Jake the Dog, the legendary canine with stretchy powers from Adventure Time, is one of the many characters among MultiVersus' roster. And, as one would expect from someone who can turn into, well, just about anything, Jake's moveset as a fighter is pretty wacky.
ake has some mechanics that separate him from everyone else in the cast, which can make it a bit difficult to pick him up or even try and master him. With that in mind, here's a guide to how Jake works as a character in MultiVersus, how he's meant to approach fights, his strengths and weaknesses, and what moves in his kit are best for each situation.
How Does Jake Work?
Jake is a Bruiser-type character class, meaning he's designed as an up-close-and-personal fighter with a lot of useful Normal Attacks. But Jake is also a "Hybrid," meaning he has great options for knocking opponents out both Vertically and Horizontally. Add in his stretchy powers, and it's clear why Jake doesn't exactly play like the other Bruisers. Figuring out which moves have vertical or horizontal knockback, and how much, is even more important for Jake than for other characters.
Considering how players are using Jake so far, this cartoon doggo is excellent at keeping the pressure on enemies with his far-reaching stretch attacks and wide range of wacky abilities. At first, it seems like he's a relatively simple character meant for newcomers, but there are a lot more mind games in his design compared to the rest of the roster. In the hands of a pro, Jake is an expert at keeping an enemy at the perfect range for his next attack. He can trick them into getting too close and taking damage using his moves that stretch/transform, or even just combo off a single Aerial Neutral Attack into a Ringout.
Jake's Strengths & Weaknesses
Where Jake Thrives
Jake has a lot of different tools, and while that describes him as a playable character, it's also the exact area that he excels. Against most opponents and matchups, Jake usually has an Attack or Special that works as a response.
If they're using a lot of Armored Attacks, Jake has Normals that have Armor Break. If they're constantly chasing in the air, Jake can use "That's Heavy Dude" to take them by surprise. And if they're always trying to get as close as possible, Jake can use "Stretching Out" to counter it while also repositioning himself. It's hard for opposing player to know how Jake players will respond in any situation — if Jake is the hands of a master, that is.
Where Jake Falters
Jake doesn't have a lot of innate combo potential, at least not yet. Most Jake mains usually just string together three or four hits at most in a row. That isn't to say he can't execute longer combos, but it's difficult to do so with him. Additionally, considering how unpredictable Jake is designed to be, players are very predictable with him at the moment. Many rely on his "Aerial Funky Junk" punch and "That's Heavy Dude" way too much.
Outside of that, Jake is in a sort of middle ground between two classes. He's a bit slow and unwieldy compared to other Bruisers, but doesn't have the same level of tankiness as another slow Bruiser like Garnet does. Lastly, anyone familiar with the matchup against Jake will be a lot less susceptible to his tricks. This is usually where Jake players fall into the trap of over-relying on "Aerial Funky Junk" and getting punished for it. Jake has the same sort of problems any "jack-of-all-trades" has: that he's great in a lot of areas, but isn't a master in any of them.
Jake's Moves & When To Use Them
Jake is one of the small group of characters in MultiVersus that doesn't have an innate Passive ability. In fact, a good portion of the Bruisers don't have Passives or, if they do, they're very simple ones.
This can be good, as it makes Jake easy to pick up and learn in a few hours or so. But it also means he has a bit less depth than someone like say, Morty, and is more predictable as a result. With that in mind, here's a look at Jake's entire list of moves, both Normal Attacks and Specials.
