History VideoGame / DotHackGUGames

[[quoteright:280:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/280px-DotHack_GU_Chars_Group.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:280:'''The Infinity Eight:''' Left to Right: Endrance, Ovan, Atoli, Yata, Haseo, Pi, Sakubo, Kuhn]]

Taking place after the events in ''Anime/DotHackSign'' and the original Franchise/DotHack games, the popular MMORPG "The World" is open for business yet again. Well, the new World. The old one was destroyed when the servers mysteriously burned down. The new world is a bit DarkerAndEdgier these days with all the PlayerKilling. The PKK (Player Killer Killer) from ''[[Franchise/DotHack .hack//Roots]]'', Haseo, has become legendary in his own right. As TheHunter; he has killed hundreds of Player Killers and has gained the title [[RedBaron The Terror Of Death]]. Yes, [[ForeShadowing the same title the first Boss in the first game series had]]. He is hunting down a mysterious Player Killer known as Tri-Edge, for this mysterious Tri-Edge PK'd Haseo's friend Shino, and she fell into a coma in real life.

After being attacked and Data Drained by Tri-Edge, Haseo is found by a mysterious organization known as Raven, and joins their ranks, unleashing a hidden power in his character data known as Skeith.

All the while, a mysterious computer virus called AIDA is threatening the existence of "The World" and quite possibly the entire Internet.

Character Sheets are [[Characters/DotHack here]].

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!!!The games contain examples of:
* AcceptableBreaksFromReality: The World R:2 never crashes or lags, unless in story events.
** Also the Save Stations: Not only do real [=MMORPGs=] not have anything of the sort, but in G.U. you start the next play session at the last save station you saved at rather than your desktop (unless you used that one last, which is itself another acceptable break). This actually helps add some realism to a story event early on in Disk 2.
* AdaptationDistillation: The Trilogy movie.
* AllThereInTheManual: See the entry for HiddenDepths. Also, some events in the game make way more sense if you've watched .hack//Roots.
** Additionally there was a disc included with some editions of Volume 1. Written as a [[ApocalypticLog personal diary]] that detailed how The World R:2 came about, how the Epitaph Program came about, the [[MeaningfulBackgroundEvent mysterious fire at CC Corp]], the fate of [[VideoGame/DotHackR1Games Mia]] from the R1 series, the details of Aura and how she crated the Azure Knights and [[Manga/DotHackLegendOfTheTwilight Rena and Shugo]].
* AlternateContinuity: The game starts the same way as the novels, manga, and Trilogy. Each medium branches in different ways after the basic premise is set up and acknowledges that they're alternate tellings. For the record, the games are the canon version.
* AmazingTechnicolorBattlefield: All of the Avatar battles as well as some of the areas outside of the system that aren't a WhiteVoidRoom.
* AnimalMotifs & AnimalStereotypes:
** Bordeaux embodies the obsessive, predatory spider woman.
** Atoli's player loves birds, so she named her character after one and gave it the wing-cloak design. Thematically, she fits the vulnerable, "caged bird" heroine who is later set free to fly.
** Gaspard has a rather dog-like loyalty and affectionate nature that fits his design too.
** Members of the minor NPC guild ZOO attempt to play this trope up too, but with much less depth.
* ArcWords:
** G[[spoiler:row]] U[[spoiler:p]].
** "Welcome to the World."
** "Become stronger, Haseo."
* TheAtoner: [[spoiler:Ovan at the end. Also, Endrance in Volume 2 when he saves Haseo in the Arena]].
* AxCrazy: All of the [=PKs=], Bordeaux as a most shining example. Haseo in his PKK days too.
* AuthorAvatar: Piros the Third is based upon Hiroshi Matsuyama, the director of the game series. Natsumi is based off his wife.
* AwesomeButImpractical:
** Level 3 Arts in Volume 3. They look awesome, but are generally less powerful and useful than regular skills. [[note]]Level 3 Arts takes a lot of time but around Skill Level 28 onward it costs as much SP as of its last regular skill, to the point of costing less than them, and also it's possible to nearly spam them since the more you level the Skill the faster the trigger gauge will recover. However their worst flaw lies in the Beast Awakening, when their (often rather slow) speed isn't amplified, unlike the regular skills. Furthermore, the only Level 3 Art that gets a speed boost during Beast Awakening ''suffers from it'' by missing half its hits.[[/note]].
** Offensive magic ''may'' count, especially since the higher-level spells often consume too much SP to be worth using (thereby making Shadow Warlocks a fairly useless class).[[note]]Maybe, but the offensive magics are fairly strong, hits a wide area and makes the setup for Rengeki a lot easier and most of times offensive magic doesn't get interrupted when you perform a Rengeki unlike any other Art used by your allies. The problem of its cost can be partially solved with three Blue Moon Ores or a True Moon Ore (reduces offensive spell cost) and Mind Butterfly (which grants 50%+ SP).[[/note]]
* BackFromTheDead: Technically everyone who went comatose here and there.
* BareYourMidriff: Most female characters, and some male characters. Most notably Haseo himself.
* BerserkButton:
** '''"I'M NOT A NOOB!!!"''' This extends to being looked down on in any way. (e.g. The first conversation with Endrance, Pi, etc.)
** Also, endangering any of Haseo's comrades is simply asking to get online ass-kicked. PK'ers who hunt beginners also trigger Haseo's button.
** Calling [[CampGay Hiiragi]] "he".
** Calling ωRice "Butt-Rice".
* BettyAndVeronica: Shino and Atoli or Atoli and Alkaid.
* BetweenMyLegs: In the most serious fashion possible in the endgame battle of Volume 1.
-->'''Haseo''': Give us back... ALL OF THE LOST ONES!!!
* BewareTheNiceOnes: As a surprise guest character from the previous .hack quadrilogy of games [[spoiler:Natsume makes an appearance in ''Redemption''. She has a split personality as the Chaotic PK "Natsume: The Edge-Maniac".]]
* BigBad: [[spoiler:Azure Flame Kite in the first game, "Tri-Edge" Ovan in the second and finally Cubia in the game series ending]].
* BigBrotherMentor: Silabus and Gaspard. Also, Kuhn. Minor [=NPCs=] [=AppleStar=] and Renji also fit this role.
* {{BFS}}: One of the classes is Heavy Blade/Edge Punisher. Their weapons are steam-powered swords, which are twice the size of their characters.
* BigDamnHeroes: Several in a row in Vol. 3, against [[spoiler:the Cubia Gomoras]]. Also a [[spoiler:NotQuiteDead]] moment.
* BigNo: Humorously done by Atoli in the Promise event [[spoiler:with Endrance]].
** Not so humorously done when Kuhn and Atoli are screaming at Haseo [[spoiler: to not use the newly awakened Skeith on Bordeaux and her lackeys.]]
* BiTheWay: Depending of how you answer Endrance's e-mails Haseo himself can be seen as bi.
** Endrance himself, since he fell in love with Mia long before he met Haseo.
* BladeOnAStick: Used by the Lord Partizan Class.
* BonusBoss
** Doppelgangers in every volume.
** The Guardians in ''Reminisce''. Also The One Sin and God Eater.
** Cernunnos, Lord of the Underworld in ''Redemption''.
* BonusDungeon: The 100-floor Forest of Pain.
* BossRush: Doppelgangers in the last dungeon of the Vol.3 Redemption.
* BreakingTheFourthWall: It's not clear whether the game interface for "The World" itself tracks your allies' affection rating, but the email system might as well have NoFourthWall.
* BunnyEarsLawyer:
** Gabi, the leader of Kestrel.
** Minor NPC Ninjato is actually one of the graphics designers for "The World R:2." You probably better know him as that guy who is obsessed with [[{{Miko}} shrine maidens]].
* CallBack: Too many to count.
* CallingYourAttacks: Not all of them, but still most of them. [[spoiler:This is the only way to hear Azure Balmung's and Azure Orca's voices, though Azure Kite won't talk even while using his skills]].
* CampGay:
** Hiiragi, the captain of Fifth Division of Moon Tree.
** The Chaotic PK'er Garden Michelle too.
* CamWhore: [=NA00=], a minor NPC, somehow attracts a following of devoted male players who go so far as to form a guild based entirely on finding stuff to give her just by acting flirty. [[SmallNameBigEgo She comes to expect this from everybody]].
* CantDropTheHero: Despite playing an MMO where anyone could be the party leader, Haseo can't relinquish the role. It goes further in that even though your party members get gold while you adventure together and can even level up outside the party, they never buy new equipment for themselves.
* CardGames: Outside of "The World" is an online card game you can play based off characters and skills from the .hack universe. If you make your way up the ranks, you'll eventually be challenged by the champion, [[spoiler:Gaspard]].
* CashCowFranchise: Each game is ridiculously short, full priced, and you need all three of them for it to make sense.
* TheChessmaster: [[spoiler: Yata, Ovan, Sakaki]].
* ChainsawGood: For Haseo, especially in his PKK days.
* ChickMagnet:
** Haseo. {{Lampshaded}} in one of the wallpapers you can unlock in ''Redemption''.
** Silabus is also one.
* ChronicHeroSyndrome: Subverted. Haseo is dragged grumbling and grousing into helping people by Silabus and Gaspard. Despite his {{Jerkass}} personality in Disc 1, you simply [[ButThouMust can't advance the plot without helping them out]].
* ChivalrousPervert: Kuhn.
* CityOfCanals: Mac Anu.
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}:
** Many of the minor [=NPCs=], but [[MeaningfulName Henako]] is made of this trope.
** All the Grunties are a little ''off'', but Melo Grunty stands out in scenes where they all gather to talk.
** Also, near the end of Volume 3, [[spoiler:all of the natives of the Netslum]].
* {{Combos}}: Yeah. Lots of them. The combat system revolves around them, actually.
* CosmicKeystone: Key of Twilight, anyone?
* ClimaxBoss: It's hard to define with so many good fights in the game. [[spoiler:Vol.2 has Innis, Atoli's avatar. Vol.3 has Ovan ''and'' the Azure Knights]].
* CreepyChild: The victims of Doll Syndrome.

