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Jacqui early impressions

Hi guys, new boy here (but completely not new to the game)! :)

So, I got the game on Thursday and spent some time with J since then - mostly practice, but also 3 hrs of online matches with my Kabal-maining buddy. I was really having fun with Jacqui in MKX and wanted to share few thoughts on her in MK11.

First of all, she feels really fresh - not much is left from her old strings, I feel like she has fewer of them than in previous MK. I focused on 1st Round KO loadout, which comes with equipped moves: Lethal Clinch (DF3), Cybernetic Overdrive (strings cancels) & Robo Grappler (counter throw). My initial thought is she has some hard time getting close to the enemy, as there are not as many advancing moves as before, so you have to rely on these:
  • B2 is her mid-range mid and her best range normal (-10 on block, but comes with B22 which is -7 high)
  • F12 - safe mid, mid (-4), but with inferior range compared to B2
  • B1 - jumping overhead (-10) with suprisingly good range and hitbox
  • B34 - low, mid string, with second hit having +4 on block. They can interrupt it if the first one is blocked, though. :/ But this is where B324 comes into play as it will kill counter attempts.
  • BF2 (Bionic Dash) being her "Superman punch" with decent range - worth fishing with it for any whiffs and punishing mid range projectiles. Safe, but high.
  • F31 - her go-to close range string, safe and cancellable
When you got close to the enemy, this is where she shines as cancels are really useful: F31, 112, B4 and 22 can be canceled with L2 and put another layer to the mind games with Jacqui, as you can start utilizing her throw and good lows: D3, B3, and B4 and still being able to interrupt their actions using D1. I didn't check how good is her counter throw attempt (R1 after breaking throw), altough it seems like a really fun and unique mechanic.

As for the combo potential her dmg is quite ok, being around 20% with no bar, 28-33% with 1 bar, which goes up to 38-40% when you are ready to use krushing blow DF3~44[1] and 47% with Fatal Blow. I can't say if it's much, because I have no comparison to other characters yet, but it seems decent.

All in all, she is really fun and I love her animations and style, but there is still a lot to discover. She might have hard time against zoners if we are left with playing only tournament variations competitively, but I have yet to play with the second loadout (with Grenade Launcher, Air Dive Bomb and Tech Dome).

What are your thoughts, folks? Happy to discuss!
 

RoboCop

The future of law enforcement.
Administrator
Premium Supporter
Have you tried her super jump "Cheetah Lunge"? If so, how does it hold up in the Kabal matchup? Is it useful at all or can he just punish it on reaction?
 
As he said in his post, her first preset has the Clench command grab.


—-

Does she have any good tick throws?
Ultra david said it was not a true command grab, hope he's wrong. That would be silly because she has a hard time getting it, so why would they take away her command grab.
 

The Ultimate

aka CommandThrower
Clinch is a -18 mid, it's not a command grab.

Yeah i know......
Wait, her clinch isn't a command throw?


Well, that makes me much less interested in playing her. That clinch having a crushing blow and those feints made it seem like Jacqui would have been an effective grappler. Guess not now.
 

Macrorang

Calm, cool, laid-back, and smooth!
So the clinch is most likely for combo enders only and not a command grab? Dang. I'll have to go in-depth on my own in practice mode on Tuesday to see for myself.
 

TrulyAmiracle

Loud and Klear~
it's for ending combos and to extend them once you have the KB stocked. Also to switch sides at the end of combos.
It's also ok as a d1/d3 cancel to stuff an upcoming d1 but too unsafe to be called legit.
 

RoboCop

The future of law enforcement.
Administrator
Premium Supporter
Do we have any guaranties that this will all stay the exact same way after release?
I don't believe so, but this is post day-0 patch, so I'd be really surprised if they changed her Clinch from a mid to a command grab with the next patch.
 

TrulyAmiracle

Loud and Klear~
I might be imagining things but I think it was a grab before the day 1 patch.. mainly coz i remember trying to tick into it and it would whiff which isnt what happens now.

Doesn't matter now its prob staying as a mid coz Jacqui is super strong as it is.
 

Gegz

It's all in the game yo'
In my opinion she's really great when she's close to you, but she will have a hard time getting in. She's gonna suffer against characters with good space control / range. Her cancels are really great, but she's also lacking a quick overhead.
 

Dezrik

Noob
I might be imagining things but I think it was a grab before the day 1 patch.. mainly coz i remember trying to tick into it and it would whiff which isnt what happens now.

