Build:Reaper - Power Greatsword

Part of the current metagame

Our curator decided this build is in the current metagame regardless of rating. The community gave this build a rating, making it top-tier: Great

Focused on: Strike damage

Designed for: Open World and Open World General

Expansions required:

Difficulty:

Easy

This build was last updated on August 17, 2025 and is up to date for the August 19, 2025 patch.

Overview

Power reaper is a very high damage build with great burst and AoE damage. It is resilient, and very self-reliant, capable of maintaining a lot of Might and some personal Quickness. This, together with reaper’s excellent cleaving capabilities, make it a very simple yet highly effective build. As a downside, it has little ranged damage, always preferring to fight in melee range, and has little access to Fury.

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Skill Bar

Greatsword

Sword/Sword

Utility

Weapon Variants

Greatsword is absolutely mandatory. Never replace it. On the second weapon set, we recommend double Swords. Usage of mainhand and offhand sword requires Expanded Weapon Proficiency with Secrets of the Obscure. Other weapon alternatives include:

• Staff - replaces swords. provides burst damage from range, but deals very low sustained damage.
• Mainhand dagger - replaces mainhand sword. Mainhand dagger has excellent life force generation and a little bit of sustain.
• Axe - The only mainhand ranged power weapon for players without Secrets of the Obscure.
• Warhorn - replaces offhand sword for players without Secrets of the Obscure.

Skill Variants

Healing Skills

We default to "Your Soul Is Mine!", it provides decent healing and life force generation. You could also consider:

• Consume Conditions - more healing and cleanses all conditions, but doesn't generate life force.

Utility Skills

We default to:
Well of Suffering is a great source of damage. Don't replace it.
Well of Darkness is a good source of damage and Chill. It shouldn't be replaced unless really needed.
Spectral Grasp provides amazing utility with life force generation and pulls enemies around you so you can easily kill them. Can be replaced if you want.
If you want or need to run other skills, here are some suggestions:

• "You Are All Weaklings!" - DPS option to replace Spectral Grasp when there's no need to pull mobs. Also provides might and stunbreaks
• "Suffer!" - transfers conditions and chills.
• Corrosive Poison Cloud - destroys projectiles.
• Spectral Armor - power defense and life force generation.
• Spectral Walk - condition defense and life force generation.
• "Rise!" - great when fighting packs of enemies.

Elite Skills

We recommend "Chilled to the Bone!" for its crowd control and offensive boons, most notably Fury. We don't suggest replacing it but you can consider:

• Summon Flesh Golem - tanky pet that can be activated to do crowd control. Generally a worse option to Chilled to the Bone.

Equipment

Ascended gear and stat infusions are not required; exotic gear with the same stats is fine.

Standard Equipment

This set uses the same gear as Build:Reaper_-_Power_DPS. This makes it a good option for general PVE.

Head
Assassin

Shoulders
Berserker

Chest
Berserker

Hands
Berserker

Legs
Berserker

Feet
Berserker

Backpiece
Berserker

Accessory
Berserker

Accessory
Berserker

Amulet
Berserker

Ring
Berserker

Ring
Berserker

Greatsword
Berserker

Sigil

Sigil

Sword
Berserker

Sword
Berserker

Sigil

Sigil

Rune
x6

Relic

If you are gearing this character from zero, start with exotic quality gear. Search the trading post for "Zhed" armor. Then search for the weapons you want to use: "Ebonblade" greatsword, "Bonetti's Rapier" sword, "Usoku's Needle" dagger, "Kodanroar" warhorn, "Deathwish" staff, or "Maw of the Damned"/"Shattered Axe"/"Serpent's Wrath Axe" axe. Upgrade to ascended gear as you progress. See also: Guide:How to Gear a Character.

• Note that reaper can be built around Sigil of Superior Sigil of Accuracy or Sigil of Superior Sigil of Impact. We suggest the Accuracy version as it better for raids, strikes, convergences, and other long fights. But if you mostly do short fights like fractals, check Build:Reaper - Power DPS for the Impact version.
• We recommend Relic of Fireworks for a nice damage buff. But when solo, you can use Relic of the Midnight King to generate fury, something reaper sorely lacks.
• For defense, equip the highest tier Jade Core you can afford. Use defensive food or skills if required.

Consumables

Budget consumables are acceptable for use in open world.

DPS

• Prioritize Steak Ascended food.
• /
• /

Farming

• Prioritize Steak Ascended food.
• /
• (and variants)

Usage

Reaper's Shroud is the profession mechanic of the reaper. This offensive shroud is slightly less resilient than necromancer's Death Shroud but, in exchange, provides massive damage.

