Guild Wars 2

I was running around with a large zerg on WvW reset earlier and asked:

If you were to make a reaper, which race will you choose and why?

The answer I got was:

Asura. Because Master Race.

I think that settled the question.

The rudest behavior I’ve seen in WvW is two persons bowing to start a duel, and the winning person proceeding to stomp the loser.

This behavior is bad and shouldn’t be encouraged.

Isn’t it commonly understood that a bow preceding a fight meant that it was going to be a no-stomp duel where both sides would res and continue dueling and fighting one another.
I guess many don’t share this opinion.
Why bow in the first place?
Why not just fight on sight as a normal roaming encounter would turn out?

Are we seeing the start of a new dawn?

This ending week, T1 has been neck to neck among all 3 factions right till the end!

and TC won it by the tiniest of margins.

Good fight put up by DB and BG

Zenith.7301:

How come knights instead of marauder+cavalier?

Now most of the time I die in a zerg it’s the godkitten epi bombs everywhere.

Condi aids are the worst.

I assume this is referring to the the front-line melee zerg build.
I went with full toughness because theme =D
wanted to maximize the build’s niche towards an area.
Also if the worry is about condi bombs in a zerg fight, then I would choose Sentinel over marauder. Marauder feels too squishy to me to run with the commander in front.

Trait wise shrouded removal is great and can help to a certain extent.

Odokuro.5049:

Hey all, I was wondering what are acceptable (Bare effective minimums) for stats, for a Power based Reaper in general?

Such as Power/Armor/Crit Chance/Crit Damage ect. I have noticed that I am in need of raising my Armor by a bit, so I was wondering how much I can sacrifice of one thing or the other so as not to make me out to be in a crap position.

Thanks!

I’m currently running the below stats for my solo roam power reaper, not including food/stacks:

2500+ power
200% Crit Damage
50% Crit chance (100% in shroud trait)
19K+ HP (21K+ in WvW)
2200+ Armor

I still find it too squishy in the current meta.
Especially for Reapers, most often others are going to get a first hit on you.

If I were to tweak the above stats further, I’ll probably drop crit chance for more Armor. maybe 2400-2500 armor.

Morfedel.4165:

EremiteAngel.9765:

I’ve been a Reaper main for 2 years now and been doing WvW mostly.

I have to poke a bit of fun at you over this, but how have you been playing Reaper for two years when it hasn’t even been out one year yet?

This made me wake up when I first read it lol.
Funny how I’m now associating all my Necros as Reapers now.

I miss Necro’s range instant cast fear =(

On a side note, I’ve plans to add a few more builds here.
If anyone has builds to add/modify/propose for WvW, feel free to post!

• Undying-Commander Build for Zerging
• Condibomber frontline Build for Zerging
• Minion-Reaper Build for Havoc Roaming
• Spectral-Reaper Build for Havoc Roaming

apharma.3741:

EremiteAngel.9765:

Kyon.9735:

EremiteAngel.9765:

honestly I feel power reapers are short changed badly by this change of having to dodge a berserker’s primal burst.

We only got two dodges. and in that window, we have to down the berserker cycling through his immune pains and condi.

Every class aside from DD has two main dodges rofl. And as far as I can see, both Reapers and Berserkers are at the top of the food chain.

I think you quoted only a portion of what I wrote without taking the rest of the post into consideration and thus interpreted my post out of context.

What I meant was, reapers have 2 dodges, and shroud as a defensive mechanism. But shroud is a defensive mechanism that fails against a berserker because it takes the damage, not negate it. And you can’t tank a primal burst because you allow berserkers to trigger adrenal health and heal their way to victory. Which is why I was arguing that the need to negate primal bursts puts reapers at a major disadvantage compared to other classes.

That said, although I really dislike condi reapers compared to the more exciting pure power reapers, it is now, as a few posters here suggest, possibly my only viable option against berserkers.

Yeah, think how I feel playing power shatter when berserkers can proc it off my clones and kill the resource for my class mechanic. Nightmare fighting them if a clone is left out in some way, even worse on base mesmer where clones take their sweet time detonating.

true I didnt think about that. this is terrible.

