Jake the Dog took a bite of Gum Gum and now brings his grotesque stretching ability to MultiVersus. He’s considered a Bruiser, a class of fighter with good overall abilities for combat. Jake was one of the original characters at MutiVersus‘ launch, and he’s always been a solid pick thanks to his Dhalsim-style of combat, letting him hit the enemy from very far away. In this MultiVersus Jake guide, I’ll provide the rundown of his moves and strategies.
MultiVersus Jake Guide – Basic Attacks
For the first section of this MultiVersus Jake Guide, I’ll describe his basic moves. They tend to have good range, but low speed.
- Neutral Ground Attack: Jake forms his hand into a mace and slams it down over his head. Hits hard and breaks armor, but is slow. Don’t bother unless you’re reading your opponent, or fighting Superman.
- Side Ground Attack: Jake’s basic three-hit string, two chops and a belly bump. This is pretty quick, and the third hit has a little bit of kill potential. It can also be cancelled into other attacks pretty easily. A good low-commitment option at close range.
- Up Ground Attack: This one’s good. Jake morphs his hand into an axe blade, then swings it over his head in a 180-degree arc. The range is good, and the longer the move charges, the bigger it gets. It hits all around him, too, making it very hard to evade at close range. And, of course, it’s an effective vertical kill move. Its weakness is its speed: its full potential requires charge time, and Jake’s vulnerable for a second when the move ends. It works best as a trap for aggressive enemies.
- Down Ground Attack: A split kick that breaks armor. Short-range compared to Jake’s other attacks, but it hits on both sides of him. A situational move.
- Neutral Air Attack: Jake inflates, hitting nearby enemies in the air. A good standard attack for quick air engagements, with a second hammer attack if you press the button a second time. Great to use if you were trying to do a stretchy punch but the enemy got too close.
- Side Air Attack: The stretchy punch. This is Jake’s best attack. After a second of midair charging, Jake flings his fist forward a good distance. Its great range lets Jake attack mid-range enemies safely. It can be aimed at any angle, even straight up or down. In addition to letting him punish enemies far above or below, this lets Jake work around other characters’ preferred angles of attack. Many characters are strong Vertically or Horizontally, but few are effective diagonally. It even has a sweetspot on the very end: when aimed just right, this punch can kill. As with Jake’s stretchiest attacks, however, it’s slow. Aiming takes a second, so it’s too late to use if the enemy is already on you. Make sure to use the right moves at the right range.
- Up Air Attack: Another two-part air attack. First, Jake swings a mace-arm upwards a short distance. On the second press, he flails it around in a wide area above him. The first attack is a little short for Jake, but it’s quicker than trying to do an upward stretchy punch. Also, hitting with the first makes it very easy to combo into the second hit, which is much wider. Both attacks let Jake drift a little in the air, making this an easy option against airborne enemies.
- Down Air Attack: Jake deploys a skateboard (and helmet – always practice proper safety) and drops downward a little. If he lands on an enemy (or ally, but they won’t take damage), he does a trick and bounces up a little. He can do up to three tricks on people’s heads, and the third one will cause a little burn damage on an enemy. This doesn’t have the range of Jake’s other attacks, but it’s fast, and its potential is high. Landing all three hits does good damage, and if it’s done offstage, it can spike enemies to their doom. Don’t worry about getting the timing wrong – holding down the button (or the right stick) keeps the skateboard out, so all three hits can land easily.
MultiVersus Jake Guide – Special Attacks
Jake’s specials look pretty weird, but they share a similar effect: they’re based around changing Jake’s position on the stage. All of them behave the same in the air as they do on the ground.
- Neutral Special: Jake bites forward, swallowing anyone in front of him. Once spit out, enemies take a Weaken debuff and get sent flying as a projectile. Allies, on the other hand, get an armor buff. This is more of a support skill than an attack, since its range is poor and its knockback is nothing special. It may be worth using it at the end of a jab combo to start building early damage with the debuff, but not if you’d risk counterattack from an enemy teammate.
