Graves Build and Counters in Deadlock (Updated October 2026)

Graves item build

Items grouped by when they are usually bought, with the share of games where the hero buys them and the win rate with the item.

Graves ability order

Graves counters and synergies

The percentage is the win rate of Graves against the enemy or together with the teammate, from pairs with at least 100 matches.

Graves abilities

Ability 1

Jar of Dead

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.

Charges4

Charge Delay13s

Deadheads4

Damage16

Search Range7m

Dash Range15m

1. Upgrade 1Collecting death heals 5 health per pickup
2. Upgrade 2On Hit: Apply 24% Slow for 1s
3. Upgrade 3+2 Deadheads +4s Deadhead Lifetime

Ability 2

Grasping Hands

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 Alternate cast rotates the orientation of the wall.

Cooldown34s

Cast Range24m

Duration5s

Ghouls Raised1

Damage90

1. Upgrade 1+2 s Duration
2. Upgrade 2+90 Damage and +10m Wall Length
3. Upgrade 3+1 Ghouls Raised -14s Cooldown +0.75s Immobilize Duration

Ability 3

Essence Theft

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

Duration4s

Max Weapon Damage Stolen25%×0.25Grows by 0.25 per point of Spirit Power

Max Spirit Resist Stolen10%

Max Steal Targets3

Time for Max Damage4s

1. Upgrade 1+5% Max Spirit Resist Stolen
2. Upgrade 2+20% Max Weapon Damage Stolen
3. Upgrade 3+1 Max Steal Targets All Summons now apply Essence Theft

Ability 4

Borrowed Decree

Innate: Abilities can summon Ghouls that shamble toward the enemy base, dealing melee damage. They explode when they approach a hero or objective, dealing spirit damage in an area and applying a brief slow Active: Create a gravestone at a target location that summons Ghouls over time. Enemies can destroy the gravestone with two heavy melees.

Cooldown140s

Cast Range20m

Duration16s×0.04Grows by 0.04 per point of Spirit Power

Damage115

Move Speed-64%

Summon Health180

Melee Damage40

Summon Lifetime20s

Slow Duration1.25s

Explosion Radius6.5m

Time to Summon4s

1. Upgrade 1+25% Ghoul Speed -15s Cooldown
2. Upgrade 2+10s Duration -0.3s Time To Spawn
3. Upgrade 3On Death: Deal +5% Current Health as Damage

Graves base stats

Max Health730

Health Regen1

Damage Per Second35.29

Bullet Damage3.6

Ammo40

Fire Rate9.8

Reload Time2.8s

Move Speed7m

Sprint Speed2.2m

Stamina2

Light melee damage50

Heavy melee damage116

Graves story

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 they seek her aid in resolving.