* CrossPlayer: Some background characters and Bo, who is a boy playing a female character.
* CurbStompBattle:
** The beginning of the first game shows a level 133 Haseo fighting Tri-Edge [[spoiler:(who is actually Azure Flame Kite)]], who [[ExcuseMeWhileIMultitask nonchalantly blocks all of of Haseo's attacks one-handed]], knocks him on his ass, destroys his weapon ''without even touching it'', gives him a FacePalmOfDoom, and Data Drains him, reducing him to level one. Ouch.
** Haseo's opening battle vs. Bordeaux and the other [=PKs=].
** It is established quite well in the first game that normal players will experience this against Avatar users who spam out the Phases. Even said in-game that Endrance was originally quite a low-level player, for an Arena Emperor.
* CuteBruiser: [[spoiler:Zelkova, the only Flick Reaper you can party with.]]
* CuteMachines: MECHA! MECHA! MECHA! MECHA-GRUNNNTYYY!! *dun da dun!*
* CutenessProximity: Atoli has shades of this trope, although this is particularly exaggerated in the 4koma strips.
* CutsceneIncompetence: Played very straight in the fight against Alkaid in Volume 1.
* CutscenePowerToTheMax:
** Haseo annihilating a party of [=PKers=] in the beginning.
** Alkaid, when [[spoiler:she came BackFromTheDead. She was destroying dozens and dozens of Cubia Gomoras in a cutscene, but when you use her to fight the same Gomoras she barely can scratch them]].
** Even opponents get this at least twice in the first game. In the first battles with Bordeaux and Alkaid in the Demon Palace Tournament it's made clear that Haseo is getting his butt kicked. In actual combat it's entirely possible for you to wipe the floor with them.
* {{Cyberspace}}: The entire game takes place in an MMORPG, and its effects on the real world are the major plot point of the game. It also has a more traditional Cyberspace in the AIDA-infested space outside of the normal game areas, and of course hacking is all graphical with avatars.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: Some have this, but the most notable is Atoli. [[spoiler:Her complete lack of self-esteem pushes her to do "good" stuff to gain acceptance ''[[SeriousBusiness even in a game]]''. To twist the knife further, her most trusted friend/mentor Sakaki is actually manipulating her, milking her trust in him and her powers of the Second Epitaph, Innis. She also met him on a ''suicide website'']].
* DarkIsNotEvil: At first glance on [[http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/haseo_3562.jpg Haseo's]] [[SpikesOfVillainy outfit]] after the TimeSkip of six months would you still believe he is the hero? More over would you believe he is one of the nicest guys by the time he recovers the very same form?
* DavidVersusGoliath[=/=]PintSizedPowerhouse: Despite beating all of the others, Skeith is the smallest of the Avatars.
* DeadpanSnarker: Haseo, frequently. (Especially when Atoli or Piros the 3rd are involved.)
* DeathGlare: Haseo gives one before charging Tri-Edge for the first time and then to Bordeaux when she throws in his face [[spoiler:she was the one who PK'ed Alkaid, making her go comatose and nearly '''killing''' her in real life]].
* DeathSeeker: [[spoiler:Ovan]].
* DefeatMeansFriendship: Natsume, Matsu, Alkaid, Bordeaux, etc.
* DiscOneNuke:
** The Doppelganger weapons, if you get them early enough in V2.
** To a lesser extent, getting Heavy Blades/Edge Punishers makes fights with Chaotic [=PKs=], who could kill you in one hit, into a relaxing exercise in juggling with earthquakes.
* DisneyVillainDeath: Played straight with [[spoiler:Sakaki]] in ''Reminisce'' and subverted following his comeback in ''Redemption''.
* DistaffCounterpart: The Steam Gunner class is basically the physical version of the Shadow Warlock class, and the opposite is naturally true.
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Several lines from the ending, when removed from context, [[spoiler:sound more like they came from a [[HoYay lover's spat]]]].
-->[[spoiler: ''Haseo'': Wait! I... I still haven't found a way to return your feelings. You're always like this. You always leave before I can tell you how I feel! And now you're leaving me again! Please...Ovan!]]
* {{Doppelganger}} A game based event where you can fight your twin who is far stronger than you and get awesome prizes! They also become apart of the FinalBattle.
* DrunkOnTheDarkSide
** [[spoiler:Everyone infected by AIDA, but especially Sakaki]].
** Haseo when his Avatar has awakened [[spoiler:until he nearly kills Kuhn]].
* DualWielding:
** Anyone who has the Twin Blade job.
** The Macabre Dancer class dual wields [[ImprobableWeaponUser fans]].
* DudeLooksLikeALady: Endrance.
* DynamicDifficulty: [[EvilTwin Doppelgangers]], which are always 8 levels above the leader of the party they face.
* DysfunctionJunction: Many of the playable characters have issues, to say the least.
* EldritchLocation: A few of the Lost Grounds, but most notably the Great Temple of Caerleon Medb, which is practically an AmazingTechnicolorBattlefield with its floating ruins over a void and a swirling nebula and stream of broken asteroids in the distance. A couple of the others notably involve floating ruins or otherwise impossible architecture like magma "aquaducts."
* ElementalPowers: The game as a 6-element system. Several characters are themed along certain elements in [[AstonishinglyAppropriateAppearance appearance]] or personality and come with unique equipped items that match that theme when the join the party. (e.g. Antares & fire, Endrance & wind, etc.)
* EmergencyTransformation: [[spoiler: When Haseo's character data is critically damaged in the wake of Ovan's defeat, Zelkova repairs it, giving Haseo a new appearance and an additional character class]].
** Avatars are often unwillingly called forth in response to near-defeat when an Epitaph User has just awakened (and is thus still fairly new to using them). This happens several times to [[AntiHero Haseo]]. The awakening itself is triggered by intense emotional distress.
* {{Emoticon}}
** Unsurprising, since forum posts and emails are a part of the game.
** Japanese-style emoticons also appear in Vol. 3 [[spoiler:as the faces of [=NPCs=] native to the Netslum]].
* EmotionBomb: AIDA, which magnifies the emotion of people--be it good or bad. Some examples are Saku with her desire to protect Endrance and despise towards Haseo, Bordeaux with her grudge towards Haseo, Sirius with his desire to stay emperor and [[spoiler:Atoli and her terrible inferiority complex]].
* {{Engrish}}: CC Corp's slogan: "Heartful and useful for all."
* EveryoneCanSeeIt: Haseo and Atoli. They have strong feelings for each other, but neither of them is actually aware of the other's feelings. Half the cast [[ShipperOnDeck want them to hook up]].
-->'''Silabus''': "She's cute, but she has you, doesn't she? :)"
* EvilSoundsDeep: The system administrators aren't ''evil'', but their voice is a pretty good clue that things aren't going to be ''better'' when they get involved.
* EvilWeapon: Demon Sword Maxwell.
* FaceHeelTurn: [[spoiler: Endrance and Sakubo turn their backs on Haseo and join Taihaku in the Sage Palace Tournament. Subverted when it turns out to have been a ReverseMole ploy on Endrance's part]].
* FacialMarkings: Lots. Tattoos are all over the place. [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment Especially on the face.]]
* FakingTheDead: [[spoiler: Kuhn, after he got beat the crap out in the fight against Skeith]].
* {{Fanservice}}: A lot. Let's leave it at that.
* FatIdiot: He's a nice guy and all, but let's face it -- Gaspard is a little dim.
* {{Foreshadowing}}
** Haseo is generally not nice in Volume 1, but he holds a particular contempt for Sakaki. [[spoiler:Guess what Sakaki does later on...]]
** The scene with Sakaki and Atoli at the Lost Ground is a type of foreshadowing as well.
** Atoli and Sakubo [[spoiler:being Epitaph Users]] is also briefly foreshadowed [[spoiler:when Haseo Awakens his own. It's stated previously that only Epitaph Users can see Avatars, and it seems fairly obvious that those two can see Haseo's]].
* FlowerMotifs: A scene in Vol. 2 hinges on how honeysuckles mean "devoted affection." Cue flashback & angst for Haseo and LuminescentBlush [[CanNotSpitItOut and denials]] from Alkaid.
** In an E-mail chain with Sakubo in Vol. 3, Haseo tells Saku that a White Chrysanthemum means "I'm here for you". [[spoiler: This convinces the Saku side of Bo's personality to not abandon him.]]
* ForcedLevelGrinding: The bigger the difference of levels, the less damage you'll do (if a lower level than your opponent) and take (if a higher level). If the difference six or more levels levels you won't even make you opponent flinch. Unless you have some serious skills, tons of healing items, or resort to hit and run tactics you really ''shouldn't'' fight enemies under-leveled.
* FriendToAllChildren: Surprisingly enough, Haseo. It's noticeable in the Vol.1 when Saku keeps yelling irritatingly at him and Haseo just keeps listening and answering normally.
* FunWithAcronyms: The many meanings of G.U.
* FurryFandom: At least two guilds and several message board posts in the game play this trope straight (and rather innocuously compared to many Western works that reference the phenomenon).
* GameplayAndStoryIntegration: In ''Reminisce'' before the battle against [[spoiler:Sakaki]], he declares that he will destroy "those who have betrayed him" first, referring to [[spoiler:Atoli]]. Guess who becomes his target during most of the battle.
* GameplayAndStorySegregation:
** Even though the game constantly picks on the topic of PK'ers predating on anyone you never actually get assaulted by one unless in story events or if you choose to enter in a Battle Area and face either one or a horde of monsters.
** In a cutscene in the first game Atoli prevents Haseo from kicking a Lucky Animal. At any other point when she is in your party she will never complain.
* GambitRoulette: [[spoiler: Ovan's ridiculously convoluted master plan... goes horribly awry...]]
* GenkiGirl: Tabby and Atoli.
* GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere: A partial example, because the flea in question was a major boss in the R:1 games and drove the plot for the last quarter of ''Redemption'', but still had absolutely ''zero'' foreshadowing regarding his presence in the story or even that he was still around after R:1. You spend most of the series chasing after Tri-Edge but when you finally defeat him, [[spoiler:Cubia suddenly shows up]].
** Very observant players of the first game series ''might'' have seen it coming: [[spoiler:Cubia is specifically mentioned in ''.hack//Quarantine'' to be the "shadow" of the Key of Twilight, born when it manifests its power. Therefore, when the Epitaphs were referred to as the Key in this series, alarm bells went off in some players' heads.]]
* [[WomanInWhite Girl in White]]: [[spoiler:Aina.]]
* TheGlomp:
** Gaspard gives these out.
** Atoli on Haseo after the first arena match in Volume 1.
* AGodAmI: [[spoiler:Sakaki]]. It doesn't last.
* GossipyHens: Trifle is a minor guild of eccentric gossips and {{Fan Girl}}s. Saku is a member.
* GunsAkimbo: [[spoiler:Haseo's Xth Form has the power to use dual guns]].
* GunKata: Haseo gains this with his final "Xth-Form", where he wields two guns with bladelike attachments. In a typical ShortRangeLongRangeWeapon , his special moves using that guns are performed close range as he both slashes and shoots; also used in the one of the last cutscenes. The game's juggle reaction to specific attacks mean that one [[GameBreaker can use the guns to juggle an opponent continuously until they die]]. Of course, said ability can only used by Haseo, until one realizes that * somehow* , the in-game Doppleganger is able to replicate his guns too and hence ''can use said trick back on you''. Frustration ensues.
* HeelFaceTurn:
** A rather unusual case. [[spoiler: When he was younger, Haseo's player Ryou Misaki was the antagonist PK Sora in The World v1, but loses his memory of it when Sora is data-drained by Skeith at the end of ''Anime/DotHackSign'', putting Ryou in a coma. He later goes on to become the hero of the GU games]].
** A straighter example would be [[spoiler:Endrance, one of Volume 1's main villains, who saves Haseo from being put into a coma in Volume 2]].
** Also, [[spoiler:some of Kestrel's members, including the reviled IYOTEN and Asta, become Haseo's allies toward the end of Volume 3. The Moon Tree captains that had previously sided with Sakaki become "good guys" as well]].
* HeKnowsAboutTimedHits: Justified, as the game takes place in a game that uses what appear to be PS2 controls.
* HeroicBSOD:
** Haseo has one after Shino becomes comatose. The later half of .hack//Roots is Haseo, having completely snapped from losing Shino, training and viciously hunting down Tri-Edge. [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge In six months' time from Shino's coma to the beginning of Rebirth, he's still BSOD-ing, only now he's reached level 133, and killed so many [=PKs=] on his way to find Tri-Edge]] he gains his nickname, "The Terror of Death".
** Also in Reminisce [[spoiler: when Haseo discovers that Ovan is Tri-Edge]].
** Atoli suffers [=BSODs=] a number of times through the first two games. ''Reminisce'' especially where she starts killing members of her guild, thanks to Sakaki's manipulation of her emotions.
* HiddenDepths: Most characters apply, as many of them are playing the game casually, roleplaying, or quiet about their real life situations. You'd find some surprising things in [[AllThereInTheManual the bonus materials.]] If you send greeting cards and raise affection with your allies, they email you more frequently, and tell you more about their jobs and such in real life.
* HiddenEyes: Shino, in the real world.
* HijackedByGanon: [[spoiler: Cubia comes a little after Ovan activates the Rebirth, with no indication beforehand that he would appear; the only way you would know is if you had taken a look at pre-release previews and promotional material]].
* HotBlooded: Haseo, Matsu, Sakaki, Saku and the list goes on...
* HopelessBossFight: In form of cutscene in the fall of Haseo.
* HundredPercentCompletion: The Book of 1000.
* IdentityAmnesia: [[spoiler:Haseo is actually Sora from Anime/DotHackSign, but doesn't remember any of it]].
* IKnowYoureInThereSomewhereFight: In the fight against [[spoiler:Innis, Atoli's avatar, Haseo constantly yells to her in and between the cutscenes trying to bring her out of AIDA's control without having to resort to Data Drain]].
* IdleAnimation: Everyone has one.
* IllGirl: [[spoiler:Aina, Ovan's little sister. Sakubo's player is also an IllBoy]].
* ImplacableMan: Dopplegangers. Once they spot you out on a field, they will not stop chasing after you. You can run like hell to another part of the map to get away, but it will continue to slowly walk towards you, one step at a time. Ducking into a Battle Area to fight another monster will ''not'' stop it from walking right in after you.
* InevitableTournament: There's one for each game.
* InsultBackfire: More than once when Haseo calls out Yata on his manipulative streak.
* InsurmountableWaistHeightFence: Many places. Most literally in Hulle Grantz Cathedral.
* JackOfAllStats: Blade Brandier class. The damage output is somewhere between Twin Blade and Edge Punisher, not as fast as Twin Blade and Tribal Grappler, but faster than heavily armored class as Lord Partizan.
* JekyllAndHyde: [[spoiler:The AIDA infecting Ovan sometimes takes over and [=PK=]s those close to him. The most notable victims were Shino and Aina.]]
* {{Jerkass}}: Haseo, initially. PlayedForLaughs with Death Grunty.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Haseo, after a little CharacterDevelopment.
* JokeCharacter: Adept Rogues are "[[MasterOfNone masters of none]]", meant to make up for their average stats and slow skill growth by using multiple weapons and being able to deal with a variety of situations. Matsu, however, refuses to use his Broadswords, making him little more than a sub-par Steam Gunner; Kuhn will always be more useful than him.
* LagCancel: One of the most efficient ways to attack with a Broadsword is to hold the Guard button as soon the hit lands, it will cancel completely the horrible lag it leaves. In Vol.1 this made a Broadsword as fast, if not faster, as Dual Swords.
* LargeHam:
** Piros the Third, Gabi, Sakaki, and Salvador Aihara.
** The final duel against [[spoiler:Ovan in his avatar form, Corbenik 2nd, in Vol.3]] is almost made of this.
-->'''SURPASS YOU LIMITS!!!'''
** The AIDA-infected bayonet in Volume 3.
-->"[[ChewingTheScenery FEED ME!!!]]"
** Haseo. He's possibly the largest ham in the entire series.
* LateCharacterSyndrome: Several of your party members, while possessing great abilities, join very late in the game (or worse, when the game already ends) and are outclassed by others in terms of usefulness.
