Guide Sections (15)
- Champion Stats
- The Auto Reset
- Which Graves Skin to Use
- When They Ban Graves
- Optimal Runes for Graves
- Graves's Ability Priority
- Mastering Graves's Kit
- Graves's Lane Opponents
- Smoke Screen Misuse
- When Kiting Won't Save You
- The Kiting Dance
- The Lethality Graves Build
- Timing Graves's All-Ins
- The Smoke Screen Blind
- Recent Patch History
Champion Stats
His passive (True Grit) grants free armor every time you dash with E. You take nearly zero damage from jungle camps, meaning you are always at full HP to invade and contest. You can 1v1 almost any AD-based jungler early game because you effectively have 80+ armor at Level 3. Graves shoves lanes instantly when taxing (for the greater good of ending the game), takes towers fast, and usually ends games with the highest gold and damage. He stat-checks everyone early.
The Auto Reset
Invade their Red buff if you started Blue side. Stack E armor on the way by attack-moving through river. Meet them at their buff around 2:30. You have 80+ armor at Level 2 from multiple E dashes—they literally cannot hurt you. Either take the buff with Smite, or kill them and take it. Bonus: do this repeatedly; Graves can full clear, invade, and match enemy clear speed easily.
Graves' reload mechanic is unique. You can reduce the reload time with Attack Speed being low but consistent, but the real trick is E. E resets your auto timer and gives you a shell. AA-E-AA is your bread and butter burst. Use it to stack True Grit quickly in jungle skirmishes.
Which Graves Skin to Use
'Crime City Graves' (formerly 'Mafia Graves') is the gold standard. The auto-attack sound is crisp—it sounds like actual gunshots. The animations feel smoother than other skins. There is genuinely no other skin once you try Crime City. 'Pool Party' is fun but the water gun aesthetic can feel off.
'Mafia' (Crime City) is simply the best. The auto attack sound is a sharp 'click-clack' that makes kiting feel rhythmic. 'Sentinel' is very smooth but some find the particles too wispy. 'Pool Party' has a weird water sound that throws off Last Hitting for some. Stick to the classics.
When They Ban Graves
Kindred is the other 'marksman jungler' who invades. Nidalee is the high-tempo invade option. Lee Sin matches the early game aggression. If you play Graves, you likely want to carry through damage, not utility, so avoid tanks.
Kindred offers similar ranged jungle carry gameplay. Nidalee provides the invade/tempo style. Lee Sin is for aggressive early pressure. Kindred matches the 'marksman in the jungle' identity.
Optimal Runes for Graves
Fleet Footwork is standard for kiting, sustain, and chasing—it procs frequently on Graves' auto patterns and keeps you at full HP forever. Dark Harvest is the snowball option for burst damage when you're confident you'll dominate early. Electrocute is also viable for guaranteed burst in ganks.
Graves's Ability Priority
Max Q first for waveclear and burst damage. Max E second to keep your armor stacks up longer and dash more frequently. W last unless you specifically need the blind radius. Q's damage is your primary tool.
Mastering Graves's Kit
End of the Line fires a shell that returns after 2 seconds OR detonates instantly if it hits a wall. ALWAYS aim for walls to guarantee the instant double-damage burst. Using Q in the middle of a lane without walls makes it easy to dodge. Choke points (jungle corridors) are your friend.
Smoke Screen is one of the strongest basic abilities in the game. It nearsights enemies inside, removing their vision of ANYTHING outside the circle. Drop this on the enemy ADC or Mage exactly when a teamfight starts—they can't see targets to attack. It's essentially a 4-second AOE blind.
Quickdraw dashes and reloads one shell. Crucially, it grants 'True Grit' armor stacks (up to 8). Dashing TOWARDS enemy champions grants 2 stacks instead of 1. Maintain these stacks throughout jungle clears to become tankier than actual tank junglers early game. E cooldown is reduced when you auto-attack.
Collateral Damage fires a massive shell and KNOCKS YOU BACK. Use the recoil as a movement tool—you can R in one direction to knock yourself over a wall in the opposite direction. The shell explodes in a cone behind the first champion hit, dealing AOE damage to their backline.
