Reapers absolutely have too much corruption. But this is a problem overall with the game. Too much of something given to certain specs. Reapers have too much boon corruption, Berserkers have too much resistance, Daredevils have too many evades, Chronomancers have too many illusions, Druids have too much pet damage, etc.
The problem right now though with Reapers is that while they have too much condition damage and corruption, they really lack in sustain. Literally their only sustain are two dodges, with no access to vigor. They can choose protection boon skills (Spectral Armor), a teleport (Flesh Wurm), “Rise” and other skills that can help them survive, but it’s not enough. With all other professions having too much offence, Reapers die extremely easily unless you can position yourself perfectly and kite well. Have you ever noticed that the best professions every season are the ones who can sustain themselves against the insane offensive pressure? With too much offence, you need too much defence to survive. If excessive damage was reduced, excessive sustain would also need to be reduced to maintain balance. But that’s not the case. Sure there’s technically a balance, but it’s not a good balance. Pre June 2015, balance was better. It was a “good” balance you could say.
If they want to make Reaper’s balanced, they need to reduce the excessive offence in the game, and also reduce the excessive defence at the same time. But in the case of Reapers, they only need an offence reduction, not a defence reduction. Reapers are supposed to be the attrition profession. They should live a long time, but not do as much damage as others.
So don’t fret if you can’t beat Reapers 1v1. That’s where they thrive because their attrition is maximized, but in a teamfight, it’s difficult for a reaper to escape, so focus them. As long as they’re focused, it’ll be nearly impossible for them to corrupt your boons.
In 1v1s, block shroud 4, dodge shroud 5, and stun them when they don’t have stability and when you want to burst. You’ll probably be hit by their Marks. Don’t worry about that. They all have the same animation, but they often use the fear Mark first and then the chill one. So if they switch to staff and you can see a staff cast, it’s probably fear. Berserker stance is best used when you want to put high pressure on them. They have few ways of getting away from you since they can’t apply movement conditions to you. They have a passive trait that applies Spectral Armor at 50% hp. Stop attacking them when you see that so they don’t get as much shroud. Note that you cannot block Marks and the Warhorn daze. They might use Shroud 2 just to get away from you. If they do and you can’t get back onto them, use LoS. You might still get hit by Marks, but they can’t use anything else from that far. The main idea is to constantly apply pressure, dodge the right skills and hit with burst skills to cleanse conditions and maintain Adrenal Health. If you do that, you might out attrition them!
One last thing, if you’re running the Diviner’s/Seeker’s, good luck! You can stay on them more, but you’ll always have slow and chill on you.
