Graves ARAM Build: The Ultimate Guide for 2025

Graves is one of the most versatile marksmen in League of Legends, using his signature shotgun to deal devastating damage up close. His combination of burst potential and durability makes him a formidable opponent in ARAM matches.

What is ARAM?

ARAM stands for All Random All Mid, a game mode in League of Legends where players engage in intense 5v5 battles on the Howling Abyss map. In this single-lane environment, action is constant with team fights happening all the time and limited opportunities to go back and buy items or heal.

A well-optimized Graves ARAM build can make a significant difference in these chaotic matches. By selecting the right runes, items, and strategies, Graves can:

• Take down high-priority targets quickly
• Stay alive during long fights
• Move effectively through narrow spaces
• Deal substantial damage in team fights

The confined space of ARAM enhances Graves' strengths while also presenting unique challenges. His playstyle, which focuses on close-range combat and area-of-effect abilities, thrives in the narrow lane. However, it becomes essential to choose the right items for survival and impact.

Understanding Graves in ARAM

Graves stands out as a powerful marksman with a unique shotgun-based attack pattern. His auto-attacks deal cone-shaped damage, making him particularly effective in ARAM's narrow lane where enemies often cluster together.

Key Champion Traits:

• Shotgun-style basic attacks
• Built-in defensive stats from True Grit
• Strong wave clear abilities
• High burst damage potential

ARAM-Specific Characteristics:

• Excels in close-quarter combat
• Natural tankiness suits constant fighting
• Smoke Screen (W) controls tight spaces
• Reload mechanic requires precise positioning

Maximizing Potential:

• Use walls to double-hit with Q (End of the Line)
• Stack True Grit between waves for extra defense
• Save E (Quickdraw) for dodging crucial abilities
• Time your reloads during safe moments

The single-lane nature of ARAM amplifies Graves' strengths. His ability to clear waves quickly helps maintain map pressure, while his short-range burst damage shines in frequent team fights. The constant action allows Dark Harvest to stack rapidly, turning Graves into a late-game powerhouse.

Positioning is crucial - stay at medium range to maximize shotgun spread damage while maintaining a safe distance from threats. Use bushes and terrain to your advantage when setting up Q angles or looking for burst opportunities.

Runes and Summoner Spells for Graves in ARAM

Primary Rune Path: Domination

• Dark Harvest - Essential keystone that scales with enemy takedowns
• Taste of Blood - Provides sustain through champion damage
• Eyeball Collection - Stacks AD from takedowns
• Ultimate Hunter - Reduces cooldown on Collateral Damage

Secondary Rune Path: Precision

• Legend: Bloodline - Grants lifesteal scaling
• Coup de Grace - Extra damage to low-health targets

Rune Stats

• Adaptive Force
• Adaptive Force
• Armor/Magic Resist (based on enemy team)

Dark Harvest excels in ARAM's constant fighting environment, allowing Graves to stack damage quickly through multiple takedowns. The rune's scaling nature makes it particularly effective as games progress.

Summoner Spells

Flash remains mandatory on Graves, enabling:

1. Quick repositioning for optimal damage
2. Escape from dangerous situations
3. Wall-hop combinations with E (Quickdraw)

The second summoner spell choice depends on team composition:

• Mark - Better for engaging distant targets
• Ignite - Stronger for securing kills and reducing healing

Mark shines against ranged teams by providing an extra gap closer, while Ignite proves valuable against healing-heavy compositions. Your choice should complement your team's engage potential and counter the enemy's sustain capabilities.

Skill Order and Essential Items for Graves in ARAM

Skill Order Priority:

• Q - End of the Line
• E - Quickdraw
• W - Smoke Screen
• R - Collateral Damage (level at 6, 11, 16)

Maxing Q first provides consistent damage output and waveclear potential. E second grants increased mobility and armor stacks, vital for surviving ARAM's constant team fights. W's utility comes last as its impact remains relatively constant throughout the game.