* LatinLover: Salvador Aihara wants to be one so badly it hurts to watch.
* LaughingMad: Haseo after he awakens his avatar for the first time.
* LostForever:
** Musics, Wallpapers and some Movies inside the game if you didn't get before moving to the next Vol. or worse, if you started playing in the second or third Volume.
** Greeting Cards are great for boosting relationships with party members, but they come in finite amounts--once you use them up (like the Promise Card, of which you ONLY get one), they're gone for good.
* LoveFreak: Atoli. Endrance becomes one from Vol. 2 on.
* MadnessMantra: Someone infected by AIDA generally has one of these.
* MangaEffects: Many of the in-engine cutscenes use CrossPoppingVeins, a SweatDrop, etc. to illustrate the characters' moods. Haseo gets a lot of these thanks to his moody temper and general role as grumpy cast [[BokeAndTsukkomiRoutine tsukkomi]] in comedy scenes.
* MasterOfNone: In-universe, the Adept Rogue character class is generally viewed as inferior to those who value statistics over skill; while the Adept Rogues have versatility due to the ability to wield multiple weapons, they have lower stat increases and slower skill gains when compared to other classes.
** Haseo is unusually powerful for an Adept Rogue. This is commented on by several people on the forums, who are amazed he's such a high-level player with that class. His power with the class is well justified as he was only one of two people (the other being Taihaku) to finish the Forest of Pain event, a 100 floor dungeon which nabbed him multiple levels and as a reward skipped him right to his final job extension and majorly boosted his stats.
* MeaningfulName: Many of them. Justified in that the character names were intentionally picked by their respective players. {{Lampshaded}} by minor NPC "angel hair."
** Haseo's name especially. [[spoiler: His name is an alternate reading of the name of the famous Japanese poet, Matsuo Basho. This is significant because his previous character Sora [[IdentityAmnesia (of whom he remembers nothing)]] was named after Basho's disciple Sora Kawai.]]
** Minor NPC Henako's name is a variation on "henna ko" or "weird girl." She ''lives'' it.
* MenDontCry: Said by Shino toward Haseo before she fell into coma in the beginning, and later by [[spoiler:Alkaid]] in ''Reminisce''. More like "Boys Don't Cry", but still.
* {{Metaphorgotten}}: Wise Grunty's sayings tend to end up in this way.
* MightyGlacier: Lord Partizan and Edge Punisher classes.
* MindRape: [[spoiler:Atoli at the hands of Sakaki]].
* MoodWhiplash:
** Happens sometimes when reading the news/forums after tragic game events. e.g. Finding out that Usagimaru & Rei-chan from the last game are a famous comedy duo at the same time that you find out [[spoiler:Alkaid's player nearly ''died'' when Bordeaux PK'ed her]]. Made worse if you have a rather cheery background / music set up at the time.
** Also present when Alkaid gives Haseo an item that has unintentional romantic implications (her reaction is hilarious) but that causes Haseo to have an extremely melancholy flashback at the same time.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Haseo [[spoiler:after Data Draining Magus, Kuhn's Avatar, and nearly putting him in a coma]].
** Sirius has one complete with the TheScream once he has the AIDA infecting him drained and Endrance tells what happened to Alkaid.
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast:
** Haseo, The Terror of Death.
** Skeith, the ''other'' Terror of Death.
** The in-game forums states the Chaotic PK'ers. They have even a special RedBaron codename.
* NeckLift: Several times. One amusing example would be your first meeting with Alkaid.
* NerdGlasses: Wise Grunty.
* NeverLiveItDown: In-Universe, in the forum posts Kaki Leader constantly teases ωRice by calling him "Butt Rice". Soon the other forum posters take a notice to his hilariously unflattering nickname.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Eliminating AIDA by [[spoiler: using Corbenik's Rebirth to reset the Internet?]] Congratulations, you've created ''[[EldritchAbomination Cubia]]''.
* NoCutsceneInventoryInertia: Averted as Haseo will always have matching upgrades in the cut scenes.
* NoExportForYou: The one-episode sequel OVA, ''.hack//G.U. Returner'', has not been localized officially and there is no indication it ever will be. It's a real shame, since it clears up a '''lot''' of confusion in the ending. The games also never saw a release in certain parts of the world.
* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTdvz0HVAf4&feature=related The fight against Magus]], when Haseo's avatar goes berserk, is probably the most brutal, one-sided fights of the entire game.
* NoSenseOfDirection: Based on what happened early in Volume 1, Gaspard. One has to wonder if he is aware of the map function in the game at all.
* NoSidepathsNoExplorationNoFreedom: You know the game ''really'' wants you to follow the plot to the next point when it denies you the chance to ask any allies to join your party to go leveling up and doing side-quests. In an exploration sense, some areas really are straight-forward with no alternate paths of exploration.
* NotQuiteSavedEnough: The original version of "The World" met its demise when its physical servers were destroyed in a fire. What information they could save from the original game's code had to be merged with another game in order to create "The World R:2".
* ObaSan: Haseo starts calling Pi an old hag after she calls him an unruly child, much to her ire. That pretty much sets the tone for their relationship for a while. Saku gets in on the act later too.
* TheObiWan: Antares and [[spoiler:Phyllo, whose "original" player happens to be dead]].
* OminousWalk: Taihaku really likes to do this during the match against him.
* OutOfCharacter: Haseo himself has moments like this in Vol.1 if you send cards to people. Considering how much of a jerk he is in that game, it can be strange how nice he acts in some of his messages. This is lampshaded by Atoli in one of her responses.
* {{Paparazzi}}: Salvador Aihara, who actually stumbles into an important story.
* PetTheDog:
** Haseo's interaction with Sakubo, especially in earlier parts of the story where he's pretty much a jerk to everyone else.
** He also has a few moments with Gaspard.
* PistolWhipping: Depending on how you left your Steam Gunners' action settings, they'll only bash, and at times slash, enemies with their guns.
* PolarOppositeTwins: Saku and Bo, to the point that their character's hat indicates which one is active (Saku has the "sun" side pointing up, while Bo has the "moon" side).
* PowerFist: The Tribal Grappler class, which also fits FragileSpeedster.
* ProudWarriorRaceGuy: Icolo members have shades of this trope.
* PuppyDogEyes: In the beginning of ''Redemption'', when Atoli wants Haseo to find Melo Grunty together. It works.
* PurpleProse: Endrance borders on this with his florid love speeches from Vol. 2 on. Before that, he's the master of the CrypticConversation.
* RaceForYourLove: [[spoiler:In the end, Haseo chooses to chase after [[SecondLove Atoli]] rather than stay with Shino]].
* RedEyesTakeWarning: Haseo. The first times he uses his avatar and the rematch against IYOTEN and Asta are notable examples.
* RedHerring: The most famous in the Franchise/DotHack series: [[spoiler:Azure Kite is not Tri-Edge, Ovan is]].
* RedOniBlueOni: Haseo who wears red and black to Ovan who is in blue and white. One is fiery, hotheaded and the other is calm, logical [[spoiler:and manipulative to no end]].
* RedemptionEqualsDeath: Sort of. [[spoiler:In ''Redemption'', Sirius, who lost himself after using AIDA for power in ''Reminisce'', becomes a Lost One after entering the Sage Palace in order to save Taihaku and find a way to cure Alkaid]].
* RageAgainstTheMentor: [[spoiler:Haseo towards Ovan, especially after the reveal of his identity as Tri-Edge. Prior to the activation of the Rebirth Haseo gives an amazing speech chewing the hell out of him]].
* TheRedMage: Macabre Dancers are able to use healing, attack, and status magic, but do not learn the highest level spells of the other magic classes (Harvest Clerics and Shadow Warlocks).
* RelationshipValues: Each party member gets a {{Relationship Value|s}}, which rises as Haseo spends more time with them or gives gifts. A party member who has maximum affection in ''Redemption'' allows you to have a Friendship/Marriage Ending with him/her.
* RidiculouslyCuteCritter:
** Chim Chims.
** All the Lucky/Unlucky Animals fill this role too and are also fun to kick around.
** The Grunties also fall into this trope.
* RolePlayingGameVerse
* RousingSpeech: Double subverted in Vol. 1, when Piros the 3rd repeatedly fails to convince a high school student to follow his dreams. At the end of the quest, he finally succeeds.
* RunningGag: The Arena Commentator seems to have troubles when dealing with the guest commentators for the Tournaments.
* SayMyName / SkywardScream: Haseo & Pi.
** Haseo is ''constantly'' [[SayMyName saying other peoples' names.]] It's gotten to the point where he's rarely taken seriously in the fandom because of it.
* ScaryShinyGlasses: Ovan's lenses pick up a considerable glare whenever he's being especially mysterious... or dangerous.
* SeriousBusiness:
** [=MMORPGs=] are srs bsns.
** Also, the conflict between members of Moon Tree and Kestrel, despite neither of the guildmasters being all that worked up about it.
* ScreamingWarrior: '''Haseo'''. And about everyone who can fight, actually.
* SingleTargetSexuality: Endrance. [[spoiler:After accepting Mia's death, he moves on and latches onto Haseo]].
* SinisterScythe: Used by the Flick Reaper class.
* SlasherSmile: The only way to properly describe the look on Haseo's face [[spoiler: when he first awakens his powers as Skeith's Avatar and prepares to slaughter Bordeaux and her lackeys with it, even while Kuhn and Atoli are screaming at him to stop.]]
* SlowMotionFall: When [[spoiler:Atoli is attacked by AIDA]] in the end of Volume 1.
* SmallAnnoyingCreature: In-universe example: Haseo regards Death Grunty as one. Which is hilarious, given that Death Grunty is based on himself.
* SockPuppet:
** [[spoiler:Yata]] and [[spoiler:Nala]] have the same player, who uses both to further his agenda.
** [[spoiler:Yata and Pi]] also did this in the prequel anime .hack//Roots as [[spoiler:Naobi and Ender]].
** On a related note, Salvador Aihara [[AstroTurf promotes his own movies]] in the game forums without identifying who he is.
* {{Sparkles}}:
** Haseo's intro to Saku's obsession with "Master En."
** Atoli trails glittery sparkles everywhere [[spoiler:after her Epitaph is stolen by AIDA. It stops when she gets it back]].
* SongsInTheKeyOfPanic: When a Doppleganger spawns and notices you nearby, the music will change to what can best be described as exceptionally scary and fear inducing. The tempo of the music increases as it slowly walks towards you (and flashing red screen intensifies as well.)
* StalkerWithACrush: Saku claims to be constantly pressing the screencapture button when Endrance is on her screen. This is the ''least'' of her stalker-ish behavior.
* SteamPunk: Not quite this trope, but clearly inspired by it as Lampshaded by minor NPC Boltz. Steam Gunners are a good example.
* StepfordSmiler: [[spoiler:Atoli is a major example]].
* SuicideByCop: [[spoiler:Ovan's master plan is to make Haseo become his "cop."]]
* SuperMovePortraitAttack: All of the Awakenings.
* SuperRobot: Piros the 3rd acts like he can't decide whether he's playing the hero in such a show ''or the robot itself''. One of his running gags it to point to the sky and leap as if taking off with rockets, only to turn and run off once gravity asserts itself.
* SuperpoweredEvilSide:
** [[spoiler: Played for laughs with Natsume]].
** Any Epitaph User who gives in to their Avatar's power.
* TaremeEyes[=/=]TsurimeEyes: Saku has TsurimeEyes. Bo has TaremeEyes. This is how you tell them apart on the party invite list since all you can see is Sakubo's eyes.
* ThemeNaming:
** Some of the AIDA attacks are named after programming languages. Algol Laser, Prolog Lazer, Lisp Tackle are some examples.
** Pretty much all of Anna and Helen's attacks are named after programming languages, although a few of them were changed in the English translation for no known reason.
*** AIDA Victorian, however, draws its names from more royal or kingly-sounding words, such as Elegant Orb or Excellent Ray. It fits with [[spoiler:Sakaki's]] over inflated self-view.
** All of the leaders of Moon Tree are named after various trees in Japanese (with Sophora and Zelkova switched to their latin genus names in English). The guild name itself is a pun ("Tsuki no Ki") on one of the Japanese words for the tree ''Zelkova serrata'' ("tsukinoki"). Some of these names count as MeaningfulNames too.
** This also applies with members of several guilds in the game, such as the Gem guild.
** Three of the forum posters are named after the parts of Cocytus. Judecca, Antenora, and Ptolomea, respectively. They also have an arena team named Cocytus-1.
** The members of the Hetero Trio (in Vol. 3) are genetics terms: Hetero, Axanthic, and Leucistic. The latter two are types of albinism.
* ThereAreNoTherapists: So everyone who needs one just has to work it out with Haseo.
* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: In-universe example: some players from R1 express disappointment at how R2 turns out.
* ThisIsADrill: Some of the Lord Partizan weapons are gigantic drills.
* ThrowTheBookAtThem: Shadow Warlocks use grimoires as weapons.
* TooCleverByHalf: Sakaki.
* TurtleIsland: [[spoiler:Netslum]] Tartarga.
* TrademarkFavoriteFood:
** Fish for Melo Grunty, and pickles for Wise Grunty.
** There's a greeting card that you can send to your party members to find out their TrademarkFavoriteFood. Some of them are rather surprising, like Atoli's [[RealWomenNeverWearDresses beef bowls.]]
* {{Tsundere}}:
** Haseo is a male example of a Type A.
** [[spoiler:Saku (Type A) is also one if you choose to keep her around in ''Redemption'', as well as Bordeaux of all people (Type A) if you choose her in the Wedding Event]].
* VideoGameCrueltyPotential:
** The game allows you to ''run over the little blue critters with your steambike''. Also on that note, you get more points towards the Book of 1000 if you hit monsters with the bike!
** Through trading, you can take back a gift that you just gave to someone, along with some of their other stuff. They'll ask you if you don't want to be friends anymore. Does this count?
** The RelationshipValues. Particularly the replies you can give in email conversations or forums. An example would be making fun (rather harshly) of Gaspard for liking the card game Crimson VS. And all it costs you is a little extra time putting them in your party to make up for it.
* TricksterMentor: Everything Antares does is meant to teach Haseo something. Everything.
* UnexpectedGameplayChange: The Avatar battles.
* UnwittingPawn: [[spoiler: Sakaki, Sakaki, Sakaki]].
* ValleyGirl: Minor NPC [=NA00=]
* VerbalTic: Each Guild Grunty has one.
** Death Grunty: "I'm Grunty! You're Haseo! ''Oink!''"
** Wise Grunty: "'Good and ill fortune are closely interwoven.' That's a proverb I learned from my master. ''Nero''. "
** Nazo Grunty: "I'm telling Master on you! ''Naru!''"
** Gao Grunty: "So you want to obtain my manliness for yourself? ''Haha''."
** Melo Grunty: "I think I smell Death Grunty on you. ''Mellow''."
** King Grunty: ''Shu.''
** There's also the Golden Goblins. *gob*
* VitriolicBestBuds: Beatrice, a forum poster in Volume 1, views ωRice and Kaki Leader as this.
* {{Yandere}}: Madame Insane, one of the minor [=NPCs=] wandering Lumina Cloth, became a PK to grief her husband after getting jealous about him talking to another woman. She finds it more effective to torment his character than to scold him in real life.
* YearInsideHourOutside: Regular players can't see battles between Avatars and with AIDA. They see these epic battles as an "instant-KO" move that just causes Haseo to glow briefly. The time-dilation is more explicitly pointed out [[spoiler:after the AIDA server incident]] in Vol. 2.
* YearsTooEarly: If you send Challenge greeting card to Antares, he will reply with something around this line.
* YouALLLookFamiliar: Justified by the RolePlayingGameVerse. It's also a plot point that Atoli is practically a PaletteSwap of Shino.
* YourMindMakesItReal: People Data Drain'd on the game go comatose in RealLife. One character almost ''dies'' as a result.
* YouShouldHaveDiedInstead:
** [[spoiler:According to the [[AllThereInTheManual Perfect Guide]], Saku was created when Bo heard his mother say this about him in comparison to his stillborn twin sister]].
** [[spoiler:Sakaki, when defeated after morphing into AIDA <Victorian>.]]
----