- Side Special: Horse Mode. Hold down the button, and Jake rushes forward, striking enemies in his path. It travels quickly, so it can surprise enemies who think they’re at a safe distance. It also lets you cancel into other attacks – you could end your rush by charging an axe swing, for example. It’s usable in the air for a decent, if predictable, recovery option, and it can jump to catch enemies trying to evade. It’s very punishable, though, so don’t use it too much. Starting the move in midair is one way to surprise the enemy. Also, for what it’s worth, allies can ride on the horse’s back.
- Up Special: Jake stretches his head upward. After a second, his lower body snaps back to his head’s location. This doesn’t look like an attack, but it is: the snap-back is considered a projectile. It’s strong, too, with some decent kill potential. Jake’s elongated body doesn’t take damage during the stretch, only his head, which is hard to hit. He becomes an instant, rubbery wall. This move has tons of creative potential for recovery, area denial, and even vertical kills, but it has two charges on a long cooldown. It’s powerful, but you have to make it count. It also keeps Jake from moving normally for a little while, so be prepared to commit.
- Down Special: Jake turns into a big object and crashes down, Kirby-style. This is a great ambush from above, and is cancelled fairly quickly, minimizing risk. It also has a powerful extra property: it reflects enemy projectiles. Holding down the button prolongs the effect, ruining the gameplan of characters whose names rhyme with “Blick Blanchez“. Similar to Jake’s other big moves, it’s punishable if the enemy can see it coming, so keep mixing up your responses. Allies can bounce off Jake as well, causing a shockwave, but you’d need coordination to make that valuable.
How To Win Team Battles As Jake
MultiVersus‘ Jake is a solid character with all-around skills, but not much teamplay. He weighs a lot, so he can take a good bit of damage, but he doesn’t have natural armor. His attacks have great range, but they’re a little slow. He also doesn’t have any projectiles, requiring him to fight up close.
Pairing Jake with an Assassin like Finn or Harley makes sense, since Jake’s best kill moves are hard to land on an observant enemy. Teaming up with a Mage like Bugs or Rick makes sense as well, with Jake up front and the Mage in the back. The Mage can use projectiles to compensate for Jake’s lack of them, and Jake can keep enemies away with his long melee, while reflecting enemy counter-projectiles using his down special.
How To Win 1v1 Battles As Jake
Jake has all the necessary tools to win in 1v1: range, speed, and power, with good survivability to boot. Victory as Jake means proper spacing. Stay outside the enemy’s range and strike with stretch punches from uncomfortable angles. When they try to dodge behind you, get ’em with a big charged axe swing. Do your best to mix up your attack options, since Jake is a little slow. Any time the enemy can predict your next attack, you stand to take a big hit.
Best Perks For Jake
For the last section of the MultiVersus Jake Guide, I’ll explain his perk options. He has two signature perks: Sticky at level 8, and Stay Limber, Dude at level 10.
- All the pros use Sticky. This stuns anyone who touches Jake while he’s doing an up special stretch. A stunned enemy is nearly guaranteed to get hit by the snap-back, which can kill near the screen’s top edge. This makes his already-useful special a lot deadlier.
- Stay Limber, Dude makes his down special a bit more mobile, which can keep enemies from counterattacking as easily, but it’s nowhere near as useful as the hazardous wall effect from Sticky. You should rotate your attacks to avoid being predictable, instead.
For secondary perks, knockback resistance makes sense due to Jake’s weight. Tasmanian Trigonometry is the popular choice, but ‘Toon Elasticity is a decent pick as well, and Jake earns that one early. Add a Triple Jump, and you’ll have a good defensive setup. If you want to focus more on damage, Lumpy Space Punch (more damage in the air) is probably your best bet, since Jake’s aerial stretch punch is so important. Directional buffs aren’t useful for Jake, since his options are more varied. He doesn’t rely heavily on debuffs or cooldown, either, so the above setup should be all you need.
