Heroes of Arkesia,
On November 16, the Reaper Advanced Class will arrive in Arkesia. Reapers are true Assassins, and masters of stealth. From powerful back-attacks inflicted by their daggers to misleading opponents by vanishing and summoning clones, Reapers have a variety of tools at their disposal to vanquish whatever threat crosses their path.
The Reaper will join the Deathblade and Shadowhunter as the third Assassin Advanced Class. In this Lost Ark Academy, you’ll find information to see if the Reaper is the class for you— and if so, help you start planning the skills and engravings you’re interested in using to enhance your impact on the battlefield. Before we dive into what the class is all about, here’s a note from Reaper expert Grenton on why the Reaper is his favorite class:
“Reaper was the first class that I picked up when I started playing Lost Ark about a year and a half ago. Even with the game releasing in the West I still regularly played my Reapers. The class is very unique in the way it moves and deals damage. It has the best sound design out of any class I've played and constantly keeps you on your toes. If you're looking for a fast-paced and rewarding class to play, you found her. She's the Reaper!”
Key Mechanics & Class Identity
The Reaper’s Class Identity is built around three Modes; Normal Mode, Persona Mode, and Chaos Mode.
Normal Mode
While in Normal Mode, the Persona Meter fills up over time and each time a skill hits the target. When the Persona Meter is full, you can enter Persona Mode by pressing Z. The Chaos Meter increases upon every successful Dagger Skill and Shadow Skill hit while the Persona Meter is full. When the Persona Meter is full, enter Chaos Mode by filling up the Chaos Meter through continuously using Dagger and Shadow skills without pressing Z.
Persona Mode
Summon a Shadow Illusion, become stealthy, and the gauge starts decreasing. The Shadow Illusion remains until you attack. You remain stealthy even if you use Movement or Stand Up skills while in stealth. In Persona Mode, Move Speed +30%, and you become stealthy, but are exposed to hostile adventurers within 4m. In Persona Mode, Swoop Skills Damage is increased by 25%, and the effect can be stacked up to 5 times depending on the duration of the Persona Mode. When you attack or the gauge is exhausted, you return to Normal Mode.
Chaos Mode
Crit Rate +15%. Move Speed +10%. Atk. Speed +10%. Chaos Mode initially lasts for 9s. If your Dagger Skills continuously hits a foe or if you use a Shadow Skill, the duration of Chaos Mode will be reset to 9s. At the end of Chaos Mode, the Chaos Meter gets reset and reverts back to a full Persona Meter.
Class Engravings
Like other Advanced Classes, the Reaper has two unique Class Engravings that enhance different aspects of the class. The Hunger Class Engraving is focused around generating more Chaos Meter and dealing even more damage while in Chaos Mode. Lunar Voice is focused on landing huge Swoop attacks while in Persona Mode, granting immediate damage increases to Swoop instead of requiring stacks to be generated.
Hunger
Level 1 - Chaos Meter +30%. Atk. Power +12% when the Chaos Meter is full.
Level 2 - Chaos Meter +30%. Atk. Power +18% when the Chaos Meter is full.
Level 3 - Chaos Meter +30%. Atk. Power +25% when the Chaos Meter is full.
Lunar Voice
Level 1 - Swoop Damage +120% instead of the Swoop Enhancement effect that stacks every 1s upon switching to Persona Mode.
Level 2 - Swoop Damage +140% instead of the Swoop Enhancement effect that stacks every 1s upon switching to Persona Mode.
Level 3 - Swoop Damage +160% instead of the Swoop Enhancement effect that stacks every 1s upon switching to Persona Mode.
Skills
The Reaper has three Skill categories; Dagger, Shadow, and Swoop skills. Dagger and Shadow skills are used to charge up Persona and Chaos Modes, and Swoop skills are heavily amplified by Persona— allowing the Reaper to unleash devastating attacks.
Dagger Skills
- Nightmare - Throw a dagger at the target location to inflict Damage. Use the skill again and teleport behind the hit target if there is no obstacle between you and the foe. Move Speed +10% for 2s after teleportation.
- Shadow Vortex - Gather strength and pull foes to you, inflicting Damage. Use the skill again to deliver a powerful spinning blow, inflicting Damage.
- Spirit Catch - Perform a quick thrust forward to inflict Damage, then dart 4 meters in the same direction and deliver one final attack that knocks foes down for Damage.
- Spinning Dagger - Move 5 meters forward as you throw daggers around you to inflict Damage, then slash at foes upon landing for Damage.