** Additionally there was a disc included with some editions of Volume 1. Written as a [[ApocalypticLog personal diary]] that detailed how The World R:2 came about, how the Epitaph Program came about, the [[MeaningfulBackgroundEvent mysterious fire at CC Corp]], the fate of [[DotHackR1Games Mia]] from the R1 series, the details of Aura and how she crated the Azure Knights and [[DotHackLegendOfTheTwilight Rena and Shugo]].

** A rather unusual case. [[spoiler: When he was younger, Haseo's player Ryou Misaki was the antagonist PK Sora in The World v1, but loses his memory of it when Sora is data-drained by Skeith at the end of ''DotHackSign'', putting Ryou in a coma. He later goes on to become the hero of the GU games]].

* IdentityAmnesia: [[spoiler:Haseo is actually Sora from DotHackSign, but doesn't remember any of it]].

* RedHerring: The most famous in the DotHack series: [[spoiler:Azure Kite is not Tri-Edge, Ovan is]].

** Level 3 Arts in Volume 3. They look awesome, but are generally less powerful and useful than regular skills. [[hottip:*:Level 3 Arts takes a lot of time but around Skill Level 28 onward it costs as much SP as of its last regular skill, to the point of costing less than them, and also it's possible to nearly spam them since the more you level the Skill the faster the trigger gauge will recover. However their worst flaw lies in the Beast Awakening, when their (often rather slow) speed isn't amplified, unlike the regular skills. Furthermore, the only Level 3 Art that gets a speed boost during Beast Awakening ''suffers from it'' by missing half its hits.]].
** Offensive magic ''may'' count, especially since the higher-level spells often consume too much SP to be worth using (thereby making Shadow Warlocks a fairly useless class).[[hottip:*:Maybe, but the offensive magics are fairly strong, hits a wide area and makes the setup for Rengeki a lot easier and most of times offensive magic doesn't get interrupted when you perform a Rengeki unlike any other Art used by your allies. The problem of its cost can be partially solved with three Blue Moon Ores or a True Moon Ore (reduces offensive spell cost) and Mind Butterfly (which grants 50%+ SP).]]

