Final Fantasy Reaper Guide - Embrace the Void

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Murillo is a writer of Final Fantasy informer, a job that his teenage version never imagined he would have. He played - or observed - his first Final Fantasy when his brother rented Final Fantasy III for SNES (which was actually Final Fantasy VI), but since it was the Japanese version, they understood zilch and soon gave up. Sometime later - and some English RPGs in-between - they rented Final Fantasy II (Final Fantasy IV, yeah, it was a mess) and began to delve into the incredible world of Final Fantasy and never to get off it.

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If there’s one thing that JRPGs are famous for, it’s creating characters who have some traumatic past and depend on some evil, seemingly dark force to unleash their irrepressible power. If it has a mysterious background, a chic design, and an extremely taciturn personality, it holds the perfect formula to win the hearts of the fans.

I don’t need to give you names since you may’ve already thought about one or two characters that fit the bill. In this case, I’m not talking about someone but about something.

It’s a Final Fantasy Job that allows our Warrior of Light to take on this mantle of edginess by assuming the role of a Reaper. And this is coming from someone who is a main dragoon, so I have a right to speak.

This Final Fantasy Reaper Guide will show you some of the peculiarities of this novelty Job, its actions, how to unlock it, and tips on tapping into the void to harness its power and reap the soul of those who dared cross your way.

Traits of a Reaper

reaper final fantasy — Who says you don’t need to study the art of harvesting strangers’ souls?

Reaper is Final Fantasy XIV’s first original Job. Whereas the others appeared in previous installments, Square Enix needed to innovate to further meet players’ expectations while respecting the ludonarrative of where the game was heading.

All those fancy words to say Zenos needed a new weapon and, thus, a unique Job.

Japanese Name: リーパー, Ripa.
Main Weapon: Scythe.
Armor: Wears “of Maiming” suffix armor and “of Slaying” suffix accessories. Design-wise, any armor a brooding character would wear.
Role: Melee DPS.
Notable Reapers: Zenos yae Galvus, Zero, Drusilla, Naoki Yoshida in Final Fantay XIV Fan Fest.
Level Required to Unlock: Level 70.

Reaper Lore in Final Fantasy XIV

Final Fantasy XIV has a vast world populated by different races, cultures, and civilizations. Among the races are the Garleans, akin to Hyurs but different. One of their most significant differences is the Garleans’ inability to tap the aether and, consequently, wield magick.

This deficiency propelled the Garleans to resort to other resources, such as magitek and the power of the void, giving life to the art of the Reapers.

In hindsight, Reapers are as ominous as they sound and seem. The warrior makes a pact with a creature from the void, which lends its power as long as it is fed with the soul of the fallen.

Killing monsters is a common feat in any RPG, but often we forget many other not-necessarily-evil humanoids felled by our actions among these monsters.

To imagine our Warrior of Light, the one anointed by light, blessed by Mothercrystal, and heralded as the world’s greatest hero, is feeding a nefarious creature with the soul of those they slay is pretty wicked in my view.

How to Unlock a Reaper in Final Fantasy XIV

First of all, since Reaper was one of the new Jobs available in the Endwalker expansion, you need to buy it if you want to be a scythe-wielder that chop heads rather than harvest wheat. Then, you must have at least one Disciple of War or Magic at level 70.

If you meet those two requirements, the quest The Killer Instinct should be available in Ul’dah – Steps of Nald (X:13, Y:9) by talking to the Flustered Attendant. He will guide you to the Lemures Headquarters, where you will get the Soul of the Reaper, a level 70 Scythe, and some trademarked Reaper outfits.

Reaper Actions Level 1-30

unlock a reaper in final fantasy xiv — The Enshrouded animation is one of the coolest yet in the game. Here hoping the Dragoon gets a similar skill where he turns into a half-dragon.

Reapers start at level 70, so you may wonder why this Job has actions learned at lower levels? That’s because whenever you go into a lower-level dungeon synched, your Job level matches that dungeon, so you won’t have all your actions at your disposal.

Also, some content, such as Palace of the Dead, temporarily resets your level. Which, by the way, I consider an excellent tutorial for trying out new Jobs. Since you are swamped with several new actions, the Palace of the Dead unlocks them gradually, making the Job easier to learn.