I think the tourneys linked need to be recent. like after every new patch.
new patches bring different changes and necros/reapers may need more LF to start with.
For example, this current patch necros got nerfed bad. I think 30-40% LF starting is a good range.

Odokuro.5049:

Well if I didn’t feel like trash, I certainly do now, lol…

What is a build that works better, my guild wants me, “Frontline”, So I guess I need a build that is suitable for that role. I just don’t want to be a sponge that can’t fight back and kill other players, because it’s great and all to be able to be a, “Tank”, but when your watching your team die around you and you don’t have the, “BurstDPS” to take people down, or atleast assist, your kind of useless.

But I could be wrong, and probably am.

If you want to be tanky, frontline and deal damage, then the easiest way is a full Dire Condi Frontline build.
I’ve not tried such a build for frontline zerging yet but I would think it will be very effective too.

Something like with these utilities and traits:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vRAQBNyRD10YvN4cD83YZXwgOTJgAA1V4MssiniXxtIA-w

Cecilia.5179:

Terror Reaper? People still use Terror? XD

I still find it decent lol.
The other 2 options in the curses tree aren’t that much of a game changer either. More boon corrupt on shroud 2 or shorter corruption CD…hmm nope.
Lets go with fear damage.
Never give up on fear!

Krypto.2069:

Great Post, EremiteAngel!

I loved the creative story and the videos. I was really rooting for you when you fought that one Chrono that moa’d you twice - you stuck with it, came back, and killed him! BRAVO!

Very cool post you got here! Oh and I loved the music in your vids! (You make me want to create a Reaper!)

All Hail Aberration – Demon Possessed!

Kind Sir, thank you for your kind words =3
And glad you enjoyed it!

dardy.4571:

Condi Mesmer wrecks thieves in WvW – They’re practically my targets. Too bad I run like I’m carrying a turtle shell.

is this still true in the current patch?

daredevils seems to be able to clear condi a lot better. Not sure if there were any changes or just people building condi clearance into their builds, but my condi builds can’t kill DDs that easily anymore.

SolarDragon.7063:

The Wizland.8435:

Starting with 0% means you effectively start without several offensive and defensive options, unlike most other classes. 100% is a bit too much and gives a pretty good advantage. 50% seems fair. I don’t think it should really be changed based on the opponent.

Why should you start with any? Shroud is charged by killing enemies. In a duel you’re both starting from scratch. Besides, necro has plenty of LF generation.
It’s the same reason stacking sigils are regarded poor form.

If this is true then reapers really need another defensive mechanism that doesn’t depend on generating it in a fight.

Kyon.9735:

EremiteAngel.9765:

honestly I feel power reapers are short changed badly by this change of having to dodge a berserker’s primal burst.

We only got two dodges. and in that window, we have to down the berserker cycling through his immune pains and condi.

Every class aside from DD has two main dodges rofl. And as far as I can see, both Reapers and Berserkers are at the top of the food chain.

I think you quoted only a portion of what I wrote without taking the rest of the post into consideration and thus interpreted my post out of context.

What I meant was, reapers have 2 dodges, and shroud as a defensive mechanism. But shroud is a defensive mechanism that fails against a berserker because it takes the damage, not negate it. And you can’t tank a primal burst because you allow berserkers to trigger adrenal health and heal their way to victory. Which is why I was arguing that the need to negate primal bursts puts reapers at a major disadvantage compared to other classes.

That said, although I really dislike condi reapers compared to the more exciting pure power reapers, it is now, as a few posters here suggest, possibly my only viable option against berserkers.

Asura.5301:

Wow… you are too good xD i almost am sorry for the ppl who have to fight you

amazing fights and gameplay as always^^

… this almost makes me wanna get a trailblazer armor as well for my necro… but it is sooo expensive

Is trailblazer worth? Is it better than say dire/rabid?
There is so much condi clearance in many builds now, I’m not too sure the extra condi duration help much…

Tor.1365:

FYI, it looks like the food/utility buffs are missing on a few of the links; or in the case of the Corrupto/Reaper its got the wrong food (power food for condi build).

I presume master/toxic tuning crystals + koi-cake/veggie pizza is the norm?

Ah yes, I neglected the food department for most of the listed builds.
I’m not really a food person actually, not because it isn’t good, but because I don’t have spare gold for it lol. But I’ll probably update it over the weekend when I have more time.