* MyNameIsNotDurwood: From the message boards: ωRice, pronounced Ohm-Rice, who is frequently called Butt-Rice by Kaki Leader as part of their [[RunningGag running]] BokeAndTsukkomiRoutine.

* FacialMarkings: Lots. Tattoos are all over the place. [[RedundantDepartmentOfRedundancy Especially on the face.]]

* DavidVsGoliath / PintSizedPowerhouse: Despite beating all of the others, Skeith is the smallest of the Avatars.

* JekyllAndHyde: [[spoiler:The AIDA infecting Ovan sometimes takes over and PKs those close to him. The most notable victims were Shino and Aina.]]

* XanatosRoulette: [[spoiler: Subverted in that Ovan's ridiculously convoluted master plan... [[DiabolusExMachina goes]] [[EldritchAbomination horribly]] [[EndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt awry]]...]]

* [[WomanInWhite Girl In White]]: [[spoiler:Aina.]]

** Atoli suffers BSODs a number of times through the first two games. ''Reminisce'' especially where she starts killing members of her guild, thanks to Sakaki's manipulation of her emotions.

[quoteright:280:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/280px-DotHack_GU_Chars_Group.jpg]]

[[quoteright:280:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/280px-DotHack_GU_Chars_Group.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:280:'''The Infinity Eight:''' Left to Right: Endrance, Ovan, Atoli, Yata, Haseo, Pi, Sakubo, Kuhn]]

Taking place after the events in ''Anime/DotHackSign'' and the original Franchise/DotHack games, the popular MMORPG "The World" is open for business yet again. Well, the new World. The old one was destroyed when the servers mysteriously burned down. The new world is a bit DarkerAndEdgier these days with all the PlayerKilling. The PKK (Player Killer Killer) from ''[[Franchise/DotHack .hack//Roots]]'', Haseo, has become legendary in his own right. As TheHunter; he has killed hundreds of Player Killers and has gained the title [[RedBaron The Terror Of Death]]. Yes, [[ForeShadowing the same title the first Boss in the first game series had]]. He is hunting down a mysterious Player Killer known as Tri-Edge, for this mysterious Tri-Edge PK'd Haseo's friend Shino, and she fell into a coma in real life.

After being attacked and Data Drained by Tri-Edge, Haseo is found by a mysterious organization known as Raven, and joins their ranks, unleashing a hidden power in his character data known as Skeith.

All the while, a mysterious computer virus called AIDA is threatening the existence of "The World" and quite possibly the entire Internet.

Character Sheets are [[Characters/DotHack here]].

----
!!!The games contain examples of:
* AcceptableBreaksFromReality: The World R:2 never crashes or lags, unless in story events.
** Also the Save Stations: Not only do real [=MMORPGs=] not have anything of the sort, but in G.U. you start the next play session at the last save station you saved at rather than your desktop (unless you used that one last, which is itself another acceptable break). This actually helps add some realism to a story event early on in Disk 2.
* AdaptationDistillation: The Trilogy movie.
* AllThereInTheManual: See the entry for HiddenDepths. Also, some events in the game make way more sense if you've watched .hack//Roots.
** Additionally there was a disc included with some editions of Volume 1. Written as a [[ApocalypticLog personal diary]] that detailed how The World R:2 came about, how the Epitaph Program came about, the [[MeaningfulBackgroundEvent mysterious fire at CC Corp]], the fate of [[DotHackR1Games Mia]] from the R1 series, the details of Aura and how she crated the Azure Knights and [[DotHackLegendOfTheTwilight Rena and Shugo]].
* AlternateContinuity: The game starts the same way as the novels, manga, and Trilogy. Each medium branches in different ways after the basic premise is set up and acknowledges that they're alternate tellings. For the record, the games are the canon version.
* AmazingTechnicolorBattlefield: All of the Avatar battles as well as some of the areas outside of the system that aren't a WhiteVoidRoom.
* AnimalMotifs & AnimalStereotypes:
** Bordeaux embodies the obsessive, predatory spider woman.
** Atoli's player loves birds, so she named her character after one and gave it the wing-cloak design. Thematically, she fits the vulnerable, "caged bird" heroine who is later set free to fly.
** Gaspard has a rather dog-like loyalty and affectionate nature that fits his design too.
** Members of the minor NPC guild ZOO attempt to play this trope up too, but with much less depth.
* ArcWords:
** G[[spoiler:row]] U[[spoiler:p]].
** "Welcome to the World."
** "Become stronger, Haseo."
* TheAtoner: [[spoiler:Ovan at the end. Also, Endrance in Volume 2 when he saves Haseo in the Arena]].
* AxCrazy: All of the [=PKs=], Bordeaux as a most shining example. Haseo in his PKK days too.
* AuthorAvatar: Piros the Third is based upon Hiroshi Matsuyama, the director of the game series. Natsumi is based off his wife.
* AwesomeButImpractical:
** Level 3 Arts in Volume 3. They look awesome, but are generally less powerful and useful than regular skills. [[hottip:*:Level 3 Arts takes a lot of time but around Skill Level 28 onward it costs as much SP as of its last regular skill, to the point of costing less than them, and also it's possible to nearly spam them since the more you level the Skill the faster the trigger gauge will recover. However their worst flaw lies in the Beast Awakening, when their (often rather slow) speed isn't amplified, unlike the regular skills. Furthermore, the only Level 3 Art that gets a speed boost during Beast Awakening ''suffers from it'' by missing half its hits.]].
** Offensive magic ''may'' count, especially since the higher-level spells often consume too much SP to be worth using (thereby making Shadow Warlocks a fairly useless class).[[hottip:*:Maybe, but the offensive magics are fairly strong, hits a wide area and makes the setup for Rengeki a lot easier and most of times offensive magic doesn't get interrupted when you perform a Rengeki unlike any other Art used by your allies. The problem of its cost can be partially solved with three Blue Moon Ores or a True Moon Ore (reduces offensive spell cost) and Mind Butterfly (which grants 50%+ SP).]]
* BackFromTheDead: Technically everyone who went comatose here and there.
* BareYourMidriff: Most female characters, and some male characters. Most notably Haseo himself.
* BerserkButton:
** '''"I'M NOT A NOOB!!!"''' This extends to being looked down on in any way. (e.g. The first conversation with Endrance, Pi, etc.)
** Also, endangering any of Haseo's comrades is simply asking to get online ass-kicked. PK'ers who hunt beginners also trigger Haseo's button.
** Calling [[CampGay Hiiragi]] "he".
** Calling ωRice "Butt-Rice".
* BettyAndVeronica: Shino and Atoli or Atoli and Alkaid.
* BetweenMyLegs: In the most serious fashion possible in the endgame battle of Volume 1.
-->'''Haseo''': Give us back... ALL OF THE LOST ONES!!!
* BewareTheNiceOnes: As a surprise guest character from the previous .hack quadrilogy of games [[spoiler:Natsume makes an appearance in ''Redemption''. She has a split personality as the Chaotic PK "Natsume: The Edge-Maniac".]]
* BigBad: [[spoiler:Azure Flame Kite in the first game, "Tri-Edge" Ovan in the second and finally Cubia in the game series ending]].
* BigBrotherMentor: Silabus and Gaspard. Also, Kuhn. Minor [=NPCs=] [=AppleStar=] and Renji also fit this role.
* {{BFS}}: One of the classes is Heavy Blade/Edge Punisher. Their weapons are steam-powered swords, which are twice the size of their characters.
* BigDamnHeroes: Several in a row in Vol. 3, against [[spoiler:the Cubia Gomoras]]. Also a [[spoiler:NotQuiteDead]] moment.
* BigNo: Humorously done by Atoli in the Promise event [[spoiler:with Endrance]].
** Not so humorously done when Kuhn and Atoli are screaming at Haseo [[spoiler: to not use the newly awakened Skeith on Bordeaux and her lackeys.]]
* BiTheWay: Depending of how you answer Endrance's e-mails Haseo himself can be seen as bi.
** Endrance himself, since he fell in love with Mia long before he met Haseo.
* BladeOnAStick: Used by the Lord Partizan Class.
* BonusBoss
** Doppelgangers in every volume.
** The Guardians in ''Reminisce''. Also The One Sin and God Eater.
** Cernunnos, Lord of the Underworld in ''Redemption''.
* BonusDungeon: The 100-floor Forest of Pain.
* BossRush: Doppelgangers in the last dungeon of the Vol.3 Redemption.
* BreakingTheFourthWall: It's not clear whether the game interface for "The World" itself tracks your allies' affection rating, but the email system might as well have NoFourthWall.
* BunnyEarsLawyer:
** Gabi, the leader of Kestrel.
** Minor NPC Ninjato is actually one of the graphics designers for "The World R:2." You probably better know him as that guy who is obsessed with [[{{Miko}} shrine maidens]].
* CallBack: Too many to count.
* CallingYourAttacks: Not all of them, but still most of them. [[spoiler:This is the only way to hear Azure Balmung's and Azure Orca's voices, though Azure Kite won't talk even while using his skills]].
* CampGay:
** Hiiragi, the captain of Fifth Division of Moon Tree.
** The Chaotic PK'er Garden Michelle too.
* CamWhore: [=NA00=], a minor NPC, somehow attracts a following of devoted male players who go so far as to form a guild based entirely on finding stuff to give her just by acting flirty. [[SmallNameBigEgo She comes to expect this from everybody]].
* CantDropTheHero: Despite playing an MMO where anyone could be the party leader, Haseo can't relinquish the role. It goes further in that even though your party members get gold while you adventure together and can even level up outside the party, they never buy new equipment for themselves.
* CardGames: Outside of "The World" is an online card game you can play based off characters and skills from the .hack universe. If you make your way up the ranks, you'll eventually be challenged by the champion, [[spoiler:Gaspard]].
* CashCowFranchise: Each game is ridiculously short, full priced, and you need all three of them for it to make sense.
* TheChessmaster: [[spoiler: Yata, Ovan, Sakaki]].
* ChainsawGood: For Haseo, especially in his PKK days.
* ChickMagnet:
** Haseo. {{Lampshaded}} in one of the wallpapers you can unlock in ''Redemption''.
** Silabus is also one.
* ChronicHeroSyndrome: Subverted. Haseo is dragged grumbling and grousing into helping people by Silabus and Gaspard. Despite his {{Jerkass}} personality in Disc 1, you simply [[ButThouMust can't advance the plot without helping them out]].
* ChivalrousPervert: Kuhn.
* CityOfCanals: Mac Anu.
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}:
** Many of the minor [=NPCs=], but [[MeaningfulName Henako]] is made of this trope.
** All the Grunties are a little ''off'', but Melo Grunty stands out in scenes where they all gather to talk.
** Also, near the end of Volume 3, [[spoiler:all of the natives of the Netslum]].
* {{Combos}}: Yeah. Lots of them. The combat system revolves around them, actually.
* CosmicKeystone: Key of Twilight, anyone?
* ClimaxBoss: It's hard to define with so many good fights in the game. [[spoiler:Vol.2 has Innis, Atoli's avatar. Vol.3 has Ovan ''and'' the Azure Knights]].
* CreepyChild: The victims of Doll Syndrome.