Doesn't matter now its prob staying as a mid coz Jacqui is super strong as it is.
Yeah 16bit even said it was a command grab in the kombat kast. I guess they decided to change it.

 
Do we have any guaranties that this will all stay the exact same way after release?
I've got box version, which is a full game that will land everywhere on 23rd- I don't believe you will get different game. So yes, this will stay as it is after Tuesday. Unless you refer to future state of the game - then I am sure we will see patches along the way.

Clinch is not a tick throw at any circumstance, but simply a juggle ender. I forgot to mention F2~2 being her decent juggle filler and 12 frame combo starter.

I am having hard time now with utilizing ranges of her normals - they seem to be worse than Kabal's, for example, which really makes close-up game difficult.
 

Eddy Wang

Skarlet scientist
I've got box version, which is a full game that will land everywhere on 23rd- I don't believe you will get different game. So yes, this will stay as it is after Tuesday. Unless you refer to future state of the game - then I am sure we will see patches along the way.

Clinch is not a tick throw at any circumstance, but simply a juggle ender. I forgot to mention F2~2 being her decent juggle filler and 12 frame combo starter.

I am having hard time now with utilizing ranges of her normals - they seem to be worse than Kabal's, for example, which really makes close-up game difficult.
NRS has history of release a patch on the day the game launches, which completely changes the entire game and a lot of things that could be done on anything before day 1 are not doable anymore.

We've got this even with MKX where Scorpion's teleport had armor on wakeup, but after day 1 patch it was no longer there.
 

Chints

Noob
Have you tried her super jump "Cheetah Lunge"? If so, how does it hold up in the Kabal matchup? Is it useful at all or can he just punish it on reaction?
The jump doesn't exist in her tournament variations, nor in the default variations. It's part of kustom shenanigans. I really like the move because it gives her some MUCH needed mobility. But it has it's flaws ofcourse. Super floaty, not as fast or high as Cheetah's from IJ2. Easily punishable with a simple D2.
 

RoboCop

The future of law enforcement.
Administrator
Premium Supporter
The jump doesn't exist in her tournament variations, nor in the default variations. It's part of kustom shenanigans. I really like the move because it gives her some MUCH needed mobility. But it has it's flaws ofcourse. Super floaty, not as fast or high as Cheetah's from IJ2. Easily punishable with a simple D2.
Wow, that's a real shame! Thanks for the info.
 

The Celebrity

Professional Googler
Jacqui seems great. Her pressure game with the cancel gear is fantastic, F31 is my favorite mid of hers and it works great being cancellable for pressure and mixup.
My loadout has been: Rockets, Cancels, Cheetah Jump/Knee. The Knee is a great combo ender for huge damage every round with KB. Super easy to get an 8 hit kombo and close it off with BF4 knee. She also has some great combos that make the opponent automatically KB from the full distance BF2 dash.

I've been able to hit some pretty easy high damage combos without using FB. Here's a few: This is with Rockets and Knee.
Midscreen
ComboDamage
112xxDB1, BF2303.29
AnythingxxDB4[hold] EX, BF40~340.00
AnythingxxDB4[hold] EX, DashxxF12xxBF4342.7
B2xxDB1, BF2282.32
F2, F2, F2*, 112xxBF4[kb]310.36
F2, F2, F2*, F12xxDB4[hold]248.32
F2, F2, F12, F12xxBF4[kb]350.27
33[kb], F2*, F12, F12xxBF4[kb]495.47
JIDB1, DashxxB21xxBF2[kb]~300
Corner
ComboDamage
(opener)DB1, 4xxDB4[hold] EX, 112xxBF4378.82
(opener)DB1, F12, 44[hold]xxBF4380.76

P.S. If anyone wants to know anything about Jacqui (or someone else), feel free to PM. I've had the game since Thursday night.
 
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skater11

The saltiest
I was excited to try out Jacqui but now after reading this thread im like noooo. Clinch not being a real command grab sucks

EDIT: ill still mess around with her, but damn i am not liking this...
 

Ermaculate_Slim

We are Many but we didnt make MK11 not one
Say I wonder can she get a follow up in the corner after the double knee move out of the clench?
 
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The Celebrity

Professional Googler
Say I wonder can she get a follow up in the corner after the double knee move out of the clench?
From my testing -- Nope. Its close but 1-2 frames off of allowing a D1 conversion. Almost reminds me of Reptile D3xxSlide after a slide though in the corner from MKX, so the timing might be 1 frame and I'm just missing it slightly. The Clenchxx1 KB's though if you've used all the other clench options before.