Reaper guide - a "short" guide to the deadly assassin

[phantom325]

Hello guys! With Overwatch releasing in less than 2 weeks, I thought now would be a pretty good time to talk about my favorite hero, Reaper.

Let's go over his abilities real quick.

Passive: The Reaping
Whenever Reaper kills an enemy, they drop red Soul Globes that can be picked up (simply by running over them) to restore 50 HP for Reaper, which helps when in a huge teamfight.
LShift: Wraith Form
This ability turns you into a shadow, allowing you to ignore enemy collision and turning you invincible and untargetable, as well as giving you a speed boost. During this however, you can not attack or use any abilities, and it can not be canceled early.
E: Shadow Step
This is a bit tricky to use. When activated, Reaper switches to a sort of targeting mode, where you can move your cursor around to find a spot to teleport to. When you find a good spot, simply clicking your primary fire button (default LMB) to teleport to that area.
Q: Death Blossom
Reaper's bread and butter signature Katarina-style ult. Upon activation, Reaper fires both his shotguns at "breakneck speed" dealing extremely heavy damage in a large AoE around himself, hitting enemies within his line of sight. Reaper's movement speed is slowed during this, it can not be canceled early, you can die during this, and disables will stop the ultimate.

Now that we got the boring stuff out of the way, let's talk about your role in the game. As reaper, you are a shadowy assassin, capable of getting behind enemies most others cannot. Through the use of his E (Shadow Step) he is able to outflank the enemy, and easily bring down snipers/turrets.

What you should do:

• Use E to flank enemies that the rest of the team doesn't have quick access to, such as snipers (Widowmaker and Hanzo), turrets (Bastion and Torbjorn's turrets), and healers (Mercy, Lucio, Zenyatta, Symmetra... kind of).
• Killing tanks. If you have a pocket healer (works really well with a Mercy) you can duel tanks, and you're one of the few heroes that can go toe to toe with a Roadhog.
• Causing havoc. Even if you don't pick up any kills, simply dishing out a lot of damage to their supports will force the supports to retreat, leaving your team open to deal witht he frontline.

What you should NOT do:

• Assault. If you do not have a healer on you, you should NOT be going in from the front trying to take on their team. There are much better heroes at this than you (such as Soldier 76). Even if you have a healer, charging at them head on is extremely risky.
• Run around mindlessly just going for kills. Yes, to an extent this is kind of what you're doing. But you should prioritize supports/snipers first. It doesn't matter if you get that kill on that Soldier 76 if your entire team just got sniped by Widowmaker.

So, let's talk about all the heroes and what you should do as a Reaper in a 1v1 situation.

Offense:

Genji: Genji is honestly a skill match up for Reaper. Whenever he uses deflect (he will take out his sword) make sure to stop attacking him, as you can very easily melt your own health away. With his mobility a good Genji will be a problem with Reaper. Generally, unless he's relatively low health, you'll want to back off.

McCree: Probably one of the hardest counters for Reaper. If he lands his flashbang (not very hard to do) he's going to unload his revolver with RMB and kill you. Even if you manage to Wraith form his flashbang and RMB (which I've done before) he can still cast his E (roll) and immediately reload. Generally you'll want to try to stay away from McCree, but if you have to fight the only way you're going to live is by Wraith Forming his flashbang RMB combo and then dueling him. Note, he will generally immediately use RMB again after using roll in panic; if you manage to live through this you can kill him fairly easily.

Pharah: Another problem for Reaper. If she's smart she will use her range and flight to out-maneuver you and kill you with a couple of rocket blasts to the face. If you manage to sneak up on her, try to go for a couple of quick headshots, because if she turns around she's going to use her concussive blast to knock you back and then immediately create distance. If you don't manage to kill her by sneaking up on her, simply retreat using wraith form if need be.

Reaper: Nothing much to say here, skill match up. Odds are neither of you are ever going to net a kill simply because of Wraith Form. The only thing you can watch out for is an enemy Reaper using their wraith form: it lasts for roughly 2-3 seconds and has an 8 second cooldown. You can kill him fairly easily during this period, however be very cautious as you can easily die if you get too cocky.

Soldier 76: As with most other offense heroes, Soldier 76 is difficult for Reaper to kill. He out-ranges you by miles, so your only bet is sneaking up on him through the use of your shadow step. When he uses his E (healing ability) simply get to cover unless he's very low: odds are you aren't going to out-damage his healing, and you're just going to take free damage while he heals back up. His healing field is on a relatively long cooldown (15 seconds) so you can kill him after it goes on cooldown.

