How come I read that Reapers are super durable? I’ve been playing reaper and get destroyed

[Rantber.5901]

Hey! So recently got back into the game, leveled my necro in 2 days bc of quarantine lmao. But anyways, I love the reaper, but I die so quickly. I’m running berserker stats, but I’ve been reading even with those stats reapers can survive a whole lot. I’m running a power greatsword build from meta battle, and most of the spec is leveled. Any tips on how you survive?

[Kumouta.4985]

Time your dodges (learn which enemy skills you should avoid) and keep up pressure on enemies so they die before you do/are forced to defend so you can heal and build up lf with, say, focus 4. Run away and try to LoS if your health's dropping too fast or your skills are on cd and you're in trouble. You can seem near-dead at <1000 health but actually still have half your shroud left to cheat death and turn a fight around with, which is why reapers can seem durable. Can't say much about traits or utilities.

Oh, if this is about PvE, just use some minions to distract mobs and use greatsword 5&4 to keep enemies blinded & shroud 3&5 to keep them stunned. You can kite with axe. I assumed it was about PvP for some reason.

[JusticeRetroHunter.7684]

If you want some actual advise, it would be this:

Sustain on Necro comes down to 3 separate but interwoven mechanisms.1) Life Force generation = sustain2) Shroud makes you immortal.3) Cooldowns

The first thing to understand is that, life force is health points. Flat and simple. This means that, skills that give you life force, you can think of as healing skills. The more life force you have available to you, the more you can potentially sustain.

The second thing to understand is that, for all intensive purposes, when you are in shroud you are essentially immortal, because you can not die while you are in shroud.

The last thing to understand is that, shroud has a 10 second cool-down upon exit. This means that for a 10 second window, you are vulnerable to dying.

Understanding the 3 things above you can piece together the idea of how to sustain on necro: you want as many life force generating utilities, traits and skills you can meaningfully accommodate in your build, by doing so you can gain life force, which gives you more time in shroud, which makes you immortal for longer, and gives your abilities the time to go off cooldown. Upon exiting shroud you have 10 seconds to get your life force back to 100%, and 10 seconds to try and not die. These are the crucial 10 seconds that you need to not only be offensive (to get life force) but to also be defensive (since you are vulnerable to death)

Necro is a balance between understanding how to play both offensively and defensively simultaneously. In shroud you are protected from death, but is when you have to go in for the kill. Out of shroud you are vulnerable to death but have to be aggressive to gain life force.

[Yasai.3549]

Reaper is very strong in open world though because yu absolutely melt any mobs with Reaper's Shroud and has insane sustain with the Souleater trait and when fighting in melee.In addition to that, they have Rise! which spawns minions that share damage yu take.Also, use Weaklings shout to apply Weakness to foes around yu.

[Anchoku.8142]

Lots of great comments so far

A few of my own thoughts echo those above:

1. Shroud is more than an emergency button. It contains the most regularly available (and incredibly rare) mobility skill, fear (interrupt / soft control effect), and an enemy movement control skill. The first skill is one of Necro's highest damage. Finally, there are multiple traits that add sustain, group support, utility or damage. It is a lot to learn but you cannot "Necro" without it. New Necro's always hit this wall... always. The whole profession with elites depends on skill with F1 use.
2. Shroud requires charging like Warrior's Adrenaline but even more dependent. Shroud generally requires deaths and damage to enemies to charge Life Force. Another characteristic of experienced Necromancers is skill at generating LF. The character's weapons, utilities, and trait selection all affect LF generation and are extremely important both for sustain and offense. LF generation capability is always on our mind. Necro is useless without it.
3. Also, the rate of enemy deaths and hits on the enemy directly influence the LF generation rate, which then feeds back into shroud duration and skill use. This is how Berserker equipment does not lower sustain for Necro as much as people may expect. Power-Necro's play style is very aggressive because of this. Sustain comes from Shroud, which comes from LF generation created by using LF generating skills and killing opponents as fast as possible. Of course, Necros almost always die from running out of LF so be greedy for it and watch that you do not get yourself into a situation where consumption far outweighs generation because that is a very slippery slope.

p.s.Necros do not have a "reset" button. Allowing an opponent to reset a fight is bad, maybe very bad. LF does not "reset" to a happy level for the most part so, while both combatants watch cool downs expire, your opponent may starve you of LF and take advantage of the reset.

[Teratus.2859]

Glass Canon stats are always going to make you squishy regardless of class.

I will only invest in Glass Canon builds if they allow for:Ranged Play to back off and avoid most forms of damage.Have NPC allies to take aggro or help sustain me.Provide a lot of incoming sustain.

If a build cannot do any of that then I will not run Glass Stats on it because it will just die all the time.

What you also want to know with Reaper too is that stats matter.Vitality increases your maximum Life Force which goes a long way on Glass Reapers, it's one reason why Marauder Stats are very popular for Necromancers, specially when Necromancer has access to amazing traits that can greatly diminish or flat out remove your need for precision stat investment.. this is exceptionally good for group play as you can rely on others to max out your crit chance for you while you invest in better stats to boost your own damage.

