LV: Haseo's + 8*
HP: Haseo's count at said level
SP: Haseo's count at said level
Stats: Haseo's 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, and if the Skill Trigger
is used, Doppel will change his weapon after the Weapon Change animation is
finished. Also note that Haseo must have similar abilities to Doppel's weapon
for Doppelganger's weapon abilities to actually work; this even includes the
dual guns.***
Dual sword abilities:
Critical hit rate +25%
HP Drain 25%
Chance to inflict Confuse
Broadsword abilities:
Half the target's current HP on critical hits
SP Drain 25%
Chance to inflict Charm
Scythe abilities:
Critical hits lower target's current HP to 1/10, but only have a 10% chance of
occurring
HP Drain 50%
SP Drain 50%(!)
Dual gun abilities:
P-ATK raises as Doppelganger's HP drops, with a max bonus of double P-ATK
Armor abilities:
Physical -75%
Magic -75%
Damage Change
Accessory abilities:
Speed +50%
Permanent custom Rig Saem: heals 1/50 max HP per second
Other abilities:
Cannot be knocked back or juggled, attacks cannot be interrupted**
Invulnerable to Invites, Mortal, and Death's Bullet
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)
* - In this game Doppelganger is always 8 levels higher even if you have reached the max level he has been fixed this time with appropriate stats for a level 158 if it existed.
** - The Steam Bike can no longer send Doppelganger flying on the first hit.
Like any other normal monster though, a second crash or even a surprise attack
after initiating combat once and escaping will slam him into the battle cage.
*** - The check for whether Doppel can use his weapon's abilities is only made
when Doppel changes weapons, so it is entirely possible to use Heine's Shadow
against Doppel with his broadsword still crippled, for example, simply by
equipping the sword while Doppel has his own sword already drawn.
(!) - The same rules apply to this drain as the others, but I wanted to catch
your attention here. Heine's Zero, both yours (if you have it) and
Doppelganger's, have been upgraded to 50% SP Drain instead of 25% like in
Reminisce. There is nothing in the game's text to tell you this since it
doesn't acknowledge the change, but it is possible to see the extra SP addition
if you watch the damage and SP healing numbers closely. The reason for this
is a minor spoiler for after the story's end.
Weaknesses:
- Doppel's armor has no status immunities or Counter abilities save Invite
immunity. This makes him completely susceptible to Shock ailments, which last
several minutes.
- 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, and in volume 3 makes him
easy prey for Venomous and Voodoo Attack.
- On that note, Venom and Voodoo are great if you want to defeat Doppel without
Awakenings. Venom and Voodoo are more powerful versions of Poison and Curse
that can help you rip right through his defenses with relative ease. While
neither Poison or Venom can ignore Damage Change, they will still damage SP and
are definitely worth applying even before Doppel's SP is eliminated. However,
until you reach LV. 146, you can't expect to hit Doppel with either Venom or
Voodoo with direct attacks without Beast Awakening (you'll need the appropriate
Counters, so this is really only helpful when you near or clear your final
level-ups.
- Even without Curse, unlike other monsters and bad guys, Doppel's natural SP
regeneration isn't any better than your own. However, even 1 SP can interfere
with your attacks a great deal, so either attack with multiple hits or find a
way to Curse Doppel.
- Doppel permits running away, and all of the "abuse" it brings. Unfortunately
due to Damage Change and the changes in Smoke Screen, No Encounter, and Hit in
the Dark on the bike, Sleipnir is out the window and the use of Smoke Screen
permits Doppelganger the chance to run away (though it's quite rare that he
takes the opportunity to run, it can happen). Despite the fact that bike damage
can ignore Damage Change, because of his custom HP regeneration, it is
incredibly unlikely that you'll be able to finish him off with the bike.
- Awakenings disable special effects for their victims, so regeneration is
disabled and Doppelganger's armor loses its advantages, including Damage Change.
Beast and Demon Awakening will shred him apart, though the latter will need the
appropriate boosts and may still have trouble prior to Haseo reaching LV. 147
(the first level at which you get a level bonus toward damage you do to Doppel).
- Avatar Awakening is good for some damage, but Doppelganger won't cough up any
Virus Cores for you. It also isn't recommended unless your Awakening's level
is close to or at 10, as the damage is pretty low.
- When you achieve Xth Form, while Doppel's character model will change to look
like you just like in previous games, the only new ability he'll get is the
power to use dual guns and Justice. He doesn't get the chance to use the other
perks such as dashing. Even if he could use the Double Trigger, it's pointless
as he's never able to use the Skill Trigger.
The Actual Fight:
- First and foremost, do not use dual guns on Doppelganger unless you have him
Charmed or you're using Beast Awakening! Paralysis won't hold him down
completely and shouldn't be trusted to this task. Within an Awakening, Doppel
can't attack, so the infinite juggle aspect of the guns won't come back to haunt
you unless you still have them on after your Morale dries up (and you don't hit
Doppel again fast enough to trigger Rengeki).
