How to Unlock Reaper: Changes, Skins, and Redesign

Reaper is a Damage hero in Overwatch 2. Read on to learn more about Reaper, their weapons and abilities, their patch notes history, their backstory, and more!

Reaper Latest Buffs and Nerfs

September 21, 2022 Dev Blog #5 Patch Notes

Reaper Patch Notes (September 21, 2022)
Hellfire Shotguns	• Spread decreased from 8 to 7.

Reaper Hero Profile

Basic Information

Reaper (Gabriel Reyes)
	Role	Damage
	Ranking
	Total HP	・ 250 ・ 250 (Base Health)
	Voice Actor	Keith Ferguson
	Nationality	American
Affiliations	United States military (formerly), Overwatch (formerly), Blackwatch (formerly), Talon

How to Unlock

Unlocked by default.

Character Redesign

Overwatch 1	Overwatch 2

Reaper's redesign for Overwatch 2 ditches his bony mask in favor of a chrome mask. He's given a slightly darker color scheme, as well as bulkier boots and shinier pair of Hellfire Shotguns.

Reaper Weapons and Abilities

Reaper Main Weapon

Hellfire Shotguns
	Damage: 120
	Description: Short-range spread weapons.

Reaper Abilities

Shadow Step	Type: Ability Cooldown: 10 secs
Effect: Teleport to a targeted location.
Wraith Form	Type: Ability Cooldown: 8 secs Duration: 3 secs
Effect: Move faster and become invulnerable, but you cannot shoot.
The Reaping	Type: Passive Heal: 41
Effect: Dealing damage heals you.
Death Blossom	Type: Ultimate Duration: 3 secs Damage: 34
Effect: Damage all nearby enemies.
Role: Damage	Type: Passive
Effect: Eliminations grant a burst of increased movement speed and reload speed.

How to Play and Tips

Practice Trigger Discipline When Flanking

When flanking the enemy team's backline, avoid shooting at them until you're close enough to deal significant damage with your Hellfire Shotguns. Shooting too early can alert the enemy team to your location before you can even eliminate a single foe. In addition, this tip also allows you to waste less of Reaper's low 8-round ammo count.

Weave Quick Melee Between Shotgun Shots

Increase your close-range burst damage as Reaper by weaving in Quick Melee strikes every few shots with your Hellfire Shotguns. This tip also allows you to take down low-health foes without spending another shot of Reaper's low 8-round ammo count.

Prevent Pitfall Kills With Shadow Step

With quick reaction times, you can save yourself from environmental deaths by using Shadow Step to teleport back toward the map. Doing this requires practice and proper timing, but it can ultimately save you from dying, so always keep it in mind.

Use Wraith Form Sparingly

Wraith Form has a substantial 8-second cooldown and is Reaper's only form of survivability and mobility while in combat. Avoid using it early in team fights and use it to safely disengage from dangerous situations.

Death Blossom Tips

Be Wary of Crowd Control Abilities

Since Death Blossom is a channeled ultimate, it can be interrupted by crowd control abilities like Ana's Sleep Dart and Roadhog's Hook. Take note of the enemy team's composition and ability cooldowns before using Death Blossom to prevent it from ending prematurely.

Ensure Line of Sight When Using Death Blossom

Death Blossom only deals damage if there are no solid walls or barriers between you and your enemies. Make sure that enemies can't easily retreat or hide behind cover before activating Death Blossom to avoid minimizing its impact.

Shotgun Death Blossom Animation Cancel

You can hold down your primary fire button before activating Death Blossom to shoot your Hellfire Shotguns before and after the ability ends. Doing this improves Death Blossom's overall damage output, so always keep this tip in mind when using Reaper's ultimate.

How to Counter

Attack from Long Range

Reaper is a powerful hero in close-range encounters. Because he uses shotguns his damage isn't as high when he's far away. Take advantage of this by attacking him as Pharah or Moira who can attack from afar.

Reaper's ultimate, Death Blossom, can easily wipe out a team if done correctly. Shut the ability down by making him sleep using Ana or interrupting it using Orisa's Javelin. Zarya can also use this ultimate to her advantage to gain more energy.

Zenyatta's ultimate can also be used to shield enemies from massive damage.

Reaper Hero Counters

Reaper Skins

Base Game Skins

Hero Skins
El Blanco (Legendary)	Mariachi (Legendary)	Nevermore (Legendary)
Plague Doctor (Legendary)	Desert (Epic)	Hellfire (Epic)
Moss (Epic)	Wight (Epic)	Blood (Rare)
Midnight (Rare)	Royal (Rare)	Classic (Common)

League Skins

Hero Skins
Atlanta Reign (Epic)	Boston Uprising (Epic)	Chengdu Hunters (Epic)
Dallas Fuel (Epic)	Florida Mayhem (Epic)	Guangzhou Charge (Epic)
Hangzhou Spark (Epic)	Houston Outlaws (Epic)	London Spitfire (Epic)
Los Angeles Gladiators (Epic)	Los Angeles Valiant (Epic)	New York Excelsior (Epic)
Paris Eternal (Epic)	Philadelphia Fusion (Epic)	San Francisco Shock (Epic)
Seoul Dynasty (Epic)	Shanghai Dragons (Epic)	Toronto Defiant (Epic)
Vancouver Titans (Epic)	Washington Justice (Epic)

