.hack//G.U. Vol.1//Rebirth Doppelganger guide By Master ZED TOC: 0. Version history 1. Intro - Ctrl+F is your friend! 2. Doppelganger stats and facts - How to encounter Doppelganger - Out of battle - Battle - Reward for winning 3. Weaknesses worth exposing - Out of battle - In battle 4. Strategies - The cheapest strategy - Preperation - Surprise attack methods - In battle 5. Glitches and general fun 6. Credits Non-numbered. Legal bull ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 0. Version history ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------- v1.1 (7:11 AM 6/17/2007) Doppel's inability to go over the level cap has been confirmed with absolute certainty. Also, Doppelganger's armor and accessory abilities have also been confirmed. Section 2 has been edited accordingly. -------------------- -------------------- v1.01 (10:43 PM 6/14/2007) Corrected the chart description for Sleipnir. -------------------- -------------------- v1.0 (8:04 AM 6/12/2007) Initial release. -------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Intro ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- So you have a question on Doppelganger, eh? Well, you're not alone. By far. Doppelganger appears to be the most talked about subject on the Reminisce boards here and elsewhere; from how to get him to appear, to beating him, to whatever else, he's become surprisingly popular with the second entry into the G.U. series and some of it has spread back to Rebirth. Reminds me of Blitz in Final Fantasy 6 to tell you the truth. Seeing as how a guide was made specifically for Blitz beginners by my friend Yoshi6400, I figure a guide to Doppelganger for G.U. would be just as helpful to the .hack fanbase. It won't shut down every topic; some people just don't check the FAQs anyway before whining and crying to the boards. But I'm doing what I can. I've put in quite a bit of research (and gotten particularly lucky at points) to get this information together, and with any luck, this should be the definitive guide to learning about and defeating Doppel. This isn't the only such guide, as I've also written one for volume 2, and when Redemption comes state-side, another version will be made for the last entry into the G.U. series. ----- Ctrl+F is your friend! ----- First and foremost, LEARN CTRL+F!!! This is usually the shortcut for the Search function on your browser, which is also usually found under Edit. You can use this to look up certain words, sentences, etc., and is much easier than scrolling through the entire guide. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Doppelganger stats and facts ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- How to encounter Doppelganger ----- First, a thread on a black PK must appear in the Rumor section of the Community Forum. Read through it, and you'll find that the "PK" in question is a special enemy named Doppelganger. Now he'll be able to show up on non-storyline fields. Doppel will appear five minutes after you're able to move on most fields, though he will not ever appear in dungeons. There are some fields that Doppel won't enter for any known reason. There is currently no way to predict whether a field falls into that rare category. If you're having problems, changing fields should be enough to get him to appear. Once Doppel has or should have arrived, the timer is disabled and he'll begin wandering the field, teleporting every-so-often to other parts of the area. When he's close by, a red arrow will appear, and once close enough, the camera will zoom in on him and give you the message "Encountered Doppelganger" provided you're not using a Smoke Screen. Doppelganger looks like Haseo's current form, constantly surrounded by dark smoke, and has glowing yellow eyes. Beware the following: - Doppel never appears at fields related to the storyline, such as Delta: Submissive Tragedy's 1000 Oaks. - Getting into battle resets Doppelganger's timer. If you want to see him as quickly as possible, you will have to wait out the 5 minutes immediately upon entering the field. - Entering the Beast Temple does nothing to stall Doppelganger's timer aside from the actions of using the door and acquiring the treasure. However, should Doppel's timer run out while you are inside the inner temple, Doppel will not appear on the field; you will have to leave and come back to the field. Getting into a battle won't help, as the timer has already expired and cannot be reset once that occurs. - Breaking objects, gathering treasure, and getting on/off the bike freezes the Doppelganger timer for however long it takes to complete these actions. This also includes character, warp point, and platform interaction menus and dialogue where the game world doesn't appear to freeze save that monsters stop walking and flying around. Subscreens like the Trade menu and the map also freeze the timer for their duration. - Kicking Chim Chims that aren't the King do not affect the timer since they do nothing to disrupt the normal flow of time. ----- Out of battle ----- - His sight is equivilent to that of flying monsters, but takes a few seconds to "boot up" once you've seen the "Encountered Doppelganger" message. - His true speed in catching up to you lies in short bursts taken when he sees you. Only the bike has a chance of outrunning him; without a conveinent exit nearby, an item is preferable for escaping before you have access to the bike. ----- Battle ----- LV: Haseo's + 8* HP: Supposedly Haseo's unmodified count at said level SP: Supposedly Haseo's unmodified count at said level Stats: Supposedly Haseo's unmodified stats at said level, plus whatever Doppel's own equipment adds in. Weapon: Doppelganger uses his own weapon of the same type that Haseo is currently using, and switches whenever Haseo does. Note that during a weapon change, Doppelganger is invincible just like Haseo is. Dual sword abilities: Critical hit rate +25% HP Drain 25% (heals Doppel for 25% whatever damage