- Piercing Blade - Perform 2 sharp thrusting attacks to inflict Damage. Use the skill again to deliver 2 more thrusts for Damage. Airborne foes are launched back into the air.
- Reaper's Call - Madly hack at foes in front of you, attacking them 4 times for [Dark] Damage.
- Phantom Dancer - Spin toward the target location and move 5 meters as you slash at foes for Damage. Use the skill again to move another 5 meters while pushing foes and attacking them for Damage.
- Death Scythe - Quickly move 3 meters toward the target location and slash at foes 2 times for Damage. Use the skill again to perform another slash and inflict Damage, knocking foes down.
Shadow Skills
- Distortion - Call forth the darkness of a twisted space to quickly move 10 meters forward, inflicting Damage to foes caught in the path. Inflict additional Damage to foes in your path upon landing. Ignore collisions with adventurers and Guardians.
- Call of the Knife - Summon the Reaper's blade at the target location, inflicting Dark Damage to foes within a 3-meter radius. Foe Move Speed reduced temporarily. The Reaper's Sword pulls foes close as it inflicts Damage and explodes, inflicting Dark Damage. The Move Speed debuff can be stacked up to 5 times, causing temporary Fear in foes for max stack.
- Shadow Storm - Move 2 meters forward and thrust your weapon to inflict Damage, then summon shadows to viciously cut and slice foes for Damage over 10 hits. Use Flurry to the end to move 6 meters forward and inflict Damage. Cancel Flurry midway to inflict Damage. Airborne foes are launched back into the air when hit and knocks them back.
- Shadow Double - Summon a shadow clone at the target location that lasts for 6s. Use the skill again for you and your clone to throw a shuriken at the target location, inflicting [Dark] Damage.
- Black Mist - Conceal yourself behind a dark shadow at the target location and attack foes as you move. While the skill is active, all incoming Damage -20%. Inflict Damage, and at 4 stacks, inflict Fear on foes for 2s. Ignore collisions with adventurers and monsters while moving.
- Shadow Trap - Summon a shadow trap at your current position, then move 6 meters backward, detonating a shadow that inflicts Damage to foes within a 3-meter radius, stunning them for 2s.
Swoop Skills
- Glowing Brand - Vanish in the air and move up to 8 meters toward the target location before striking down, inflicting Damage and launching foes airborne.
- Rage Spear - Gather red shadow energy and thrust forward to inflict Damage and paralyze foes within an 8 meter radius.
- Dance of Fury - Gather red shadow energy to quickly move forward, inflicting Damage. Inflict additional Damage to airborne foes. Perform another slash for Damage as you return to your position.
- Silent Rage - Jump 3 meters backward and gather dark energy to shoot yourself forward, slashing foes for Damage and knocking them down as you move. Ignore collisions with adventurers and Normal monsters while moving.
Awakening Skills
- Lunar Eclipse: Cadenza - Focus all shadow and lunar energy to summon a giant shadow area that inflicts Damage to nearby foes, pulling them close. The shadow clone jumps through foes, inflicting Damage, before creating a massive explosion that launches foes in the air for Damage.
- Solar Eclipse: Requiem - Focus your mind and blend into the shadows for 4s. Use the skill again to sneak up to your foe in the shadows and deliver 3 strikes to inflict Damage, launching your foe in the air with the last strike. Become Stealthed again for 4s upon each strike, and you can still attack foes while you are not. Ignore collisions with adventurers and Guardians during skill use.
Looking Ahead
In next week’s update, the Reaper will release with two progression events, a Punika Powerpass and a Hyper Express Event that helps accelerate a character from Item Level 1302 to 1445.
Players will receive a Punika Powerpass after completing Punika's quest “Berver's Friend” during (or before) the event period. The Punika Powerpass will function like the North Vern Powerpasses available to players in the launch version of Lost Ark— once you’ve completed the storyline through that continent, you can use it to bring an alternate character to that point in the game. With the Punika Powerpass, you'll receive Item Level 1302 gear.
Players will be able to designate one character between item Level 1302 and 1445 on their roster to participate in the Hyper Express Event, where they’ll earn honing materials, and level up quickly to Item Level 1445. The designated character will earn rewards from missions when increasing their Item Level to 1445— which grants a particularly valuable reward.
Stay tuned to PlayLostArk.com and our social media channels for the full list of updates in next week's Release Notes (and some more Reaper tips from Grenton)! Until then, we'll see you in Arkesia.