* CrossPlayer: Some background characters and Bo, who is a boy playing a female character.
* CurbStompBattle:
** The beginning of the first game shows a level 133 Haseo fighting Tri-Edge [[spoiler:(who is actually Azure Flame Kite)]], who [[ExcuseMeWhileIMultitask nonchalantly blocks all of of Haseo's attacks one-handed]], knocks him on his ass, destroys his weapon ''without even touching it'', gives him a FacePalmOfDoom, and Data Drains him, reducing him to level one. Ouch.
** Haseo's opening battle vs. Bordeaux and the other [=PKs=].
** It is established quite well in the first game that normal players will experience this against Avatar users who spam out the Phases. Even said in-game that Endrance was originally quite a low-level player, for an Arena Emperor.
* CuteBruiser: [[spoiler:Zelkova, the only Flick Reaper you can party with.]]
* CuteMachines: MECHA! MECHA! MECHA! MECHA-GRUNNNTYYY!! *dun da dun!*
* CutenessProximity: Atoli has shades of this trope, although this is particularly exaggerated in the 4koma strips.
* CutsceneIncompetence: Played very straight in the fight against Alkaid in Volume 1.
* CutscenePowerToTheMax:
** Haseo annihilating a party of [=PKers=] in the beginning.
** Alkaid, when [[spoiler:she came BackFromTheDead. She was destroying dozens and dozens of Cubia Gomoras in a cutscene, but when you use her to fight the same Gomoras she barely can scratch them]].
** Even opponents get this at least twice in the first game. In the first battles with Bordeaux and Alkaid in the Demon Palace Tournament it's made clear that Haseo is getting his butt kicked. In actual combat it's entirely possible for you to wipe the floor with them.
* {{Cyberspace}}: The entire game takes place in an MMORPG, and its effects on the real world are the major plot point of the game. It also has a more traditional Cyberspace in the AIDA-infested space outside of the normal game areas, and of course hacking is all graphical with avatars.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: Some have this, but the most notable is Atoli. [[spoiler:Her complete lack of self-esteem pushes her to do "good" stuff to gain acceptance ''[[SeriousBusiness even in a game]]''. To twist the knife further, her most trusted friend/mentor Sakaki is actually manipulating her, milking her trust in him and her powers of the Second Epitaph, Innis. She also met him on a ''suicide website'']].
* DarkIsNotEvil: At first glance on [[http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/haseo_3562.jpg Haseo's]] [[SpikesOfVillainy outfit]] after the TimeSkip of six months would you still believe he is the hero? More over would you believe he is one of the nicest guys by the time he recovers the very same form?
* DavidVsGoliath / PintSizedPowerhouse: Despite beating all of the others, Skeith is the smallest of the Avatars.
* DeadpanSnarker: Haseo, frequently. (Especially when Atoli or Piros the 3rd are involved.)
* DeathGlare: Haseo gives one before charging Tri-Edge for the first time and then to Bordeaux when she throws in his face [[spoiler:she was the one who PK'ed Alkaid, making her go comatose and nearly '''killing''' her in real life]].
* DeathSeeker: [[spoiler:Ovan]].
* DefeatMeansFriendship: Natsume, Matsu, Alkaid, Bordeaux, etc.
* DiscOneNuke:
** The Doppelganger weapons, if you get them early enough in V2.
** To a lesser extent, getting Heavy Blades/Edge Punishers makes fights with Chaotic [=PKs=], who could kill you in one hit, into a relaxing exercise in juggling with earthquakes.
* DisneyVillainDeath: Played straight with [[spoiler:Sakaki]] in ''Reminisce'' and subverted following his comeback in ''Redemption''.
* DistaffCounterpart: The Steam Gunner class is basically the physical version of the Shadow Warlock class, and the opposite is naturally true.
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Several lines from the ending, when removed from context, [[spoiler:sound more like they came from a [[HoYay lover's spat]]]].
-->[[spoiler: ''Haseo'': Wait! I... I still haven't found a way to return your feelings. You're always like this. You always leave before I can tell you how I feel! And now you're leaving me again! Please...Ovan!]]
* {{Doppelganger}} A game based event where you can fight your twin who is far stronger than you and get awesome prizes! They also become apart of the FinalBattle.
* DrunkOnTheDarkSide
** [[spoiler:Everyone infected by AIDA, but especially Sakaki]].
** Haseo when his Avatar has awakened [[spoiler:until he nearly kills Kuhn]].
* DualWielding:
** Anyone who has the Twin Blade job.
** The Macabre Dancer class dual wields [[ImprobableWeaponUser fans]].
* DudeLooksLikeALady: Endrance.
* DynamicDifficulty: [[EvilTwin Doppelgangers]], which are always 8 levels above the leader of the party they face.
* DysfunctionJunction: Many of the playable characters have issues, to say the least.
* EldritchLocation: A few of the Lost Grounds, but most notably the Great Temple of Caerleon Medb, which is practically an AmazingTechnicolorBattlefield with its floating ruins over a void and a swirling nebula and stream of broken asteroids in the distance. A couple of the others notably involve floating ruins or otherwise impossible architecture like magma "aquaducts."
* ElementalPowers: The game as a 6-element system. Several characters are themed along certain elements in [[AstonishinglyAppropriateAppearance appearance]] or personality and come with unique equipped items that match that theme when the join the party. (e.g. Antares & fire, Endrance & wind, etc.)
* EmergencyTransformation: [[spoiler: When Haseo's character data is critically damaged in the wake of Ovan's defeat, Zelkova repairs it, giving Haseo a new appearance and an additional character class]].
** Avatars are often unwillingly called forth in response to near-defeat when an Epitaph User has just awakened (and is thus still fairly new to using them). This happens several times to [[AntiHero Haseo]]. The awakening itself is triggered by intense emotional distress.
* {{Emoticon}}
** Unsurprising, since forum posts and emails are a part of the game.
** Japanese-style emoticons also appear in Vol. 3 [[spoiler:as the faces of [=NPCs=] native to the Netslum]].
* EmotionBomb: AIDA, which magnifies the emotion of people--be it good or bad. Some examples are Saku with her desire to protect Endrance and despise towards Haseo, Bordeaux with her grudge towards Haseo, Sirius with his desire to stay emperor and [[spoiler:Atoli and her terrible inferiority complex]].
* {{Engrish}}: CC Corp's slogan: "Heartful and useful for all."
* EveryoneCanSeeIt: Haseo and Atoli. They have strong feelings for each other, but neither of them is actually aware of the other's feelings. Half the cast [[ShipperOnDeck want them to hook up]].
-->'''Silabus''': "She's cute, but she has you, doesn't she? :)"
* EvilSoundsDeep: The system administrators aren't ''evil'', but their voice is a pretty good clue that things aren't going to be ''better'' when they get involved.
* EvilWeapon: Demon Sword Maxwell.
* FaceHeelTurn: [[spoiler: Endrance and Sakubo turn their backs on Haseo and join Taihaku in the Sage Palace Tournament. Subverted when it turns out to have been a ReverseMole ploy on Endrance's part]].
* FacialMarkings: Lots. Tattoos are all over the place. [[RedundantDepartmentOfRedundancy Especially on the face.]]
* FakingTheDead: [[spoiler: Kuhn, after he got beat the crap out in the fight against Skeith]].
* {{Fanservice}}: A lot. Let's leave it at that.
* FatIdiot: He's a nice guy and all, but let's face it -- Gaspard is a little dim.
* {{Foreshadowing}}
** Haseo is generally not nice in Volume 1, but he holds a particular contempt for Sakaki. [[spoiler:Guess what Sakaki does later on...]]
** The scene with Sakaki and Atoli at the Lost Ground is a type of foreshadowing as well.
** Atoli and Sakubo [[spoiler:being Epitaph Users]] is also briefly foreshadowed [[spoiler:when Haseo Awakens his own. It's stated previously that only Epitaph Users can see Avatars, and it seems fairly obvious that those two can see Haseo's]].
* FlowerMotifs: A scene in Vol. 2 hinges on how honeysuckles mean "devoted affection." Cue flashback & angst for Haseo and LuminescentBlush [[CanNotSpitItOut and denials]] from Alkaid.
** In an E-mail chain with Sakubo in Vol. 3, Haseo tells Saku that a White Chrysanthemum means "I'm here for you". [[spoiler: This convinces the Saku side of Bo's personality to not abandon him.]]
* ForcedLevelGrinding: The bigger the difference of levels, the less damage you'll do (if a lower level than your opponent) and take (if a higher level). If the difference six or more levels levels you won't even make you opponent flinch. Unless you have some serious skills, tons of healing items, or resort to hit and run tactics you really ''shouldn't'' fight enemies under-leveled.
* FriendToAllChildren: Surprisingly enough, Haseo. It's noticeable in the Vol.1 when Saku keeps yelling irritatingly at him and Haseo just keeps listening and answering normally.
* FunWithAcronyms: The many meanings of G.U.
* FurryFandom: At least two guilds and several message board posts in the game play this trope straight (and rather innocuously compared to many Western works that reference the phenomenon).
* GameplayAndStoryIntegration: In ''Reminisce'' before the battle against [[spoiler:Sakaki]], he declares that he will destroy "those who have betrayed him" first, referring to [[spoiler:Atoli]]. Guess who becomes his target during most of the battle.
* GameplayAndStorySegregation:
** Even though the game constantly picks on the topic of PK'ers predating on anyone you never actually get assaulted by one unless in story events or if you choose to enter in a Battle Area and face either one or a horde of monsters.
** In a cutscene in the first game Atoli prevents Haseo from kicking a Lucky Animal. At any other point when she is in your party she will never complain.
* GenkiGirl: Tabby and Atoli.
* GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere: A partial example, because the flea in question was a major boss in the R:1 games and drove the plot for the last quarter of ''Redemption'', but still had absolutely ''zero'' foreshadowing regarding his presence in the story or even that he was still around after R:1. You spend most of the series chasing after Tri-Edge but when you finally defeat him, [[spoiler:Cubia suddenly shows up]].
** Very observant players of the first game series ''might'' have seen it coming: [[spoiler:Cubia is specifically mentioned in ''.hack//Quarantine'' to be the "shadow" of the Key of Twilight, born when it manifests its power. Therefore, when the Epitaphs were referred to as the Key in this series, alarm bells went off in some players' heads.]]
* [[WomanInWhite Girl In White]]: [[spoiler:Aina.]]
* TheGlomp:
** Gaspard gives these out.
** Atoli on Haseo after the first arena match in Volume 1.
* AGodAmI: [[spoiler:Sakaki]]. It doesn't last.
* GossipyHens: Trifle is a minor guild of eccentric gossips and {{Fan Girl}}s. Saku is a member.
* GunsAkimbo: [[spoiler:Haseo's Xth Form has the power to use dual guns]].