he inflicts with normal attacks occasionally) Chance to inflict Confuse** Broadsword abilities: Half the target's current HP on critical hits SP Drain 25% (heals Doppel's SP for 25% whatever damage he inflicts with normal attacks occasionally) Chance to inflict Charm** Armor abilities: Doppel Armor 1 (Physical -75%) no name (Magic -75%) Accessory abilities: Doppel Accessory 1 (Speed +50%) Doppel Accessory 2 (permanent custom Rig Saem: heals 1/50 max HP per second) Other abilities: Cannot be knocked back or juggled, attacks can not be interrupted*** Skills: Healing - Ma Repth (heals 300 HP), SP cost unknown Attack - None Arts - Any of Haseo's (which he can use depends on Haseo's weapon) * - Doppelganger cannot go over the game's level limit for your characters (LV. 50); if by no other method, you can see this via his maximum HP count. It hits its maximum when Haseo reaches LV. 42, and Doppel will steadily get weaker in attack and defense as you approach 50. ** - I'm not sure if Doppel can actually inflict Confusion or Charm in volume 1. I've never seen it anyway. *** - The Steam Bike can send Doppelganger flying, but is the sole exception unless Doppel has died. If Rig Saem revives Doppel before he can become a ghost, the property will reassert itself once he has landed. ----- Reward for winning ----- The Own King key item. You need this to get Doppel's dual swords in Reminisce. All later fights will be the normal mission reward. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Weaknesses worth exposing ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- Out of battle ----- - In Rebirth, the Steam Bike has the ability to stop regenerative status and normal SP regeneration from working. If you want to restart the battle for whatever reason, using the bike is recommended. ----- In battle ----- - Doppelganger's inability to be knocked around prior to death is a double- edged sword; it prevents you from getting him away from you easily or juggling him, but it also keeps him from being knocked away during combos. This makes him easy prey for Rengekis if you can stand with him. - Doppel permits running away and all of the abuse it brings. Constant surprise attacks/bike crashes and multiple Sleipnir attacks can kill him easily. - Awakenings halt regenerative status as well. - Doppel's armor has no status immunities or Counter abilities. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4. Strategies ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- This section will go from flat-out too easy to mostly how Bamco and CC2 wanted the fight to go. ----- The cheapest strategy ----- If you absolutely must go cheap and fast, Sleipnir and Smoke Screens are your key. This combo will take out anyone quickly. First, find a field with Sleipnir using Zer0's chart: http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h157/ZeroTheBurninator/walkthrough/lucki.png (this is not linked in his Vol. 1 guide, and for fear of spoilers, I'm not linking to the Reminisce guide here) The top numbers are your party's average level (ones digit only), while the numbers on the left side are the field level (ones digit only). Look for the word Sleip. on the chart. For you LV. 50 users who've maxed out levels on all characters, just look for LV. 8, 18, 28, 38, or 48 fields. I recommend kicking Sleipnir when you know Doppel has appeared or after all other enemies have been cleared from the field. Now find Doppel and engage him. A wheelie to the face (again, hold Square, press X, let go of Square is how the wheelie is done), using a Smoke Screen to get behind him for an initial strike, running up before his eyes clear up and getting the surprise attack, I don't care. When battle begins, Sleipnir will halve Doppel's HP. Use a Smoke Screen and restart battle, and Sleipnir will do it again. You should be able to finish this by or at the fifth "battle." Continuously using the bike is recommended. You can watch this strategy in action at YouTube via the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYVr5RTw9dY ----- Preperation ----- All I'm going to list is what I recommend for Haseo, but you can assume that this applies to the other characters as well and be mostly correct. This is what *I* recommend, keep that in mind. This is hardly required to win. Party members: No magicians! Atoli and Gaspard simply aren't helpful in this fight, you need all the attack power you can get and Gaspard's reliance on attack magic in a game where attack magic is broken leaves him all but useless. Techniques and knowledge: Due to the fact that I recommend broadswords, guard cancelling is a must. What is guard cancelling? Basically the use of guard to cancel out an attack animation after the blow has been dealt, eliminating recovery time and letting you strike again quickly. Since the first attack is always normal, that's all you want since every weapon ability works with normal strikes. Guard cancelling is done by hitting X to attack, holding O until Haseo goes into his guard pose, letting go of O and repeating. If you haven't already, if you're going to actually fight Doppel and not just throw an Awakening in his face, know how long Rengeki rings last. The more damage you can inflict in this state and the longer you can hold back on using the Rengeki attack the better. It lasts for a few seconds, and while I could measure it and tell you, it won't help a lot. Experience is much better for this. Aside from that, basic RPG tactics should work well. Inventory: Weapon - Broadsword! In Rebirth, dual swords are as slow as the broadsword, and they strike only four times a combo, making them not only cumbersome, but completely obsolete once you're in second form. A +5 Alchemized sword is of course recommended. Abilities: Sleep Attack and Backstab. If you're using Broad Wheel/Legged, I have pretty much no recommendation as no abilities work with the tap X attacks, only with the first, second, and final strikes. None of those are