Name	Level	Cooldown (seconds)	Effect
Slice	1	2.5	Delivers an attack with a potency of 320. Additional Effect: Increases Soul Gauge by 10
Waxing Slice	5	2.5	Delivers an attack with a potency of 160. Combo Action: Slice Combo Potency: 400 Combo Bonus: Increases Soul Gauge by 10
Shadow of Death	10	2.5	Delivers an attack with a potency of 300. Additional Effect: Afflicts target with Death’s Design, increasing damage you deal target by 10% Duration: 30s Extends duration of Death’s Design by 30s to a maximum of 60s. Additional Effect: Increases Soul Gauge by 10 if target is KO’d before effect expires
Harpe	15	2.5	Deals unaspected damage with a potency of 300.
Hell’s Ingress	20	20	Quickly dash 15 yalms forward. Additional Effect: Allows next Harpe to be cast immediately Duration: 20s Additional Effect: Leaves behind a Hellsgate at point of origin, and grants Threshold to self Duration: 10s Cannot be executed while bound. Shares a recast timer with Hell’s Egress.
Hell’s Egress	20	20	Quickly dash 15 yalms backwards. Additional Effect: Allows next Harpe to be cast immediately Duration: 20s Additional Effect: Leaves behind a Hellsgate at point of origin, and grants Threshold to self Duration: 10s Cannot be executed while bound. Shares a recast timer with Hell’s Ingress.
Spinning Scythe	25	2.5	Delivers an attack with a potency of 140 to all nearby enemies. Additional Effect: Increases Soul Gauge by 10
Infernal Slice	30	2.5	Delivers an attack with a potency of 180. Combo Action: Waxing Slice Combo Potency: 500 Combo Bonus: Increases Soul Gauge by 10

Reaper Actions Level 31-60

Name	Level	Cooldown (seconds)	Effect
Whorl of Death	35	2.5	Delivers an attack with a potency of 100 to all nearby enemies. Additional Effect: Afflicts target with Death’s Design, increasing damage you deal target by 10% Duration: 30s Extends duration of Death’s Design by 30s to a maximum of 60s. Additional Effect: Increases Soul Gauge by 10 if target is KO’d before effect expires
Arcane Crest	40	30	Grants Crest of Time Borrowed to self, creating a barrier that nullifies damage totaling up to 10% of maximum HP. Duration: 5s Grants Crest of Time Returned to self and nearby party members within a radius of 15 yalms when barrier is completely absorbed. Crest of Time Returned Effect: Gradually restores HP Cure Potency: 50 Duration: 15s
Nightmare Scythe	45	2.5	Delivers an attack with a potency of 120 to all nearby enemies. Combo Action: Spinning Scythe Combo Potency: 180 Combo Bonus: Increases Soul Gauge by 10
Blood Stalk	50	1	Summons your avatar to deliver an attack with a potency of 340. Additional Effect: Grants Soul Reaver Duration: 30s Stack count will be reduced to 1 when already under the effect of Soul Reaver. Soul Gauge Cost: 50 Shares a recast timer with all avatar attacks except Gluttony. ※Action changes to Lemure’s Slice while under the effect of Enshrouded.
Grim Swathe	55	1	Summons your avatar to deliver an attack with a potency of 140 to all enemies in a cone before you. Additional Effect: Grants Soul Reaver Duration: 30s Stack count will be reduced to 1 when already under the effect of Soul Reaver. Soul Gauge Cost: 50 Shares a recast timer with all avatar attacks except Gluttony. ※Action changes to Lemure’s Scythe while under the effect of Enshrouded.
Soul Slice	60	30	Delivers an attack with a potency of 460. Additional Effect: Increases Soul Gauge by 50 Maximum Charges: 2 Shares a recast timer with Soul Scythe. Recast timer cannot be affected by status effects or gear attributes.

