1.3 patch changed this quest line to be much easier to obtain. This guide is out of date.

The FMJ questline is widely deemed to be broken, but it's not the quest triggers that are the issue, it's once again the same thing that has already been widely criticised about this game: lack of information or sometimes just blatantly false description of how things work. Here is what I did to get this ever elusive henchman.

Minor spoilers below I guess.


Step 1: Start a new game.
Yes lol, chances are in your current save you have done some side missions that will cause Jackie's mission to never even spawn in the first place. You will not be told this or why this happened, it will just never happen.

Step 2: Pick either IRIS (Recruit your computer) or Janet Bombe (Recruit the fan) as your initial henchman. Do NOT pick Jubei or Eli, despite them being top tier henchmen.

Step 3: Progress the game until you unlock Quantum Chemists. Before you get to this point you will unlock side quests for Dr. Magnolia Ming (Going Green) and Sir Daniel (Who Hunts The Hunter?). Do not even touch those quests, these are another two top tier henchmen that you need to pass on for a while.

Step 4: Once you have unlocked Quantum Chemists, Full Metal Jackie's quest should appear. It's called Heavy Metal Queen. Do the quest.

Step 5: The next quest unlocked is called Arms Race, do it. When you get to the point where the objective is to "Kill Jackie or convert her", just kill her. She will escape your lair anyway. Once you do that the quest is finished and you will unlock TWO new side quests.

Step 6: Start side quest Eighteen with a bullet. This is important, do not start the other side quest that spawns, that side quest will kill Jackie instead of capture her. Finish this ridiculously long quest.

Step 7: PROFIT! You should now have unlocked Full Metal Jackie as henchman. You can now go get all the other top tier henchmen that you had to pass on until now.


NOTE: If at any point a new side quest that was meant to pop up does not appear, you might have ran into the active side quest limit. I'd suggest doing one of your loot/minion quests then, and once you finish that the next part of Jackie's quest should appear.


GLHF and hope this clears some things up