Tracer: Don't try to duel her. You won't win. Her mobility is insanely strong right now, and her damage is pretty damn good as well. You have 2 chances to kill her: Sneaking up on her and blasting her right in the face. She has 150 health, so she will die with one (maybe two) good shots. However, she will often dash away with her Lshift or use her E to return. Her E returns her to the point she was at 3 seconds ago: if you know where she was you can predict where she's going to return and possibly kill her there. But you're better off leaving Tracer to heroes that have weapons that aren't based on accuracy, such as Winston.

Defense:

Bastion: The only two times to EVER fight a bastion: when he is not in turret form (very rare) or when you can get behind him. Bastion has a weak point on his back, and 2-3 quick shots from your shotguns will kill him. When he is not in turret form, he is very vulnerable and you will have no problem killing him.

Hanzo: One of the snipers you are gunning for. Hanzo is relatively easy to kill, but do be cautious because a fully charged arrow will likely kill you. When you are dueling a Hanzo (assuming you didn't kill him from behind) be extremely mobile. Walking in a straight line towards him blasting your hellfire shotguns in his face will end only badly for you. Make sure you are constantly strafing from side to side; and as a general rule of thumb, mix it up a bit. Eventually Hanzo is going to predict where you're going to be if you keep moving left, then right, then left, etc. Also, jumping never hurt anybody.

Junkrat: He is capable of destroying you in a few seconds with an AA and his concussion mine ability. If you see junkrat throw a package (bomb) of some sorts at you, immediately get away. This can be detonated in the air, so one of the best ways to mitigate potential death is by immediately wraith forming when he uses it. Always try to keep yourself at a higher vantage point that junkrat: it is very hard for junkrats auto attacks to hit you if you have a height advantage. IF YOU MANAGE TO KILL HIM, DO NOT IMMEDIATELY PICK UP THE SOUL GLOBE! Junkrat drops several grenades upon dying, and you WILL die if you step on them. They only last a few seconds, so you'll be able to safely pick up your health globe shortly after his death.

Mei: I saw so many Reapers trying to flank Mei and kill her, and it annoyed the hell out of me. Mei is probably the best 1v1 hero in the game. Her "AA" is a freeze gun, gradually freezing you in place, until you are totally frozen and she can launch an icicle at your head to finish you off. Over time you'll learn when you're about to get frozen, and this is your chance: using wraith form will reset her freeze on you. However, if you are forced to use Wraith Form to reset the freeze "debuff", you are better just running. Even if you do manage to Wraith Form out of her freeze and get her low, she has an iceblock ability which makes her immune to damage (not even her ultimate) which will reset the fight. This is pretty much the only hero you never want to try and take out by yourself, unless she's very low and in a vulnerable spot.

Torbjorn: Not so much Torbjorn but the turrets he sets up will give you trouble. His turrets are a major pain in the ass for Reaper simply because they are 360 degrees and auto-target, making sneaking up on enemies extremely hard to do. Torbjorn himself will die in 2-3 hits from your shotguns up close, but his turret persists for a bit after his death which can avenge its master. Generally you'll want to have someone else (such as Widowmaker) take out his turrets from afar, then you can go in for the kill on Torbjorn.

Widowmaker: This is the hero you want to kill at all times. She is generally going to be your #1 priority to take out. You'll want to flank her by using your Shadow Step ability to get close to her, but be cautious because if you're low health she can turn around ans use her assault rifle to easily finish you off. Near where she's posted up will likely be the trip mines she places: these don't do very much damage, but will alert Widowmaker to your presence. If you Wraith Form over them she won't notice it and you can kill her pretty quick. If she does notice you and is not using her assault rifle as you are closing in, odds are she's going for a snipe. Use Wraith Form to close the distance between you and her, and then finish her off with your shotguns. Make sure to move erratically so as to not get sniped.

Tank:

D.Va: Probably one of the weaker heroes in the game, she's actually one of the only tanks I don't recommend going one on one with as Reaper. Her mech as fairly high health and damage, and if she has her ultimate up she can immediately call down another if her first one is destroyed. If you do destroy her mech, D.Va herself will pop out, and while not very strong, can definitely still kill you if you are not careful. Generally you'll want to have your team helping you kill her, as with most tanks. Try to stay behind D.Va as she has an ability that blocks all AA's made in front of her.

Reinhardt: A lot of Reapers (and a lot of people in general) don't know this: you can simply walk through Reinhardt's shield and start blasting him in the face. I generally recommend first getting a few shots on him from behind, then walking through his shield and finishing him off. If he wants to return fire and melee you, he's going to have to drop his shield leaving him vulnerable to the rest of your team. Do not underestimate his melee damage though, as he can kill you in a few shots, and if he has his ult up (stun) you're dead. Reinhardt is one of the easier tanks for Reaper to kill, and if you aren't off killing snipers/supports, he's the one you want to go after.

