I shouldn't have said "mastery"; I just meant that you should have to check the JS box first. I agree you can use jQuery without a strong fundamental knowledge of JS. So fair point.
The description for the first level of JS Frameworks and Libraries is "you can tap into libraries like jQuery". So it's really saying is that jQuery requires JS, but you can use jQuery Effects without knowing jQuery. Also, there's no way you could get to level 3 of jQuery Effects tree (writing your own effects) without at least knowing some JS [1]. So pretty sure there's a bug in there.
But that's probably way too much pedantry about a skill tree that's just for fun. Onto the actually interesting question of how well you can know jQuery without knowing JS. I think it works like this: if you know how to use jQuery, ipso facto you can use JS at least as well. If you're just doing some pattern-matched jQuery stuff, that's cool, but it's also pattern-matched JS stuff, because, well, that's what you're writing in. The more advanced you are at JS, the more advanced you're capable of being in jQuery. There's no way you're going to be able to, say, write your own plugins are build complicated stuff without knowing the language you're writing it in. [2]
It's also probably worth noting that once you know JS really well, learning your way around jQuery is almost trivial. So I posit that trying to learn jQuery without learning JS is a Bad Idea.
[1] I guess that's a general issue with skill trees. B requires A as a prerequisite, but the tree doesn't capture that B level 2 requires A level 2.
[2] I confess this not an argument from experience and that I could be wrong; I'd love to hear stories to the contrary. I had the misfortune of learning JS in the bad old days before jQuery and friends. But I believe it both because it makes a priori sense and also because of the large number of SO jQuery questions where the OP's issue is really that they don't know JS.
The description for the first level of JS Frameworks and Libraries is "you can tap into libraries like jQuery". So it's really saying is that jQuery requires JS, but you can use jQuery Effects without knowing jQuery. Also, there's no way you could get to level 3 of jQuery Effects tree (writing your own effects) without at least knowing some JS [1]. So pretty sure there's a bug in there.
But that's probably way too much pedantry about a skill tree that's just for fun. Onto the actually interesting question of how well you can know jQuery without knowing JS. I think it works like this: if you know how to use jQuery, ipso facto you can use JS at least as well. If you're just doing some pattern-matched jQuery stuff, that's cool, but it's also pattern-matched JS stuff, because, well, that's what you're writing in. The more advanced you are at JS, the more advanced you're capable of being in jQuery. There's no way you're going to be able to, say, write your own plugins are build complicated stuff without knowing the language you're writing it in. [2]
It's also probably worth noting that once you know JS really well, learning your way around jQuery is almost trivial. So I posit that trying to learn jQuery without learning JS is a Bad Idea.
[1] I guess that's a general issue with skill trees. B requires A as a prerequisite, but the tree doesn't capture that B level 2 requires A level 2.
[2] I confess this not an argument from experience and that I could be wrong; I'd love to hear stories to the contrary. I had the misfortune of learning JS in the bad old days before jQuery and friends. But I believe it both because it makes a priori sense and also because of the large number of SO jQuery questions where the OP's issue is really that they don't know JS.