If you’ve ever pulled a legendary mod mid-Void Intercept run and wanted to celebrate without typing in chat, or thanked a teammate for reviving you mid-boss fight, you already know how useful small social features can be. A lot of new players skip over the emote system entirely when they first start playing, writing it off as a useless cosmetic feature. But emotes are one of the easiest ways to make co-op play feel more personal and fun, and they take almost no time to learn. We’re breaking down exactly how to use emotes in The First Descendant, plus all the little tricks most players miss after hundreds of hours of playtime.
How to Use Emotes in The First Descendant: Step-by-Step Basic Controls
The core emote system is far simpler to use than most players realize, no matter if you play on PC or console. On PC, the default bind for the emote wheel is the G key: hold it down to bring up the wheel, move your mouse to the emote you want to use, and release the key to trigger it. On console, the default bind is down on the D-pad, with the same hold and select functionality. I used to keep the emote wheel bound to the default G key for months, until I swapped it to one of my mouse side buttons and cut my emote use time in half, it’s a tiny change that makes a huge difference.
You can use emotes both in the Albion hub and during active missions, which is a common misconception among new players who assume they only work in safe zones. You can even use them during boss fights, though we’ll cover why that’s not always a good idea later. If you’ve rebound your controls to fit your playstyle and can’t find the emote wheel bind, check the “Social Controls” tab in your settings menu, it’s separate from combat and movement binds so it’s easy to miss.
When you’re figuring out how to use emotes in The First Descendant for the first time, you might be disappointed with the default options. The base wheel only comes with four basic emotes: wave, cheer, shrug, and sit. But you can unlock dozens more emotes through gameplay, seasonal events, and the in-game shop, and customize your wheel to include the ones you actually use.
Customizing Your Emote Wheel for Faster, More Relevant Reactions
Customizing your emote wheel takes less than two minutes, and it’s worth doing even if you only use emotes occasionally. To edit your wheel, head to the Cosmetic Terminal in the central area of Albion, then select the “Emotes” tab from the side menu. From there, you can drag and drop any emotes you’ve unlocked onto the wheel slots, or remove ones you never use.
You can have up to 8 emotes saved to your wheel at once once you reach player rank 15, which is a nice unlock most new players don’t know about. The default 4 slots work fine for casual play, but the extra slots let you add more specific emotes for different situations. If you’re not sure which emotes to prioritize for your wheel, we’ve got a quick list of the most useful options for regular co-op play:
- Thank You emote: Perfect for when a teammate revives you mid-boss fight or shares a rare crafting material with you in the hub, no typing required
- Alert emote: A great non-verbal way to point out hidden chests or incoming enemy ambushes without pausing to type in chat during tense fights
- Cheer emote: Use it when your squad pulls off a perfect hard mode run without anyone going down, or someone lands a lucky legendary drop at the end of a mission
- Sit emote: Ideal for when you’re waiting for squad members to finish upgrading their gear or unlock new descendants before queuing for a long run
You can also set up single-key binds for your favorite emotes if you use one constantly. For example, if you spam the Thank You emote every time someone helps you out, you can bind it to a separate key so you don’t have to open the wheel at all. Event-exclusive emotes are often limited time, so grab them when you see them in the seasonal shop because they almost never come back around after the event ends. Most event emotes only cost a small amount of seasonal currency, so they’re an easy pickup even if you don’t play every day.
Hidden Emote Features Most Players Overlook
The emote system has a handful of small, unadvertised features that even long-time players miss. For example, if you use an emote while standing next to a furniture item in Albion like a couch, bar stool, or table, some emotes will interact with the furniture automatically. Using the Sit emote next to a couch will make your descendant sit on the couch instead of on the ground, which is a fun touch if you like taking screenshots of your favorite character skins.
A common question new players ask when learning how to use emotes in The First Descendant is if they give any gameplay bonuses, and the short answer is no, but the quality of life perks are worth it. You can use emotes to cancel the end animation of many non-combat actions, like opening a chest or picking up loot, which saves you a second or two every time. That might not sound like much, but it adds up fast during long farming runs where you’re opening dozens of chests an hour.
There’s also a fun sync feature for dance emotes: if two players use the same dance emote within a few feet of each other, their animations will sync up automatically. It’s a small easter egg, but it’s a fun way to mess around with friends in the hub while you wait for queues. You can also use emotes on the post-mission reward screen to react to your drops, and all of your squad members will be able to see your reaction. If you find other players’ emotes distracting during intense fights, you can turn off emote animations for other players in the accessibility settings, which is a great option for players who get motion sickness or just want to focus.
Best Times to Use Emotes (And When to Skip Them)
Emotes are designed to be fun, but there are times when using them is a bad idea, or even rude to your teammates. The best times to use emotes are pretty obvious: in the hub when you’re meeting up with friends, after you beat a tough boss, when you get a great drop, or when a teammate does something helpful. They’re also a great way to greet random players you match with at the start of a run, which makes the whole squad feel more friendly right off the bat.
Using an emote mid-fight will leave you vulnerable for a second or two, so don’t pull one out when the boss is about to cast a wipe mechanic. You can’t move or attack while the emote animation plays, so you could end up going down or wiping the whole squad if you pick the wrong time to use one. Save the celebratory emotes for after the boss is dead, not when it’s at 1% health and about to cast a one-shot attack.
You also shouldn’t spam emotes if your teammates have asked you to stop. Some players use emotes to troll, like spamming dance emotes while the rest of the squad is fighting, or blocking other players’ views in the hub. That kind of behavior can get you reported, so make sure you’re using emotes to have fun, not ruin other people’s experience. If you’re a streamer, emotes are also a great way to react to chat donations or subs while you’re playing, without having to take your eyes off the game for too long.
At the end of the day, the emote system is just one of the many small quality of life features that make The First Descendant’s co-op experience feel more personal and fun. You don’t have to use them if you’re a solo player who only cares about farming gear and upgrading your descendants. But if you regularly play with randoms or friends, taking a few minutes to set up your emote wheel and learn how to use emotes in The First Descendant will make every run feel a lot more enjoyable. Don’t forget to check the seasonal shop every few weeks for new limited emotes, and don’t be afraid to wave at a random player in the hub next time you see them rocking a cool skin you like.