Reapers are a weird front line support class that have options for dealing multi-target physical damage. Their primary role is weakening enemies through a few ailments and debuffs--beyond that, they can either expand their damage options as Death-Bringing Reapers, or double up on debuffs and support skills as Death-Warding Reapers. Both options kind of occupy weird niches, though, and to be honest, it's kind of hard to say what kinds of parties would really [i]need[/i] a Reaper. Still, they're useful enough, and multi-target damage is actually relevant for more bosses than you'd think. The primary issue with Reapers, though, is TP. Their skills almost universally start out costing a boatload, and only get worse as you level up--and remember that Earthruns, their base race, have the worst TP in the game.


Stats

Earthrun Base



Death-Bringing Reaper: Damage and ailments

(Full stat table)

Death-Warding Reaper: Supporting

(Full stat table)

Basic gist of the stats: Death-Bringing Reapers get more HP, STR, and LUC, while Death-Warding Reapers get more TP, VIT, WIS, and AGI.

Reapers can equip swords (useless, since all of their attack skills require scythes) and scythes, and can wear light armor and clothes.

For reclassing: again, when it comes to damage specs, Therians could be used for more STR, although that's not as great an option for Death-Bringing Reapers, since they also rely a lot on LUC. If you don't care about Scythe of Transcience for Death-Warding Reapers, you could reclass a Brownie into one for more TP and WIS.


Basic Skills

Scythe Mastery
Requirements: None



Increases damage dealt with scythes.


Gather Souls
Requirements: None


Increases the encounter rate for a certain number of steps. Increases EXP earned from battles.
Um. Useful for grinding up new party members maybe? Completely redundant for me, since I have the DLC.


Miasma Weapon
Requirements: None
Body parts used: Arms


Consumes a percentage of the user's current HP to place the Miasma Weapon state on them. The Miasma Weapon state enables various secondary effects and increases the user's speed. Has a 30% speed modifier at all levels.
A central skill for a good chunk of Reaper skills. The Miasma Weapon state doesn't do anything on its own, but it enables secondary effects, such as ailments on Scythe skills, and is required to use skills like Shroud of Reality.


Preemptive Weapon
Requirements: Miasma Weapon level 2


Gives the user a chance to be placed in the Miasma Weapon state at the start of battle.
Kinda useful if you rely on Scythe of Cruel Poison for clearing out random encounters, or Scythe of Death for deleting troublesome enemies. Not too great for FOE or boss fights, though. I'd say it couldn't hurt to put one, or even five, points in it--I wouldn't max it out, though.


Endless Shroud
Requirements: Miasma Weapon level 2


Gives the user a chance to be placed in the Miasma Weapon state when using a debuff skill.
More useful for Death-Warding Reapers than Death-Bringing Reapers, although ironically, Death-Bringing Reapers want the Miasma Weapon state more than Death-Warding Reapers do.


Death's Judgement
Requirements: Miasma Weapon level 2


As long as the user is in the Miasma Weapon state, whenever they lose HP (either through damage or self-inflicted HP loss), they have a chance to attempt to inflict sleep on one enemy. The base chance of the sleep infliction is 100%.
Something to put skill points into once you've run out of other skills, I guess. 100% base chance is decent, but the actual activation chance sucks even at level 10.


Frail Miasma
Requirements: None
Body parts used: Head


Reduces all enemies' attack for a set amount of turns. Has an 85% speed modifier at all levels.
Attack debuffs have never been my thing in EO games, and it certainly isn't here. 9 or 10 skill points for a 20% reduction?!


Feeble Miasma
Requirements: Frail Miasma level 3
Body parts used: Head


Reduces all enemies' resistance to ailments and binds for a set amount of turns. Has an 85% speed modifier at all levels.
Now that's more like it. Not just useful for the Reaper themself, it's even better if you have other disablers like Cesti or Smoke-focused Herbalists on your team. Doesn't seem to be bugged like disable resistances modifiers were in EO2U, either!


Scythe of Numb Stasis/Exorcism
Requirements: None for Numb Stasis, Scythe of Numb Stasis level 3 for Exorcism
Body parts used: Arms


Deals melee STR-based cut damage to one row of enemies. If the user is in the Miasma Weapon state, attempts to inflict paralysis/curse on hit targets. Has a 60% speed modifier and no base accuracy modifier at all levels.
Numb Stasis has its uses early on, when your overall access to useful ailments is limited, and your only available debilitating ailments are paralysis and sleep--it starts to become far less useful once you get specializations and more skill points, though. Exorcism is useless all game, though, so don't worry about that.