Toughness on the other hand increases your Armour attribute which decreases your incoming damage, this is useful for Reapers because of how quickly a full shroud can be ripped off the Reaper if they take too much damage too quickly.

With Ascended Valkyrie stats you're looking at:2381 Power28822 Hp214% crit damageThat's just the stats from weapons and armour, no runes, sigils, traits etc

With Ascended Marauder stats you're looking at:2173 Power60,86% Crit chance25542 Hp192,2% crit damageThat's also just the stats from weapons and armour, no runes, sigils, traits etc

Bottom is definitely better for solo play but if you have a group that can keep an enemy with 25 vun, and keep fury on you as well as other passive buffs to your precision from warrior banners or other class traits etc then Necros will never need to invest in precision, they can easily get high to maxed crit chance just from common conditions, buffs and passives that will be blasted out by groups in most encounters anyway.

[Kulvar.1239]

@Teratus.2859 said:Glass Canon stats are always going to make you squishy regardless of class.

I will only invest in Glass Canon builds if they allow for:Ranged Play to back off and avoid most forms of damage.Have NPC allies to take aggro or help sustain me.Provide a lot of incoming sustain.

If a build cannot do any of that then I will not run Glass Stats on it because it will just die all the time.

What you also want to know with Reaper too is that stats matter.Vitality increases your maximum Life Force which goes a long way on Glass Reapers, it's one reason why Marauder Stats are very popular for Necromancers, specially when Necromancer has access to amazing traits that can greatly diminish or flat out remove your need for precision stat investment.. this is exceptionally good for group play as you can rely on others to max out your crit chance for you while you invest in better stats to boost your own damage.

Toughness on the other hand increases your Armour attribute which decreases your incoming damage, this is useful for Reapers because of how quickly a full shroud can be ripped off the Reaper if they take too much damage too quickly.

With Ascended Valkyrie stats you're looking at:2381 Power28822 Hp214% crit damageThat's just the stats from weapons and armour, no runes, sigils, traits etc

With Ascended Marauder stats you're looking at:2173 Power60,86% Crit chance25542 Hp192,2% crit damageThat's also just the stats from weapons and armour, no runes, sigils, traits etc

Bottom is definitely better for solo play but if you have a group that can keep an enemy with 25 vun, and keep fury on you as well as other passive buffs to your precision from warrior banners or other class traits etc then Necros will never need to invest in precision, they can easily get high to maxed crit chance just from common conditions, buffs and passives that will be blasted out by groups in most encounters anyway.

I wish ANet add a +Power +Condition Damage +Ferocity +Condition Duration set for PvE.

[Sleepwalker.1398]

This is what someone had posted, hope it helps :)

[Orack.9756]

Has someone who love core Necro, yes, reaper feel very squishy for some hard solo (champ/legendary).That also a problem I encounter with all the open-world section of Mettabattle.I end up to stop with this site and check more on youtube video of people actually doing it instead of just speaking about it.

Now that my understanding are better, yes, reaper is weak in lot of solo situation if you play with "meta" build/gear.1st : Berzerker is bad for open world if you solo hard boss a lot (doesn't matter if you just run meta/bus).

• Marauder (only in ascended, you lose to much in exo) and Assassin work way better for me. One give you more life and lose almost nothing compared to Zerk.The second give you what you are lacking playing alone : Critical.Add accuracy + Strengtg Sigil & Strength rune and you're at perma 12-15 might (scholar are not good enough to solo thing as no healer/buffer cover your back)

2st : Always use a sustain tree.The popular build run full glass canon with Spite / Soul / Reap.I trade dmg for sustain and currently use 2 version depend the mood.DM / Soul / Reap (minion) or BM / Soul / Reap (well) : I enjoy the last the most, in condi heavy minion are my go to (also the easiest for break-bar).I've also some very strong core build.In DM, unholy sanctuary make you incredibly durable and in BM just pick all trait that steal life and the last for well if you play with them.In Soul reaping unlike most, I don't pick the +33% crit but use the one who give me ton of LF while not in shroud. That allow me to be in shroud alot.As I play in Assassin gear, I'm at 73% crit. Add the reaper trait that boost it for each vuln stack (reaper + axe auto-atk) and you'r easily between 80 and 100%.

I know I lose DPS by not using spite, but their is to many thing that just can be cheese with glass canon build in open/dg solo.I also don't play with GS but use Axe+war+staff. My only goal is to camp Shroud. And I hate how slow and sluggish are GS animation : Personal choice here, play it if you it like instead of staff.

Also, from what I've look and read, Reaper and Necro seem to have take ton of nerf/change since it release so that maybe why people thing glass canon Reaper is enough to solo.

