Although the hype around Vampire Survivors seems to have died down, its community continues to grow due in large part to the largess of its developer, Poncle. Over the past year, it’s released four major updates (all completely free), and two bargain-priced DLC packs; and don’t forget, the game is completely free on the Play Store and you don’t even need ahigh-end gaming phoneto play it (but it couldn’t hurt). In addition to this constant supply of new content, the gameplay is notoriously replayable, capable of sucking away hours of your life as you endeavor to unlock new stages, weapons, and characters. Some of these unlocks are easier than others, but one of the first big hurdles most players have to overcome is defeating the level-ender itself, The Reaper.
The Reaper usually shows up 30 minutes into a run (depending on the level), and on your first few encounters, it seems like there’s no way to beat it: it moves too fast, hits too hard, and tanks too much damage. And indeed, for the most part, you’re meant to die at this point; the game even tells you “Stage Completed.” But that doesn’t mean you have to surrender to the sweet embrace of death. You can fight it and win.
Do not go gentle into that good night
If you want to confront the reaper of souls, you’ll have to lay some groundwork in preparation. You need to unlock two hidden stages to obtain one relic, which unlocks four items that allow you to evolve two specific weapons (read ourVampire Survivors secrets guidefor some shortcuts to unlocking these).
Now that you’re properly armed and armored, it’s time to slay The Reaper. Infinite Corridor shoots out a freezing beam in a different direction each time, following the hours of a clock face. Every 12th shot, your character is surrounded by a rainbow aura, halving the health of every enemy on screen. Crimson Shroud has lots of effects, but the most important one is capping all incoming damage to 10 (The Reaper hits with over 65,000 damage per strike).
Let’s get Toastie
If you’re looking for an additional challenge, you can try to defeat The Reaper the way it was originally intended: with the character Toastie.
The easiest way to unlock Toastie is with the spell “tramezzini” but this will only work after unlocking Exdash with the spell “x-x1viiq” in the Secret Menu.
What makes this challenge so difficult is that Toastie has only 1 HP. Essentially, any damage it takes is an instant death sentence. If you manage to make it to level 100, it gains 9,998 HP. At this point you’re half way there and near impossible for anyone but Death to kill. You still need to make it to level 200 whereupon Toastie will gain 65,520 Armor, limiting The Reaper’s damage to 15 per hit. By playing smart (and getting lucky) with weapons and items, you should be able to take on the Grim Menace toe-to-toe.
Don’t fear The Reaper
Both of these methods require a little bit of planning and neither of them are foolproof. If you decide to go for the items, you’ll have to move quickly to get all of them and have time to level them up. Choose a level like Inlaid Library or Gallo Tower to limit how far you have to go, or use an Arcana like Mad Groove to bring the items to you. If you decide to try the Toastie challenge, ensure you’ve got all the Power Ups you’re able to afford (particularly Revival and Armor) and you equip items like Laurel and Tiragasú during your run.
All this work is worth it in the end. By putting The Reaper in the ground, you unlock Mask of the Red Death to purchase. So what do you get for your work and money? The character with the fastest base speed in the game who’s second only to Queen Sigma. If you’re interested in unlocking othertop-tier characters from Vampire Survivors, we’ve got a guide for that, too.
