Graves builds, abilities and matchups

Deadlock Graves abilities, item builds, game plan and matchups. Statistics cover 30 days as of 2026-10-25.

Graves

Tier 1 Mystic · Early game · Spirit focus

Summoner who gathers death to raise undead and steal resists

Win rate57.0%

Pick rate42.6%

Under 28 min62.6%

Over 40 min53.4%

Item builds last 30 days, 1,496,637 Graves games · average win rate 57.2%

Rank 1 / 3This build 61,602 games (4.1% of Graves games)Win rate 60.7%vs games of the same length +5.6%p

Ability Point Order most common order in this build · numbers are upgrade tiers

Max order 3. Essence Theft → 2. Grasping Hands → 4. Borrowed Decree → 1. Jar of Dead

Level	1	2	3	5	5	7	8	13	14	16	21	22	24	29	31	36
1. Jar of Dead	Unlock	1													2	3
2. Grasping Hands			Unlock						1	2	3
3. Essence Theft				Unlock	1	2		3
4. Borrowed Decree							Unlock					1	2	3
Picked	82%	96%	84%	72%	68%	57%	100%	81%	92%	97%	96%	99%	99%	97%	100%	100%

Level: the earliest level that step can be taken (unlocks at levels 1·3·5·8, upgrades cost 1·2·5 points). Picked: of the games with the same order up to the step before, the share that took this ability.

Where it splits: Step 4 (level 5): 3. Essence Theft 71.6% · 2. Grasping Hands 28.3% / Step 6 (level 7): 3. Essence Theft 56.5% · 2. Grasping Hands 35.1%

Early0~10 min#1~3

Core · #1~3 in order · components included

Skip components you have · if short on slots, buy the upgrade directly

Situational

Mid10~25 min#4~8

Core · #4~8 in order · components included

Skip components you have · if short on slots, buy the upgrade directly

Situational

Late25 min~#9~20

Core · #9~20 in order · components included

Skip components you have · if short on slots, buy the upgrade directly

Situational

Final build, late core bought

9 base slots + 3 unlocked slots · icon numbers are the overall buy order

12 / 12 slots

Extra slot

Destroy Walkers to unlock the extra slots and hold all 12. Situational and counter items replace items in this set; they are not a 13th buy.

Temporary items to sell late

Restorative Shot · before buying Mercurial Magnum

3 upgrades that merge components

Extra Stamina → Stamina Mastery
Extra Spirit → Surge of Power
Spirit Lifesteal → Spiritual Overflow

Counters swap into the final build when needed

Not recommended often bought, but a poor fit for this build

Rank: games and win rate together. Builds are ordered by the lead over games of the same length times games ÷ (games + 30,000), so a build with few games gets less credit for its lead. Number under each icon: win rate difference against items at the same price. Games in this build where the item was bought are compared with games of the same length (5-min steps), then the average of items at the same price is taken away. Expensive items are bought more in games with Souls to spare (winning ones), so only items at the same price are compared. Click an item for its effects and full stats. Win rates shown are for the build group, not for holding all 12 items of the final build at once.

Build styles 1,500 real games (last 3 days, normal games of 20+ min) grouped into 3 styles by where the build went · grouped by: items bought by 20 min · the numbers beside an item are its average purchase time and the share of that style owning it · deadlock-api.com

Weapon · Vitality mix · Torment Pulse

46% of games · win rate 60.3% · 683 gamesVitality +6%p vs other styles

Weapon 35%Spirit 31%Vitality 34%

Early (~10 min)

Restorative Shot1:24 · 59%
Mystic Shot7:24 · 38%

Mid (10~20 min)

Enchanter's Emblem13:33 · 33%
Improved Spirit13:51 · 60%
Torment Pulse15:55 · 89%
Stamina Mastery18:57 · 92%

Late (20 min~)

Toxic Bullets22:22 · 85%
Capacitor22:32 · 75%
Spirit Resilience24:57 · 46%
Siphon Bullets29:19 · 49%
Escalating Exposure30:30 · 52%