Note : I don't say Metabattle build are all bad, and I speak mostly :1 - For me2 - For soloing hard meta/boss/leg/dg3 - It's probably also a matter of taste

Here is on of the build I use, can change depend situation :My Reaper solo build (BM-Well version)

I don't claim at all that is "the" build, it's just what work for me most of the time.Be like me, listen to experienced player, look video of people doing the hard content you'r looking for in solo.And test, test a lot to find what work for you, doesn't matter if you die a lot, try again and again.Build & gear are only the 1st step, after that for many hard one you'll also to learn all boss pattern and when to avoid/sustain.

From what I've test, Staff-Staff Mesmer and Core/Spellbreaker Warrior are the most easiest to solo.But I prefer play Reaper, he's my favorite and do very well too.

GL, be patient and have fun, hope this will help you a bit !

EDIT :
=>Don't use this in group content (outside meta event ofc) ! <=

[Lalocat.6793]

@"Orack.9756" said:Now that my understanding are better, yes, reaper is weak in lot of solo situation if you play with "meta" build/gear.1st : Berzerker is bad for open world if you solo hard boss a lot (doesn't matter if you just run meta/bus).

Not true at all. I soloed most of the champions in Bjora Marches (the 10 min event ones) on my berserker reaper and didn't even have to switch to my survival minion build (still zerker) that I use for soloing hard bosses like Trillia. I don't see how you can make the ten minute timer if you are using sustain gear (and staff...??) to solo them. I also kill that champ krait in Sparkfly Fen alone daily because it's the fastest way to complete blood in the water. The only difference from the meta build is I use shout utilities and the trait that makes shouts heal. Probably still a "massive" dps loss for purists but it works well enough.

[Orack.9756]

@Lalocat.6793 said:

@"Orack.9756" said:Now that my understanding are better, yes, reaper is weak in lot of solo situation if you play with "meta" build/gear.1st : Berzerker is bad for open world if you solo hard boss a lot (doesn't matter if you just run meta/bus).

Not true at all. I soloed most of the champions in Bjora Marches (the 10 min event ones) on my berserker reaper and didn't even have to switch to my survival minion build (still zerker) that I use for soloing hard bosses like Trillia. I don't see how you can make the ten minute timer if you are using sustain gear (and staff...??) to solo them. I also kill that champ krait in Sparkfly Fen alone daily because it's the fastest way to complete blood in the water. The only difference from the meta build is I use shout utilities and the trait that makes shouts heal. Probably still a "massive" dps loss for purists but it works well enough.

I don't have test these one yet, not even in full group, so can't tell you ^^And like I said at the end of my post, it's also a matter of taste (I use assassin gear, so not sustain one)Staff is mostly for meta event, I only use axe/war, I don't stay w/o shroud long enough to care about second weapon bar.

[Anchoku.8142]

@Kulvar.1239 said:

@Teratus.2859 said:Glass Canon stats are always going to make you squishy regardless of class.

I will only invest in Glass Canon builds if they allow for:Ranged Play to back off and avoid most forms of damage.Have NPC allies to take aggro or help sustain me.Provide a lot of incoming sustain.

If a build cannot do any of that then I will not run Glass Stats on it because it will just die all the time.

What you also want to know with Reaper too is that stats matter.Vitality increases your maximum Life Force which goes a long way on Glass Reapers, it's one reason why Marauder Stats are very popular for Necromancers, specially when Necromancer has access to amazing traits that can greatly diminish or flat out remove your need for precision stat investment.. this is exceptionally good for group play as you can rely on others to max out your crit chance for you while you invest in better stats to boost your own damage.

Toughness on the other hand increases your Armour attribute which decreases your incoming damage, this is useful for Reapers because of how quickly a full shroud can be ripped off the Reaper if they take too much damage too quickly.

With Ascended Valkyrie stats you're looking at:2381 Power28822 Hp214% crit damageThat's just the stats from weapons and armour, no runes, sigils, traits etc

With Ascended Marauder stats you're looking at:2173 Power60,86% Crit chance25542 Hp192,2% crit damageThat's also just the stats from weapons and armour, no runes, sigils, traits etc

Bottom is definitely better for solo play but if you have a group that can keep an enemy with 25 vun, and keep fury on you as well as other passive buffs to your precision from warrior banners or other class traits etc then Necros will never need to invest in precision, they can easily get high to maxed crit chance just from common conditions, buffs and passives that will be blasted out by groups in most encounters anyway.

I wish ANet add a +Power +Condition Damage +Ferocity +Condition Duration set for PvE.

Power, ferocity, expertise for power-shroud buildCondition damage, healing, expertise for support-Lich buildCondition damage, concentration, expertise for condi-dps build

[DeceiverX.8361]

@Rantber.5901 said:Hey! So recently got back into the game, leveled my necro in 2 days bc of quarantine lmao. But anyways, I love the reaper, but I die so quickly. I’m running berserker stats, but I’ve been reading even with those stats reapers can survive a whole lot. I’m running a power greatsword build from meta battle, and most of the spec is leveled. Any tips on how you survive?

That's probably a major issue you should fix first.Reaper gets a huge chunk of its strength from the GM trait options and isn't really playable without either RO or BB, as RShroud doesn't actually provide much without them.