Final Fantasy XIV emotes come in all sorts, and for those getting social in Eorzea, they're a big part of messing around with friends or interacting with strangers without actually having to say anything to them.
Emotes are further to the front of most player's minds in FFXIV than most other MMORPGs just because of how many they are, how detailed they are, and because they function as a bit of a carrot on a stick for more socially-focused players. Why talk to someone when you can just pet or slap them? I dunno, but I love high-fiving Roegadyns in the butt.
You start with plenty of emotes, but there are just about as many unlockable emotes in FFXIV that either fall into your lap or you have to go out of your way to unlock, sometimes following whole quest chains to get them. Further still, some require you buy them with real money or are tied to figurine purchases.
We're going to go over every single unlockable emote in FFXIV in this guide, along with exactly how you unlock them. This includes emotes that come from quest chains, as well as where to start the initial quest and the unlock requirements.
The one odd emote that does not fit into any of the categories listed below is Fist Bump, which is only obtainable by having a friend use your campaign code for the Recruit a Friend campaign, which is perpetual. Your code can be found on the Mog Station.
The emotes below are listed in alphabetical order to make it easier to find the one you are looking for. Those with books, whether tradeable or not, have the book names listed next to the emote names.
At the time of writing, the Vexed emote is available through the Make It Rain campaign.
Emotes that are tradeable have three asterisks *** at the end of their unlock information. These can be bought and sold on the market board, if you've got the coin and don't feel like going out of your way for them.
A number of emotes in Final Fantasy XIV can only be obtained through the Mog Station for real money. Many of them are emotes from past events, though some were released as Mog Station exclusive.
Always assume that an event-exclusive emote will be released on the Mog Station sometime after the event has ended, though it can take a very long time in some cases.
There are some emotes in Final Fantasy XIV that most of us just have to accept we'll never have, those being the ones tied to real-life purchases of limited edition figures.
These figures are no longer available on the Square Enix North American or European storefronts, meaning those in North America will have to buy them from third-party sellers and triple-check with the sellers to confirm that the code is present with the item. This is also the case for the European and Japanese storefronts.
At the time of writing, only one of these figures is still available in either the North American storefront and there is a waiting list. One, Ultima, is still available on the European Square Enix store.
And that is it for all of the unlockable emotes you can currently get in Final Fantasy XIV. Hoo boy, there are a lot! They're well worth it, though. If you found this guide useful, take a look at some of our other FFXIV guides.