The scarecrow of R.E.P.O.—a.k.a. protector of all maps, or the Reaper—is busy working overtime to stop you from reaching your quota and paying the Taxman.
Here’s our full guide on how to deal with the Reaper in R.E.P.O.
What does the Reaper do in R.E.P.O.?
The Reaper appears across all maps as a slow-moving nuisance that deals a ton of persistent damage if she catches you. Waddling around the map, the Reaper uses her stick legs to move around slowly. She only has one attack mode that sees her run at you, flailing her double swords towards your face. If caught in her blast, the Reaper will deal continuous damage to you, quickly resulting in your demise.
How to evade the Reaper in R.E.P.O.
The Reaper has one of the shortest attention spans in the entire game. She loses track of her target incredibly quickly, especially after leaving a room. You need to close doors behind you as you weave in and out of rooms, and hug the walls, hide underneath furniture, or go to another floor if the Reaper is after you. We’ve found she cannot track your location for long if you climb a flight of stairs, shut doors or use cover to hide behind (so long as she didn’t see you hide there).
Very often, the Reaper won’t follow you into a room if you’ve shut the door behind you. This means the worst thing you can do is run away from the Reaper in a straight line. She can only track you this way, so do everything in your power to avoid this simple pathing. Hiding in the same room after being spotted will get you killed, so stay active and reposition to make her forget about your existence.
Can you kill the Reaper?
The Reaper can be killed, just like every other monster in R.E.P.O. While firearms are the strongest weapons, there’s a cheaper, more consistent option you can get relatively early on if you prioritize tools over upgrades: the Baseball Bat. You don’t necessarily need to waste throwables to stun or stagger the Reaper as the Baseball Bat can do that for you. Watch the Reaper’s pathing and stay behind her at all times. Use furniture to hide underneath or tuck yourself around a corner, out of the Reaper’s line of sight.
Wait for your moment to strike and swing the Bat at her to knock her down. Keep whacking her so she can’t get back up. Eventually, the Reaper will have taken enough damage that her body transforms into a life orb. You can take this to the extraction point to help reach your next quota.
The Gun or Tranq Gun (paired with either the Frying Pan or Baseball Bat) are viable options to take this monster out of action, but a melee weapon is sufficient enough to ambush and kill the Reaper. You cannot take this monster on when she’s attacking you because she will disarm whatever weapon you’re carrying. So attacking when her back is turned is crucial to winning the fight.