Normal Attacks
Attack Name | Attack Input | Usage |
|---|---|---|
Eat Spikes! | Neutral+Attack | Jake players often use this move if their opponents are too used to seeing "You Axe'd For It." It can break Armor and is a great response against something like Superman's Up+Attack. But in most circumstances, players like to use other moves that are a bit more reliable over this one. |
Belly Bump | Aerial Neutral+Attack | This is the move most Jakes use to approach if they're not going the Aerial Funky Junk route. Most players tend to forget that this move has a second hit where Jake swings a hand-mallet around himself. This mallet has Armor Break, and that's exactly why it's useful. Plus, the second hit doesn't knock enemies back very far, which makes it a great route for combo'ing into his "Funky Junk" ground combo or even "Mace In Yo Face." |
Funky Junk | Side+Attack | Jake's three-hit standard Grounded combo is a pretty reliable one. Players can escape before the third hit comes out, but because the Belly Bump part is so big, most misjudge the hitbox and end up taking the whole combo anyway. It's great for applying pressure on the ground, and is easy to combo into "You Axe'd For It." |
Funky Junk (Aerial) | Aerial Side+Attack | This is, by far, Jake's most commonly used move, and it doesn't even have a name in-game yet. Fans from the earlier betas and closed alphas say that this move was titled Hambone Break, but at the moment, most label it as the Aerial version of "Funky Junk." In any case, this move is absurdly good for a multitude of reasons. For one, Jake can aim it while it Charges, allowing him to use this attack to pressure in all directions. Two, it has a sweet spot on the end that can Ringout opponents pretty early. Lastly, it's obscenely fast and stretches through the terrain, meaning Jake players can use it to hit an enemy clinging to the wall of the stage and knock them into the Blast Zone. Even if it feels a bit cheap, Jake mains should rely on this move as it fulfills so many purposes. |
You Axe'd For It! | Up+Attack | "You Axe'd For It" has to be Jake's best Ringout tool. It's a Charge Attack, meaning it extends the longer Jake Charges it; it has fantastic knockback; and it does a half-circle swing above Jake which keeps him relatively safe while using it. Most Jake players use this a bit too often when fishing for Ringout hits, but it also combos well off a lot of his attacks, as it punishes opponents for trying to Dash right back in after getting hit away. |
Mace In Yo Face | Aerial Up+Attack | This is one of Jake's best Normals, but people don't use it enough at the moment. "Mace In Yo Fac" is actually another one of Jake's Attacks that has two parts to it: a small hand-mace that Jake swings overhead, and a much longer and wider hand-mace flail overhead. The second hit, in particular, reaches far up and has a long-lasting hitbox, making it easy to use this as a tool for stopping players from touching the ground. And since Jake keeps his horizontal momentum while using it, he can cover most of the arena with this hitbox still active. |
Splits! | Down+Attack | Jake's Downward Attack isn't used very often. "Splits" is basically a worse version of both "Eat Spikes" and "You Axe'd For It." It doesn't have the stretch based on Charge time mechanic, and it has a relatively small hitbox. That said, it still has its uses for surprising opponents up close, and it has Armor Break on it as well. |
Where's My Halfpipe? | Aerial Down+Attack | In this move, Jake hops on a self-made skateboard and attempts to do tricks on his opponent's head. If he hits them with this while they're low enough to the ground, he can hold the input to trick off of them three times, with the last trick Igniting them as well. This move works as a Spike (a punishment for players too stuck to the ground), and a great Ringout tool as well. This move was so good, in fact, that it was nerfed a bit in the Season 1 patch so that players could just press the input over and over in the air until it hit. |
Special Attacks
Special Name | Special Input | Usage |
|---|---|---|
Rubber Stomach, Dude! | Neutral+Special | Jake's Kirby-esque eating mechanic is so rarely used. This Special has Jake literally engulf his opponent and put them in his stomach, where he can then spit them out in the direction of his choosing while applying max Stacks of Weakened. Alternatively, Jake can eat his allies to give them Armor when they come out. Sadly, while all that sounds useful, this Special is used the least. It's too hard to hit consistently at the moment due to latency issues being common (one of the game's only big "flaws"). That said, if players do manage to eat their opponent, they can easily spit them out, dash jump, and get a "Where's My Halfpipe" out to take their opponents off guard. |
Giddy Up! | Side+Special | This Special isn't used all too often at the moment, but as the community continues to "lab out" all the best combos and strategies on each character, it's almost assured that "Giddy Up" will be used more often. This move has Jake turn himself into a "horse" and charge forward for as long as he holds the input (though it does have a max duration). While in this form, Jake can also jump to surprise enemies who jumped to avoid him, and his back becomes a platform for his allies as well. It's a decent approaching tool and a good method of keeping the pressure on. But until Jake's players master using the platform aspect of this move to save their allies, it's far from his best special. |
Stretchin' Out | Up+Special | "Stretchin' Out" is Jake's wackiest move in his kit, and the one he uses to make players feel silly for even approaching at all. Jake stretches upward and only his face/head can be hit while this animation plays out. Then, when Jake releases the input, his behind stretches back up to his head, knocking back anyone who was near his elongated torso. Typically, Jake will knock an enemy off-stage, wait for them to recover, and try to attack while getting back on the ledge before using "Strechin' Out" to avoid their attack and knock them back out off-stage with the snap-back. Surprisingly, this move is a fantastic Ringout tool, but it also functions as a stall off-stage, an aerial punishment, and a counter of sorts depending on the situation. |
That's Heavy, Dude | Down+Special | This Special caused Jake to be compared to Kirby from the Super Smash Bros series in the first place. Much like Kirby's "Stone" special, Jake transforms into a heavy object in midair before slamming back down to earth and hitting anyone caught beneath him. But unlike Kirby, Jake can also reflect projectiles while in this form. He also bounces both allies and enemies on his rubbery body. Jake players tend to use this Special as a way of re-entering combat in Teams while their ally is getting combo'd, or to punish a player trying to chase Jake near the top of the stage. But, once players master using it to reflect projectile, Jake will quickly become the most hated matchup for Projectile-heavy characters like Velma, Reindog, or Tom and Jerry. |
MutliVersus is a free-to-play multiplayer game available for PC, Xbox (Xbox One and Series X/S), and Playstation (PS4 & PS5).