Overwatch: How to Play Reaper

Overwatch’s Reaper

This dark bringer of death is one of Overwatch’s Offense heroes. Built to leave nothing but death in his wake, the Reaper is a solid choice for players who have an affinity for glass cannons. He isn’t completely without defensive capabilities, however, although keeping him alive will take quite a bit of skill.

What makes Reaper a standout hero among his Overwatch cohorts is his ability to completely mitigate damage and easily get out of tough situations. While he may take quite a bit of getting used to, this damage dealer is surprisingly good for those just getting used to Overwatch’s mechanics.

Using this particular hero is all about timing. He is slow and powerful, but he can’t get around the map as easily as most others without the help of his skills. That means if you want to control a map, you’ll have to plan out and time your movements. Being unable to run or jump very high puts you at a large disadvantage in open areas. Maintaining cover and keeping your eyes open for opportunities to close distances becomes a priority.

At first, this may seem like a heavy burden due to the frantic nature of Overwatch, but Reaper’s unique skillset will eventually shine for those who persevere. Balancing the use of your damage mitigation, and healing passive ability can see you overcome the quickest sharpshooters in the game.

Reaper’s Skills

As with all heroes in Overwatch, Reaper has his very own group of skills that set him apart. Surprisingly for an Offense hero, only one of his abilities actually does any damage, and that’s his Ultimate. Instead, to make up for his lack of speed and the fact that death apparently can’t jump very high, his skills focus on moving about and self-healing.

Hellfire Shotguns

Although they are shotguns, they have a surprising amount of range and pack a serious wallop. While they may not pick off someone across a map, they’re more than capable of holding their own against shifty adversaries. They make up for their slow fire rate with a sizable spread capable of catching multiple enemies in a single blast.  As is the case with shotguns in any FPS, Reaper’s Hellfire Shotguns mean in a one-on-one close range fight, you have the best chance of walking away alive.

Shadow Step

Shadow Step is the only way you’re getting over anything higher than your waist with this guy. It allows you to teleport over a decent distance. Perfect for flanking, and closing distances between slippery prey. It doesn’t have the quickest charge so save it for when you see a guaranteed kill on the horizon.

Wraith Form

Using this skill helps separate the pro Reaper’s from the beginners. Wraith Form transforms you into… well, a Wraith. While in this form you move much quicker and can move right through enemies. Unfortunately, in exchange for invulnerability you will be unable to shoot. However, this skill is the best way to get in and out of tricky situations. Holding down a point and find yourself flanked? Wraith right on out of there. See an objective that you need to get close to? You can bypass enemies and traps in this form. Also, for some reason, this form catches a lot of attention, so it’s a solid way to run a distraction as well.

Death Blossom

This ultimate ability turns Reaper into a tornado of death. He’ll spin around for a few seconds doing a large amount of damage to all nearby opponents, it can even get you large kill combos. Do keep in mind that using this does not make you invulnerable. Try and wait until you have high health before Wraithing into a group and letting this loose.

The Reaping (Passive)

When a player is eliminated they drop Soul Globes. You can pick these up to restore your health. This passive ability helps Reaper to survive a bit longer without a Support character nearby, which is highly beneficial for Offense heroes in Overwatch. 

Using Reaper in Different Modes

Understanding Reaper’s particular skills is only half the battle. As mentioned before, he isn’t the fastest or most vertically inclined of the available heroes, so he does have his limitations in certain modes.

For the most part, Overwatch consists of attacking and defending. Modes like Assault and Control remain stationary for long periods of time with players fighting over specific, locked down points. This is where Reaper excels. His ability to jump in, do a load of damage, and then escape is valuable in circumstances like this. His high damage output is also useful here as long as there is a strong Support hero nearby, it doesn’t matter if they’re healers or shield makers. When combining their perks along with the souls your enemies will drop, it is possible to hold down an objective with Reaper very well.

Escort on the other hand will require you to play the objective from a bit of a distance. Reaper’s lack of speed and mobility makes defending the moving transport a bit more challenging. You can’t easily jump to the other side or quickly find cover if your skill isn’t charged. And snipers are a big deal during Escort runs. If you must use him during this mode, play the side. Watch lanes where enemies can creep up, and let a Defender handle the objective. As long as you keep it moving and take out would-be assassins, you’ll be fine.

All in all, keep in mind that Reaper’s power and utility come at the expense of speed and mobility. He is someone who can hold a spot down, not make crazy runs. If you remember that and properly use support, all will come to fear you in the arena.