Reaper Actions Level 61-90

Name	Level	Cooldown (seconds)	Effect
Soul Scythe	65	30	Delivers an attack with a potency of 180 to all nearby enemies. Additional Effect: Increases Soul Gauge by 50 Maximum Charges: 2 Shares a recast timer with Soul Slice. Recast timer cannot be affected by status effects or gear attributes.
Gibbet	70	2.5	Delivers an attack with a potency of 400. 460 when executed from a target’s flank. Enhanced Gibbet Potency: 460 Flank Enhanced Potency: 520 Additional Effect: Grants Enhanced Gallows Duration: 60s The action Blood Stalk changes to Unveiled Gallows while under the effect of Enhanced Gallows. Additional Effect: Increases Shroud Gauge by 10 Can only be executed while under the effect of Soul Reaver. ※Action changes to Void Reaping while under the effect of Enshrouded.
Gallows	70	2.5	Delivers an attack with a potency of 400. 460 when executed from a target’s rear. Enhanced Gallows Potency: 460 Rear Enhanced Potency: 520 Additional Effect: Grants Enhanced Gibbet Duration: 60s The action Blood Stalk changes to Unveiled Gibbet while under the effect of Enhanced Gibbet. Additional Effect: Increases Shroud Gauge by 10 Can only be executed while under the effect of Soul Reaver. ※Action changes to Cross Reaping while under the effect of Enshrouded.
Guillotine	70	2.5	Delivers an attack with a potency of 200 to all enemies in a cone before you. Additional Effect: Increases Shroud Gauge by 10 Can only be executed while under the effect of Soul Reaver. ※Action changes to Grim Reaping while under the effect of Enshrouded.
Unveiled Gibbet	70	1	Summons your avatar to deliver an attack with a potency of 400. Additional Effect: Grants Soul Reaver Duration: 30s Stack count will be reduced to 1 when already under the effect of Soul Reaver. Soul Gauge Cost: 50 Can only be executed while under the effect of Enhanced Gibbet. Shares a recast timer with all avatar attacks except Gluttony. ※This action cannot be assigned to a hotbar.
Unveiled Gallows	70	1	Summons your avatar to deliver an attack with a potency of 400. Additional Effect: Grants Soul Reaver Duration: 30s Stack count will be reduced to 1 when already under the effect of Soul Reaver. Soul Gauge Cost: 50 Can only be executed while under the effect of Enhanced Gallows. Shares a recast timer with all avatar attacks except Gluttony. ※This action cannot be assigned to a hotbar.
Arcane Circle	72	120	Increases damage dealt by self and nearby party members by 3%. Duration: 20s Additional Effect: Grants Circle of Sacrifice to self and nearby party members Duration: 5s Additional Effect: Grants Bloodsown Circle to self Duration: 6s Circle of Sacrifice Effect: When you or party members under this effect successfully land a weaponskill or cast a spell, the reaper who applied it may be granted a stack of Immortal Sacrifice, up to a maximum of 8 Duration: 30s Bloodsown Circle Effect: Allows you to accumulate stacks of Immortal Sacrifice from party members under the effect of your Circle of Sacrifice
Regress	74	10	Move instantly to the Hellsgate left behind by you. Can only be executed while under the effect of Threshold. Cannot be executed while bound. ※This action cannot be assigned to a hotbar.
Gluttony	76	60	Summons your avatar to deal unaspected damage to target and all enemies nearby it with a potency of 500 for the first enemy, and 25% less for all remaining enemies. Additional Effect: Grants 2 stacks of Soul Reaver Duration: 30s Soul Gauge Cost: 50
Enshroud	80 (Job Quest)	15	Offers your flesh as a vessel to your avatar, gaining maximum stacks of Lemure Shroud. Duration: 30s Certain actions cannot be executed while playing host to your avatar. Shroud Gauge Cost: 50
Void Reaping	80	1.5	Delivers an attack with a potency of 460. Enhanced Void Reaping Potency: 520 Additional Effect: Grants Enhanced Cross Reaping Duration: 30s Additional Effect: Grants Void Shroud Can only be executed while under the effect of Enshrouded. Recast timer cannot be affected by status effects or gear attributes. Lemure Shroud Cost: 1 This action does not share a recast timer with any other actions. Upon execution, the recast timer for this action will be applied to all other weaponskills and magic actions. ※This action cannot be assigned to a hotbar.
Cross Reaping	80	1.5	Delivers an attack with a potency of 460. Enhanced Cross Reaping Potency: 520 Additional Effect: Grants Enhanced Void Reaping Duration: 30s Additional Effect: Grants Void Shroud Can only be executed while under the effect of Lemure Shroud. Lemure Shroud Cost: 1 This action does not share a recast timer with any other actions. Upon execution, the recast timer for this action will be applied to all other weaponskills and magic actions. ※This action cannot be assigned to a hotbar.
Grim Reaping	80	1.5	Delivers an attack with a potency of 200 to all enemies in a cone before you. Additional Effect: Grants Void Shroud Can only be executed while under the effect of Enshrouded. Lemure Shroud Cost: 1 This action does not share a recast timer with any other actions. Upon execution, the recast timer for this action will be applied to all other weaponskills and magic actions. ※This action cannot be assigned to a hotbar.
Soulsow	82	2.5	Grants Soulsow to self, changing the action to Harvest Moon. Cast time is instant when used outside of battle.
Harvest Moon	82	2.5	Deals unaspected damage to target and all enemies nearby it with a potency of 600 for the first enemy, and 50% less for all remaining enemies. Can only be executed while under the effect of Soulsow. ※This action cannot be assigned to a hotbar.
Lemure’s Slice	86	1	Delivers an attack with a potency of 220. Void Shroud Cost: 2 Shares a recast timer with Lemure’s Scythe. ※This action cannot be assigned to a hotbar.
Lemure’s Scythe	86	1	Delivers an attack with a potency of 100 to all enemies in a cone before you. Void Shroud Cost: 2 Shares a recast timer with Lemure’s Slice. ※This action cannot be assigned to a hotbar.
Plentiful Harvest	88	2.5	Delivers an attack to all enemies in a straight line before you with a potency of 720 for the first enemy, and 60% less for all remaining enemies. Immortal Sacrifice Cost: 1 stack Potency increases up to 1,000 as stacks of Immortal Sacrifice exceed minimum cost. Additional Effect: Increases Shroud Gauge by 50 Cannot be executed while under the effect of Bloodsown Circle. Consumes all stacks of Immortal Sacrifice upon execution.
Communio	90	2.5	Deals unaspected damage to target and all enemies nearby it with a potency of 1,100 for the first enemy, and 60% less for all remaining enemies. Enshrouded effect expires upon execution. Requires at least one stack of Lemure Shroud to execute.