Death-Bringing Reaper Skills
Common Passives: TP Up, Curb ATK Up

Black Blade
Requirements: None


When the user is in the Miasma Weapon state, increases their damage when they inflict an ailment. The bonus is reset when the Miasma Weapon state ends, or when the user dies.
Three ailment inflictions equals almost double damage? Even just two of them equals 66%? Gimme gimme gimme. My only caveat is consider how likely it is for other party members to inflict ailments before your Reaper does, and how likely you are to inflict three ailments from just your Reaper alone, before investing in that last level--that mostly comes down to how quickly your party can finish FOE/boss fights.


Black Shroud
Requirements: None


When the user is in the Miasma Weapon state, increases their defense when they inflict an ailment. The bonus is reset when the Miasma Weapon state ends, or when the user dies.
This, on the other hand, can go straight in the garbage.


Fresh Blood Slash
Requirements: Death's Judgement level 3
Body parts used: Arms


Consumes a percentage of the user's current HP to deal 2-4 instances of melee STR-based cut damage to random enemies. Can hit the same target multiple times. Has a 50% speed modifier and -10 base accuracy at all levels.
Fresh Blood Slash can actually deal pretty good damage if it hits three or four times, especially given its TP cost. The only problem is the level 10 HP cost is actually pretty steep, although the speed modifier plus scythes having speed penalties also means that you can [i]usually[/i] use this after the enemy's taken their turn. Like its prerequisite implies, it can also activate Death's Judgement, if you care about that passive.


Great Scythe of Cold Ash
Requirements: Death's Judgement level 3
Body parts used: Arms


Deals melee STR-based cut+ice damage to one row of enemies. If a target has an ailment, they are also hit with an extra melee STR-based cut+ice damage attack that deals double the damage of the first hit. Has a 75% speed modifier and no base accuracy modifier at all levels.
Probably the most reliable of the Death-Bringing Reaper skills--I say most reliable because Fresh Blood Slash is a random number of hits, and Shroud of Reality requires ending the Miasma Weapon state. You really need to be careful with how many points you put into Great Scythe of Cold Ash--Reaper skills are expensive as is, and levels 5 to 9 (let alone 10) will drain their TP dry in less than double digit casts for almost all of the game.


Shroud of Reality
Requirements: Fresh Blood Slash level 3, Great Scythe of Cold Ash level 3
Body parts used: Arms


Requires the Miasma Weapon state to use. Ends the Miasma Weapon state immediately, and takes the user out of battle. At the end of the turn, deals melee STR-based cut damage to one enemy, and returns the user to battle. Has +50 base accuracy at all levels.
Shroud of Reality is best used not as a consistent damage skill, but as something you use on the last turn of Miasma Weapon if you don't need to inflict any ailments. Trying to use it as a normal damage skill is not only inefficient in terms of damage, it's also an even bigger drain on a Reaper's TP than Great Scythe of Cold Ash.


Scythe of Cruel Poison
Requirements: Scythe of Exorcism level 3
Body parts used: Arms


Deals melee STR-based cut damage to one row of enemies. If the user is in the Miasma Weapon state, attempts to inflict poison on hit targets. Has a 60% speed modifier and no base accuracy modifier at all levels.
The best poison skill in the game--if you want a frame of reference for how the base damage actually scales, I relied pretty heavily on Scythe of Cruel Poison in my most recent non-LP run of EO5, and when fighting the 3rd Stratum boss (meaning a Reaper around level 40), Scythe of Cruel Poison's poison ticked for a little over 600 damage.


Scythe of Wicked Chaos
Requirements: Scythe of Exorcism level 3
Body parts used: Arms


Deals melee STR-based cut damage to one row of enemies. If the user is in the Miasma Weapon state, attempts to inflict panic on hit targets. Has a 60% speed modifier and no base accuracy modifier at all levels.
Scythe of Wicked Chaos is unfortunately kind of hamstrung by panic chances just innately being lower than most other ailments, due to how powerful panic is and how it can easily cheese most boss fights.


