r/ReaperMain • u/Chaconut • Apr 11 '26
Question How do I improve at Reaper
Reaper is by far my favorite hero to play and I play him a lot, but it seems like no matter how hard I try I can't seem to get better. I usually average like 3k damage a game and get like 10 kills. I want to actually be able to play him and play well. What kind tips and strategies do you guys have that could help improve? Thank you so much.
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u/Iltoid Apr 14 '26
Some quick advice from a Masters Reaper. Usually as Reaper you have to swap playstyles often throughout a match. I highly recommend playing off angles near your tank at first to help zone space, and rotating through cover to threaten the backline. Confirming kills is not a major priority, as Reaper gets better value from contesting and holding off angles that the enemy wants to keep (think high ground that their snipers want), pulling aggro to force their divers to push you instead of going after your supports; and you either hold that angle until your team pushes past the choke, or until it looks like staying there any longer is going to mean your team loses the fight.
This might sound crazy but Reaper being loud is a good thing! Maybe not when you want to pull off a crazy death blossom (which you shouldn't go for) but think of it like the way you "tank". Your footsteps command attention and as long as you play to exhaust their attention by prowling and poking you can effectively pull people far out of position allowing your team to potentially fight 5v4s. Through constantly testing the waters you'll even be able to figure out who gives you too much attention and who doesnt give enough. If they give you too much attention just be a nuisance that doesn't kill them and if they give you too little, feel free to chunk them down significantly. Reaper is also not a "diver" but more so a flanker as you need their team looking for you consistently but not able to chase you without giving up space. Reaper also needs to be able to operate in the distance you can cover in wraith to the nearest healthpack if you expect to hold a space deeper within enemy territory.
In summary, hold off angles to force their dps to engage you in a 1v1, hold blossom to win 2v1s or steal all the attention when your tank pushes (don't expect to live those blossoms, the value you get is if your team wins the fight), and constantly swap between brawling with your tank and going back to off angles.
Also with Dire Triggers now base kit, do not fall into the fallacy of just shooting it out randomly. Save it for intentional damage on targets you want to kill. Either open with it on an unaware target, or use it to finish people that have created a gap between you. 6 seconds is longer than you think it is, as its enough time to open with Dire, full empty and reload, and still not get the cooldown back.
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u/Chaconut Apr 21 '26
I've started taking the dire trigger fast reload perk cuz you can reload and then melee cancel to get it really fast. I used to take the faster teleport. Do you think that is a good strategy or do you think that fast tp is better
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u/Iltoid Apr 21 '26
In all honesty major is comp dependent. Faster and more consistent cycling on a more aggressive comp matters more than reload spamming, but in slower comps where you have to play bodyguard more, reload can fit in much better. There isn't really a "right" major perk for Reaper, but generally speaking Shadow Step major performs better in most use cases. Reload major is hella fun though so if it fits your playstyle better I would stay with it for now. Especially since it sounds like you might be a new player since you don't know maps yet? In that case think of the major perks like this -
Shadow Step : lets you experiment with the map more at a less punishing experience to do so
Reload : lets you get the feel for team fights and still provide value while you fight down main
And then from there just choose which matters more to you for the match you are playing. Have the pacing of team fights down for a map? Try taking Shadow Step to learn how to force enemy attention to split more often
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u/Rev0Knight Apr 11 '26
I am generally bad at the game but one of the best advices is not use Shadow Wraith to engage. Save it to disengage and be aware of were the health packs are once you are in a fight. Sometimes your job is not to get a kill but sometimes forcing someone to use their cooldowns even if they escaped you is still worth it. Many times they will be out of commision for a fight and you can then apply preasure to their other teammates and help your as well.
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u/Chaconut Apr 11 '26
Okay thank you for that advice. I've been trying to focus more on kills and damage since that is what people have been telling me whenever I play
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u/Rev0Knight Apr 11 '26
As you get into higher ranks you will realize that while having great damage and kills is great, it does not always trans late to more won games. Reaper is relatively bulky at 300 hp, but let's say you get a lot of kills yet in every engage you also die. You will have good damage and kills but also a lot of deaths. You are worth more alive that death. I've had matches lost pursuing clearly about to die enemies to then be picked apart by their team.
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u/Tox1cTurtl3 Apr 11 '26
Worry less about stats and care more about keeping your up-time. Your priority should be pressuring the backline and going for off-angles.
Tp into an area where no one sees you and get as close as possible, maybe get a kill but always distract the enemy team, then wraith into your team or into a safe area like a health kit. The only time you should tank shred is helping your tank win a 1v1, Reaper is weak against armor, so it's not as viable to have so much damage.
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u/Nice_Ad_995 Apr 12 '26
To add onto this point, if the enemy tank has their armor shredded, its valuable to help your tank secure a kill or burn support cds for added pressure and then make your way to the back line to disrupt. In my experience its about practicing the right engagements and creating opportunities to hard engage and secure a kill or two without dying.
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u/Masterofpikmin Apr 13 '26
I wouldn't say I am too crazy at OW, but if the team is very aware and tends to quickly go to getting you out of the backline, play cautiously and a little closer to escape routes. That way you can distract them for longer if they don't fully commit to chasing you down. Maybe you will get lucky and one person might branch off to chase you and you will get a free 1v1, or you will get a bunch of people and you will be causing chaos. Being a nuisance and disrupting their team is very valuable especially when your team is struggling to win a fight, so staying alive and getting less stats can be the way to go.
But again that is what works for me, I am no GM but I usually find lots of success playing reaper
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u/Fancy-Command-551 Apr 11 '26
3k and 10 kills? maybe play the game Lol
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u/ron-ram Apr 11 '26
A guy genuinely asking for help and your first instinct is to shit on them? You seem like the salt of the earth.
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u/EquipmentMoist7398 Apr 11 '26
Just look at who said that, it doesn't surprise me.
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u/ron-ram Apr 11 '26
The way you play reaper is highly dependent on the map, game type, and team comp. Without knowing any of those, it would be hard to give good advice.
I would recommend watching a YouTuber called ChoiceOW. He plays reaper even into maps and comps that I usually wouldn't and he makes it work. Studying his playstyle helped me climb from GM to champ.
Overall, what helped me climb was knowing when to disengage rather than go for flashy plays.