Reaper Traits

Name	Level	Effect
Soul Gauge	50	Allows for Soul Gauge accumulation upon the landing of certain actions, or defeating enemies under the effect of Death’s Design.
Death Scythe Mastery	60	Increases the potency of Slice to 300, Waxing Slice to 140, Shadow of Death to 300, Harpe to 300, Spinning Scythe to 140, Infernal Slice to 140, Whorl of Death to 100, and Nightmare Scythe to 120.
Enhanced Avatar	70	Grants the effect of Soul Reaver upon successfully landing Blood Stalk or Grim Swathe. Duration: 30s Effect ends upon execution of any weaponskill or magic attack.
Hellsgate	74	Upon executing Hell’s Ingress or Hell’s Egress, leave behind a Hellsgate and grant Threshold to self. Duration: 10s Hell’s Ingress changes to Regress after executing Hell’s Egress, and vice versa.
Tempered Soul	78	Allows the accumulation of charges for consecutive uses of Soul Slice and Soul Scythe. Maximum Charges: 2
Shroud Gauge	80 (Job Quest)	Allows for Shroud Gauge accumulation upon the landing of Gibbet, Gallows, or Guillotine.
Enhanced Arcane Crest	84	Grants Crest of Time Returned to self and nearby party members, gradually restoring HP over time. This effect is only granted when the Crest of Time Borrowed barrier is completely absorbed. Cure Potency: 50 Duration: 15s
Death Scythe Mastery II	84	Increases the potency of Slice to 320, Waxing Slice to 160, and Infernal Slice to 180.
Enhanced Shroud	86	Grants Void Shroud upon landing Void Reaping, Cross Reaping, or Grim Reaping.
Enhanced Arcane Circle	88	Grants Circle of Sacrifice to you and nearby party members upon executing Arcane Circle. Duration: 5s When you or party members under this effect successfully land a weaponskill or cast a spell, you may gain a stack of Immortal Sacrifice, up to a maximum of 8. Duration: 30s Also grants Bloodsown Circle to self, allowing you to receive stacks of Immortal Sacrifice from party members under the effect of your Circle of Sacrifice. Duration: 6s

Reaper’s Gauges

Like every other Job, the Reaper comes boasting some gauges. One is the Soul Gauge, filled by using some weaponskills. It indicates the number of souls you reaped and is a necessary cost for some actions, such as Blood Stalk and Grim Swathe.