of great importance to a rapid attack broadsword user. If you don't have a second slot, Backstab, Critical +10%, or Sleep Attack are viable choices. Armor - Custom, not rare. No rare armor carries Physical -(number) abilities. At the maximum level, this ability will assure you a lot of safety against Doppel's normal strikes. Abilities: Physical -25 and Counter Sleep. Doppel can't use ailments, may as well hit him back with one passively, and he can't use Magic. Physical -10% isn't a bad alternative to Counter Sleep either. If you can't find Physical -25, two Turtle Shells (Physical -20%) would be a good idea. If you can't use a second slot, Physical -25 isn't likely to help anyway; go with Physical -10%. Accessory - Disregarding EXP/GP/Item drop boosters (of which only EXP works in this fight anyway), I'd go with SP conservation in Rebirth. This makes my suggestion of Arts Knowledge x2 particularly obvious, but really, it's either that or EXP +20% (two Amber Dragon Eyes). You don't have any other choice if you're looking for help in this area. Inventory - I can sum it up pretty easily. Get whatever the strongest healing items are HP and SP-wise (not both, those items aren't too effective and they're expensive). That's it. Magic falls prey to a bug in which level should be involved in its damage equation, but isn't, crippling it versus Doppelganger's high stats. ----- Surprise attack methods ----- This is incredibly easy if you go at him fast enough before his vision clears. There's no way you can't surprise him that way. However, if he can see you, here's what you can do. - Use a Smoke Screen to get behind him. Then you can surprise him or summon the bike and ram him easy. - Use a wheelie (hold Square, press X, then release Square). Lure Doppel close to you, face him, and use a wheelie to drop him before he can start the battle. Preferably you should wait for him to take exactly one of his fast jumps at you (those occasional spurts where he goes really fast for a split second), then attack. ----- In battle ----- Doppelganger is definitely tough. Even with the damage bonus from reaching the level limit, Doppel's defense is superb and his IMOQ throwback version of Rig Saem is headache-inducing. It takes a lot to finish him, and he can be a big challenge if you have no idea what you're doing. - The best strategy is to lower his HP a little and nail him with an Awakening. Ideally a Rengeki and starting Beast Awakening with an awakened Rengeki should be enough. An awakened Rengeki is simply where you activate a Beast Awakening after the Rengeki rings show up and use the Rengeki during the Awakening. - If you don't have a full Morale gauge yet, pick out your favorite Arts for both party members (assuming you didn't bring any magic users) and have them lay down a two-on-one beating. It will give you the combo hits you need to get Rengeki going on the next shot. You can join them by using the Skill Trigger (it would keep Doppel from attacking since no new actions can be started during one of Haseo's Skill Trigger arts), but you may not be able to use a Rengeki should the very next hit come too quickly. - If you wish to fight him alone, he's not all that powerful at LV. 50, so a typical Sleep Attack/Backstab broadsword should do it. However, Poison *might* actually be useful since you have no backup, but if you think that's the case, bring The Death scrolls, not a Poison Attack weapon. Bring plenty of healing items, attack him from behind as much as you can, keep from using your Rengeki until the very last second to get in as many free hits as possible, and though it will take a long time, if you don't let up, Doppel can and will fall. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5. Glitches and general fun ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- - This was covered in section 2, but bears repeating; if you're inside the inner Beast Temple when Doppel's timer expires, Doppel will not appear on the field no matter what. You'll have to leave and come back before he can show up at the field in question. While the timer running inside the beast temple likely isn't a bug, this unfortunate side effect is. - Surprising Doppel counts toward the Surprise Attack count, but it actually shouldn't, so surprising everyone on the field including Doppel pushes the count over by one. - In fields with underground entrances like Delta: Graceful Wrath's Shadow, if you position yourself far enough below ground (use the bike to descend) to not get warped above ground but not far down enough to be incapable of initiating a surprise attack, you can fight any enemy with Haseo below ground. Doppel is no different, though if you're not far down enough, beware that Doppel might still be able to hit you. Being knocked down with no ground beneath you may result in being forced to reset. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6. Credits ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- HiroTheZero - Provided the strange field Theta: Buzzing Ruined Gate for Reminisce, which I used to finally and completely decipher Doppelganger's appearance requirements on that game before confirming them for Rebirth. Zer0 - For making the lucky animal chart I linked to in section 4. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright ©2007 Master ZED The Unoriginal White Sheet: http://masterzed.cavesofnarshe.com/ .hack//G.U. Vol.1//Rebirth ©2006 Namco Bandai/CyberConnect2 I'm not responsible should anything stated in this FAQ/guide do anything. I'm not responsible should anything stated in this FAQ/guide do nothing. I'm not responsible for whatever you or anyone else do with this FAQ/guide or the contents within it. I'm not responsible for whatever you or anyone else don't do with this FAQ /guide or the contents within it. The only places you should find this guide are GameFAQs and ZED's Unoriginal White Sheet. All rights reserved. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------