Spirit-focused · Arcane Surge

32% of games · win rate 56.4% · 484 gamesSpirit +17%p vs other styles

Weapon 19%Spirit 59%Vitality 22%

Early (~10 min)

Restorative Shot1:33 · 43%
Arcane Surge8:12 · 61%
Mystic Shot8:53 · 57%
Improved Spirit9:33 · 35%

Mid (10~20 min)

Enchanter's Emblem11:51 · 64%
Heroic Aura16:38 · 39%

Late (20 min~)

Superior Duration21:07 · 54%
Stamina Mastery21:33 · 35%
Toxic Bullets24:36 · 31%
Boundless Spirit29:06 · 51%
Transcendent Cooldown30:01 · 32%

New player pickWeapon · Spirit mix · Toxic Bullets

22% of games · win rate 60.4% · 333 gamesWeapon +6%p vs other styles

Weapon 36%Spirit 36%Vitality 29%

Early (~10 min)

Restorative Shot1:29 · 42%
Mystic Shot6:39 · 32%

Mid (10~20 min)

Surge of Power14:21 · 59%
Spirit Shielding15:17 · 36%
Toxic Bullets17:10 · 83%

Late (20 min~)

Stamina Mastery21:39 · 52%
Spirit Resilience27:21 · 37%
Ricochet28:06 · 32%
Boundless Spirit28:20 · 47%
Spiritual Overflow31:35 · 31%

"New player pick" is the style with the highest win rate among those used in 15% or more of games. Win rates also reflect skill gaps, so within 2%p is about even. At first, buy the picked style in order; once comfortable, fit in counter items for the enemy comp.

Ability max order ability maxed first · last 30 days

2. Grasping Hands56%

1. Jar of Dead21%

3. Essence Theft15%

4. Borrowed Decree8%

Abilities

1. Jar of Dead Radius 7m

Passive: Collect death when anything dies nearby and store it in your Jar of Dead.Active: Throw a jar to summon Deadheads that repeatedly deal spirit damage to enemies. Deadheads follow you instead if there's no nearby enemies, and prioritize the target of your weapon.

Against it: Get out of the spot when Deadheads are summoned

2. Grasping Hands 24m

Unearth a line of grasping hands, summoning a Ghoul and leaving behind a rift. Enemies who pass through take spirit damage and receive immobilize. Alt-Cast rotates the orientation of the wall.

Against it: Don't walk over the rift where the hands rise

3. Essence Theft

Your weapon steals weapon damage and spirit resist over time, up to a maximum amount per target.

Against it: Don't take his fire for long; break line of sight to stop the theft

4. Borrowed Decree 20m

Against it: Keep your health high and stay at range when his ultimate is ready

Gun

Graves's gun

Single shot · Ammo 40 · 9.8 bullets/sec · DPS 35 · full damage to 8m, minimum from 17m

Playing against

Go around the Grasping Hands rift or wait until it's gone
Deadheads go for whoever Graves shoots, so back off when you're the target
The longer you get shot, the more resist he steals, so keep fights short

Counter items

Spirit Resilience

Debuff Reducer

Strengths

Deadheads deal steady Spirit damage
Grasping Hands block paths and lock enemies down
His gun steals enemy damage and Spirit Resist

Weaknesses

Hard to use the jar with no death nearby
Grasping Hands are easy to see and avoid
Little mobility, weak to ambushes

Game plan

Laning

Kill Troopers to gather death and pressure enemies and Troopers with the jar.

Mid game

Block paths with Grasping Hands to help your team ambush and chase.

Late game

Shred enemy resists with Deadheads and Essence Theft and deal steady damage from the back.

Power spikes

Jar of Dead gets more dangerous the more death he gathers nearby. Long fights favor him as Essence Theft stacks up.

With them on your team

Clear Troopers with him to fill the jar with death
Focus fire on enemies held by Grasping Hands

2026-10-25 · 30 days · deadlock-api.com, 랭크 기본 매치 · Deadlock API