Overview
Reaper (RPR) is a Disciple of War job introduced in Endwalker (6.0) expansion and unlockable at level 70. It is a Melee DPS job and does not have a base class.
Unlock and Guild Information
- Guild: Lemures Headquarters functions as the Reaper job guild.
- Guild: It can be entered from Ul'dah - Steps of Thal.
- Unlock: Prerequisite: The player must have purchased the Endwalker expansion and be level 70 or higher Disciple of War or Magic
- Unlock: Quest: Speak to Flustered Attendant in Ul'dah - Steps of Nald (x12.8,y8.6) to obtain the quest The Killer Instinct.
Equipment
The Reaper is a disciple of war and wears armor "of Maiming" (shared with Dragoon) while using accessories "of Slaying" (shared with Dragoon, Monk, and Samurai). Reapers use war scythes as weapons.
History & Lore
Origins in Garlemald
The Reaper tradition is a direct consequence of Garlemald's societal structure and its fraught relationship with magic. The Garlean Empire, founded by a people largely incapable of manipulating aether to cast spells, rose to power through technological supremacy and magitek. This created a rigid hierarchy where pure-blooded Garleans, despite being the ruling class, were often magically inert. For some, this inherent limitation bred a deep-seated resentment and a desperate hunger for power by any means necessary.
This desperation found its answer in the void. The Thirteenth shard, a reflection of the Source consumed by darkness and overrun by corrupted entities known as voidsent, became a source of forbidden power. Certain Garleans, through occult study or chance discovery, learned to commune with these beings. They offered a pact: the voidsent would be granted temporary possession of the summoner's corporeal form, a vessel in the physical world, in exchange for bestowing a fraction of its power. Thus, the first Reapers were born—not mages, but hosts, wielding scythes as conduits to focus the void-tainted energy granted by their otherworldly partners.
The Symbiotic Pact
A Reaper's power is not their own; it is leased. The relationship with their voidsent avatar is a constant negotiation, a symbiotic bond that borders on parasitic. The Reaper provides the avatar with sensory experience and a tangible connection to the physical realm, a tantalizing prize for a creature of the formless void. In return, the avatar lends its strength, allowing the Reaper to channel void-aspected aether and, ultimately, to merge with it temporarily.
This pact is not without cost or danger. Allowing a voidsent, even a bound one, influence over one's soul carries inherent risks of corruption or loss of self. The scythe serves as both a weapon and a ritual focus, helping to stabilize the bond and direct the chaotic energies. The Reaper's combat style—building a "Soul Gauge" through their attacks—symbolizes the gradual accumulation of the spiritual "rent" paid to the avatar, which is then spent to allow it fuller manifestation.
Aesthetics and Symbolism
The Reaper's visual identity is deliberately macabre and gothic, drawing clear inspiration from classic depictions of death and the supernatural. The oversized scythe, a rare weapon in the Final Fantasy series, evokes the imagery of the Grim Reaper. Their abilities are awash in purples, blacks, and blood reds, with spectral wings, ghostly after-images, and eruptions of void energy defining their spell effects. This aesthetic reinforces their lore as practitioners of a forbidden art, walking a line between power and damnation, their very presence a reminder of the price paid for strength when conventional paths are barred.
Current Mechanics
- Job Gauge: Soul Gauge and Shroud Gauge
- Job Gauge: Death Gauge
- Job Gauge: Soul Gauge and Shroud Gauge and Death Gauge are the Job Gauges of Reaper.
Key Combos
- Slice -> Waxing Slice -> Infernal Slice
- Spinning Scythe -> Nightmare Scythe
Trivia
- The Reaper starts at an elevated level (70) with no associated base class, following a precedent set by multiple earlier jobs (such as Dark Knight, Astrologian, and Machinist starting at 30 in Heavensward; Red Mage and Samurai starting at 50 in Stormblood; and Gunbreaker and Dancer starting at 60 in Shadowbringers).
- Its Maiming armor set is shared with the Dragoon, creating a distinctive "reaper of death" versus "dragoon of dragons" aesthetic dichotomy for the same gear type.
- The scythe as a primary weapon is a first for a combat job in Final Fantasy XIV, though scythes have appeared as tools for Disciples of the Land.
- The job's lore provides a rare glimpse into the subculture and occult practices of ordinary Garlean citizens, separate from the empire's military or political elite.
- The Reaper's signature movement abilities, Hell's Ingress and Egress, create a temporary "shadow" at the departure point, which can be returned to with the follow-up ability Regress, offering unique tactical repositioning.
