Guide · Jungle

Graves Guide

the Outlaw

Marksman

Tier C Jungle

Graves, the Outlaw, is a marksman champion that is easy to pick up. Across our 1121 analysed ranked games, Graves is mostly played in the Jungle (100% of its games), with a 49.2% win rate in that role: tier C among Jungle champions (#32 of 48, ranked by win rate). Graves's damage is mostly physical (86%): armor is the best defensive answer against this champion. Win rate stays steady whatever the game length (48.7% to 51.2%): a reliable pick in every phase of the game.

Averages measured over 1121 Jungle games played with Graves, from our ranked Solo/Duo data collection.

Combos and how to play

Graves is a marksman-jungler with a unique shotgun: each attack fires four pellets that do not pass through units, and he has to reload when out of ammo. Quickdraw gives him armor and magic resistance, Smoke Screen reduces enemy vision, and Collateral Damage deals heavy damage to the first champion hit.

The melee combo

E › AA AA › Q › AA AA

When: An enemy is close.

Quickdraw brings you closer and gives you armor; your attacks reduce its cooldown, End of the Line explodes after 1 second or on contact with an obstacle.

The control zone

W › Q › E › AA AA

When: You want to reduce the enemy's vision.

Smoke Screen damages and briefly slows and reduces the field of vision; follow with End of the Line and Quickdraw.

The cone ultimate

R

When: Enemies are in a line.

Collateral Damage deals heavy damage to the first champion hit then explodes in a cone: aim at a front-line enemy with others behind.

Laning phase

Your pellets do not pass through units: stand at short range to hit with all of them. Quickdraw recharges when you hit with your basic attacks and gives you a defensive bonus.

Common mistakes

• Attacking from far away: your pellets do not all hit at long range.
• Ignoring your magazine: reloading at the wrong time costs you damage.
• Casting the ultimate without looking at what the cone will hit.

Riot's official tips for playing Graves

• Smoke Screen can be used both to escape and to set up a kill.
• Using Quickdraw to get into range and delivering a point blank Buckshot can do lots of damage.

Build, runes and summoner spells

The most-played core build is Lord Dominik's Regards, The Collector, and Hubris (329 games, 54.7% win rate).

Lord Dominik's Regards+The Collector+Hubris

329 games · 54.7%

Immortal Shieldbow+The Collector+Hubris

196 games · 57.1%

Lord Dominik's Regards+Immortal Shieldbow+The Collector

170 games · 60.6%

Summoner spells

Flash + Smite49.2% · 1117 games

Most-played runes

Dark Harvest + Precision

48.0% · 510 games

Primary tree · Domination

Sudden Impact100%

Grisly Mementos73%

Treasure Hunter98%

Secondary tree · Precision

Legend: Alacrity99%

Triumph97%

Shards

Attack speed99%

Adaptive force100%

Health scaling82%

Fleet Footwork + Inspiration

51.0% · 510 games

Primary tree · Precision

Triumph100%

Legend: Alacrity99%

Coup de Grace70%

Secondary tree · Inspiration

Cosmic Insight84%

Magical Footwear68%

Shards

Attack speed99%

Adaptive force100%

Health scaling87%

Fleet Footwork + Domination

47.9% · 73 games

Primary tree · Precision

Triumph100%

Legend: Alacrity99%

Coup de Grace99%

Secondary tree · Domination

Treasure Hunter96%

Sixth Sense66%

Shards

Attack speed100%

Adaptive force100%

Health scaling82%

For each row, the most picked rune among the games played with this page (share of games in brackets).

Which items to build against the enemy team?

We sort every game by the enemy team's damage. These are Graves's completed items and their win rate in each situation; "▲" marks an item that does at least 3 points better than its usual win rate.

Mostly magic-damage enemy team53.2% · 346 games

At least 50% of their damage is magic

The Collector 53.4%

Hubris 53.2% ▲

Lord Dominik's Regards 58.5% ▲

Immortal Shieldbow 58.1%

Infinity Edge 58.5%

Youmuu's Ghostblade 54.7% ▲

The item that stands out most is Lord Dominik's Regards: 58.5% win rate, +5 points versus its usual win rate.

Mostly physical-damage enemy team51.1% · 280 games

Less than 35% of their damage is magic

The Collector 53.2%

Hubris 50.6%

Lord Dominik's Regards 54.8%

Immortal Shieldbow 58.2%

Youmuu's Ghostblade 51.7%

Infinity Edge 60.7% ▲

The item that stands out most is Infinity Edge: 60.7% win rate, +3 points versus its usual win rate.

Balanced enemy team45.5% · 495 games

Mixed physical and magic damage

The Collector 47.7% ▼

Hubris 46.5% ▼

Lord Dominik's Regards 49.5% ▼

Immortal Shieldbow 57.1%

Infinity Edge 54.8%

Youmuu's Ghostblade 48.1% ▼

No item clearly stands out in this situation: the usual build remains the reference.

Counters and matchups

Who counters Graves in the Jungle

Vi Graves: 35.3%17 games

Vi has the edge in 65% of the 17 Jungle duels against Graves. See the Vi guide.

Jarvan IV Graves: 40.0%20 games

Jarvan IV has the edge in 60% of the 20 Jungle duels against Graves. See the Jarvan IV guide.

Nocturne Graves: 42.1%19 games

Nocturne has the edge in 58% of the 19 Jungle duels against Graves. See the Nocturne guide.

Hecarim Graves: 42.9%21 games

Hecarim has the edge in 57% of the 21 Jungle duels against Graves. See the Hecarim guide.

Nidalee Graves: 42.9%21 games

Nidalee has the edge in 57% of the 21 Jungle duels against Graves. See the Nidalee guide.

Who Graves is strong against

Naafiri62.5% · 16 games

Talon60.0% · 25 games

Qiyana59.3% · 27 games

Viego55.9% · 34 games

Master Yi55.0% · 20 games

How to play against Graves

• Graves deals mostly physical damage so Armor is an effective counter.
• Leaving the Smoke Screen's area of effect removes the harmful effect immediately.

Win rates measured over direct same-role duels; only matchups with more than 15 games are listed. See all of Graves's matchups.

Abilities

PassiveNew Destiny

Graves' shotgun has some unique properties. He must reload when he runs out of ammo. Attacks fire 4 bullets, which cannot pass through units. Non-champions struck by multiple bullets are knocked back.

QEnd of the Line

Graves fires an explosive shell that detonates after 1 second, or after colliding with terrain.

WSmoke Screen

Graves fires a smoke canister at the target area creating a cloud of smoke that reduces sight range. Enemies caught in the initial impact are dealt magic damage and have their Move Speed reduced briefly.

EQuickdraw

Graves dashes forward gaining an Armor and Magic Resist boost for several seconds. If Graves dashes towards an enemy champion, gain two stacks of True Grit instead. Hitting enemies with basic attacks lowers the cooldown of this skill and refreshes the resistance boost.

RCollateral Damage

Graves fires an explosive shell dealing heavy damage to the first champion it hits. After hitting a champion or reaching the end of its range, the shell explodes dealing damage in a cone.

Frequently asked questions

Full Graves page · League of Legends tier list · All champion guides