Core Items Build Path:

1. Start with B.F. Sword + Health Potions
2. The Collector
3. Infinity Edge
4. Lord Dominik's Regards

This build path maximizes burst damage potential through a mix of lethality and critical strike chance. The Collector's execute passive synergizes with Graves' burst playstyle, while Infinity Edge amplifies critical strike damage for devastating late-game impact.

Situational Items:

• Mercury's Treads: Essential against teams with multiple crowd control abilities
• Guardian Angel: Provides a second chance in crucial team fights
• Edge of Night: Blocks key abilities while adding lethality

The combination of Mercury's Treads and Edge of Night creates a strong defense against crowd control teams without sacrificing damage output. These items allow Graves to maintain aggressive positioning while reducing the risk of being locked down and eliminated.

Lethality Items, Critical Strike Items, and Lifesteal Items for Sustained Damage Output

Graves' damage output scales exceptionally well with a mix of lethality and critical strike items. Here's a breakdown of essential items for different scenarios:

Lethality Build Path

• Duskblade of Draktharr - Provides burst damage and invisibility
• Eclipse - Grants shield and movement speed for survivability
• Youmuu's Ghostblade - Adds mobility and out-of-combat movement speed

Critical Strike Items

• Infinity Edge - Amplifies critical strike damage
• Bloodthirster - Combines critical strike with lifesteal
• Phantom Dancer - Offers attack speed and movement speed

Against CC-Heavy Teams

• Quicksilver Sash → Mercurial Scimitar
• Edge of Night - Spell shield protection
• Death's Dance - Damage reduction and sustain

Lifesteal items become crucial during extended ARAM fights. The Bloodthirster provides substantial healing, while Death's Dance helps mitigate burst damage. Against teams with multiple crowd control abilities, prioritize Mercurial Scimitar for its cleanse active and Edge of Night for the spell shield.

Mix these items based on the enemy team composition - lean towards lethality against squishier teams and opt for critical strike items against tankier opponents.

Performance Analysis and Matchups for Graves in ARAM

Graves has a 46% win rate in ARAM, which puts him in a balanced position within the game mode. His pick rate is around the middle of the champion pool, making him a reliable choice for players looking for consistent performance.

Favorable Matchups

Graves does well against teams with mostly melee champions, especially:

• Hecarim - Graves' E allows him to quickly move away from Hecarim's charges
• Talon - Smoke Screen messes up Talon's attempts to kill him
• Rengar - True Grit passive gives important armor against Rengar's burst damage

Challenging Opponents

There are several champions that can be big problems for Graves:

• Sona - Her healing over time cancels out Graves' burst damage
• Fiddlesticks - Fear CC messes up Graves' positioning
• Yasuo - Wind Wall blocks important abilities and auto-attacks

Counter-Play Strategies

When up against tough matchups, change how you play:

• Build Mercury's Treads early against teams with lots of crowd control
• Stand behind your front-line allies against teams that like to engage
• Use your Smoke Screen at the right time to mess up enemy carries during team fights
• Save your Quickdraw for moving defensively instead of making aggressive moves

By spotting enemy threats early and changing your build path accordingly, you can greatly increase your chances of success. If the enemy team has multiple tanks or heavy healing, make sure to prioritize getting Lord Dominik's Regards as one of your main items. This is particularly important when facing opponents who embody the holy trinity of tank, healer which can significantly hinder your team's performance.

Conclusion

To play Graves effectively in ARAM, you need to have a strategic approach that maximizes his potential. By using the right combination of runes, items, and skill order, you can turn Graves from a regular marksman into a powerful force.

With an optimized Graves ARAM build, you can:

• Burst down priority targets with Dark Harvest stacks
• Sustain through extended fights with lifesteal items
• Adapt your build path based on enemy team composition
• Control teamfight positioning with Smoke Screen

The Graves ARAM build works best when you find the right balance between offensive power and defensive stats. This flexibility allows Graves to be a strong pick against various team compositions and matchups.