The 20 rarest dances and emotes in Fortnite

Fortnite presents players with a variety of cosmetics, including emotes and dances that players can complete missions to get or purchase with VBucks. If you have any of the top 20 rarest dances in Fortnite, consider yourself lucky, as they haven’t returned to the Item Shop in a long time.

Rarest Fortnite emotes and dates last seen in the item shop

Here are the top 20 rarest dances and emotes in Fortnite (not including battle pass emotes).

True rarity lies in how often that cosmetic shows up in the item shop. Sometimes a green emote or dance can be considered one of the most unique emotes in the game—because the number of players who had a chance to buy it is relatively low.

Epic Games is a skin-manufacturing powerhouse today. That explains why some emotes like Fresh and Kiss the Cup haven’t been seen in years—why bother relaunching seasonal emotes that only part of the Fortnite player base didn’t buy when you can release a new one that nobody owns yet?

Fresh

Fresh is the rarest Fortnite emote today, and will probably be for a long time due to the story behind it. This dance was introduced in the item shop in 2017 for 800 V-Bucks and was last seen in November 2018, over 2,242 days ago. Fresh is a clear reference to the 90’s TV show Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and to the dance performed by Alfonso Ribeiro’s character Carlton.

And that’s part of why we will probably never see Fresh in the item shop again. Ribeiro filed a lawsuit against Epic Games requesting rights over the emote and dance. Even though he dropped the charges in 2019 and Epic doesn’t owe him anything now, it’s likely the developers will continue to be careful and not bring this emote back to Fortnite anytime soon to avoid further issues with the actor.

Hot Marat

Hot Marat was a dance inspired by the Disney movie Ralph Breaks The Internet, making it the very first Disney collaboration cosmetic in Fortnite. It was released during season six and was available in the Item Shop for free, but has never returned since.

Kiss the Cup

Winning a Fortnite match isn’t an easy feat. When you finally get that Victory Royale, you should be prepared to celebrate the occasion.

Kiss the Cup was released in 2019 for 200 V-Bucks to celebrate the Fortnite World Cup 2019, won by Bugha. It’s very unlikely such a specific item will ever be relaunched, and this emote has been away from the item shop for over 1,993 days.

Go Home! and Welcome!

These two emotes came out together for 100 V-Bucks each at the end of Fortnite’s Chapter one, season 10, and haven’t been seen again for over 1,400 days.

They are a reference to the chapter’s finale, when The Visitor and his group, The Seven, destroyed the Zero Point with a meteor and forever changed the island.

These emotes were used to either show players’ support for The Visitor’s actions, welcoming his destruction and rebuilding, or to show they wanted him gone. This is probably a reference to alien and apocalyptic movies where the world-changing event splits the population into groups that either want it to happen or those that want to stop it.

Head Banger

This emote is part of Fortnite’s collaborations with real-life celebrities. Head Banger is a 300 V-Buck emote, part of the partnership with American rapper Travis Scott. Just like all the items in his set, the Head Banger emote hasn’t been seen in the item shop for over 1,719 days, and it probably will only return when (and if) Epic and Travis Scott renew their deal to sell the set in the game.

Raise the Cup

This one is actually unrelated to Kiss the Cup emote, though it’s almost equally rare. It was sold for 200 V-Bucks for only two days, but it was also free for those who ranked high enough in the online tournament Raise the Cup, held on Aug. 18, 2020.

The little dance your character makes when you use this emote is a reference to soccer club Liverpool’s trophy lift after winning the Premier League in 2020.

Zombie Shambles

This unique emote makes your character do a zombie walk, and that’s it. What makes Zombie Shambles quite rare is that it was sold for 200 V-Bucks for a single day on Nov. 6, 2020, in the daily shop. It hasn’t been seen since then, being unavailable for over 1,500 days.

Out with the Old

There would be nothing special about this seasonal emote if it wasn’t for how crappy the year 2020 was as a whole. The COVID-19 pandemic broke out globally, and we were all stuck inside for most of the year, relying on our games to have fun.