And yes you’re right. it’s usually condi duration and condi damage food/utility. the new writs look pretty cool too but even more expensive I reckon.

I’ve been seeing more and more thieves losing a 1 on 1 fight against mesmers. Have the tables turned?
Are things more even now or do mesmers counter thieves in some way?

Boozsha.9423:

How do you deal with warriors? And heavy stuns?

I’m handling most 1v1’s, but Warriors can be a pain.

Warriors in the current patch are near invincible if you don’t negate their primal bursts.
With adrenal health trait, they just heal and heal and heal if you let them land it on you.

Reapers can negate them in three ways.

1) dodge (unless you have energy sigils, you mostly have only 2-3 dodges in a fight)
save your dodge, not for their stuns or damage skills, but for their primal bursts. dodge these and you have a decent chance of winning.
Most warriors combo it with a stun, so prepare to breakstun followed by dodge.

2) blind
mostly useless against good warriors who go immune condi with their stance or healing signet. but it is a probable tool we could try and use.

3) aggressive controlling
hard to pull off against a good warrior, but basically you need to corrupt their immunity, stability, and control them with fears/hard ccs/poison

Do all the above and the fight will be more even. Don’t even try fighting berserkers this patch with power reapers…no chance T_T
My terror-reaper can still put up a decent fight though against good ones.

Terror-Reaper Fear Build: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vRAQNAW7Ync0Al3gd2A+2A0bilgBj6KsF+VxFxlYUMKpFAiAA-TFyXwA/fAADV/pmSw5HBAA7PYS3A9LCQBlfAA-w

Oslaf Beinir.5842:

Just out of curiosity but did you get the inspiration for the title from the mesmer sub forum? I am pretty sure I read a topic by that name at some point over there xD

um…I remember reading one similar compilation somewhere quite a while back but I can’t remember which forum or what the title was.
That said, it did inspire me to create one for necros/reapers too.

So I guess there has been very different opinions on what is a fair % of shroud for a Reaper to start a duel.

Some say 0% some say 10% some say 20% some say 50% some say 100% and so on.

My question is, for those who hold an opinion on the fair % to start with, does it change depending on circumstances?

For example, each new patch means a review needs to be done on a Reaper’s starting lifeforce before a duel. Or depends on the matchup if the enemy class/build happens to hardcounter a Reaper, then a Reaper should start with more LF and less if a Reaper hardcounters his opponent (do Reapers hardcounter anyone?)

If the fair starting shroud changes depending on the circumstances, what do those who hold an opinion on this feel should be the fair average starting shroud for a Reaper in a 1v1 duel? Also are there other circumstances where a Reaper should start with a different amount to the fair average you have stated?

honestly I feel power reapers are short changed badly by this change of having to dodge a berserker’s primal burst.

We only got two dodges. and in that window, we have to down the berserker cycling through his immune pains and condi.
Our other defense was supposed to be reaper shroud, but defending with shroud is a lose against berserkers because they land their primal burst and heal!

I have personally felt I fought well a few times against good berserkers, ended up with low life on both of us, then he lands a primal burst on my shroud because I don’t have another dodge, then I watch his HP climb literally visible to 75% HP in a couple of seconds and my heart just sinks.

What’s your views now that we have had some time to get used to the changes?
Are Berserkers in the right spot now compared to other meta classes? Or do you feel they have too much sustain?
I fought good berserkers after the patch change many times on my power reaper and lost all of them despite having a few very good fights where I dodged a couple of their primal bursts and prevented their healing, got them down low but they still outlasted me by landing one primal burst on me.

“Now comes a small chase…the enemies are relentless!”

No, Sir, YOU are relentless!
Wow the fights especially were awesome.
Always loved watching a good kiting Reaper!

I AM IMPRESSED!

Calanthe.9415:

I really enjoyed this. Thank you.

Glad to hear that!

I forgotten about my condi build for solo roaming…
Added a Terror-Reaper Fear build under solo roaming!

Hi everyone!
I made a family photo for my 8 Reapers.
Which do you think is the best Reaper look and the worst Reaper look and why?

https://gw2style.com/look.php?id=11700&set=recent

The Reapers Grimoire
This book comes complete with a short story, builds, pictures and videos!

