[PvP] How can I handle thieves as a Reaper?

[Demeth.5816]

Im having a lot of fun with my Reaper but the closer I go to platinum, the more I am focused by thieves /revs in teamfights, and I don't know how to handle them. 2 assassins on me down me very fast and I'm useless for my team.

I didn't have this issue until 1450ish elo.I play power reaper so what I do is building energy with the staff to quickly go into shroud to mitigate their burst but it's just not enough. They counter every one of my spells like healing or shout ultimate and I'm not able to do anything and I die.. I try to position myself back from the team fight. Is that he problem? Should I stick to the others? I often try to flee when they are on me but then my mates can't help me anymore :(

Any tips?

[kKagari.6804]

Well, this may be an unpopular opinion but I generally switch out of Necromancer if there are 2 thieves on the enemy team. It's funny because at lower ratings whenever there are two thieves people will tell one of them to change, in higher ratings I see Legend players switch to 2 thieves and absolutely demolish.

I also find Capricorn and Eternal Coliseum difficult as a necromancer given how open it is, no where to hide from ranged attacks.

I've found the best thing to do is to have several classes you're comfortable with playing, and switch to counter pick. I switch between Necromancer, Guardian, Daredevil, Tempest and Druid regularly.

I am also around 1450 rating at the moment.

[Demeth.5816]

It's funny because it's on the coliseum and capricorn that I have most issues. I will try to change according to the team comp but I can't swap every time I see a thief :'(

[Nefras.7314]

TL;DRYou cant.

[Rym.1469]

Abuse spots on the map they can't shadowstep to. Crates, lone higher structures with no normal walking path, some ledges, "jumping puzzles". If they can't port on you, they lose their advantage. In such situation many can even give up the chase, fail jumps or try to follow you on foot, giving you time to react and potentially punish them (fear off the ledge, for example).

Sadly, not all maps have many "no shadowstep" zones - Colliseum and Capricorn have very few (basically just crates and one-two more spots), Foefire mid also suffers a bit. On the other hand, Forest, Temple, Skyhammer have dozens. I'm not sure if there's any video/graphic resource on those spots as most players learn it from observing others I feel. But you could ask Sindrener when he's streaming for example to help you out, or any other decent thief/rev/mediguard in game - they will know the best where do ports fail.

[Zero Solstice.9754]

Short answer is you don't, but there are ways of dealing with them. For one, stick closer to teammates and use targeting to help them realize there's a problem, although as your rating goes up so should the awareness of your teammates. As a Power Reaper you have a lot of potential for pressuring Thieves using Axe 2, Death's Charge, Spiteful Spirit, etc. Try to capitalize on Thieves not paying attention; if they swap focus to someone else, use that freedom to hard focus them or try to land CC like Executioner's Scythe. It's very possible for you alone to nearly one-shot a Thief if they eat a full ability or two plus combo/passive procs. Try to actively mitigate Steal, and play the game knowing that there's a Thief on the enemy team: Try to keep sustain as high as possible so that in the event of a Thief +1, you have as much time for cooldowns and decision-making as possible. Since it sounds like you're playing Staff+Axe/Warhorn you're destined to have a hard time with evasive melee attackers, so you just need to try to maximize your lifespan to allow teammates to get to you, assist, and do their jobs.

[Zenith.7301]

You can't. They're immune to snares and immobilizes and chill, the only tools you have for applying pressure to them. Their heals heal for more and more frequently, and they've got dodges for days which allow them to waste all your longer cd offensive skills while they simply autoattack you to death whenever they're not headshotting your and proccing pulmonary impact.

[Svarty.8019]

Every now and then this question comes up and despite countless balance patches in the intervening periods, the answer is always the same.