Guild Wars 2

I’m getting a little tired of using/leaning on condition/hybrid physical-condition damage builds, so I was looking for a, largely, shroud based alternative. Reaper’s Onslaught seems like it would be useful here (obviously seeing it only affects shroud), but I feel sub-par without some conditions and that I’m ultimately shooting myself in the foot by not taking Deathly Chill. I’m by no means the best player (hence the name) and pretty casual, mucking about in all game modes, but is the trait, and build I suppose, even worth taking? Or are there other alternatives/thoughts entirely?

If your playing power reaper Deathly Chill is not doing that much damage its more useful for condi builds. Im playing power reaper with reaper’s onslaught and stay almost full time on reaper shroud using Chilling Victory trait that give you might and life force every time you hit chilled foe so reaper’s onslaught 15% faster attack speed is more useful than deathly chill. If your more power focused use onslaugh if condi use deathly chill.

Reaper’s Onslaught shines in the WvW environment, where you get to bomb the opposing group, go in with Death’s Charge, cleave them out with Soul Spiral, and then either get out with your refreshed Death’s Charge or go in to kill some more, and the cycle continues. It has not been unheard of for me to use Soul Spiral 4 times in under 15 seconds on a hard engage against an enemy zerg. The attack speed increase is probably the more negligible portion of the trait, but it’s still strong.

Thanks for the tips; suppose I’ll give it another go.

I use Reaper’s Onslaught in PvE frequently.

Build to maximize your time in Shroud to avoid damage from condition spam and stay close to the event bosses.

In WvW, nothing will save you if you get out of position in your zerg. Your LF bar will evaporate too quickly. Build in WvW just feels less important than positioning and cooperation.

In PvP, it also speeds up stomping.

On a power build, blighter’s boon is probably better in pvp. The problem, strictly in terms of pvp is that the bonus is rarely useful because you are already winning pretty hard when it takes effect. There are exceptions, but in general on death traits suck hard in pvp.

Drarnor Kunoram.5180:

In PvP, it also speeds up stomping.

Hm, interesting.

I find it pretty good. I’m not really fond of BB, frankly, and think it shines more on builds which have durability rather than the berserker build I run.

The reset is amazing for PvE and WvW. One thing to take note of, though, is that it does not reset a skill currently being cast; Spiral, Charge, Scythe, or maintaining stability will not reset their cooldowns during their uses, so be careful on the context of when you’re killing things. That said, constant resets on Death’s Charge are awesome for moving around, and a blob fight with lots of soul spirals right after the the other is pretty amazing.

The DPS gain will make you win an identical fight 1v1 against another reaper of the same build using BB. That said, it is a bit marginal.

So I toyed around with it in various game modes, and, overall, it’s not too bad. At the very least the gameplay of near constant shroud/skill uptime is a bit more interesting than spamming conditions left and right (though it is somewhat just spamming shroud skills). Thanks again for the tips, everyone.

If you’re power build, you’ll likely want to use Reaper’s Onslaught. It shines in any situation where you can get downs, so any group or zerg fights pretty much. I would use it in PvE & WvW group/zerg fights.

Blighter’s Boon is better for solo gameplay where it adds to sustain if you’re built to generate might/boons. Power builds are prone to get kited in 1v1’s so Blighter’s Boon help you with that sustain you may need to last longer.

Alternatively, you should be taking Reaper’s Onslaught in Power builds that aren’t taking Spite, like Reaper MM. Yes, Chilling Victory can help, but Reaper’s Onslaught is also quite viable.

I ran temples last night and messed about with traits. Reaper’s Onslaught is quite handy in power-shroud builds where I try to stay in shroud as long as possible.

Even with no healing equipment, Transfusion and fear coming up faster is wonderful.

I ran Spectral utilities for the LF as much as anything else. It was not bad. I did not miss the shouts for this game play.