Overwatch is a popular team-based multiplayer first-person shooter game developed by Blizzard Entertainment. The game features a diverse cast of “heroes” with unique abilities and playstyles that players can choose from. Emotes are an important way for players to communicate and express themselves in Overwatch matches. Here is a guide on how to equip and use emotes effectively in Overwatch.
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What are Emotes in Overwatch?
Emotes are short animations that heroes can perform during a match. They allow players to communicate ideas and feelings without using text or voice chat. Emotes come in various themes like laughing, dancing, sitting, and more.
Some examples of emotes in Overwatch:
- Tracer has a Charleston dance emote
- Symmetra has traditional Indian dance emotes
- Many heroes have laughing and sitting emotes
- Heroes received dancing emotes during special events
How to Unlock Emotes
There are a few ways to unlock emotes in Overwatch:
- Get them from loot boxes
- Purchase with in-game currency (credits)
- Unlock through special events and battle passes
When you first start playing, heroes only have their default heroic emote available. As you play more, you can unlock additional emotes to equip. Heroes like Mercy, Cassidy, and Tracer have the most custom emotes to discover.
How to Equip Emotes
Simply unlocking new emotes doesn’t allow you to use them. You have to manually equip emotes before they become available during a match.
To equip emotes:
- Go to the Hero Gallery
- Select the hero you want to customize
- Navigate to the “Emotes” section
- Pick the emote you want to equip
- Select a slot to assign the emote to
You can equip up to 4 emotes per hero in this way. Make sure to set your most used emotes to be easily accessible.
How to Use Emotes In-Game
Using emotes during a match is easy once you have some equipped.
To use emotes on PC:
- Press “C” to open the communication wheel
- Move mouse to highlight “Emote” at the top
- Select the emote you want
- Your hero will act out the emote
To use emotes on console:
- Hold down on the D-pad
- Use left stick to highlight an emote
- Release the D-pad to perform the emote
You can change the emote controls by going to Options > Controls > Communication.
Communication Wheel Shortcuts
The communication wheel provides some shortcuts in Overwatch:
- Right click – Quick access to emote wheel
- Left click – Quick access to voice line wheel
However, these shortcuts can sometimes cause accidental emotes. Many players recommend removing the shortcuts or allowing abilities/shooting while the wheel is open.
Who Has the Best Emotes?
After playing Overwatch for a while, you’ll probably find some heroes have better emotes than others.
Some fan-favorite heroes for emotes include:
- Mercy: Has lots of cheerful and dramatic emotes
- Tracer: Quirky dance emotes fit her personality
- Junkrat: Explosive emotes full of chaos and mayhem
- Reinhardt: Silly and over-the-top emotes
New heroes often launch with great emotes too, like Kiriko’s kitsune dance emote.
Using Emotes for Communication
Emotes aren’t just for fun. They have practical communication uses during matches, including:
- Hello: Break the ice with teammates at start
- Thanks: Show appreciation for supports/tanks
- Group up: Call teammates to your position
- Need healing: Request healing from supports
- Ultimate status: Signal your ult is almost ready
Time your emotes wisely when trying to communicate essential info to your team.
Tips for Using Emotes
Keep these tips in mind when equipping and using emotes during your Overwatch matches:
- Equip your most used emotes for easy access
- Don’t emote around enemies – it leaves you vulnerable
- Use emotes to communicate with your team
- Pair emotes with other cosmetics for added personality
- Be careful of emote shortcuts interfering with combat
- Laughing and sitting emotes can be triggered while moving
- Have fun customizing each hero with their best emotes!
Emotes are a great way to express yourself and connect with teammates in Overwatch. Equip some emotes you enjoy and use our guide to master them during your next match!
