Graves
The daughter of high-power defense attorneys, Darcy Graves grew up in a home where every conversation was a debate, argument, or negotiation. It was exhausting. But while her parents were often too busy meeting with clients or working on cases to bond with her, the dead were always there to listen. Graves enjoyed her time in the cemetery. It was a quiet place to calm her thoughts and talk through her problems...but one day her one-sided conversations started to change. It began with a faint whisper. A woman's voice that seemed to respond to Graves' complaints. Intrigued, the teenager listened...and followed the voice's instructions until it guided her to a lead-lined box buried in Van Cortlandt Park. But while most high school students would freak out if they were to unearth a severed lich hand, Graves was certainly not most teens. The hand now free of its prison, the lich's voice grew stronger... It had spent years looking to find a student she could pass her knowledge to, and Graves was eager to learn. Now a fledgling necromancer, Darcy balances not only her homework at Blackmore Academy...but the demands of graveyard denizens, each of whom have their own unfinished business that
- Tier
- S
- Win rate
- 56.7%
- Change
- -0.5
- Pick rate
- 40.9%
- Ban rate
- 8.6%
- measured matches
- 234.2K
How to play Graves in Deadlock: abilities and upgrades, skill order, items by phase and matchups, from the games of the last two weeks.
BalancedUtilityOffensiveDefensiveStrong against
Who this hero answers, and why.
- Mirage62.4%win rate in the matchup
Graves wins 62.4% of the 18,201 games measured against Mirage in the last two weeks.
- Sinclair61.9%win rate in the matchup
Graves wins 61.9% of the 22,721 games measured against Sinclair in the last two weeks.
- Shiv61.7%win rate in the matchup
Graves wins 61.7% of the 44,297 games measured against Shiv in the last two weeks.
- Paradox61.3%win rate in the matchup
Graves wins 61.3% of the 37,805 games measured against Paradox in the last two weeks.
- Silver61.2%win rate in the matchup
Graves wins 61.2% of the 36,641 games measured against Silver in the last two weeks.
Abilities
1Jar of DeadPassive: 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.- Deadheads
- 4
- Damage
- 16
- Search Range
- 7m
- Dash Range
- 15m
- Charges
- 4
2Grasping Hands34sRange 24mUnearth 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.- Ghouls Raised
- 1
- Damage
- 90
3Essence TheftYour weapon steals weapon damage and spirit resist over time, up to a maximum amount per target.- Max Weapon Damage Stolen
- 25%
- Max Spirit Resist Stolen
- 10%
- Max Steal Targets
- 3
- Time for Max Damage
- 4s
4Borrowed DecreeUltimate140sRange 20m- Damage
- 115
- Move Speed
- -64%
- Summon Health
- 180
- Melee Damage
- 40
- Summon Lifetime
- 20s
Skill order
The most played order in 6K games of the last two weeks (62.7% win rate). Each ability takes four steps: the unlock and its three upgrades; 4 is the ultimate.
Max order:2›3›1
| Ability | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 1 | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | 1 |
| 2 | · | · | 2 | · | · | · | · | 2 | 2 | 2 | · | · | · | · | · |
| 3 | · | · | · | 3 | · | · | · | · | · | · | 3 | · | 3 | 3 | · |
| 4 | · | · | · | · | 4 | 4 | 4 | · | · | · | · | 4 | · | · | · |
Highest win rate order: 67.9% in 2.4K games
Max order:2›3›1
| Ability | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | 1 | · | · | · | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | · | · | 2 | 2 | 2 | · | 2 | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · |
| 3 | · | 3 | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | 3 | 3 | 3 | · | · |
| 4 | · | · | · | · | · | 4 | · | 4 | 4 | 4 | · | · | · | · | · | · |
Ability upgrades
All upgrades →Each ability unlocks with one point and has three upgrades, bought with ability points: T1 costs 1, T2 costs 2 and T3 costs 5.
