Learn which items answer Graves’s threats, how to play the lane, and when to commit or disengage.
Monster Rounds
Ricochet
Cultist Sacrifice
Dispel Magic
Return Fire
Spirit Burn
Healbane
Restorative Locket
Spirit ShieldingBuy for the threat you are facing. These are situational options, not a build to purchase in full. Tap an item for its breakdown.
Reduce the resources around him before committing to a prolonged fight. Clear skulls and summons, use vertical movement against roots, and only melee the gravestone when the exchange is safe. If his setup keeps rebuilding, investing in clear can solve more than adding another defensive item.
Monster Rounds, Dispel Magic, Return Fire, and anti-heal all become useful depending on whether summons, roots, or sustain are the current problem.
Identify what is losing the exchange, then use the answer and timing below.
RicochetWhat to do: Use Ricochet on a weapon build, or Monster Rounds for a more accessible summon-clear option.
Why it helps: Clearing grouped summons reduces Graves’s resource pressure, but a weapon investment needs to fit your own hero and build.
Dispel MagicWhat to do: Use Dispel Magic when the non-ultimate control/debuff is applied.
Why it helps: Purging the effect restores your ability to move and prevents the follow-up from being guaranteed.
Spirit BurnWhat to do: Apply strong anti-heal before the all-in.
Why it helps: Graves has meaningful sustain, and cutting the recovery window makes her much easier to finish once her summons are cleared.
Monster RoundsWhat to do: Buy Monster Rounds as the cheaper early answer.
Why it helps: Extra damage into NPCs and summons helps you clear her spawned pressure sooner instead of letting the wave and ghouls snowball the lane.
Leaving summons and other resources intact lets them keep contributing while you focus the hero. Clear what you safely can before committing.
A parry can punish the heavy melee. Treat the melee clear as an opportunity when safe, not a requirement in every exchange.
Reduces enemy healing and sustain during fights.
Useful answers: Healbane · Spirit Burn
Mitigates ability-based burst and spirit damage.
Useful answers: Spirit Shielding
Survival tools against early lane poke and harassment.
Useful answers: Restorative Locket
Monster RoundsImproves damage against minions and summons.
Use in this matchup:
RicochetSpreads weapon damage to nearby enemies and summons.
Use in this matchup:
Cultist SacrificeImproves NPC clear and consumes eligible summons for rewards.
Dispel MagicClears non-ultimate debuffs; unavailable while stunned or slept.
Use in this matchup:
Return FireReflects incoming damage during exchanges you can survive.
Spirit BurnSpirit-damage buildup triggers an explosion, burn, and healing reduction.
Use in this matchup:
HealbaneSpirit damage applies anti-heal; affected enemy deaths restore health.
Restorative LocketConsumes accumulated stacks for a self-heal.
Spirit ShieldingGrants a barrier after a burst of spirit damage.