Graves Passive is “Destiny Deluxe”, his infamous shotgun. It has a few unique features. For one, Graves can only fire 2 autoattacks and must reload when he runs out of ammo. Additional attack speed only slightly reduces the duration of the reload, but the time between the two autoattacks is significantly reduced. In addition, his autoattacks fire 4 bullets that do not pass through enemies. Enemies hit take full damage from the first projectile and reduced damage from each subsequent one. Units that are not champions and are hit by more than one projectile are also thrown back. Against buildings, however, the damage from Grave’s autoattacks is reduced by 25%. On critical hits, Destiny fires 6 projectiles instead of the usual 4 and deals 30% more damage. Thanks to this special weapon, Graves can burst enemy Carries very hard in close combat, but is also able to kite melee fighters effectively.

At level 1, you skill the E “Quick Draw” with Graves. When activated, Graves jumps in the selected direction and gains a stack of “true grit” for 4 seconds, which gives him additional armor that lasts for a few seconds. If Graves dashes in the direction of an enemy champion, he receives 2 stacks instead. In total, Graves can build up to 8 stacks in this way, making him very tanky against physical damage. The time for the stacks to expire is renewed each time Graves attacks a target that is not a minion. Graves also reloads a shot from his shotgun when he uses the E and this is an autoattack reset that can be used to make the next attack follow more quickly. Autoattacks also reduce the cooldown of the E by 0.5 seconds for each projectile hit. The E makes Graves very mobile and allows him to build up armor the longer he fights, which means he can take a lot of damage against many melee fighters. Thanks to this ability, he is extremely strong in skirmishes. An important combo with Graves is AA->E->AA, as this allows you to deal 2 autoattacks very quickly and therefore a lot of burst. You maximize E second, as it doesn’t help you much with jungle clears, but is important for midgame fights.

At level 2, you take the Q “Endstation” as Graves. When activated, Graves fires an explosive round that detonates after 2 seconds or 0.2 seconds if it hits terrain. It deals area damage twice in the form of a T, once when fired and a second time with significantly increased damage when detonated. This ability lets you effectively clear camps in the jungle and is used to burst your opponents in fights against champions. The best way to hit the Q is if your opponent is between you and a wall where you can detonate the cartridge immediately. Maximize this ability first, as it greatly increases your clear speed in the jungle and the additional damage is also important against champions.

You skill the W “Smokescreen” for the first time at level 3. When activated, Graves fires a smoke canister into the selected area, enveloping it in smoke for 4 seconds and reducing the visibility of enemies standing in it. Enemies hit by the initial impact also take magic damage and are temporarily slowed by 50%. You can get the most out of this ability by using it to stop enemy champions from autoattacking. The reduced visibility forces them to run out of the smoke cloud first, as they can’t see anyone outside the zone and are therefore very vulnerable themselves. If you can zone an enemy ADC out of a teamfight in this way, you create a good situation for your team, as the opponents will lack their DPS. Maximize the W last, as additional ability points in it offer the least added value.

As usual, you level up your ultimate ability “Collateral Damage” at levels 6, 11 and 16. Graves fires an explosive projectile that deals heavy damage to the first enemy hit. If a champion is hit or the projectile has reached its maximum range, it explodes and causes additional area damage in the form of a cone. Graves himself is thrown back when the projectile is fired, although this animation can be canceled with his E. The ult is ideal for sniping opponents with low health or finishing them off in an all-in. It is also very effective for dealing large amounts of area damage to multiple enemies standing close together. You can also use the ult’s knockback to keep opponents at a distance or even escape over thin walls.