Roadhog: Roadhog is tricky. If he lands his hook on you, you will probably die. You can simply use Wraith Form to retreat after he hooks you in if he does not get the kill on you, but I've noticed that by jumping to the left/right and then pumping a few shotgun blasts into him can usually kill him before he can finish you off. However, if the Roadhog does his combo right, you'll most likely be dead anyways. Watch out for his healing ability Take a Breather. He outheals your direct damage and will generally have his hook up again after using this ability. If you see him using Take a Breather attempt to kill him: if you don't kill him Wraith Form and get the hell out of there.

Winston: Sort of a pain for Reaper. His main weapon is an auto-aim, so he will always be hitting you with it. However, it does not do a ton of damage. If you see his bubble pop up, fall back and focus on destroying it. He can weave in and out of his bubble whilst doing damage to you, and you can easily die if you underestimate him.

Zarya: One of the few heroes that I just really don't know what to do against. She's not played very often, and her damage seems really lackluster. The big thing you want to watch out for is her shield: if she pops it immediately stop attacking as she will melt you if you try to burn through it. Other than her shield, you won't have much problems with her, and you should easily win most 1 on 1 duels with her.

Support:

Lucio: His mobility makes him a bit of a problem for Reaper, but if you can land your shots on him he dies pretty quickly. He does have a knock back ability, so be very careful engaging on him when you're near a cliff/edge.

Mercy: No problem at all for Reaper. If you see a Mercy on the enemy team, your primary goal is to flank and kill her. 1-2 good shots and she's dead.

Symmetra: Probably the only support that will give you a problem, and this is only because of her sentry turrets. You can destroy her turrets from a relatively far distance (outside of their range) by just using your shotguns. Be careful though, most Symmetra's will have a room of death set up on the map, meaning she has around 6 turrets set up in one area, instantly melting you when you enter. If you see multiple turrets, your best bet is to Wraith Form and get to safety and heal up. Symmetra herself generally won't give you many problems though.

Zenyatta: One of the more lackluster heroes. but do not underestimate. He can do a lot of damage if he charges up his attack, and his ult heals his entire team while making him invulnerable. Generally though, because he has such a low health pool (tied with Tracer as being the lowest at 150) he is very easy to kill and you won't have a problem with him. He also does not have any reliable escape mechanism, so if you can get close to him (not hard) he's dead.

General ability usage

Now that we got very basic hero guides done with, let's talk about his bread and butter skill: Death Blossom. This does insane damage to all enemies caught in line of sight within the AoE, and can easily wipe an entire team. I have multiple videos which you can find at the end of this guide showing you the power of his ult. As you will see in the videos, you want to wait for a good amount of enemies, and surprise them by running from a side entrance with your Wraith Form up or dropping down on them from a ledge. Once Overwatch comes back up I will edit this post to include a list of some of the best points to Shadow Step to for defending/assaulting points on each of the maps. Generally though, you do not want to waste your ultimate for one kill, even if it saves your life. It's better to die and keep your ultimate for a team clear than it is to use it to kill one person, unless of course you are about to lose the game.


Wraith form is an invaluable tool to escape with, but can also be used as an initiation coupled with your Death Blossom. Be careful though, you are very vulnerable after using Wraith Form as you have no escape. If you get caught without Wraith Form up, you will be better off turning and fighting; you might win in a firefight rather than dying trying to run away. Wraith Form can also be used as general mobility after you die; it gives you a speed boost so you can use it a few times to get back to defending/assaulting a point quicker. Finally, it can be used to shield large amounts of incoming damage, such as a junkrat trap/grenades, ultimate abilities, and so forth, as well as resetting any debuffs on you (such as Mei's freeze or zenyatta's discord orb)

Shadow Step is an awesome skill for moving around the map but you are EXTREMELY vulnerable during the teleport animation. Never teleport out into the open, especially if there is a sniper as the indicator for Shadow Step is fairly obvious you will likely be sniped. In addition to this, Reaper will say "Death Comes" after appearing at the target location, and players who have their sound turned up can turn around and kill you extremely quick. Thus, you do not want to teleport right behind a sniper generally: aim for a little bit further and then simply run and flank them.

Anyways, that's a pretty quick guide to Reaper. If you have any questions or suggestions feel free to drop them down below. Here's a link to some videos of his ultimate so you can kind of see how to set up with his ult and when to use it:
https://www.twitch.tv/phantom330/v/65794314
https://www.twitch.tv/phantom330/v/65794534
https://www.twitch.tv/phantom330/v/65540518