The second gauge is the Shroud Gauge, which fills by using actions that cost Soul Gauge. You can easily see how both build upon themselves by using the same rotation over and over, increasingly enabling more powerful moves.

Shroud Gauge is employed to use Enshroud, a visually impressive skill that changes our Reaper into the Void’s Avatar and allows the use of the Job’s most powerful actions.

While under the effect of Enshroud, the Shroud Gauge changes into Death Gauge and will harbor stacks of Lemure Shroud and Void Shroud. Each point of Lemure Shroud is used to cast either Void Reaping, Cross Reaping, or Grim Reaping.

The Reaper’s most potent spell, Communio, instantly ends Enshroud. Except for Communio, each of the former weaponskills grants one Void Shroud, which changes Blood Stalk and Grim Swathe into Lemure’s Slice and Lemure’s Scythe, respectively.

Reaping Away the Competition

reaper ffxiv — Besides a chocobo companion, Reaper also has their… friend helping whenever aid is necessary.

Reaper is one of the most manageable melee Jobs to play. That’s because you will be punished less if you make a mistake in your rotation, unlike the others. Its basic combo consists of Slice -> Waxing Slice -> Infernal Slice to constantly increase the Soul Gauge and also Soul Slice whenever it’s not on cooldown.

It would be best if you always used Shadow of Death to apply Death’s Design DoT to tick away damage from the enemy.

The Reaper should opt for the AoE combo when facing three or more enemies. It’s composed of Spinning Scythe and then Nightmare Scythe. When you hit 50 Soul Gauge, you should spend it on Grim Swathe. Constantly refresh the Death’s Design DoT by using Whorl of Death.

When able, you should unleash a weaponskill that costs Soul Gauge, such as Blood Stalk or Grim Swathe, and follow up with Gibbet, Gallows, or Guillotine to build up the Shroud Gauge on the side.

Then, when the Shroud Gauge hits 50, you can use Enshroud and unleash the slayer skillset of the Reaper, finishing your combo with Communio to avoid expiring the Enshroud effect too soon. Plentiful Harvest is also a good option in a party since Arcane Circle will quickly stack Immortal Sacrifice.

Since Reapers only has one single-target combo and a two-combo AoE, the player isn’t penalized for messing it up since it’s easy to get back on track.

You can, however, mess up bad if you use Blood Stalk and then follow up with any other attack that doesn’t cost Soul Gauge. Because in this case you will spend gauge, but won’t enjoy its benefits.

FAQs

Question: What Class Can be a Reaper in FFXIV?

Answer: Any class! Unlike the original ones, you don’t need a specific class to unlock Reaper. So if you’re starting the game now and it’s aiming to become a future Reaper, feel free to choose any starting class because, eventually, the option to turn into a scythe-wielder will be there for you.

Question: How Do You Become a Reaper in FFXIV?

Answer: First, you need to buy the Endwalker expansion. Then, after you hit level 70 with any Disciple of War or Magic, you need to talk with the Flustered Attendant in Ul’dah – Steps of Nald (X:13, Y:9) and complete his short quest. When he gives you the Soul of the Reaper, voilá, you’re free to mercilessly suck away the vitality of your enemies.

Question: Is Reaper Difficult to Play in FFXIV?

Answer: As far as Melee DPS goes, Reaper is the simplest. The Job only has one single-target combo, easily mended in case you miss a beat. Its gauges are pretty straightforward, announcing the players whenever an action is available by spending them.

At first, the two gauges may confuse you a bit. But once you get the hang of it, there are no more mistakes. Different from the Ninjas’ ninjutsu or the Monk’s incessant positioning, which I still struggle with to this day.

Embrace the Void, Warrior of Light

Lorewise, Reaper still sounds distant to me from the almost blessed journey of our Warrior of Light. Yes, after Shadowbringers, we learn that neither light nor shadow have a moral alignment and need the opposite to thrive. However, technically, a third element was detrimental to both, the so-called void.

However, the discernment of our hero and the Scions of Seventh Dawn seem to override any common sense, and they quickly accept that others are tapping into the void and using its power as long as it is used for the right reasons. And just as well, because gameplay-wise, the Reaper is an incredibly stylish and powerful Job.

The only problem is that since they share the same armor as the Dragoons, it has increased the odds I will lose a roll whenever I’m trying to acquire a piece of equipment loot.

Final Fantasy Reaper Guide – Embrace the Void