QD's recovery only becomes a factor if people don't realize you can force yourself into range and spot dodge it, shield it, or hell even just be above or below it (force the connection animation and he's a sitting duck). It's a spacing move with excellent recovery on the whiff but it still boils down to being an attack nonetheless. The recovery delay on his moves are important because of their range, if someone is out of range of your neutral or forward air but tries to move in on you afterwards, they will suddenly get into jab or grab range, the recovery of his moves is actually rather important when coupled with the hitboxes of said moves giving you a little breathing room. The tilt delay I mentioned more has to do with things like his up tilt and forward tilt having decent start up, incredible power (especially on the forward tilt), and great forward range for the design of the moves.
XI Wiki