Event Skins

Hero Skins
Biker (Legendary)	Blackwatch Reyes (Legendary)	Cursed Captain (Legendary)
Dracula (Legendary)	Evermore (Legendary)	Lu Bu (Legendary)
Masquerade (Legendary)	Pumpkin (Legendary)	Rat King (Legendary)
Soldier: 24 (Legendary)	Shiver (Epic)

Reaper Cosmetics

Victory Poses

Heroic (Common) Base Game	Casual (Rare) Base Game	Enigmatic (Rare) Base Game
Menacing (Rare) Base Game	Shrug (Rare) Base Game	Medal (Rare) Summer Games Event
R.I.P. (Rare) Halloween Terror Event	Toast (Rare) Winter Wonderland Event	Stockpile (Rare) Lunar New Year Event
Cackle (Rare) Archives Event	Ready for Action (Rare) Anniversary Event

Voice Lines

Hero Voice Lines
What Are You Looking At	“What are you looking at?” Base Game
Any Last Words?	“Any last words?” Base Game
Dead Man Walking	“Dead man walking.” Base Game
Give Me A Break	“Give me a break.” Base Game
Haven't I Killed You	“Haven't I killed you somewhere before?” Base Game
I'm Back in Black	“I'm back in black.” Base Game
If It Lives, I Can Kill It	“If it lives, I can kill it.” Base Game
Next	“Next.” Base Game
Psychopath	“I'm not a psychopath. I'm a high functioning psychopath.” Base Game
Seen A Ghost?	“You look liike you've seen a ghost?” Base Game
Too Easy	“Hm too easy.” Base Game
Was That All?	“Was that all?” Base Game
It's In The Refrigerator	“It's in the refrigerator.” Summer Games Event
Just Win	“Just win.” Summer Games Event
I Work The Graveyard Shift	“I work the graveyard shift.” Halloween Terror Event
I'm Dressed To Kill	“I'm dressed to kill.” Halloween Terror Event
Things Are Looking Grim	“Things are looking grim.” Halloween Terror Event
Too Edgy For You?	“Too edgy for you?” Halloween Terror Event
Where's My Candy	“Where's my candy?” Halloween Terror Event
Holiday Spirit	“Where's your holiday spirit?” Winter Wonderland Event
You're On Ice	“You're on ice.” Winter Wonderland Event
I Have The Devil's Own Luck	“I have the Devil's own luck.” Lunar New Year Event
Lucky Color	“Black's my lucky color.” Lunar New Year Event
Now Those Are Fireworks	“Now those are some fireworks.” Lunar New Year Event
Amateur Hour	“Looks like it's amateur hour.” Archives Event
Moving On	“Moving on.” Archives Event
Revenge Is Sweet	“Revenge is sweet.” Archives Event
I'll See You In Hell	“I'll see you in hell.” Anniversary Event
No One Left Behind	“No one left behnd.” Anniversary Event
Pathetic	“Pathetic.” Anniversary Event
Smile	“Smile.” Anniversary Event

Emotes

Hero Emotes
Cookies Season 1 Battle Pass	Heroic Base Game
Cackle Base Game	Not Impressed Base Game
Shrug Base Game	Slice Base Game
Slow Clap Base Game	Take a Knee Base Game
Gauging Options Archives Event	Dance Anniversary Event

Reaper Story

A Father

Once a loving husband and father of a 6 year old child. Reaper still has flashbacks of his previous life from time to time, of eating ice-cream and feeling the warmth of his lover's face as her hair brushed against him. These memories may be the last human qualities remaining in Reaper.

A Former Officer of the Law

Back when he was still known as Gabriel Reyes, Reaper was a first a police officer, before moving on to serve the military and finally, Overwatch. In those days he always felt a strong sense of duty and sought to bring criminals and wrong-doers to justice.

Risen from the Ashes

During an explosion at the Swiss Overwatch Headquarters, Reaper was brought to the brink of death. The geneticist Moira O'Deorain revived him, but at a great cost. his entire body was filled with poison, twisting his body, emotions and reasoning. This also granted him great power, now able to decompose and recompose his body at will, going between different states of matter.

A Beacon of Death

Where Reaper goes, so does death. He's a mysterious mercenary that works for Talon, with very little known about him. He's ruthless and known to have been part of many conflicts in the past. While his motives remain unknown, one thing is for certain: he's hunting down former Overwatch Agents.

Overwatch 2 Related Guides

List of Heroes

Heroes Tier List

Tank Heroes

Junker QueenNEW
D.Va	Orisa	Reinhardt	Roadhog
Sigma	Winston	Wrecking Ball	Zarya
Doomfist

List of All Tank Heroes

Damage Heroes

SojournNEW
Ashe	Bastion	Cassidy	Echo
Genji	Hanzo	Junkrat	Mei
Pharah	Reaper	Soldier: 76	Sombra
Symmetra	Torbjörn	Tracer	Widowmaker

List of All Damage Heroes

Support Heroes

KirikoNEW
Ana	Baptiste	Brigitte	Lúcio
Mercy	Moira	Zenyatta

List of All Support Heroes