Highlights

  • Some Fallout 76 fans want Bethesda to add a "wait" emote to the game.
  • A similar emote already exists, but some find its animation unclear in its meaning.

Some Fallout 76 fans have recently begun calling for Bethesda to add a new "wait" emote to the game. While a similar emote already exists, many Fallout 76 players don't have access to it, and even some of those who do don't find it suitable for effectively signaling others to wait.

Bethesda has been introducing new Fallout 76 emotes on a regular basis ever since its live-service RPG hit the market in 2018. Six years later, the game's selection of emotes has a lot of redundancies, with players having access to numerous ways to express things like approval or anger.

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Fallout 76 Players Want a Proper 'Wait' Emote

At the same time, some concepts remain difficult to communicate with this system. This state of affairs was recently underlined by renewed calls for Bethesda to add a long-overdue "wait" emote to Fallout 76. The latest example of such a proposal was put forward by Reddit user DoveCalderwood in early June, subsequently emerging on the front page of the game's most populous subreddit, indicating that there's no shortage of fans who are on board with the idea. Elaborating on their suggestion, DoveCalderwood said that they are growing tired of seeing newcomers start Fallout 76 events too early, or rush into Daily Ops before the rest of the team is ready to accompany them.

This isn't the first time that the fandom has asked for a "wait" emote, as similar proposals have been sporadically surfacing online for years. Bethesda partially addressed those requests with a "Wait For Me" emote, introduced as part of Fallout 76 Season 13 in June 2023. However, some fans opined that its animation isn't clear in its meaning, at least not if directed at a player who isn't already familiar with the emote in the first place.

That's presumably quite a lot of people nowadays, not least because Fallout 76's player count quadrupled in April 2024, largely owing to the immense success of Amazon's TV show based on the iconic franchise. With so many newcomers running around Appalachia these days, it's unreasonable to assume that the average player will be familiar with all of the game's emotes, especially those that were time-limited additions and have long been unobtainable.

Even if the "Wait For Me" emote was still available in the Atomic Shop and clearer in its meaning, it communicates a much more specific concept than a simple "wait" emote would. As things stand right now, players are forced to get creative if they want to ask others for patience without hopping on a mic. Some have been doing so by giving a simple thumbs-up gesture and waiting, while others prefer to use the Radiated emote, which makes their character throw up.