* GunKata: Haseo gains this with his final "Xth-Form", where he wields two guns with bladelike attachments. In a typical ShortRangeLongRangeWeapon , his special moves using that guns are performed close range as he both slashes and shoots; also used in the one of the last cutscenes. The game's juggle reaction to specific attacks mean that one [[GameBreaker can use the guns to juggle an opponent continuously until they die]]. Of course, said ability can only used by Haseo, until one realizes that * somehow* , the in-game Doppleganger is able to replicate his guns too and hence ''can use said trick back on you''. Frustration ensues.
* HeelFaceTurn:
** A rather unusual case. [[spoiler: When he was younger, Haseo's player Ryou Misaki was the antagonist PK Sora in The World v1, but loses his memory of it when Sora is data-drained by Skeith at the end of ''DotHackSign'', putting Ryou in a coma. He later goes on to become the hero of the GU games]].
** A straighter example would be [[spoiler:Endrance, one of Volume 1's main villains, who saves Haseo from being put into a coma in Volume 2]].
** Also, [[spoiler:some of Kestrel's members, including the reviled IYOTEN and Asta, become Haseo's allies toward the end of Volume 3. The Moon Tree captains that had previously sided with Sakaki become "good guys" as well]].
* HeKnowsAboutTimedHits: Justified, as the game takes place in a game that uses what appear to be PS2 controls.
* HeroicBSOD:
** Haseo has one after Shino becomes comatose. The later half of .hack//Roots is Haseo, having completely snapped from losing Shino, training and viciously hunting down Tri-Edge. [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge In six months' time from Shino's coma to the beginning of Rebirth, he's still BSOD-ing, only now he's reached level 133, and killed so many [=PKs=] on his way to find Tri-Edge]] he gains his nickname, "The Terror of Death".
** Also in Reminisce [[spoiler: when Haseo discovers that Ovan is Tri-Edge]].
** Atoli suffers BSODs a number of times through the first two games. ''Reminisce'' especially where she starts killing members of her guild, thanks to Sakaki's manipulation of her emotions.
* HiddenDepths: Most characters apply, as many of them are playing the game casually, roleplaying, or quiet about their real life situations. You'd find some surprising things in [[AllThereInTheManual the bonus materials.]] If you send greeting cards and raise affection with your allies, they email you more frequently, and tell you more about their jobs and such in real life.
* HiddenEyes: Shino, in the real world.
* HijackedByGanon: [[spoiler: Cubia comes a little after Ovan activates the Rebirth, with no indication beforehand that he would appear; the only way you would know is if you had taken a look at pre-release previews and promotional material]].
* HotBlooded: Haseo, Matsu, Sakaki, Saku and the list goes on...
* HopelessBossFight: In form of cutscene in the fall of Haseo.
* HundredPercentCompletion: The Book of 1000.
* IdentityAmnesia: [[spoiler:Haseo is actually Sora from DotHackSign, but doesn't remember any of it]].
* IKnowYoureInThereSomewhereFight: In the fight against [[spoiler:Innis, Atoli's avatar, Haseo constantly yells to her in and between the cutscenes trying to bring her out of AIDA's control without having to resort to Data Drain]].
* IdleAnimation: Everyone has one.
* IllGirl: [[spoiler:Aina, Ovan's little sister. Sakubo's player is also an IllBoy]].
* ImplacableMan: Dopplegangers. Once they spot you out on a field, they will not stop chasing after you. You can run like hell to another part of the map to get away, but it will continue to slowly walk towards you, one step at a time. Ducking into a Battle Area to fight another monster will ''not'' stop it from walking right in after you.
* InevitableTournament: There's one for each game.
* InsultBackfire: More than once when Haseo calls out Yata on his manipulative streak.
* InsurmountableWaistHeightFence: Many places. Most literally in Hulle Grantz Cathedral.
* JackOfAllStats: Blade Brandier class. The damage output is somewhere between Twin Blade and Edge Punisher, not as fast as Twin Blade and Tribal Grappler, but faster than heavily armored class as Lord Partizan.
* JekyllAndHyde: [[spoiler:The AIDA infecting Ovan sometimes takes over and PKs those close to him. The most notable victims were Shino and Aina.]]
* {{Jerkass}}: Haseo, initially. PlayedForLaughs with Death Grunty.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Haseo, after a little CharacterDevelopment.
* JokeCharacter: Adept Rogues are "[[MasterOfNone masters of none]]", meant to make up for their average stats and slow skill growth by using multiple weapons and being able to deal with a variety of situations. Matsu, however, refuses to use his Broadswords, making him little more than a sub-par Steam Gunner; Kuhn will always be more useful than him.
* LagCancel: One of the most efficient ways to attack with a Broadsword is to hold the Guard button as soon the hit lands, it will cancel completely the horrible lag it leaves. In Vol.1 this made a Broadsword as fast, if not faster, as Dual Swords.
* LargeHam:
** Piros the Third, Gabi, Sakaki, and Salvador Aihara.
** The final duel against [[spoiler:Ovan in his avatar form, Corbenik 2nd, in Vol.3]] is almost made of this.
-->'''SURPASS YOU LIMITS!!!'''
** The AIDA-infected bayonet in Volume 3.
-->"[[ChewingTheScenery FEED ME!!!]]"
** Haseo. He's possibly the largest ham in the entire series.
* LateCharacterSyndrome: Several of your party members, while possessing great abilities, join very late in the game (or worse, when the game already ends) and are outclassed by others in terms of usefulness.
* LatinLover: Salvador Aihara wants to be one so badly it hurts to watch.
* LaughingMad: Haseo after he awakens his avatar for the first time.
* LostForever:
** Musics, Wallpapers and some Movies inside the game if you didn't get before moving to the next Vol. or worse, if you started playing in the second or third Volume.
** Greeting Cards are great for boosting relationships with party members, but they come in finite amounts--once you use them up (like the Promise Card, of which you ONLY get one), they're gone for good.
* LoveFreak: Atoli. Endrance becomes one from Vol. 2 on.
* MadnessMantra: Someone infected by AIDA generally has one of these.
* MangaEffects: Many of the in-engine cutscenes use CrossPoppingVeins, a SweatDrop, etc. to illustrate the characters' moods. Haseo gets a lot of these thanks to his moody temper and general role as grumpy cast [[BokeAndTsukkomiRoutine tsukkomi]] in comedy scenes.
* MasterOfNone: In-universe, the Adept Rogue character class is generally viewed as inferior to those who value statistics over skill; while the Adept Rogues have versatility due to the ability to wield multiple weapons, they have lower stat increases and slower skill gains when compared to other classes.
** Haseo is unusually powerful for an Adept Rogue. This is commented on by several people on the forums, who are amazed he's such a high-level player with that class. His power with the class is well justified as he was only one of two people (the other being Taihaku) to finish the Forest of Pain event, a 100 floor dungeon which nabbed him multiple levels and as a reward skipped him right to his final job extension and majorly boosted his stats.
* MeaningfulName: Many of them. Justified in that the character names were intentionally picked by their respective players. {{Lampshaded}} by minor NPC "angel hair."
** Haseo's name especially. [[spoiler: His name is an alternate reading of the name of the famous Japanese poet, Matsuo Basho. This is significant because his previous character Sora [[IdentityAmnesia (of whom he remembers nothing)]] was named after Basho's disciple Sora Kawai.]]
** Minor NPC Henako's name is a variation on "henna ko" or "weird girl." She ''lives'' it.
* MenDontCry: Said by Shino toward Haseo before she fell into coma in the beginning, and later by [[spoiler:Alkaid]] in ''Reminisce''. More like "Boys Don't Cry", but still.
* {{Metaphorgotten}}: Wise Grunty's sayings tend to end up in this way.
* MightyGlacier: Lord Partizan and Edge Punisher classes.
* MindRape: [[spoiler:Atoli at the hands of Sakaki]].
* MoodWhiplash:
** Happens sometimes when reading the news/forums after tragic game events. e.g. Finding out that Usagimaru & Rei-chan from the last game are a famous comedy duo at the same time that you find out [[spoiler:Alkaid's player nearly ''died'' when Bordeaux PK'ed her]]. Made worse if you have a rather cheery background / music set up at the time.
** Also present when Alkaid gives Haseo an item that has unintentional romantic implications (her reaction is hilarious) but that causes Haseo to have an extremely melancholy flashback at the same time.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Haseo [[spoiler:after Data Draining Magus, Kuhn's Avatar, and nearly putting him in a coma]].
** Sirius has one complete with the TheScream once he has the AIDA infecting him drained and Endrance tells what happened to Alkaid.
* MyNameIsNotDurwood: From the message boards: ωRice, pronounced Ohm-Rice, who is frequently called Butt-Rice by Kaki Leader as part of their [[RunningGag running]] BokeAndTsukkomiRoutine.
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast:
** Haseo, The Terror of Death.
** Skeith, the ''other'' Terror of Death.
** The in-game forums states the Chaotic PK'ers. They have even a special RedBaron codename.
* NeckLift: Several times. One amusing example would be your first meeting with Alkaid.
* NerdGlasses: Wise Grunty.
* NeverLiveItDown: In-Universe, in the forum posts Kaki Leader constantly teases ωRice by calling him "Butt Rice". Soon the other forum posters take a notice to his hilariously unflattering nickname.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Eliminating AIDA by [[spoiler: using Corbenik's Rebirth to reset the Internet?]] Congratulations, you've created ''[[EldritchAbomination Cubia]]''.
* NoCutsceneInventoryInertia: Averted as Haseo will always have matching upgrades in the cut scenes.
* NoExportForYou: The one-episode sequel OVA, ''.hack//G.U. Returner'', has not been localized officially and there is no indication it ever will be. It's a real shame, since it clears up a '''lot''' of confusion in the ending. The games also never saw a release in certain parts of the world.
* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTdvz0HVAf4&feature=related The fight against Magus]], when Haseo's avatar goes berserk, is probably the most brutal, one-sided fights of the entire game.
* NoSenseOfDirection: Based on what happened early in Volume 1, Gaspard. One has to wonder if he is aware of the map function in the game at all.
* NoSidepathsNoExplorationNoFreedom: You know the game ''really'' wants you to follow the plot to the next point when it denies you the chance to ask any allies to join your party to go leveling up and doing side-quests. In an exploration sense, some areas really are straight-forward with no alternate paths of exploration.
* NotQuiteSavedEnough: The original version of "The World" met its demise when its physical servers were destroyed in a fire. What information they could save from the original game's code had to be merged with another game in order to create "The World R:2".
* ObaSan: Haseo starts calling Pi an old hag after she calls him an unruly child, much to her ire. That pretty much sets the tone for their relationship for a while. Saku gets in on the act later too.
* TheObiWan: Antares and [[spoiler:Phyllo, whose "original" player happens to be dead]].
