MultiVersus the Joker guide: Moves, perks, strategies and unlockables

One of the criticisms levelled at MultiVersus during its first run was that it had more of a focus on heroes.

Of the 23 characters released during the Open Beta period, 19 were good guys, meaning players keen to join the dark side only had Black Adam, Marvin the Martian, Harley Quinn or Stripe from Gremlins to choose from.

With the return of MultiVersus, developer Player First Games wants to put this right, which is why Season 1 is now focused mainly on villains. And when it comes to villains, they don’t get much more iconic than the Joker.

If you’ve somehow managed to go your whole life without encountering him, the Joker made his DC Comics debut in 1940 and has been the arch-nemesis of Batman for the 85 years or so since then.

He’s appeared in many different forms over the years, but he’s usually a skinny, green-haired goon with a white face and a maniacal laugh.

This particular version isn’t really based on one specific movie, cartoon or comic, but rather appears to begenerally based on the most popular depiction of the character.

He is, however, voiced by Mark Hamill (aka Luke Skywalker), who’s voiced the Joker in various animated and video game projects since 1992.

That’s all well and good, but how does he fight? With our guide, we’ll have you fighting fit with the Joker in no time.

The Joker guide – fighting strategies

The Joker is a Mage class character, which means he specialises in ranged attacks.

After all, he’s hardly been known to engage in fisticuffs if he can help it, given that he’s a bit of a skinny, no-muscles type.

The best example of this is his neutral Standard attack. Stand still and press the attack button and the Joker will throw a playing card at his opponent.

There are three types of cards – diamonds, hearts and spades – and he’ll throw them in that order on a rotating basis (so after he throws a spade it’ll be back to diamond again).

Diamond cards stick to your opponent then explode, while heart cards fly past your opponent but hit them as they return to you. When you throw a spade you throw a few at a time.

The trick to playing as the Joker is remembering which card is up next and wearing down your opponent with each type, then heading in for a launch attack once you’ve weakened them enough.

Just be careful not to take too much damage or his cards won’t be the only thing flying through the air.

The Joker guide – Special moves

Let’s Shake On It!

(Neutral, ground)

The Joker wouldn’t be the Joker without a trick or two up his sleeve, and the old hand buzzer is a classic.

For his Neutral Special, the Joker will hold out his hand and offer his opponent a hearty handshake.

If they’re standing next to you, or they attempt to hit you, they’ll get a shock and will be knocked back.

It’s not a complete waste of time if you miss, however, because the Joker will still get some armour from the attack, which makes him harder to knock back for a while.

Take a Whiff!

(Netural, air)

Another classic in a jokester’s repertoire is the squirty flower, but naturally the Joker’s is far from innocent.

Perform a Neutral Special in the air and the Joker will start to charge up his flower.

When you release the button, he’ll fire a spray of poison which not only damages his opponent, but is also strong enough to break armour.

You can continue to charge the attack once you hit the ground, so don’t assume that because this is an air move it has to actually be performed in the air.

Blastoff!

(Side, ground)

In case it wasn’t clear yet, the Joker doesn’t exactly do subtle, which is why one of his special moves is a giant bazooka.

The Blastoff move has the Joker slowly lifting a rocket launcher then firing it at his opponent, doing a decent amount of damage and knockback.

The catch is that the rocket launcher is so heavy, the Joker can’t really lift it all the way up, so he fires it at a downwards angle instead (though you can charge the attack by holding the button, helping him lift it a bit more).

This means you can’t fire it right across the screen, and need to be at least reasonably close to an opponent. You can fire it from a higher platform at someone below you for more range, of course.

Puttin’ On a Blitz!

(Side, air)

The problem with firing an extremely heavy bazooka is you can’t really whip it out quickly while you’re in the air, so the Joker has a different move for his Side Special when he’s airborne.

Puttin’ On a Blitz has the Joker dashing forwards in mid-air, twirling his cane in front of him.

The cane can hit multiple times, with the final hit doing some knockback.

It’s a fairly straightforward air dash attack, but it’s effective enough and it can help you boost out of trouble if, for example, an opponent tries to spike you from above.

Balloonatic!

(Up, ground or air)

Most MultiVersus characters have an Up Special which boosts them upwards in some way, but the Joker’s has an extra little gimmick to it.

The Balloonatic move lets him blow up a balloon and ride it to the top of the screen. It goes quite some distance, meaning it’s a great help if you’re about to fall off the bottom of the screen (though it’s slow, so be careful you don’t get spiked).

The move has a cooldown timer too, and while you’re off cooldown the balloon can be released, allowing the Joker or his allies to ride on it.

This zooms them forwards, damaging any opponents they hit along the way, meaning the move is a sort of two-in-one upwards float and sideways dash attack.

What’s Behind the Curtain?

(Down, ground)

Ever the prankster, the Joker has a move that can keep opponents guessing right up until the last second.

Performing his Down Special on the ground makes the Joker pull out a green curtain and hold it in front of him, hiding his weapon of choice.

It’s then up to you what happens next. If you press the Special button again he’ll unveil a cannon which fires forwards.

If you press the standard Attack button, however, he’ll instead bring out a jack-in-the-box, which fires out a giant head which flings opponents upwards.

The general rule of thumb is that if an enemy is close to the curtain (or if they’re stunned and you can get close to them safely) do the jack-in-the-box, otherwise go for the cannon.

Fire in the Hole!

(Down, air)

For his final special move, the Joker dispenses with the silliness and opts for a good old-fashioned hand grenade.

Fire in the Hole is his mid-air Down Special and sees him dropping a hand grenade, which detonates immediately below him.

This means you have to be pretty close to an opponent but it does have some good knockback and is decent for spiking opponents (or, indeed, firing them upwards if they’re standing).

Detonating it so close to him has the added effect of firing him upwards slightly, meaning it’s a useful attack when engaged in a mid-air battle with someone above a pit. If timed well, you’ll send them down while you go up.