Introduction:

Hi folks!
I’ve been a Reaper main for 2 years now and been doing WvW mostly.
I’ve tried many builds, fought many fights, and I would like to share this knowledge with all the Reaper-hopefuls.
Reaper is reaping fun and you should try!

Short Story:

The story tells of how the Reapers we see in the game came about!
How did Necromancers evolve into Reapers?
Hope you are chilled by it!

Story’s Picture: https://gw2style.com/look.php?id=11700
Also, if you look closely at the picture, you might just see hidden words!

• The cell was dark, save for a faint moonlight that shone through a tiny barred opening high above the wall, casting a pale bluish glow on the ground. And upon the bluish glow, a book was laid. It was a weathered book, blacken and torn from age, its cover carved with intricate blood-red symbols.

• A tiny hand reached out from the shadows and caressed the cover, as wisps of dark mists rose, curling over his hand like a lover returning the affection. He was a practitioner of the dark arts, a necromancer. Thrown into the dungeons and left to rot, he was forgotten by the world. Night after night, he cursed the world for his plight. And then the book found him. It had appeared overnight out of thin air and whispered its dark secrets to him. And now, he was ready to learn its secrets.

• The necromancer began to chant. It was barely audible at the beginning, but slowly grew into a crescendo as the book reacted to the incantation. The book floated and hovered in the air, its pages flipping wildly. As the incantation reached its end, the book fell back unto the ground, opened. The necromancer scurried forward, eager to gaze upon the open page. This was the prophecy that the book has chosen to reveal to him!

• As he took in the page, eyes widening in horror, a painful gasp emitted from his throat as the book flashed a fiery red, searing the contents of the page into his very soul. His eyes turned blood red, glowing with an infernal flame, as his tiny body thrashed and writhed in agony on the ground. Minutes felt like years to him as the pain gnawed and grew from within. And then the pain passed as suddenly as it had began. Crawling slowly back up on his tiny legs, the picture on the page came unbidden to his mind again.

• Reapers…eight of them…and he was to be the first…

WvW – Main Game Modes

• The Solo Roamer: Someone who runs around alone or in pairs, mainly looking for one-on-one fights, taking small objectives like sentries and supply camps.
• The Havoc Grouper: Someone who runs around in small groups of 3-7 looking for group fights, taking medium objectives like towers.
• The Zergling: Someone who runs around in medium-large groups of 8-50 looking for blob fights, taking large objectives like garrions.
• The PvEer: Someone who runs around doing dailies

Builds within each mode:

I have created 8 Reapers, each suited for different flavors within the game modes above.
And I would like to share their builds with you, if it will ease you into the WvW Reaper scene easier.

• Introducing my eight reapers:
  http://imgur.com/SqOoTyi

The main character in the story above is actually the Asura in the picture (bottom row, third from left).
He was my very first necromancer and I had lots of fun playing him. He used to be my main roamer in WvW but I’ve since retired him to doing PvE!

PvE build:

Anything goes really. Just need to run fast and be tanky. So tanky armor like Dire or Soldiers and all the running skills and weapons.

• PvE Build: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vRAQNBmQDbkjGqsxibwvG4vxC0gR1C6Bvg4UYLsGK1ACALLA-TVhXABAo8jH1fcQJoo7PAiuBA-w

My Reaper in picture: bottom row, third from left (Asura)

Zergling build:

You need to decide if you want to go front-line melee style or mid/back-line range style.
Front-line melee, you need to be tanky, you need to survive.
Mid/Back-line range, you need to deal massive damage.

• Front-line melee style build: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vRAQNBmOD7kZToyGsaTwdTg/GsYNYUtgYwIQKAEy+VxZwQYKE-T1BIABBcRAAf/BAeCA9p+TTKBDT3gQK/IFglDtA-w

My Reaper in picture: top row, third from left (Norn)

• Mid/Back-line range style build: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vRAQNAW4djc0QfN2SD20A/NOgGqZF0BlANH6hPV2ABwyC-TFCEABtpbAl9HM4KAAwDAIR1fg4gAslSQmU+RKArmgB-w

My Reaper in picture: top row, second from left (Human)

Havoc Group Build

When you roam in a group, and meet enemy havoc groups, chances are high that the first one the enemies target is the Reaper. So you need to have decent survivability and damage/boon removals. The easiest choice would be a dire/carrion set, or if you’re more adventurous, a full melee reaper set!

