Hi, Reaper main here. So, obviously I love this hero and would like to see him being played more, or at least being viable. I do not want to make Reaper OP, and I can see how it’s really easy to make such a high damage potential over powered, such as If Reaper could instantly appear near any squishy.
So, on to the rework:
First off, my own idea is to give him a new “Smoke Grenade” ability, but one that actually has some use. We all know by now that the Blizzard designs have originally considered giving him such a skill, as there are some concept art of it in the Art of Overwatch artbook. However, I don’t feel it would be too useful, as that would be a very clear indicator that Reaper is coming so the enemy team would just be ready to destroy him, so what I would do to it is make it an active aura-like, area of effect ability that either deals damage exclusively to armor or simply turns enemy armor into normal HP for as long as it lasts, which I would make somewhere around Ana’s anti-heal. This is so Reaper would not be completely useless around armor, and also to make it a true Tankbuster, while not getting any added advantages on the DPS and Support roster, as Reaper actually should be countered by the long and mid-range DPS characters. Also, the aura could be added to Death Blossom too, as it already has a smoke aura but it’s only a visual thing.
Also, I love the idea given by youtuber Blame The Controller in his new Reaper ability video, which is to give him a dash-like ability. However, in my opinion, it would fit the best as a jump addition like Hanzo’s Lunge, as I wouldn’t want to see Teleporter removed at all. It gives Reaper a nice vertical mobility, even though somehow off-combat exclusive. Personally, I use it all the time to get better positioning, specially when playing Defense.
Original video by Blame The Controller —> Overwatch Reaper Teleport Replacement - New Ability Concept - YouTube
That’s all, thanks for you attention!