Matchup

Heavy AD damageHigh burstSustained DPS

Build vs Graves

Build adapted to this matchup

Starting items

Doran's Blade
Health Potion

Core build

Essence Reaver
1DPS
Infinity Edge
2DPS
Navori Flickerblade
3DPS

Standard

Berserker's Greaves
4AS
Lord Dominik's Regards
5vs Tank

Summoner spells

421100%

Anti AD

Plated Steelcaps
4vs AD
Guardian Angel
5vs AD

Anti Heal

Mortal Reminder
6vs Hybride

Anti AP

Mercury's Treads
4vs CC
Mercurial Scimitar
5vs AP

Anti Tank

Lord Dominik's Regards
5vs Tank

DPS

Bloodthirster
DPS
100.0% WR1 games
PrecisionPrecision
Lethal TempoLethal Tempo
Presence of MindPresence of Mind
Legend: BloodlineLegend: Bloodline
Coup de GraceCoup de Grace
InspirationInspiration
Magical FootwearMagical Footwear
Biscuit DeliveryBiscuit Delivery
Attack SpeedAdaptive ForceHealth Scaling

Power Spikes

Strength by game phase

Early (0-15)
Mid (15-30)
Late (30+)
XayahXayah
GravesGraves
Neutral
Neutral
Neutral

Graves's abilities

Passive, spells and ultimate

New Destiny (P)

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.

Cooldowns

Cooldowns by spell rank

LevelQWER
313s26s16s
69.5s26s16s1m40
96s24s16s1m40
116s22s16s1m20
166s18s14s1m
186s18s12s1m

Playing against Graves

How to counter and exploit weaknesses

1

Minions and tanks block his autos (like a shotgun) — position yourself behind units to reduce his damage.

2

His W blinds you: get out of the smoke cloud quickly instead of fighting inside it.

3

Graves is an early/mid game jungle champion — if you scale better, play safe and wait for late game.

4

He has relatively short range (425) — long-range ADCs outrange him easily.

Source: op.gg + LTL Engine · Patch 16.9.1 · May 9, 2026