• Corrupto-reaper build: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vRAQNAW7Yjc0Q5N2ZDW3A/NWKGsoAwAIBQ9EmC3q4f4QMJC-T1RAQBlU5HqU/pmKBtwFBQR6G6x+DA4JAQKArmgB-w

My Reaper in picture: top row, fourth from left (Human)

• Sustain-shout build: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vRAQNAW7YnMbClbid2AubC0biFoBjKH0DCVSNgAwyKuE2CjhA-T1xFABst/giq/0nSw20NAwVAYhHCQTK/IFgVTwA-w

My Reaper in picture: bottom row, second from left (Charr)

• Pure-melee build: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vRAQNBhQDbkjGatxObwlGYvxCugBd1CAHAquQb4ZFnF7ilRA-T1xFABHp8LhnAgZ6GA4iAUlSQBV/5t9HAA-w

My Reaper in picture: bottom row, fourth from left (Asura)

Solo-Roamer Build

You should be geared for 1 vs 1. Since that’s what you are mostly looking for. Also unlike most other classes, reapers got little chance of escaping enounters. So gear to kill, fight to the death, whether it is 1 vs 1 or 1 vs 2 or 1 vs 20!

• Terror-Reaper Fear Build: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vRAQNAW7Ync0Al3gd2A+2A0bilgBj6KsF+VxFxlYUMKpFAiAA-TFyXwA/fAADV/pmSw5HBAA7PYS3A9LCQBlfAA-w

My Reaper in picture: top row, first picture (Human)

• Pure-power Burst Build : http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vRAQNAW3YnMbC12gd2Am3A0biFcBLuK2FDjUdh2wzC6qFAaBA-TVCFABJpEDJlGFcRAuSJIAPBgS2fINdDFq+zSKDIFQgDrA-w

My Reaper in picture: bottom row, first picture (Sylvari)

• Corrupt-Spectre Build : http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vRUQNBHhZ6kjGo8Gs4Gw3GgeTsYMYR/sAwAIuHGELiUBhqwQA-TVSDwATOFAKUCCwE0M1fot/AjnAgUlBPV6BSfQAAEA25O35RPaA-w

Pictures of my new Reaper running this build
https://gw2style.com/look.php?id=11799

Videos of Pure-power Burst in action:

I like the video and your build.

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Personality

We have this wonderful potential in making the game more interesting, diverse and engaging.

Build on the personality influences in the game and soar!

Jim Hunter.6821:

Swagger.1459:

Jim Hunter.6821:

Swagger.1459:

Try structured pvp.

So he can play ring around the rosie?

There are dueling instances…

Yeah but then you are stuck with the horribad amulet system….

And no Food. The horrors.

T1 is the place to be.
Most of the skilled fighters are in Blackgate.
If you want to roam with skilled fighters, join Blackgate.
If you want to fight against skilled fighters, join Tarnished Coast.

You can join their partner servers like Kaineng or Anvil Rock or Eredon Terrace to enter T1 since BG and TC are probably full.

1 prefer 1 DBL and 2 ABL too.
But…wouldn’t this be unfair? I mean…the DBL server is going to have so much less traffic…attackers don’t attack…defenders don’t defend…

Jelzouki.4128:

I will take a video today after 5pm est then I’ll post to YouTube. It can hold its own I promise you that.

I can’t wait! I need some confirmation that power reapers are still alive T_T
It has been a rough time, especially against berserkers this patch…every other class has so much sustain now, power reaper has been failing so much for me!

The good ole days of power reaper years…

Back in the good ole days…when Power Reaper was a thing

I asked in the necro forum but thought i would ask the pvp players too.
Is it worth dropping bleed on chill for blighters boon on a condi reaper for more sustain?
If yes, how will u build such a reaper?
If no, why?

Is it worth giving up the bleed on chill for blighters boon?