* OminousWalk: Taihaku really likes to do this during the match against him.
* OutOfCharacter: Haseo himself has moments like this in Vol.1 if you send cards to people. Considering how much of a jerk he is in that game, it can be strange how nice he acts in some of his messages. This is lampshaded by Atoli in one of her responses.
* {{Paparazzi}}: Salvador Aihara, who actually stumbles into an important story.
* PetTheDog:
** Haseo's interaction with Sakubo, especially in earlier parts of the story where he's pretty much a jerk to everyone else.
** He also has a few moments with Gaspard.
* PistolWhipping: Depending on how you left your Steam Gunners' action settings, they'll only bash, and at times slash, enemies with their guns.
* PolarOppositeTwins: Saku and Bo, to the point that their character's hat indicates which one is active (Saku has the "sun" side pointing up, while Bo has the "moon" side).
* PowerFist: The Tribal Grappler class, which also fits FragileSpeedster.
* ProudWarriorRaceGuy: Icolo members have shades of this trope.
* PuppyDogEyes: In the beginning of ''Redemption'', when Atoli wants Haseo to find Melo Grunty together. It works.
* PurpleProse: Endrance borders on this with his florid love speeches from Vol. 2 on. Before that, he's the master of the CrypticConversation.
* RaceForYourLove: [[spoiler:In the end, Haseo chooses to chase after [[SecondLove Atoli]] rather than stay with Shino]].
* RedEyesTakeWarning: Haseo. The first times he uses his avatar and the rematch against IYOTEN and Asta are notable examples.
* RedHerring: The most famous in the DotHack series: [[spoiler:Azure Kite is not Tri-Edge, Ovan is]].
* RedOniBlueOni: Haseo who wears red and black to Ovan who is in blue and white. One is fiery, hotheaded and the other is calm, logical [[spoiler:and manipulative to no end]].
* RedemptionEqualsDeath: Sort of. [[spoiler:In ''Redemption'', Sirius, who lost himself after using AIDA for power in ''Reminisce'', becomes a Lost One after entering the Sage Palace in order to save Taihaku and find a way to cure Alkaid]].
* RageAgainstTheMentor: [[spoiler:Haseo towards Ovan, especially after the reveal of his identity as Tri-Edge. Prior to the activation of the Rebirth Haseo gives an amazing speech chewing the hell out of him]].
* TheRedMage: Macabre Dancers are able to use healing, attack, and status magic, but do not learn the highest level spells of the other magic classes (Harvest Clerics and Shadow Warlocks).
* RelationshipValues: Each party member gets a {{Relationship Value|s}}, which rises as Haseo spends more time with them or gives gifts. A party member who has maximum affection in ''Redemption'' allows you to have a Friendship/Marriage Ending with him/her.
* RidiculouslyCuteCritter:
** Chim Chims.
** All the Lucky/Unlucky Animals fill this role too and are also fun to kick around.
** The Grunties also fall into this trope.
* RolePlayingGameVerse
* RousingSpeech: Double subverted in Vol. 1, when Piros the 3rd repeatedly fails to convince a high school student to follow his dreams. At the end of the quest, he finally succeeds.
* RunningGag: The Arena Commentator seems to have troubles when dealing with the guest commentators for the Tournaments.
* SayMyName / SkywardScream: Haseo & Pi.
** Haseo is ''constantly'' [[SayMyName saying other peoples' names.]] It's gotten to the point where he's rarely taken seriously in the fandom because of it.
* ScaryShinyGlasses: Ovan's lenses pick up a considerable glare whenever he's being especially mysterious... or dangerous.
* SeriousBusiness:
** [=MMORPGs=] are srs bsns.
** Also, the conflict between members of Moon Tree and Kestrel, despite neither of the guildmasters being all that worked up about it.
* ScreamingWarrior: '''Haseo'''. And about everyone who can fight, actually.
* SingleTargetSexuality: Endrance. [[spoiler:After accepting Mia's death, he moves on and latches onto Haseo]].
* SinisterScythe: Used by the Flick Reaper class.
* SlasherSmile: The only way to properly describe the look on Haseo's face [[spoiler: when he first awakens his powers as Skeith's Avatar and prepares to slaughter Bordeaux and her lackeys with it, even while Kuhn and Atoli are screaming at him to stop.]]
* SlowMotionFall: When [[spoiler:Atoli is attacked by AIDA]] in the end of Volume 1.
* SmallAnnoyingCreature: In-universe example: Haseo regards Death Grunty as one. Which is hilarious, given that Death Grunty is based on himself.
* SockPuppet:
** [[spoiler:Yata]] and [[spoiler:Nala]] have the same player, who uses both to further his agenda.
** [[spoiler:Yata and Pi]] also did this in the prequel anime .hack//Roots as [[spoiler:Naobi and Ender]].
** On a related note, Salvador Aihara [[AstroTurf promotes his own movies]] in the game forums without identifying who he is.
* {{Sparkles}}:
** Haseo's intro to Saku's obsession with "Master En."
** Atoli trails glittery sparkles everywhere [[spoiler:after her Epitaph is stolen by AIDA. It stops when she gets it back]].
* SongsInTheKeyOfPanic: When a Doppleganger spawns and notices you nearby, the music will change to what can best be described as exceptionally scary and fear inducing. The tempo of the music increases as it slowly walks towards you (and flashing red screen intensifies as well.)
* StalkerWithACrush: Saku claims to be constantly pressing the screencapture button when Endrance is on her screen. This is the ''least'' of her stalker-ish behavior.
* SteamPunk: Not quite this trope, but clearly inspired by it as Lampshaded by minor NPC Boltz. Steam Gunners are a good example.
* StepfordSmiler: [[spoiler:Atoli is a major example]].
* SuicideByCop: [[spoiler:Ovan's master plan is to make Haseo become his "cop."]]
* SuperMovePortraitAttack: All of the Awakenings.
* SuperRobot: Piros the 3rd acts like he can't decide whether he's playing the hero in such a show ''or the robot itself''. One of his running gags it to point to the sky and leap as if taking off with rockets, only to turn and run off once gravity asserts itself.
* SuperpoweredEvilSide:
** [[spoiler: Played for laughs with Natsume]].
** Any Epitaph User who gives in to their Avatar's power.
* TaremeEyes[=/=]TsurimeEyes: Saku has TsurimeEyes. Bo has TaremeEyes. This is how you tell them apart on the party invite list since all you can see is Sakubo's eyes.
* ThemeNaming:
** Some of the AIDA attacks are named after programming languages. Algol Laser, Prolog Lazer, Lisp Tackle are some examples.
** Pretty much all of Anna and Helen's attacks are named after programming languages, although a few of them were changed in the English translation for no known reason.
*** AIDA Victorian, however, draws its names from more royal or kingly-sounding words, such as Elegant Orb or Excellent Ray. It fits with [[spoiler:Sakaki's]] over inflated self-view.
** All of the leaders of Moon Tree are named after various trees in Japanese (with Sophora and Zelkova switched to their latin genus names in English). The guild name itself is a pun ("Tsuki no Ki") on one of the Japanese words for the tree ''Zelkova serrata'' ("tsukinoki"). Some of these names count as MeaningfulNames too.
** This also applies with members of several guilds in the game, such as the Gem guild.
** Three of the forum posters are named after the parts of Cocytus. Judecca, Antenora, and Ptolomea, respectively. They also have an arena team named Cocytus-1.
** The members of the Hetero Trio (in Vol. 3) are genetics terms: Hetero, Axanthic, and Leucistic. The latter two are types of albinism.
* ThereAreNoTherapists: So everyone who needs one just has to work it out with Haseo.
* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: In-universe example: some players from R1 express disappointment at how R2 turns out.
* ThisIsADrill: Some of the Lord Partizan weapons are gigantic drills.
* ThrowTheBookAtThem: Shadow Warlocks use grimoires as weapons.
* TooCleverByHalf: Sakaki.
* TurtleIsland: [[spoiler:Netslum]] Tartarga.
* TrademarkFavoriteFood:
** Fish for Melo Grunty, and pickles for Wise Grunty.
** There's a greeting card that you can send to your party members to find out their TrademarkFavoriteFood. Some of them are rather surprising, like Atoli's [[RealWomenNeverWearDresses beef bowls.]]
* {{Tsundere}}:
** Haseo is a male example of a Type A.
** [[spoiler:Saku (Type A) is also one if you choose to keep her around in ''Redemption'', as well as Bordeaux of all people (Type A) if you choose her in the Wedding Event]].
* VideoGameCrueltyPotential:
** The game allows you to ''run over the little blue critters with your steambike''. Also on that note, you get more points towards the Book of 1000 if you hit monsters with the bike!
** Through trading, you can take back a gift that you just gave to someone, along with some of their other stuff. They'll ask you if you don't want to be friends anymore. Does this count?
** The RelationshipValues. Particularly the replies you can give in email conversations or forums. An example would be making fun (rather harshly) of Gaspard for liking the card game Crimson VS. And all it costs you is a little extra time putting them in your party to make up for it.
* TricksterMentor: Everything Antares does is meant to teach Haseo something. Everything.
* UnexpectedGameplayChange: The Avatar battles.
* UnwittingPawn: [[spoiler: Sakaki, Sakaki, Sakaki]].
* ValleyGirl: Minor NPC [=NA00=]
* VerbalTic: Each Guild Grunty has one.
** Death Grunty: "I'm Grunty! You're Haseo! ''Oink!''"
** Wise Grunty: "'Good and ill fortune are closely interwoven.' That's a proverb I learned from my master. ''Nero''. "
** Nazo Grunty: "I'm telling Master on you! ''Naru!''"
** Gao Grunty: "So you want to obtain my manliness for yourself? ''Haha''."
** Melo Grunty: "I think I smell Death Grunty on you. ''Mellow''."
** King Grunty: ''Shu.''
** There's also the Golden Goblins. *gob*
* VitriolicBestBuds: Beatrice, a forum poster in Volume 1, views ωRice and Kaki Leader as this.
* XanatosRoulette: [[spoiler: Subverted in that Ovan's ridiculously convoluted master plan... [[DiabolusExMachina goes]] [[EldritchAbomination horribly]] [[EndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt awry]]...]]
* {{Yandere}}: Madame Insane, one of the minor [=NPCs=] wandering Lumina Cloth, became a PK to grief her husband after getting jealous about him talking to another woman. She finds it more effective to torment his character than to scold him in real life.
* YearInsideHourOutside: Regular players can't see battles between Avatars and with AIDA. They see these epic battles as an "instant-KO" move that just causes Haseo to glow briefly. The time-dilation is more explicitly pointed out [[spoiler:after the AIDA server incident]] in Vol. 2.
* YearsTooEarly: If you send Challenge greeting card to Antares, he will reply with something around this line.
* YouALLLookFamiliar: Justified by the RolePlayingGameVerse. It's also a plot point that Atoli is practically a PaletteSwap of Shino.
* YourMindMakesItReal: People Data Drain'd on the game go comatose in RealLife. One character almost ''dies'' as a result.
* YouShouldHaveDiedInstead:
** [[spoiler:According to the [[AllThereInTheManual Perfect Guide]], Saku was created when Bo heard his mother say this about him in comparison to his stillborn twin sister]].
** [[spoiler:Sakaki, when defeated after morphing into AIDA <Victorian>.]]
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