Overwatch

Date played: November 8th, 9th and 10th
Platform: PS4

Today's hero is Reaper.

Role: Offense

Difficulty: ★

HP: 250

Armor: 0

Shields: 0

Total: 250

Favorite quote: "I'm not a psychopath. I'm a high-functioning psychopath."

Favorite map to play on: Volskaya

Appearance

When I first saw Reaper, I couldn't help but laugh! He wears a long, black trench coat with a hood. The kicker is the awfully stereotypical mask he wears. It makes him look like Death. The whole thing is super cheesy and honestly, it made me not want to play Reaper. He wears big boots and gloves and a bunch of shotgun shell bandoliers. He wields two giant shotguns, named Hellfire Shotguns. To add to the ridiculousness of the character, he doesn't actually reload his guns. Instead, he throws them to the ground and pulls out some fresh guns from his coat... Then there's the whole "attitude" thing. Reaper speaks in a low, menacing voice, but it feels like he's a cartoon character rather than a dangerous, scary hero. His voice lines are just as stupid. I still like him, he fits the game's theme quite well.

Skills

• Hellfire Shotguns: Two giant shotguns, each loaded with 4 shells. They hit like a fucking truck up close, but are very weak at range.
• Wraith Form: Reaper transforms himself into a shadow, granting invincibility and faster movement speed for 3 seconds. He cannot use any weapons or abilities while in Wraith Form.
• Shadow Step: Reaper can teleport to any location with solid ground in his line of sight, up to 35 meters away. There is a slight delay before he teleports.
• The Reaping: When enemies die, they drop their "soul". which Reaper can absorb to regain 50 HP.
• Ultimate - Death Blossom: One of the most spectacular, powerful and scary Ultimates in the game. Reaper spins around, unloading his shotguns at a rapid pace, damaging anyone in the vicinity.

Strengths

• Reaper is the best tank killer in the game, no question. His shotguns are perfect for taking out large targets at close range.
• Reaper's high mobility is a huge advantage. When used correctly, his Shadow Step can be used to flank an entire team, or push an objective. Combined with his Wraith Form and self-healing with The Reaping, Reaper becomes very difficult to kill.
• A pure killer, Reaper can take out most enemies relatively easily, as long as he can get close to them. The shotguns are unmatched in terms of damage, aside from maybe some very good McCrees or lucky Junkrats.
• Death Blossom is the kind of Ultimate that can make the difference between a win and a loss. A well timed Death Blossom can kill an entire team, or at the very least, it can cripple them badly.

Weaknesses

• Mei is Reaper's bane. If there's a good Mei on the other team, it's usually better to switch to another hero. 
• Reaper is useless at any kind of range. If the enemy defenses are too strong for a flank, he will be left with few options to help his team win.
• When Reaper's Wraith Form is on cooldown, he is very vulnerable to attackers. On top of that, he takes a good amount of time to reload.
• When fighting at a choke point, Reaper isn't as useful as other DPS heroes. If there are no good flanking opportunities, McCree, Soldier, Pharah, Tracer and Genji are all better choices.

Comments

Reaper is an important hero. He's got huge damage potential and when he's played well, he is a real force to be reckoned with. He's every tank's nightmare too... Taking out Winston is child's play as Reaper. Roadhog doesn't do much better... Reinhardt and D.Va can survive a bit more, thanks to their shields, but if Reaper gets behind them, they are dead meat. Zarya is the only one that stands a chance, as she can deal high damage and she can bait Reaper into shooting her while her shield is up, charging up her weapon.

Aside from tanks, Reaper can take out most heroes relatively easily, as long as gets close. The only one that is a real problem is Mei, and potentially Pharah. Mei can freeze Reaper before he can kill her, plus she can heal herself. Pharah can just stay out of range. Other ranged heroes are less of a problem since Reaper can teleport to their location if needed.

Some of the best plays involve a Reaper shouting "DIE! DIE! DIE!" as he makes his shotguns spit out death during Death Blossom. It can be combined with many Ultimates for maximum effect. Zarya's, Mei's and Reinhardt's Ultimates are all great ways to set up Reaper for a big play.

I don't play him often, but I'm starting to like him more and more. He's a simple hero though, and while there are tons of cool things he can do with movement, he's kind of a loner, which doesn't really fit my style. I definitely want to play him more often though.

There are maps where Reaper does better than others. For example, any Control map will usually reward Reaper's close range style. On maps where range is important, like King's Row for example, it's a bit more difficult to be effective with Reaper, but it can still work. Reaper is a great hero, and he's almost always a great addition to the team.

Worst enemy: Mei

Best teammate: Zarya
Most satisfying kill: Winston

Rating ★★★★