Graves's Lane Opponents
Easy Matchup. Invade her early and repeatedly. She is weak pre-6 and you are strong pre-6. Don't let her farm to her spike. Ward her camps and kill her on sight.
Vs Evelynn: Easy Matchup. Invade her early and repeatedly. She is weak pre-6 and you are strong pre-6. Don't let her farm to her spike. Ward her camps and kill her on sight. Vs AP Junglers: Harder Matchups. They can burst you before you stack E armor. Focus on fast clears and counter-ganks.
Smoke Screen Misuse
RELOAD MECHANIC. You have 2 bullets. Do NOT dash into a fight with 0 bullets—you will auto once, then stand there doing nothing while you reload. Manage your ammo before fights. Also, Smoke Screen (W) is arguably your most impactful ability in teamfights—do NOT waste it for damage. Use it to blind the enemy ADC or Mage; removing their vision for 4 seconds effectively removes them from the fight.
Your E dash grants armor that stacks up to 8 times. In long fights, you become surprisingly tanky. Always be dashing to keep those stacks up, even if you don't need to reposition.
When Kiting Won't Save You
Dodge if the enemy team drafts heavy AP damage. Graves' True Grit passive only grants ARMOR—he's still squishy against mages. Nidalee + Syndra or Elise + AP mid comps make your passive worthless. Also dodge into Rammus; you auto-attack constantly and kill yourself on his thorns.
The Kiting Dance
Depending on build, you either frontline as a drain-tank bruiser (Shieldbow/Death's Dance) or assassinate from flanks as a backline carry (Lethality). Either way, W (Smoke Screen) the enemy team's primary damage dealer. Your splash autos hit everyone in front of you. R through their frontline for AOE damage. Manage your E cooldown to stack True Grit and survive burst.
The Lethality Graves Build
Crit Graves (The Collector into Infinity Edge) two-taps squishies with auto-Q-auto. It's disgusting. Alternatively, full Lethality (Hubris/Youmuu's/Opportunity) for pure burst. Both builds are glass-cannon-ish but the damage output is absurd. For a balanced option, Shieldbow into Death's Dance makes you surprisingly tanky.
Crit Graves (The Collector into Infinity Edge) two-taps squishies with auto-Q-auto. It's disgusting. Alternatively, full Lethality (Hubris/Youmuu's/Opportunity) for pure burst. Both builds are glass-cannon-ish but the damage output is absurd. Shieldbow into Death's Dance for a more balanced option.
Timing Graves's All-Ins
Serrated Dirk is your first spike—lethality on shotgun autos is brutal. Level 9 (max Q) is a major damage spike. Your 2-item spike (Shieldbow/Eclipse + second item) is when you can fight anyone. Graves is relatively consistent throughout the game; he doesn't fall off hard like some junglers.
Serrated Dirk is your first spike—lethality on shotgun autos is brutal. Level 9 (max Q) is a major damage spike. Your 2-item spike (Shieldbow/Eclipse + second item) is when you can fight anyone. Graves is consistent—don't throw your lead.
The Smoke Screen Blind
Stealing camps in front of the enemy jungler, autoing them once, then walking away is peak Graves disrespect. Emoting while reloading (showing you're still winning with one shell) tilts people. Take Raptors, walk to their Gromp, take that too. They're helpless. Type 'jungle diff' after your third invade kill.
Stealing camps in front of the enemy jungler, autoing them once, then walking away is peak Graves disrespect. Emoting while reloading (showing you're still winning with one shell) tilts people. Type 'jungle diff' after your third invade kill.
Recent Patch History
Recent Balance Changes
| Patch | Date | Type | Changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| V14.17 | Aug 28, 2024 | BUFF | Q buffed |
| V14.13 | Jun 26, 2024 | BUFF | E buffed |
| V14.8 | Apr 17, 2024 | BUFF | P buffed, Base stats adjusted |
| V14.7 | Apr 3, 2024 | BUFF | R adjusted |
| V13.22 | Nov 8, 2023 | NERF | E nerfed |
