It's not all smoke and flashy shotguns.

If you are new to Reaper or to Overwatch then let us be the first to welcome you to this incredible community.  We suggest that you start at the top of the guide and just work your way through.  Question?  Ask us!   If you are an experienced player than jump down to the Tips and Tricks section at the bottom for the more advanced strategies and tactics.  Enjoy!  

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Death has arrived, literally.

Reaper wields dual sawed-off shotguns that deliver tremendous damage at close range. The crux of playing Reaper is being able to close in on your opponents whether they be a squishy or a tank. He has above average mobility, a short invulerability, a teleport and a devastating ultimate if you can pull it off. That said, he's vulnerable to opponents with long range attacks.

Reaper is a capable flanker than can be played effectively on both attack and defence.

Pros	Cons
Can deal with Widowmaker and Bastion as they "perch".	Squishy enough that he can be burned down quickly.
Eats tanks due to their large hitboxes.	Ult is strong, but easily countered.
Above average mobility.	Must be close range to be effective.
Excellent flanker.	Vulnerable to long range opponents.
Linear gameplay. Easy to learn.	Vulnerable when trying to push an overtime or a point.

Abilities

The Reaping - Opponents who die near Reaper leave a red globe behind which heals Reaper for 50 HP. This gives you some extra sustain as long as you are killing people.

Tip - When fighting multiple enemies kill the lowest HP first to gain in combat heals from The Reaping.

Hellfire Shotguns - High damage at short range, but the damage falls off quickly over distance. If you are within 11 meters (very close) and land every bullet, you will deal 140 damage a shot (280 dps). Reaper is extremely deadly up close. Ifyou catch a Bastion in Sentry Configuration unaware you can easily one shot him by shooting the blue crit zone on his back. This zone makes him take triple damage, allowing you to deal 420 damage with one shot.

Tanks' large hitboxes are perfect for your up close shotgun blasts.

Wraith Form - Makes you invulnerable and removes all negative effects. This allows you to escape after you have made your kill. You are easily caught out if you do not have this ability up.

Tip - Avoid RIP tire, flashbang and other annoying abilities by popping Wraith Form.

Shadow Step - Allows Reaper to teleport to a selected point within his line of sight. You are unable to attack or move while using this ability. There is a long animation time, meaning you cannot use this in combat without dying. It is great for flanking.

Tip - Shadow Step can get you to high usually hard to reach places behind the enemy. Flank and surprise them.

Death Blossom - Fires your shotguns in a large area of effect dealing massive damage. This is an amazing ultimate for dealing with clumped up unsuspecting enemies. From what I've found, trying to find an area above where the enemies are and jumping down to them seems to be the most effective way to use Death Blossom. With this, you can activate it in mid-air (it has some vertical distance so you will start damaging enemies before they even see you). It can also be very effective when used from any place where the enemies do not see you. If you are seen prior to ulting, the enemies will focus you quickly. Be careful to wait for stuns such as McCree's Flashbang or Roadhog's Hook to be on cooldown or they can calcel your ult.

Tip - Wait for your opponents to be clumped up and then unleash your ultimate for maximum effectiveness.

Strategy

You're not a frontliner, so don't spend all of your time standing behind the tanks' shields. Flank and disrupt.

On attack Reaper can flank, killing enemy healers and snipers. If required he's also adept at destroying tanks. Get behind Reinhardt's shield and send him back to spawn.

Tip - Shadow Step behind Widowmakers and Bastions to ruin their day.

On defence, Reaper can force the attackers to turn and deal with him rather than pushing. He's not great at taking on points or payloads alone, but with a good team can decimate opponents who clump up for captures or pushes.

Time your ultimate to coincide with Zarya's, Reinhardt's or Mei's. Once the enemy team is incapacitated you can take them all out.

You have good sustain as long as you are killing opponents and walking over the globes.

Matchups

You destroy most tanks and most squishies. You have short range. This isn't hard.  ​

Hero	Threat
Lucio: His ultimate is a hard counter to yours.	6/10
Roadhog: Chain Hook interrupts your ult and his sustain is better than yours.	7/10
McCree: His flashbang interrupts your ultimate, he can chase you down and has better range.	7/10
Soldier 76: He's a nuisance from afar but can easily die if you get too close.	6/10
Mei: Longer range and deadly up close with an invulnerabilty ability. Very annoying.	7/10
Zarya: Projected Barrier can protect your targets and boosts her damage. She's annoying..	7/10

 

 

Tips

This list of tips and tricks are just a handful of things we think will help your Reaper play. We'll continue to add to the list and if you have any tips you'd like to share, let us know in the comments below and we'll place them here. 

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Quick Guide to Reaper by Cynical Nerds

 

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Learn how to melee effectively

 

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Great British Gaming's Reaper Guide

 

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Gorthax's Lurker Style Guide

 

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1. You're great against tank heavy teams, but try to avoid Zarya.

2. Know the maps and use that knowledge to flank effectively. You're not a frontliner.

3. Wraithform is a great escape tool. You can play aggressively when it is off cooldown.

4. Timing is everything. Allowing your team to engage first and soak damage could allow you to use your ultimate. Don't run into 1 v 2 or worse fights.

5. Use Shadow Step to get up on ledges and walkways where you can drop down on unsuspecting victims.

6. You can move while using Death Blossom. Don't let your enemies escape behind walls. You can follow them in.

7. Take out their healer, especially Mercy. She is usually playing safe behind the front lines where you can pounce on her.

8. Wraith form out of Mei's ultimate, avoid Flash Bang and Chain Hook. It's an incredible ability. It even negates McCrees' High Noon if you have it active when he shoots.

9. Hanzo can one shot you with a scatter arrow at your feet. Simply jump repeatedly as you attack him to avoid most of the damage.

10. You are vulnerable while using Death Blossom and it is blocked by walls, barriers, etc.

11. Dropping down from high ground into the backlines of an enemy team pushing a payload (during a team fight) is often a great way to tip the scales in your team's favour. 

12. Reaper currently (May 24th, 2017) isn't in a very good place.  Versus triple tank comps he is viable.  Versus the Pharamercy comps he is almost useless.  

13. Lucio's speedboost makes your life so much easier.   

14. You often have to commit to a target (hopefully one shotcalled by your team) and focus entirely on taking them out.  Reaper the flanker isn't as prevalent as he was in his prime.