Valve surprised Deadlock players in early February 2026 with the official release of Graves. The new hero arrives with a stylish necromancer look and mechanics that strongly resemble Undying from Dota 2. Unlike other classic summoners, she focuses on prolonged fights and gradually weakening opponents while draining life to stay alive on the battlefield.
Graves' primary weapon is a severed lich hand that fires a short-range beam with built-in lifesteal. Meanwhile, the Essence Theft ability enhances this attack, allowing her to steal up to 25% of the target's weapon damage and 10% of their spirit resistance after four seconds of contact. This makes her an unstoppable threat in extended engagements, especially if you equip items like Split Shot to hit multiple targets at once.
Graves' Abilities in Deadlock
- Beam Weapon: Short-range shot that drains life and has light target tracking.
- Essence Theft: Steals up to 25% weapon damage and 10% spirit resistance (scales with spirit).
- Jar of Dead: Collects souls from the ground to summon four Deadheads (floating skulls) that attack the target.
- Grasping Hands: Creates a wall that immobilizes and damages enemies who pass through it.
- Borrowed Decree (Ultimate): Places a tombstone that generates explosive Ghouls. Each explosion deals 150 damage (1.5x spirit scaling) and 80% slow.
For those who enjoy summons, Jar of Dead lets Graves collect souls across the map to create Deadheads. These small floating skulls chase and strike enemies repeatedly, dealing constant spirit damage. Additionally, the hero has Grasping Hands, an excellent tactical wall for cutting off narrow lanes and preventing victims from fleeing while their strength is drained.
The highlight of the kit is Borrowed Decree, her ultimate ability. Graves places a giant tombstone that continuously generates Ghouls to attack opponents. However, players need to stay alert, as enemies can destroy the tombstone with just two heavy melee attacks. Thus, proper positioning of the structure determines whether Graves will dominate the fight or lose her biggest trump card quickly.