Doppelganger

Doppelganger (formerly known as Mirror Self) is the final foe before Ascension, and needs to be defeated in order to proceed in the game.

The doppelganger has the same skills as the player, but his/her equipment and attribute points are much higher. After defeating the Doppelganger, the player acquires 50,000 experience points and is teleported to Dragon's Lair. Also, if the Doppelganger is defeated in under 50 seconds, the player is awarded 1000 additional experience points.

On a side note, the origin of the word is German, where "DoppelgÃ¤nger" (note that it's Ã¤, not a) literally means "double walker", i.e. a look-alike.

General Tactics for defeating Doppelganger
The following tactics have been suggested:


 * In general, don't equip any skill you wouldn't want used against you.
 * Think very carefully before bringing any skill that can be used to heal yourself.
 * An exception to the above is Healing Breeze. The AI currently will not use Healing Breeze for ordinary healing.
 * Equip ranged area-of-effect damage-over-time spells such as Fire Storm and Meteor Shower. When these are used against you, you can just move out of the area of effect, while the AI is often not smart enough to do so.
 * Equip lots of slow-casting self-buffs: the less useful in the one-on-one fight, the better. The AI will waste time at the beginning of the fight casting every buff on itself.
 * Equip hexes such as Malign Intervention which take time and energy to cast but which won't accomplish anything useful in the one-on-one fight. The AI will waste time and energy casting them on you.
 * For Warriors, equip Frenzy but don't use it. The AI will use it, putting itself at a significant disadvantage in the one-on-one fight.
 * For Mesmers, bring Backfire. The AI is not smart enough to refrain from casting while Backfired and will quickly kill itself.
 * For Necromancers, bring spells which require a health sacrifice: the less useful in the one-on-one fight, the better. The AI will reportedly waste its own health casting these.  For a necro warrior, equip a sword and shield.  The doppelganger will have an axe and bow.  You will have a distinct armor bias.
 * For Monks, bring smiting spells. You can reportedly cast them faster than the AI will. You can easily defeat the Mirror Self by only using Zealot's Fire and Reversal of Fortune.  One person used Balthazar's Aura and Symbol of Wrath when they first came in to drop it quickly, then backed off and used smiting...
 * For Rangers, bring slow-casting Nature Rituals like Winter and Quickening Zephyr: the less useful in the one-on-one fight, the better. The AI will waste time casting them while you apply the beatdown.
 * For all ranged attackers, stay on higher ground. Ranged attacks from higher to lower ground reportedly do more damage.