- 1Jar of DeadT11 pointCollecting death heals 5 health per pickupT22 pointsOn Hit: Apply 24% Slow for 1sT35 points+2 Deadheads +4s Deadhead Lifetime
- 2Grasping HandsT11 point+2s DurationT22 points+90 Damage and +10m Wall LengthT35 points+1 Ghouls Raised -14s Cooldown +0.75s Immobilize Duration
- 3Essence TheftT11 point+5% Max Spirit Resist StolenT22 points+20% Max Weapon Damage StolenT35 points+1 Max Steal Targets All Summons now apply Essence Theft
- 4Borrowed DecreeT11 point+25% Ghoul Speed -15s CooldownT22 points+10s Duration -0.3s Time To SpawnT35 pointsOn Death: Deal +5% Current Health as Damage
Items by phase
Shop →What Graves players buy most in each phase of the game, with the share that buys it and their win rate.
Laning phase
Restorative Shot74% buy it57.9%
Extra Stamina50% buy it58.6%
Extra Spirit47% buy it58.4%
Improved Spirit29% buy it59.7%
Mystic Shot29% buy it60.3%
Arcane Surge25% buy it60.3%
Monster Rounds17% buy it57.6%
Extra Charge11% buy it56.9%
Mid game
Duration Extender37% buy it59.2%
Spirit Lifesteal29% buy it58.3%- Improved Spirit28% buy it57.2%
Heroic Aura25% buy it62.0%
Enchanter's Emblem24% buy it59.1%
Compress Cooldown24% buy it59.3%- Extra Stamina23% buy it57.1%
- Arcane Surge22% buy it57.3%
Late game
Boundless Spirit45% buy it59.7%
Superior Duration29% buy it57.5%
Echo Shard28% buy it60.3%
Transcendent Cooldown28% buy it58.7%
Toxic Bullets26% buy it55.9%
Superior Cooldown25% buy it58.2%
Escalating Exposure24% buy it60.9%
Stamina Mastery23% buy it55.4%
Items that win most
Highest win rate items bought with this hero (with enough games) and when they are bought on average. Late items win more partly because they are bought in games that were already going well.
Diviner's Kevlarbought at 30:59 · 42K games62.4%
Spirit Burnbought at 34:13 · 57.2K games61.8%
Silencerbought at 37:19 · 13.1K games60.6%
Witchmailbought at 39:51 · 7.2K games60.5%
Refresherbought at 34:45 · 51.4K games60.4%- Escalating Exposurebought at 34:13 · 65.8K games60.3%
Mystic Reverbbought at 29:25 · 26.9K games60.3%
Siphon Bulletsbought at 36:25 · 10.2K games60.1%
Spiritual Overflowbought at 32:44 · 49.5K games60.0%- Echo Shardbought at 26:05 · 87.3K games59.7%
In-game builds
The most favorited Graves builds of the patch published in the game. Copy the ID and search it in the game's Hero Builds browser.
YT Farmingbip Spirit Build Annotated
34.3K favorites · updated 2026-09-30
@farmingbip in the #graves channel in deadlock if asc+ or win maxxing go different hero. farmingbip on yt yt video for explanations! favorite it and refresh to see updates.
567619AndrewChicken's Raging Swarm Build
31.8K favorites · updated 2026-09-30
Devastate your enemies with Echo Shard skulls! This is AndrewChicken's main Graves build.
439088Mayonese
22.8K favorites · updated 2026-08-22
chedum
372158
Matchups and teammates
Best teammates
Wins the lane against
Measured over the last two weeks, with at least 200 games per pair (100 in lane). Lane matchups only count games where both heroes started in the same lane.
Graves builds
View all builds →From the guide «Graves guide»
The items Graves players buy most in each phase of the game over the last two weeks (234,249 games measured), with how many buy them and how they do. Skill points in the most played order (6,001 games, 62.7% win rate).
The most favorited Graves build published in the game this patch: saved 34,338 times, last updated on 2026-09-30. Find it in-game in the Hero Builds browser by its ID: 567619. Its own categories are kept as notes on each item.
Items with the highest win rate when bought on Graves, among those bought in a meaningful share of games, placed by when they are bought on average. Win rate on items bought late is inflated by games that were already going well: read it as “what winning Gravess end up buying”.
The vitality items Graves players buy most, for games where you get focused or need to survive fights longer. Cheapest first.
Hero