Reaper or scourge

[Elena.1543]

Loving playing my necro and I'm at that stage where I'm starting to plan which to unlock first reaper or scourge. I see a lot of talk about scourge on the forums but not a lot about reaper, is there a reason for this? are they weaker /no any good?

I tend to play solo a lot pve/open world with some wvw thrown in .

Which would people suggest I unlock first?

[Sephylon.4938]

anything works in open world. Which facet of wvw are you more interested in? Both specs are lack luster in solo roaming, but reaper does better than scourge for the most part. Sourge is miles better than reaper though in group scenarios in wvw.

[Elena.1543]

In wvw I tend to run with groups I'm not confident enough in myself to roam

[The Bassist.5410]

It all comes down to class build and gear sets.

 

Reaper: A rather selfish elite with great survivability/sustain.

Potential hybrid Power/Condition Damage with certain types of armor/trinket/weapon combos.

I personally use a MinionMaster/Reaper build set-up to solo a few core P.V.E. Champions, then switch to a Power/Condi. for the expansions(content, not Champions). It's great fun.

The Power/Condi. build I use(in groups; P.U.G.s mostly) for fractals can handle content up to T3, to which point there after, I'm very dependent on specific group/party configurations.

And in WvW: Well, roaming was fun for a time, that is until the P.O.F. elite classes were developed. At present, it's very difficult to compete with certain build types as they are so well made; other players have done an impressive job in utilizing these new classes into their PvP/WvW play styles.

P.V.P.: Never tried.

Raiding: Haven't done Raids yet.

 

Scourge: A nuclear bomb of C.C. and Condition damage.

Potential support class(average) with certain types of gear sets.

In core P.V.E. content, I use a pure Condition build(scepter/dagger only; Trailblazer armor sets mainly) that just shreds mobs, and can handle Champions well provided there is at least one other player assisting. The expansions, being much harder and more threat versed, require that I stay focused and more selective yet diligent of my abilities/skills; during combat, my character is constantly moving, always a flurry; a hurricane of damage and support skills.

Fractals: Little to no experience with the Scourge class regarding fractals.

P.V.P.: Never played, but I hear good things about the Scourge in this game mode.

W.V.W.: Same.

Raiding: Haven't done Raids yet.

 

Honest opinion: I'm biased towards Reaper, but there is no denying the class potency of the Scourge.

Advice: Experiment with both in equal amounts and then decide which is best for your style of play.

[Mouse.7382]

Since you said open world...any will do. Really.

While 'fun factors' of different class setups are purely subjective.....I gotta go with reaper for a more 'engaged' role. Now, I exclusively play Scourge in SPvP (due to its group ability to support/point holder) and it is entertaining.....Meta builds dictate Reaper take a 'backseat' until the pendulum swings our way again.

 

When I was WvW'ing solo....I was always on reaper and doing excellent (that is until the zerg finds you lol).

[Elena.1543]

thanks all

[Obtena.7952]

> @"Elena.1543" said:

> Loving playing my necro and I'm at that stage where I'm starting to plan which to unlock first reaper or scourge. I see a lot of talk about scourge on the forums but not a lot about reaper, is there a reason for this? are they weaker /no any good?

> I tend to play solo a lot pve/open world with some wvw thrown in .

> Which would people suggest I unlock first?

 

You CAN take anything you want in OW ...

 

... that doesn't mean it's optimal though. Frankly, I think Scourge has more tools to deal with a wider range of situations in open world than Reaper does.

 

1. Reaper damage is on par with Scourge **in OW** ... before someone wants to argue that, recall that most of the stuff you fight is trash.

2. Scourge has better ways to help you leave a fight 'clean' ... an important point when you run from one mob to the next every 10 seconds or so.

3. You can play Scourge as Condi OR Direct damage effectively in OW ... less true for Reaper. That could be a factor if choice (and thus, weapon selection) is important to you.

4. Neither spec has a notable 'entry' into a fight. That's not entirely clear, but the best way to think about that is with an example ; Dagger/Pistol theif ... they open a fight with 3, a teleport that's unblockable and blinds. Opening a fight with that kind of attack reduces the chances of conditions and controls that waste your time recovering or killing the mob.

 

Other thing that's important to note is that none of this is relevant if you are going to fancy doing WvW ... your decision to choose espec should be based on that.

[Rhyse.8179]

Reaper *has been* nerfed into the ground.

 

Scourge *will be* nerfed into the ground.

 

We know this because all necro builds, ever, have been nerfed into the ground. So take your pick.

[Methuselah.4376]

> @"Obtena.7952" said:

> > @"Elena.1543" said:

> > Loving playing my necro and I'm at that stage where I'm starting to plan which to unlock first reaper or scourge. I see a lot of talk about scourge on the forums but not a lot about reaper, is there a reason for this? are they weaker /no any good?

> > I tend to play solo a lot pve/open world with some wvw thrown in .

> > Which would people suggest I unlock first?

>

> You CAN take anything you want in OW ...

>

> ... that doesn't mean it's optimal though. Frankly, I think Scourge has more tools to deal with a wider range of situations in open world than Reaper does.

>

> 1. Reaper damage is on par with Scourge **in OW** ... before someone wants to argue that, recall that most of the stuff you fight is trash.

> 2. Scourge has better ways to help you leave a fight 'clean' ... an important point when you run from one mob to the next every 10 seconds or so.