Did u guys watch cakewalk guild’s Vaans latest berserker roaming videos? He fights outnumbered easily while maintaining healthy healing…its quite unreal

Whoever lasts the longest wins. From scrappers and their gyro copters to druids and their astral form to berserkers and their adrenal healing.

Who is the king of them all? How will you rate the current classes and builds according to their sustain? Who is top and who is last?

Can a condi reaper build and gear for sustain? Using blighters boon?
What is the easiest and most frequent, consistent ways for a condi reaper to apply boons to himself?

I know power reapers have decent sustain with might stacking build and gear. How about condi?

The current meta is all about who can out-sustain his opponent

I wish they would incorporate songs like this

song: https://vimeo.com/165795123

TC’s zerg was larger than BG’s in your video so no surprise they were sieging the garrison there. And ONS commander is one of the better ones we have now.

honestly, BG is owning mainly because ND guild returned to BG.
Any server that ND joins, you can be sure that they will become twice as strong.

10 ND members led by Hasax can take out 2-3 times their size easily.

the results are out i guess. T1 is the most lopsided match up.
the rest of the tiers look closely fought and great.
I hope the alliance leaves TC and let us return to T2!
no fun fighting the BG machine.

Sariel V.7024:

Squee.7829:

Gave them a wonderful fruit basket

I’ve got a bad feeling about this.

poison apples?

The other tiers in NA looks great.
So close and exciting!
But T1…look at the huge difference in score.
2nd and 3rd place depends largely on who BG decides to side with =/

I fought berserkers post April patch and their healing is way through the roof.
I don’t stand a chance against them on my power reaper.
I can only win on my condi reaper with the constant poison uptime.
And in the words of a fellow fighter, you need to kill berserkers 3 times now before you can win because of double immune pain on top of the insane healing.

The berserkers themselves admitted as much that they are top tier now.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/warrior/Berserkers-now-viable-post-April-patch

But my question is, does being top tier mean they need to get nerfed?
If yes, what areas need to be toned down?
If no, do you have any advise on how a power build with no consistent poison application can win them?

Their healing is insane!
I got no handle on them as a power reaper.
Only if I use condi Reaper with the poison application, then I can win them.

Squee.7829:

The staff is The Crossing. And the 2014 movie wasn’t my idea. I had some PR people. They said some things. I was stressed that year. Long story short, they were fired. Gave them a wonderful fruit basket and sent them on their way

I think you hijacked my snow white and the 7 reapers maleficently.

you know what I find funny, when we are losing, and getting crushed during OCX/SEA hours, it isn’t the Alliance who moved from YB leading us.

It is our old loyal TC guilds who remained who is leading us. HIRE led by Inori Cross and White Lotus led by Kinbear.

They are leading us in our darkest hours.

Sartharina.3542:

SpreadCheese.5208:

No matter how big TC is or gets, they’re only good at feeding bags.

… this is how we feel about Dragonbrand, Jade Quarry, and Blackgate.

you have a point about DB and JQ.
But BG? They are tough.

Anchoku.8142:

Thank you. EremiteAngel. It is always good to validate builds after balance changes.

=D

Endless Soul.5178:

My thanks as well as a necro who has 0 interest in PvP/wVw, but needs to get WvW rank 14 to get Gift of Battle.

Glad you found it useful!

psizone.8437:

Looks similar to what I usually run if I go base, though I have a couple of changes I’d recommend.

First, your critical chance shouldn’t go over 50% since you’re traited to get 50% more when in Shroud so you’d be better off swapping the runes to Scholar to increase your damage. Secondly, you may wish to consider dropping the Death Magic line and taking Spite for the 20% damage increase on foes below 50% health since it’s a significant damage increase, especially when dropping wells into an already damaged enemy zerg.

Also, don’t forget food and stones if your commander doesn’t drop the good stuff, Orrian Steak Frittes and Hardened Sharpening Stones are super cheap and give a good power boost.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vREQNAW4djc0QfN2SD20A/NOwFqZR0EVBsNDgWgmGtxzC-TFCEwAM3fAyBBAwDAwwVAUC2R3wAzfsU/RnyPCBIYLA-w For easy viewing.

I find your proposed changes all good and makes the build more effective and damaging!
It does reduce slightly the Necro’s own survivability though. So its probably something that experienced Necros can run where they further increase their damage contribution!