Damage

Most of the damage comes from Reaper's Shroud thanks to Death Perception and Reaper's Onslaught. Start fights with greatsword, use all your skills, then enter Reaper's Shroud and do massive damage. Then exit the shroud and continue using your weapons to rebuild your life force.

Opener

When fighting bosses and other tough enemies, you can start fights with the following opener. The general idea is to have your pulsing skills dealing damage while you are in Shroud to benefit from Death Perception and Reaper's Onslaught.

1. Grasping Darkness
2. Nightfall
3. Well of Darkness
4. Well of Suffering
5. Reaper's Shroud ⇒ Death's Charge
6. Soul Spiral inside your wells to make use of the whirl finisher.
7. Life Rend Life Slash Life Reap X2
8. Death's Charge
9. Life Rend Life Slash Life Reap X2
10. Death's Charge
11. Executioner's Scythe ⇒ Exit Reaper's Shroud
12. Death Spiral
13. Gravedigger

• Don't interrupt your Shroud auto attack chain. The final attack deals much higher damage and triggers Reaper's Onslaught to reduce your cooldowns.
• Death's Charge is a very tiny DPS gain, you can skip it if you want and use Shroud basic attacks instead. The skill is slightly buggy and may miss enemies.
• Grasping Darkness happens almost immediately but has a long aftercast that you can cancel with Nightfall or weapon swap.
• Consider casting Infusing Terror for Stability to ensure you do not get interrupted during your high damage Reaper's Shroud.
• Executioner's Scythe can be skipped if your enemy is above 50% health, as its damage is only good against low health targets.
• If the enemy is below 50% HP, keep spamming Gravedigger.
• Nightfall will trigger Relic of Fireworks for a nice damage boost as you prepare to enter Shroud.
• Once you master this rotation, try incorporating your offhand sword skills Hungering Maelstrom ⇒ Devouring Visage and Gormandize ⇒ Consume. You want to use them either right before Shroud or weapon swap, since you don't want to spend any longer on your sword weaponset.
• Against bosses with a Defiance Bar or breakbar, it is generally worth delaying the rotation until the bar breaks. You can contribute to this with Grasping Darkness and "Chilled to the Bone!".

Chill generation

Reapers inflict much higher damage to chilled foes thanks to Cold Shoulder. Inflicting chill is very easy:

• Chilling Nova - one of the primary sources of chill, but requires the target to already be chilled.
• Well of Darkness - one of the primary sources of chill, used at the start of the combo.
• "Chilled to the Bone!" - applies chill in a large area.
• Grasping Darkness - this skill is usually used as an opener due to its pull, and it also chills.
• Chilling Scythe - the final hit of the greatsword auto-chain.
• Executioner's Scythe - applies chill in a large area and places an ice field.
  • Soul Spiral, Gravedigger, Death Spiral - if used in an ice field, these can create Chilling Bolts, which apply chill when they hit a target; if used inside a target's hitbox, this can apply a considerable amount of chill very quickly. (See also: Guide:What_are_Combo_Fields)
• Shivers of Dread - applies chill to any enemy feared, with no cooldown; this means Terrify will apply chill.

Notes and tips

• Pull mobs together with Spectral Grasp and/or Grasping Darkness before bursting them all down.
• When dealing with groups of mobs, remember Gravedigger will reset if at least one of them is below 50% HP. Cleave them all.
• You do not gain life force from nearby deaths while inside Shroud. Try to finish off your enemies outside of Reaper's Shroud to replenish your life force.
• Grasping Darkness has a long aftercast, but can be cancelled almost immediately after casting with Nightfall, weapon swapping, or entering Shroud.
• Stay in melee range to benefit from Soul Eater.
• Death's Charge destroys projectiles.
• Nightfall corrupts boons on enemies.

Survivability

• Sidestep and walk or dodge out of enemy attacks.
• Stack blind and chill on trash mobs to negate their damage.
• Reaper's Shroud is as a second health bar and has a natural 33% damage reduction. Infusing Terror further reduces damage taken.
• Use Consume Conditions in condition heavy fights. If more is needed, run "Suffer!".
• "Chilled to the Bone!" provides Stability.

Crowd Control

• Grasping Darkness - Pull.
• Devouring Visage - 1,5 seconds of Fear.
• Infusing Terror ⇒ Terrify - 1 second of Fear.
• Executioner's Scythe - 1,5 seconds of Stun.
• "Chilled to the Bone!" - 2 or 3 seconds of Stun.