> 3. You can play Scourge as Condi OR Direct damage effectively in OW ... less true for Reaper. That could be a factor if choice (and thus, weapon selection) is important to you.

> 4. Neither spec has a notable 'entry' into a fight. That's not entirely clear, but the best way to think about that is with an example ; Dagger/Pistol theif ... they open a fight with 3, a teleport that's unblockable and blinds. Opening a fight with that kind of attack reduces the chances of conditions and controls that waste your time recovering or killing the mob.

>

> Other thing that's important to note is that none of this is relevant if you are going to fancy doing WvW ... your decision to choose espec should be based on that.

 

Ye actually for open world with most being trash enemies, I find power Reaper manages to deal much higher damage due to the lack of needing to build up damage.

 

I find scourge best for condi damage and reaper best for power damage (though some still take condi reaper, despite the fact that condi reaper is being nerfed into oblivion for power reaper). Scourge does have a higher damage ceiling and more group utility, but for open world pve reaper kills enemies faster. Now that is not to say that scourge can't kill enemies fast as once it gets going, it is probably one of the best specs in game for killing mobs with all the shades and epidemic. But enemies tend to die most of the time before epidemic can take effect. What I usually do is if there is a veteran is I pile some condis on them, epi, then get to work on the rest with shades.

 

Ultimately, it all boils down to your preferred playstyle. I myself tend to spend a few months on a particular playstyle and then switch. With scourge it is fun to watch all those damage floaters with different condis, and while it requires mastering some basic ground control skills, the spec itself is a bit brain dead. Power reaper on the other hand is much more fun (you wield a badass greatsword!!) and requires you to engage the enemy head on to deal your best damage. Also, I am hoping the recent trend continues and power reaper keeps getting buffed...maybe even be raid viable some day *.*

 

Hope this helps :)

[DeceiverX.8361]

If you plan to play the PvP formats, reaper is so bad it's laughable. I can usually take on multiple reapers at once with any spec (except reaper) because it's too weak to sustain for anything longer than 2s in combat and lacks kill pressure against most specs being played.

 

You can virtually faceroll your keyboard on a scourge and still win outnumbered fights without an issue.

[nokedli.7216]

Wait for the next patch! Feb. 6-7.

Scourge will be nerf , and I hope reaper will get back some sustaine.

For PVE I think power reaper is more fun, for pvp exclusively scourge is useable!

 

[Gendo.4615]

go with the newer elite (Scourge) first, newer specs are always stronger, otherwise why would anyone buy the expansion :)

 

I am having a lot of fun with scourge now, get good gear with condition damage and vitality (I am using dire as trailblazer is so expensive), in open world I use minions combined with the sand shades. In WvW I ditch the minions and use the scourge skills from the meta.

[Dadnir.5038]

A lot of good point have been made in this thread, both for scourge and reaper.

 

To be honest, in open world enything goes and in the end it all fall down to what you wanna do in this gamemode.

 

If you just want to go throught the content and sto when you reach the end of your character story/living world story, then just take the reaper, it's an intuitive gameplay which shouldn't hinder you in any way, thought it's also pretty close to what you would do as a warrior so it might not feel befitting of a "dark mage" thematic.

 

If you want to linger on the game, do some open world raid event... etc. Then go for the scourge. Farming mat/gold/event is way easier with a spec that have instant targeted aoe and as much as some players like the staff it's never a bad idea to to have more of those instant aoe when you try to tag mobs in a crowd. The scourge offer you just that and is way more befitting the title of "dark mage" in it's gameplay.

 

In the end, reaper is mainly a brawler while scourge can easily be a brawler as well as he can stand safely as a backliner which give him a bit more freedom of choice in open world.

[Anchoku.8142]

Power builds have more diversity than condi builds. There are more options in how to build and play power Reaper and power core Necro. Power builds can easily use condi skills but condi builds have a lot of trouble with power skills; e.g., Dark Path, Corrupt Boon, Well of Corruption, Epidemic, Signet of Spite, as well as non-damaging conditions like weakness, fear, cripple, chill, blind, etc.

 

Condi builds are more focused and generally have less survivablility but can sustain higher dps. Condi Necro and Scourge are dependent on scepter's auto-attack for a large portion of its dps. Condi Reaper is highly dependent on the number of chill applications to proc bleeds.

[DeceiverX.8361]

> @"Anchoku.8142" said:

> Power builds have more diversity than condi builds. There are more options in how to build and play power Reaper and power core Necro. Power builds can easily use condi skills but condi builds have a lot of trouble with power skills; e.g., Dark Path, Corrupt Boon, Well of Corruption, Epidemic, Signet of Spite, as well as non-damaging conditions like weakness, fear, cripple, chill, blind, etc.

>

> Condi builds are more focused and generally have less survivablility but can sustain higher dps. Condi Necro and Scourge are dependent on scepter's auto-attack for a large portion of its dps. Condi Reaper is highly dependent on the number of chill applications to proc bleeds.

 

Only true for optimized DPS in PvE. And even still it can be debatable depending on the profession. A number of condi builds are innately safer than their power counterparts.

 

Condi builds are always more durable in the PvP formats just from their supporting traitline designs themselves. In WvW, optimized condition damage is played on full-tank stats which is why condition builds in WvW have for a long time been regarded as completely overpowered due to Dire/Trailblazer stat combos.

[Toll Booth Willie.6723]

I love my (p)reaper, however if i had the option i'd probably play scurge. Go scurge, but don't forget about reaper, it's still fun to play.