Reaper Abilities and Strategy

Table of Contents

• +Introduction
  • 1. Reaper (Gabriel Reyes) Guide Overview
  • 2. Reaper's Strengths
  • 3. Reaper's Weaknesses
  • 4. Reaper Synergies
  • 5. Reaper Counters
  • 6. Reaper Is Strong Against
  • 7. Reaper TL;DR Tips
  • 8. Reading Further for Reaper
  • 9. Changelog
• ×Abilities and Strategy
  • 1. Reaper TL;DR Tips
  • 2. Reaper's Abilities
    • 2.1. The Reaping
    • 2.2. Hellfire Shotguns
    • 2.3. Wraith Form
    • 2.4. Shadow Step
    • 2.5. Death Blossom
• +Playstyle
  • 1. Reaper Playstyle Introduction
  • 2. Reaper's Positioning
  • 3. Reaper's Abilities
  • 4. Reaper's Targets
  • 5. How to Use Death Blossom
• +Synergies and Matchups
  • 1. Reaper Synergies
    • 1.1. Reinhardt & Reaper
    • 1.2. McCree & Reaper
    • 1.3. Brigitte & Reaper
  • 2. Reaper Counters
    • 2.1. Widowmaker & Reaper
    • 2.2. Hanzo & Reaper
    • 2.3. Zarya & Reaper
    • 2.4. Brigitte & Reaper
    • 2.5. Pharah & Reaper
  • 3. Reaper Is Strong Against
    • 3.1. Winston & Reaper
    • 3.2. Bastion & Reaper
• +Maps
  • 1. Best Maps for Reaper
    • 1.1. Reaper on Temple of Anubis
    • 1.2. Reaper on Volskaya Industries
  • 2. Worst Map for Reaper
    • 2.1. Watchpoint: Gibraltar

On this page, you will find a detailed overview of the abilities that Reaper has access to. We also explain how to best use these abilities.

The other pages of our Reaper guide can be accessed from the table of contents on the right.

• When playing Reaper as a flanker, you should wait to shoot enemies at the last second. If you fire shots too early, you will reveal yourself before you can secure the kill.
• Death Blossom can be started in mid-air, which means you can take enemies by surprise by initiating your ultimate before you hit the ground.
• Use Wraith Form to dodge enemy crowd control abilities like McCree's Flashbang.
• When flanking, look to kill enemy supports and damage dealers; when playing on the frontline, focus enemy barriers and tanks.
• Do not use Shadow Step onto positions that are in line of sight of enemies, as they can easily hit you with headshots.

As the name suggests, The Reaping is a passive that works off of Reaper's actions. The Reaping is a self sustain ability that heals Reaper based on his damage output. The Reaping heals Reaper for 20% of his dealt damage, regardless of the damage's source ( Hellfire Shotguns, Death Blossom, and melee attacks all trigger The Reaping). Therefore, if Reaper deals 100 damage, he simultaneously heals himself for 20 health.

The Reaping is affected by all healing boosts and all healing debuffs. As a result, a friendly Ana's Biotic Grenade will increase the healing of The Reaping to 30%, while an enemy Ana's Biotic Grenade will deny the healing of The Reaping.

Hellfire Shotguns are Reaper's primary weapon and the only form of damage outside of his ultimate. While the shotguns are the only weapons Reaper has, that does not negate their effectiveness. The shotguns release 20 pellets per shot, and each pellet can deal anywhere from 2 to 7 damage depending on Reaper's distance to his target. Anything under 10 meters away will deal 7 damage, anything at or over 20 meters will deal 2 damage. Therefore, Reaper's shotguns are unsurprisingly better at close range.

Hellfire Shotguns other mechanics include

• Spread of 20.1 degrees with every shot;
• 8 rounds;
• Reload time of 1.5 seconds;
• No secondary fire.

Wraith Form is one of two of Reaper's mobility abilities, but this one offers extra utility when compared to Shadow Step. Wraith Form allows Reaper to enter the world of shadows for 3 seconds, becoming impervious to damage and enemy abilities. Wraith Form allows Reaper to move up on his enemies without taking damage, or to escape from enemies without having to worry about dying.

In addition to Reaper's invincibility, Wraith Form increase Reaper's movement speed by 50%. Therefore, Reaper can use Wraith Form to quickly gap close on enemy healers or to disengage from a lost fight.

The other mechanics of Wraith Form include

• It has an 8-second cooldown from the end of Wraith Form's usage.
• It is unusable when Reaper is stunned by abilities like McCree's Flashbang.
• Can be used to dodge stun abilities like Flashbang or Junkrat's Steel Trap.
• The ability automatically reloads Reaper's Hellfire Shotguns.
• Players can prematurely cancel the ability at any time.
• Wraith Form will drop enemy debuffs like Tracer's Pulse Bomb and Zenyatta's Orb of Discord.

Shadow Step is Reaper's other mobility ability, but this one is actually used while Reaper stands still. When Shadow Step is used, Reaper will channel for 2.5 seconds, after which he will travel from his current destination to the one the player has marked with the ability. This means the ability can be used to reach high ground or to flank the enemy team.

The mechanics of Shadow Step include

• The ability to teleport on any play area within 35 meters of Reaper's current location;
• A 2-second duration;
• A 10-second cooldown from the end of the ability.

One of the foundational moves of the Overwatch universe, Death Blossom is a damage-dealing area of effect ultimate.

When used, the camera angle of the game will go from first-person to third-person, and Reaper will rapidly shoot his shotguns in a circle for 3 seconds. The ability damages any enemies caught within an 8 meter radius of Reaper's position for 170 damage a second. During this time, Reaper's movement speed is greatly reduced, leaving him with the ability to move at 3 meters a second. Once the ability is finished, Reaper's Hellfire Shotguns will automatically reload.

It should be noted that Death Blossom can be interrupted by enemy abilities such as McCree's Flashbang, Ana's Sleep Dart, and Roadhog's Chain Hook. Therefore, Reaper should be weary of enemies who can interrupt his damage. Additionally, players should know that Reaper can begin his Death Blossom in mid-air, which means Reaper can drop onto enemies from above to unleash hell.

About our Author

Mournflakes is a flex Grandmaster Overwatch player who boasts a career high SR rating of 4433. His favorite heroes are Roadhog, Soldier: 76, and Ana. He has played Overwatch since its initial release, and has put over 700 hours into competitive play. When not writing guides, you can catch Mournflakes streaming on his Twitch channel.