Awakening

Awakenings (覚醒) are special attacks in the .hack//G.U. games that can be performed when the Morale bar is full. The bar can be filled by performing Rengeki attacks with other party members that are alive to bare witness, fulfilling other conditions and actions that party members like, and/or by performing Hangeki in the Arena. These attacks, for the length of their duration, strip the enemy of equipment effects and any abilities other than walking, rendering them helpless to whatever onslaught they may face. They also cure any status ailments affecting the living members of the party using the Awakening, that they may have had prior to the attack.

Awakening types

 * Beast Awakening (武獣覚醒): The speed and attack power of the awakened party is increased for the duration of the Awakening. It is commonly used in the Arena. In Reminisce and Redemption, Beast Awakening only requires at least half of the Morale bar to be filled before it can be used, but the less Morale a player has going into an Awakening, the faster the drain on that Morale will be, shortening the Awakening's duration even further.


 * Demon Awakening (魔導覚醒): The leader of the attacking party casts a first level attack spell at the enemy repeatedly for the duration of the Awakening by tapping attack. The spell chosen always opposes the element of the first keyword. In the Arena, it is completely random on each use because there are no area words whatsoever for accessing the three Palaces. Allies cannot help out during this Awakening. Instead, they are locked by the leader's side in an attack pose. In Reminisce and Redemption, Demon Awakening only requires at least half of the Morale bar to be filled before it can be used, but the less Morale a player has going into an Awakening, the faster the drain on Morale will be, shortening the Awakening's duration even further.


 * Divine Awakening (神威覚醒): The party gathers their energy into an aura weapon that the leader uses to cause massive damage to all enemies. This Awakening becomes available to Haseo in Reminisce when he completes his second job extension. The type of attack used is determined by the player's class, such as Sirius's Demise Claw for his Tribal Grappler job. The types of Divine Awakening available to Haseo consist of Sword Dance, Hellfire Quake, and Plasma Blade (光刃鎌魔), because of his Job Extends as an Adept Rogue. The ease of which the more powerful attacks can be triggered by allies, along with the availability of Plasma Blade, are determined by the affection allies have for Haseo. Hellfire Quake and Plasma Blade can also receive bonus time, in which the player must smash buttons prior to the attack to increase damage. The attack used and bonus time are determined by where each ally stops a moving cursor along a colored meter. The meter is blue at the outer edges, yellow going toward the middle, and if the ally's affection allows for it, red in the middle. The color closest to the center determines the attack used in all cases save for if one ally lands on red and the other on blue, in which case Hellfire Quake is used. If an ally should land in the exact center, 3 seconds of bonus time is awarded; next to the center awards one second. Divine Awakening can only be used by a party of three with all members alive.


 * Avatar Awakening (憑神覚醒): Unleashing the power of Skeith, a type of Data Drain is performed and Virus Cores are obtained, severely damaging the enemy party in the process. The amount of power and attack type applied by Haseo are determined by Avatar Awakening's level, which is only upgraded through multiple uses. At level 5, Data Drain becomes Drain Arc, and cannot be upgraded further until Haseo achieves Xth Form. Afterwards, it can be upgraded to a maximum of 10, at which Drain Arc is transformed into Drain Heart. The amount of cores obtained from a particular enemy depends on their size. AIDA-PCs and small enemies give one, medium-sized enemies give 2, and bosses give 3. Avatar Awakening replaces Divine Awakening at the start of Redemption, and like its predecessor, requires a party of three living members before it can be used.

Trivia

 * Level 3 Arts do not receive a speed upgrade from Beast Awakening, nor does the Double Trigger Art, Judgment.
 * Haseo and his team can still move around during a Beast Awakening, but no one else takes advantage of this.
 * While it is accessed purely within a town like the Arena, the Breg Epona Outer Dungeon does have area words. The first word, Ignorant, makes it Light-elemental for the purposes of Demon Awakening.
 * Sirius uses a unique Divine Awakening, Demise Claw, in his battle against Haseo.
 * Taihaku can cancel Beast and Demon Awakenings in Redemption.
 * Avatar Awakening was created by hacking done to Haseo's PC by an anonymous ally.
 * PCs and Doppelganger are the only enemies from which Virus Cores cannot be obtained. The reason Doppelganger cannot drop Virus Cores is unknown.