Graves

Strengths and weaknesses

Abilities

1

Jar of Dead

13s per charge cooldown

Passively collect death from nearby kills into a jar (up to 4 charges). Throw it to summon 4 Deadheads that hit enemies (16 spirit damage each) or follow you.

Tier 1 1 point	Collecting death heals 5 health per pickup
Tier 2 2 points	Deadhead hits slow by 24% for 1s
Tier 3 5 points	+2 Deadheads and +4s Deadhead lifetime

2

Grasping Hands

34s cooldown

Raise a 24m line of grasping hands for 5s, summoning a ghoul. Enemies passing through take 90 spirit damage and are immobilised for 1s. Alt-cast rotates the wall.

Tier 1 1 point	+2s duration
Tier 2 2 points	+90 damage and +10m wall length
Tier 3 5 points	+1 ghoul, -14s cooldown and +0.75s immobilise

3

Essence Theft

For 4s, your weapon steals up to 25% of each target's weapon damage and 10% of their spirit resist (up to 3 targets). The steal builds up over 4s on each target. Melee hits steal too.

Tier 1 1 point	+5% maximum spirit resist stolen
Tier 2 2 points	+20% maximum weapon damage stolen
Tier 3 5 points	+1 target; all your summons apply Essence Theft

ULT

Borrowed Decree

140s cooldown

Place a gravestone (20m range) that keeps summoning ghouls (one every 4s) for 16s. Enemies destroy it with 2 heavy melees. Your abilities also summon ghouls innately; they march towards the enemy base and explode near heroes and objectives for 115 spirit damage and a 64% slow.

Tier 1 1 point	+25% ghoul speed and -15s cooldown
Tier 2 2 points	+10s duration and ghouls spawn 0.3s faster
Tier 3 5 points	Ghouls deal +5% of current health as damage when they die

Ability order

Spend points in this order. Each ability's tiers cost 1, 2 and 5 points.

1. Unlock Jar of Dead
2. Unlock Grasping Hands
3. Unlock Essence Theft
4. Jar of Dead T1
5. Grasping Hands T1
6. Unlock Borrowed Decree
7. Grasping Hands T2
8. Jar of Dead T2
9. Borrowed Decree T1–T2
10. Essence Theft T1
11. Grasping Hands T3
12. Jar of Dead T3
13. Borrowed Decree T3
14. Essence Theft T2–T3

Item build

A starting build that works in most games. Swap pieces based on the enemy team; the notes explain what each stage is for.

WeaponVitalitySpirit

Rate this build in the build rater → See its grade, and the heroes it does well and badly against.

How to play

Graves is a necromancer summoner. Every ability she casts summons ghouls that march down the lane and explode on enemies. Jar of Dead throws Deadheads, Grasping Hands builds a wall of hands that immobilises, Essence Theft steals enemy damage and resist, and Borrowed Decree plants a gravestone that spawns ghouls for 16 seconds.

Her unique gun

The Teacher is a short-range beam that locks onto the closest target. It can’t headshot (and she can’t buy headshot items), but every 13 consecutive shots it deals double damage. Graves’s gun also destroys Venator’s traps (since September 29, 2026).

Laning phase (0–10 min)

• Pressure with summons. Every ability adds ghouls that push your lane.
• Collect death. Nearby kills fill your Jar of Dead, up to 4 charges.
• Grasping Hands for kills. Immobilise the enemy hero as they walk through.

Mid game (10–25 min)

• Push lanes and objectives. Ghouls explode on objectives, too.
• Essence Theft in long fights. It takes 4 seconds to reach full strength on each target, so use it when you can keep shooting.

Late game and team fights (25+ min)

• Borrowed Decree near objectives. A gravestone spawning ghouls every 4 seconds is a constant threat that enemies must deal with.
• Hands across chokepoints. Rotate the wall with alt-cast to block the path the enemy needs to take.

Combos

1. Lane lockdown: Grasping Hands (immobilise) → Jar of Dead on the stuck target → beam.
2. Push: Borrowed Decree near a Walker → Jar of Dead → Grasping Hands to protect the ghouls.
3. Duel: Essence Theft → beam the target for 4+ seconds to steal the maximum amount.

Matchups

• Good against: slow heroes who can’t escape her hands, and teams that ignore lane pressure.
• Hard against: divers and assassins who reach her past the ghouls.

Pro tips

• Essence Theft T3 makes your summons apply it too, so every ghoul steals for you.
• Jar of Dead builds faster from neutral camps (since July 2026).

Lore

Darcy Graves is the daughter of two defence attorneys who always found more comfort in cemeteries than courtrooms. When she found a severed lich's hand in Van Cortlandt Park, it began teaching her necromancy, and now she juggles schoolwork with the demands of the graveyard.

Ability numbers are checked against the game and the community-run Deadlock Wiki after every patch. Builds are our own recommendations. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.