’ve switched controller presets.
• Emote won’t play: Epic keeps a support article on why you might be unable to emote. Try again in a standard Battle Royale match to rule out the mode you’re in.
• Second wheel empty: Favorite emotes in the Locker (see above).
• Built-in emote missing: Make sure the matching skin or vehicle is actually equipped, and look in the in-game wheel, not the lobby Locker.
• Changes not showing: Locker edits apply from your next match, so leave the current one or wait for it to end.

If something still doesn’t work, Epic’s Fortnite support pages are the official place to check for known issues.