Overwatch 2 players notice bizarre flaw with Reaper’s design

Overwatch 2 is a game known for its character design. It features heroes that are bursting with personality, but an Overwatch fan noticed a very confusing detail about Reaper’s design.

Overwatch 2‘s characters all stand out from each other. Unique character designs define each hero’s gameplay just as much as the way they look, and is an essential part of differentiating between them in a pinch.

Reaper is no different. His massive shotguns and large stature communicate his close range and above-average health pool for a DPS character. His character design communicates what it needs to.

But there’s one component of his design that has left Overwatch players puzzled: If he doesn’t need to reload, why is Reaper covered in shotgun shells?

Reaper’s character design has one major flaw

Reaper, as a character, gets by on the rule of cool. Nothing that he does is remotely practical.

Between turning into fog and ghosting team fights, to teleporting, to sucking the souls out of his enemies, Reaper is very cartoonish and over-the-top in a way that many other heroes in Overwatch 2 are. But the focus here is on how he reloads.

Rather than reloading in a typical sense, Reaper drops his dual-wield shotguns and grabs another pair from… somewhere. Again, rule of cool is key here. Overwatch players have accepted this over the years and are used to Reaper’s less-than-practical method of reloading.

Why does Reaper have shotgun pellets if he doesn’t even reload with them? from Overwatch

But if that’s the case, why is Reaper covered in shotgun shells? What does he use them for if not reloading? Redditor MindedShoe started this conversation, and it has the Overwatch subreddit puzzled.

The replies have tried to find out what Reaper is using these for. Maybe they aren’t shotgun shells at all?

The most upvoted answer suggests they’re party poppers, along with a fan comic showing confetti coming from one of the shells strapped to his jacket.