Graves

Overview

I miss the old Graves. The no-reload Graves. The ADC Graves… But I am also very old, as that change happened a decade ago at this point (yikes). Graves is a carry oriented jungler that excels when your team can help cover for his lack of CC -- he’s a great pick when you need some extra damage. Click here for the latest data on his best builds, including Runes, Items, Summoner Spells, and more. 

Keys to Remember for Graves

1. Graves is a carry-oriented jungler that doesn't bring hard CC to the table, which means he'll need to a proper team around him to cover for his weaknesses if you want to maximize your chances of winning.

2. Playing near terrain is great for graves as it helps him proc his Q earlier -- always look for angles that force them towards walls.

Strengths

Graves brings a ton of damage and burst even in the early game, especially if you’re able to bounce his End of the Line off of a wall to trigger the detonation. Red Buff will also make him a menace early as it will help his lack of CC, which makes your first gank after clearing your jungle a deadly timing for opponents to be wary of. He’s also very good in duels against opposing junglers and should be looking to contest them at objectives whenever possible. 

Weaknesses

He’s not as squishy as traditional ADCs, but at the end of the day he still plays like them and is still on the squishier side of things, especially for a jungler that’s often tasked with starting fights and objectives. His auto-attacks also don’t bypass minions, so good players may be able to avoid tanking all the damage if they weave in and out of minion lines or their own tower. 

Game Plan 

1. Early Game: He has a good clear, so make sure you are focused on hitting your jungle camps. After that you’ll want to focus on ganking for laners who can actually lock down an opponent, as a lack of CC is going to be a limiting factor in the success of your ganks. 

2. Mid Game: Graves scales very well with gold so don’t over-index on looking for opponents -- you’ll want to make sure you maintain your farming throughout the game. That said, you’ll still want to be looking for small skirmishes as opposed to outright team fights at this point in the game. 

3. Late Game: You have carry potential and should play as such -- it can be prudent to fight backwards with your carries if they are also ranged champions, or you can follow up on engages if your team has great frontline. You are someone who should generally play in the middle of your team comp.