That emote has your character pop a balloon that says “2020” while inflating a new one with “2021” while smiling. It subtly shows how our hopes for the new year were at that time. Since Jan. 1, 2021, this emote hasn’t been seen, and considering its seasonality, it’s probably gone for good for those who didn’t buy it.

Sing Along

This is an unusual case of a rare emote that was actually given away for free. At first, Sing Along was sold for 200 V-Bucks but then was made available for free in the item shop, and those who first bought it were refunded. It was last seen over 1,400 days ago but, who knows, maybe it will return during another Winterfest celebration?

Freezing Burst

Those who wanted a little more game inside their game could buy this God of War-themed emote until March 21, 2021, for 1,000 V-Bucks. It was never seen in Fortnite again, not even after the release of God of War: Ragnarök in November 2022. Just like any collab item, this will likely only return to the game when Epic signs a new deal with the copyright owners.

Lazer Blast and Lazer Flex

Another set of dances from a third-party partnership made by Fortnite. Lazer Blast and Lazer Flex are part of the ICON series with EDM trio Major Lazer and are also part of the collab cosmetics that were re-released in the past. While they were first seen in the item shop in August 2019, they were also in the game on June 13, 2021, when they were last seen. That should give you some hope to see these items again in the future.

Go Mufasa

This is another dance to DaBaby’s “BOP,” this time as interpreted by dancer Mufasa. This emote was first released in Chapter Two, season four as a rare emote, but then was upgraded to the Icon Series when it returned to the Item Shop in August 2021. It was also last seen in the item shop over 1,200 days ago for 500 V-Bucks.

It’s Complicated

This is one of the emotes with the highest in-game rarity on the list. It is unlikely to return to Fortnite due to the lawsuit involving Kyle Hanagami, whose choreography apparently inspired the emote. It’s Complicated was first released in 2020 for 500 V-Bucks, and it hasn’t appeared in players’ shops since Aug. 21, 2021. The emote was given away via a code with Nintendo Switch earbuds, but hasn’t returned to the Item Shop.

Stuck

Another rare emote from the Icon Series, Stuck was first introduced to Fortnite in Chapter Two, season seven. It was in the Item Shop for two days in September 2018 and then left, never to be seen again. The emote uses Cardi B’s song “Up,” and although it doesn’t have any explicit lyrics, some people think the song is inappropriate for a family-friendly game. This is possibly why it has not returned to the shop.

Pelé’s Air Punch

Pelé’s Air Punch could be purchased from the Item Shop for 200 V-Bucks in January 2021 during Chapter Two, season five. It returned a few times again that year but hasn’t been back in the Item Shop for over 1,200 days. It was also possible to win this emote for free by ranking high in the Pelé Cup in January 2021.

I Ain’t Afraid

I Ain’t Afraid was released as part of the Ghostbusters set in Chapter Two, season eight. It is a traversal emote with the iconic Ghostbusters theme tune. Although it only appeared during November and December 2021, there is a chance it could return along with the rest of the Ghostbusters cosmetics in the future.

Punching Practice

You may recognize Punching Practice from the Arcane: League of Legends set. Since the release of the latest Arcane series on Netflix, the community have been begging Epic Games to bring back the cosmetic set. Unfortunately, it isn’t that simple, and there is no news yet as to whether the Jinx or Vi skins, or the Punching Practice emote, will return.

Heart Sign

This emote was release in Chapter Three, season one for free and is included as part of the Barbed Troublemaker Set, available for 2,500 V-Bucks. It is a synced emote, so you could try it out in the lobby with your squad. There is no news as to whether it will return.

Will the top 20 rarest Fortnite dances and emotes ever return?

Will these rare emotes and dances ever return in the Fortnite item shop? As of now, none of these emotes have been seen in the shop since their first appearance. The only way to get them is to buy a full account with these emotes in the Locker. Some of these on the list coming back to Fortnite would definitely bring back older players who missed out on them. However, Epic has yet to put older items back into the game.

With the return of Fortnite OG, there is the possibility Epic will bring back a lot of these rare emotes and dances. So, make sure to be active during these times! You wouldn’t want to miss out on a rare emote and dance, would you?