LWOTC Ufopaedia: Reaper
Reapers are no longer game breaking in March. LWOTC didn't just nerf claymore and remote start - but completely removes them from the class tree. That’s fine. Those abilities were overpowered and made the early game a joke. Instead of killing entire pods without breaking concealment, the Reaper is now a decent scout and an incredible shooter once they learn a few multi-shot abilities.
It is important to know how Reaper stealth works, otherwise it can bite you in the ass. Reapers begin most missions in normal concealment, and have no reduction to detection radius. They are poor scouts while in normal concealment because their vektor rifle is not SMG-like. When using Shadow the Reaper has increased mobility and a much smaller detection radius, but only gets 2 full enemy turns in stealth, after which the reaper is revealed at the start of your turn. It is also worth noting that the Reaper can always detect enemies through line of sight blocking terrain which is very helpful on maps with numerous blind corners (sewers, abandoned cities), but it won’t reveal the Assassin.
My build is an almost pure shooter, and is quite strong; I think the Reaper is the best shooter in the game. Perhaps the Knife build is just as strong, but that’s hard to imagine given how effective the shooter build is. I haven’t tried the whole suite of Knife skills and so I am reluctant to pass judgement on that build and those skills. In this post I am going to stick to evaluating the skills that I have tried.
Shooter
Blood Trail
Shooting Sharp
Serial
Cheap Shot
Banish
Light’Em Up
Rend the Marked
Blood Trail:
Shots deal +2 damage against enemies that have been wounded, and also reduce the dodge of that enemy by 40. The damage bonus alone makes this ability worth selecting. The dodge reduction is going to have significant utility against some enemies - in particular the Chosen.
Alternatives: Knife Juggler or Total Combat
Knife Juggler is the first of the Knife skills. I am not going to comment on this ability, and many other Knife abilities, because I haven’t tried the full Knife build.
Total Combat is a very strong skill, but grenades fall off in value when the Reaper becomes the best shooter in the game. In addition to grenades, Total Combat also adds +5 aim and +1 mobility, which is nice for a shooter, but the Reaper already has great aim progression, as well as +10 aim from vektor rifles. Blood Trail is better in the mid to late game because it adds bonus damage.
Shooting Sharp:
Shooting Sharp adds +2 armor piercing and +15 aim against units in cover. Very solid bonuses for a shooter.
Alternatives: Crippling Strike or Paramedic
Crippling Strike is very strong against melee units, which can be completely neutralized by freezing them in place. However it won’t prevent the Chosen from moving, and there are only 4 pure melee enemies in the game (Faceless, Berserkers, Chryssalids, and angry Archons) and they are easy enough to deal with using other means. I’ve heard that Crippling Strike is incredible against the Berserker Queen, but she can also be handled with Stasis and Stun.
Paramedic is a great skill which will turn the Reaper into a quality healer for long missions. But to make this work you also must allocate a utility slot for a medikit, which is problematic for a shooter who would prefer to carry a vest and ammunition. I think healing works much better on the Specialist if you want to go that route.
Serial:
This is the first of many multi-shot abilities that are offered to the Reaper. Serial is great, but don’t expect it to be as powerful at SGT rank on a Reaper as it is at MSGT rank for a Sharpshooter. When you reach this rank, your Reaper will likely still be using a Laser or Mag tier rifle, and the falloff in damage will make it hard to string numerous kills together. There is also a 7 turn cooldown, so expect to use it only once, maybe twice on long missions.
Alternatives: Silent Killer or Ghost Grenade
Silent Killer insures that the Reaper will stay in the Shadows with a killing shot. I don’t value this very highly because the Reaper can just re-enter shadow when that skill comes of cooldown. Silent Killer adds more value when paired with Death Dealer at TSGT rank for a crit build - but I prefer Banish.
Ghost Grenade is a solid ability that grants concealment to a squadmate. This could give your Shinobi another chance to scout after having been spotted by a drone or after joining battle on a longer mission.
Cheap Shot:
This is much like Implacable, except that the target must be injured on this turn in order to trigger this ability. This is quite good for the Reaper.
Alternatives: Blue Screen Knives or Rapid Deployment
Blue Screen Knives is another Knife skill that I haven’t explored.
Rapid Deployment is not worth taking even if you have Total Combat. Support Grenades are not great unless they are Sting Grenades.
Banish:
This is the Reaper’s class defining ability. Banish is almost like Kubikuri in that it will sometimes allow you to kill a powerful enemy with near full health in a single action. It doesn’t always work out, but often enough to make this an easy choice. You should think of this ability as giving you 3 shots, not 6, as the aim malus stacks. The cooldown timer is very quick so Banish can be used multiple times on the same mission.
Alternatives: Knife Encounters or Death Dealer
Knife Encounters is another Knife skill that I haven’t explored.
Death Dealer is strong, especially if you find additional crit enhancing abilities on the XCOM row. The +25 crit chance alone would make this ability worth grabbing, and the double damage on flanking crits is also great. It makes sense for this ability to compete against Banish, otherwise the combination of the two would be ridiculous.
Light’Em Up:
This is a great ability, allowing your Reaper to take at least 2 shots on every turn, ammunition permitting.
Alternatives: Impersonal Edge or Packmaster
Impersonal Edge is another Knife skill that I haven’t explored.
Packmaster is a solid pick if you took Total Combat at LCPL rank; it will double the Reaper’s grenades, enabling him to start off each encounter by throwing an Incendiary Bomb.
Rend the Marked:
Rend the Marked is very strong, adding +50 crit chance to the target. This will make it much easier for the Reaper’s squadmates to take down a boss enemy, or if the Reaper is gifted a bonus action, a great lead in for Banish.
Alternatives: Death From Above or Homing Mine
DFA is yet another way for the Reaper to acquire more attacks, but it is less important than the others. This will only trigger once per turn, and requires elevation, and killing a target. It’s still great of course, but I’m not sure that it’s better than the alternatives at this rank. I was excited when I acquired this ability on my Reaper, but later found that it was not nearly as advantageous on this soldier as it is on the Sharpshooter.
Homing Mines I have not tried in LWOTC and can’t speak to their effectiveness. But others have said they are very strong and speed up missions, and I intend to give them a try on the next run.
Alternate Builds
I recommend watching DerAva’s Reaper build video, in which he breaks down 3 builds: Knife, Rifle, and Grenadier. His class build videos also contain a lot of information on game mechanics and how those interact with various abilities, and is worth watching even if you stick with your own build.
Considering the XCOM row there are a bunch of very strong abilities that increase the effectiveness of the Shooter build. Just like the Ranger, the Reaper should have some very tough choices, and an embarrassment of riches.