- The best strategy is to go for Beast Awakening and slaughter Doppelganger
with Skill Boost and a powerful damage weapon (examples being what I recommended
for broadswords and scythes). To this end, the Holy/Godly/Chicha/Wonder Potion
series is the absolute best at Morale building because they give an extra bonus
on top of the normal Morale received from quotes (though this bonus only works
with a team, not alone).
- The most heartless variant of the Beast Awakening strategy is to take two
party members with pink Affection, equip Morale Boost, use four of any of the
aforementioned Potions, and with your Morale maxed, switch to Skill Boost and
go for the Awakening. If you can manage it, inducing Rengeki rings and using an
Awakened Rengeki would be the best attack method. If you need to fight from a
distance (you didn't go all out completely and ignored Shock Stun and Shock
Tempt), multi-hit spells such as Zan Rom and Gan Bolg work wonders for this
purpose, provided someone goes in and inflicts the regular attacks needed to get
the Rengeki rings to activate (Skills can contribute to summoning the rings, but
they cannot activate Rengeki on their own). The spells should stall Doppel long
enough to keep you or your teammate safe from his wrath.
- If Beast Awakening isn't your idea of fun, Demon Awakening can be almost as
effective. However, because of Haseo's magic deficency, Skill Boost is required
to do any major damage, and All Damage +25% is highly recommended on top of
that. Skill Boost works on Demon Awakening despite the 0 SP cost, hence the
suggestion.
- For outside Awakening, Poison/Venom and Curse/Voodoo are both very useful for
this fight. Poison/Venom doesn't ignore Damage Change, which only benefits you
as they'll join Curse/Voodoo in eating Doppel's SP. Because of Doppel's armor,
direct attacks don't actually do much (Damage Change divides damage done to SP
by about 6 on top of the penalty incurred from Physical/Magic -75%), giving
Poison good reason to be used and Curse the very first practical use it has ever
had in all of .hack.
- Should Doppel decide to use an Art directed at the wrong person, the best
defense aside from a good offense (or Suvi Lei/Hanged Man or Lovers scrolls) is
to change Haseo's weapon type. This will put a stop to Doppelganger's current
action, but be careful as his Trigger gauge will still be full once the change
is complete (he'll be able to attack immediately).
- Remember that if you have Xth Form, dashing can get you out of the hold that
Arts and spells put on you. Should Doppel use Armor Break on you, for example,
you can easily dash away after the first hit and ignore the other four, which
leaves him wide open to your own attack. Of course, if you intend to use an Art
against him, dashing is pretty pointless since the Skill Trigger makes you
temporarily invincible anyway.
- There are two characters after the end of the game that will likely have a
very low level in comparison to Haseo. If you wish, you could set one or both
of them up with a three slot damage Counter (available at Breg Epona's Material
shop), set them to Tenacity, and let Doppel kill himself on their powerful
counterattacks. This will require constant saves/revival from death on your
part to work effectively and will take multiple counters because of Magic -75%
and Damage Change cutting into their power. If you can apply Poison and Curse,
do so, especially Curse. Remember to equip either a broadsword or scythe since
they have more power than dual swords, and do not equip dual guns because they
ignore Counters of all types.
- The best weapon for attacking Doppel alone is the broadsword. Not only is it
mostly single target only, but Doppelganger can't use guard cancel, and he gets
stuck facing one direction once his hold and release attack is called into
action. You can use that to get behind him quickly and continue assaulting his
vulnerable back. Should you use this plan, it would be best *NOT* to guard
against his regular hit, as that will leave you stunned longer and may not leave
you time to get his back (in fact, even with Xth Form's dash, you might get
caught by the hold and release without a good Speed +% accessory). The same
recommended attachments from before will work here, whether they be pure power
or Venom/Voodoo.
- Rengeki rings last long enough for Haseo to switch weapons if you can do it as
soon as you get the rings to appear, even if it means changing type. This can
be beneficial if you want to use a Jet Speed Attack broadsword and, say, an All
Damage +25% scythe together. However, it does give Doppel a short time for his
regeneration to help out, and may need Poison/Curse in order to do real damage.
This is not the best strategy to use, but it is possible.
- Using Doppel's own weapons against him, especially alone, is a bad idea. Even
once you have Cheat Alchemy, they don't have the raw attack power or the right
ailments to confront Doppel with (Past and Devolve Invite don't work on him and
Charm won't halt his regeneration), and while Heine's Invasion does have
Critical +25%, it just won't be enough.
There are only so many ways of restating the same things over and over, but that
should give you enough of an idea as to how you can kill him off.
Subject: .hack g.u. doppleganger 
Thu Jul 16, 2009 5:13 pm
