At a glance#
Role (our classification)
- Summoner — Fights through units it puts on the battlefield.
Damage
- Spirit-leaning kit
Weapon
- The Teacher
Released
- 29 Jan 2026
Graves is a summoning necromancer Hero who siphons life essence from enemies on the battlefield.
Graves’s abilities explained#
Graves has three regular abilities and an ultimate. Ability names and behaviour below were checked on 27 Oct 2026; numbers are left out on purpose because they change with almost every patch — the in-game tooltip shows the current values.
Ability 1
Jar of Dead
Collects death from nearby fallen units and stores it in jars. Throwing a jar summons Deadheads that repeatedly deal spirit damage to enemies.
Ability 2
Grasping Hands
Unearths a line of hands that summons a Ghoul and leaves a rift. Enemies crossing it take spirit damage and are immobilized.
Ability 3
Essence Theft
Steals enemies' weapon damage and spirit resist over time, up to a maximum per target. The effect can be dispelled.
Ultimate
Borrowed Decree
Creates a gravestone that summons Ghouls over time, and abilities can also send Ghouls toward the enemy base. Ghouls explode on heroes and objectives.
How to play Graves#
Your summons multiply your pressure on lanes and objectives. Keep them alive and pointed at the right target, and use them to push waves while you farm or rotate.
Tips from the current kit
- Air dash while firing The Teacher; it keeps firing without pausing.
- Deadheads follow you when no enemies are nearby and prioritise your weapon's target.
- Essence Theft can proc from melee hits.
- Summons are affected by Monster Rounds and Heroic Aura.
- Collecting death heals you per pickup.
Build framework#
A starting framework, not a tested build
This section explains what kind of items Graves’s kit rewards, built from how the abilities work. It isn’t a win-rate-tested build. For community builds with current stats, open the in-game Build Browser and filter by hero, then check our items explainer to understand why each item is there.
Spirit lean. Most of the kit's damage is spirit damage from abilities, so spirit power, cooldown reduction and duration usually do the most for it.
| Stage | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Laning | Cheap 800-soul items that help you trade and sustain in lane, plus one that boosts your main damage source. |
| Mid game | Your first 3,200-soul item is usually the biggest single jump in power — buy toward the one that makes your best ability or your gun stronger. |
| Late game | Fill slots with 6,400-soul items, and swap cheap starters for upgrades. Leave room for an answer to what the enemy is doing. |
| Defence | Match the enemy’s damage: shields and resistance against whichever type is hurting you most. |
Items that fit a spirit kit
Defensive options
Items opponents commonly use against Graves — expect to see them, and plan around them:
Ability points#
Ability unlocks come from levelling up; ability points then buy upgrade tiers. A sensible default for Graves:
- Unlock the ability that helps you farm or trade in lane first — for most players that’s Jar of Dead or the ability you can hit most reliably.
- Unlock all three regular abilities early so you have every tool in the first fights.
- Unlock Borrowed Decree as soon as it’s available.
- Put upgrade points into the ability you use most, then into whichever upgrade tier changes how an ability works (tier 3 upgrades often do).
General guidance; upgrade tiers and costs are shown in game.
Playing against Graves#
- Enemies can destroy the gravestone with two heavy melee attacks.
- Deadheads can be destroyed by weapon damage and melee, but take no damage from abilities or items.
- Graves cannot buy headshot items, and The Teacher cannot deal headshots.
- Dispel Magic can remove Essence Theft effects.
The full breakdown — abilities to play around, counter items with reasons and mistakes to avoid — is in how to counter Graves.
Recent changes#
| Date | Change |
|---|---|
| 30 Oct 2026 | Move speed 7 → 6.7; bullet damage per boon −4%; Grasping Hands deploy time 0.6s → 0.8s; Borrowed Decree’s faster spawn moved from T2 to T3. |
| 29 Sep 2026 | Graves can now destroy Venator's traps with her gun. |
| 16 Sep 2026 | Health per boon increased from 33 to 35. |
Every update that touches heroes is summarised in patch notes explained and the patch impact tracker.