Scythe of Death
Requirements: Scythe of Cruel Poison level 3, Scythe of Wicked Chaos level 3
Body parts used: Arms


Deals melee STR-based cut damage to one enemy. Attempts to instantly kill the target. The damage and instant kill chance are increased if the target is asleep. (The damage shown here takes the sleep damage modifier into account.) Has a 20% speed modifier and -10 base accuracy at all levels.
A skill that just screams "PLEASE USE ME FOR SLEEP BOMBING, PLEASE." Good luck ever really making use of the instant death component, but holy moly that damage.


Death-Warding Reaper Skills
Common Passives: HP Up, Mag DEF Up

Absorb Vitality
Requirements: None


When the user inflicts a debuff, their HP is restored. The restoration from Absorb Vitality can increase the user's maximum HP for one turn.
Free sustain and a bit of extra durability for a turn! Absorb Vitality's worth dropping leftover points into, but I wouldn't prioritize it.


Death Resistance
Requirements: Endless Shroud level 5


Gives the user a chance to nullify ailments and debuffs inflicted on them. Does not apply to binds, instant death, or stun.
I guess one point for a 10% chance to stop an ailment isn't bad, but I wouldn't invest nine more just to bring the chance up to 25%.


Blood of Atonement
Requirements: Death Resistance level 5
Body parts used: Head


Requires the Miasma Weapon state to use. Ends the Miasma Weapon state immediately, and restores all party members' HP. Also has a chance to cure ailments. Has an 85% speed modifier at all levels.
Earthrun have pretty bad WIS, the speed modifier plus the speed penalties scythes impose can mean that Blood of Atonement can go late in the turn (although the Miasma Weapon speed increase kind of helps with that), and the ailment cure chance isn't even guaranteed at level 10. Can you tell I'm a little shaky on Blood of Atonement? Its only real use is if you know ahead of time that some big attack that inflicts ailments is coming.


Wall of Miasma
Requirements: Death Resistance level 5
Body parts used: Head


Requires the Miasma Weapon state to use. Ends the Miasma Weapon state immediately, and gives all party members a chance to nullify any ailments or binds for one turn. Wall of Miasma has a limit to how many inflictions it can block. Has standard priority.
Barrier from EO2U, but innately stronger (doesn't require a certain level or above of a passive to be guaranteed) and less spammable. I actually do really like Wall of Miasma, both from a design perspective (it fixes a lot of the things that were dumb about Barrier), and from a practicality perspective.


Brittle Miasma
Requirements: Feeble Miasma level 3
Body parts used: Head


Reduces all enemies' defense for a set amount of turns. Has an 85% speed modifier at all levels.
Defense debuffs! Kind of weird that this is a specialization skill, but hey, defense debuff! You can't go wrong with them, unless you're already stacking tons of attack buffs on your party.


Dim Miasma
Requirements: Feeble Miasma level 3
Body parts used: Head


Reduces all enemies' non-base accuracy for a set amount of turns. Has an 85% speed modifier at all levels.
Accuracy debuffs? Blech.


Scythe of Transcience
Requirements: Brittle Miasma level 5, Dim Miasma level 5
Body parts used: Arms


Targets one enemy. Removes all debuffs from the target, and deals multiple instances of melee STR-based cut damage to the target. The number of hits is equal to the number of debuffs removed from the target. Debuffs are removed before dealing damage. Has a 75% speed modifier at all levels. Does not check for accuracy.
Here it is: ironically, the best damage skill for a Reaper. If you purge off three debuffs from an enemy, Scythe of Transcience will deal 2100% damage. That's not terribly good damage per turn, mind you (three turns to debuff plus one turn to actually use Scythe of Transcience means you're effectively dealing 525% per turn, assuming you spam that rotation), but that's not really what Scythe of Transcience is for. It's for just getting a bit of damage when any debuffs you've used are already about to run out.

And hey, if you're using a Cestus, be sure to have them use a level 10 Giving it Everything on a Death-Warding Reaper that's about to perform a three-debuff Scythe of Transcience! They'll hit for 4200% damage, which is always fun.


Soul Transfer
Requirements: Brittle Miasma level 5, Dim Miasma level 5
Body parts used: Head


Targets one enemy. Removes all debuffs from the target, and gives all party members a chance to revive after being killed for one turn. The revive can activate once per party member. Has standard priority.
The defensive counterpart to Scythe of Transcience. I dunno about you, but leaving a party member's fate up to a 75% chance that only lasts for one turn makes me kind of antsy. There's a few fights in the very lategame and postgame where you could make some use of Soul Transfer, I suppose, if you don't have any other reliable methods of dealing with potential party wipes.
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