[Sorry for not doing a lot of these, my month of June was crazy, I should be doing these every week again.]
If there is one sole objective for the AD Carry in bottom lane, it's to do damage and do it quickly. For Summoner's Rift bottom lane, not many do that objective better than
Graves. The Outlaw of League provides a devastating burst along with utility to push lanes and disrupt team fights, along with an ultimate that can sway any battle.
Graves is a threat to all champions in Summoner's Rift, and here's a few reasons why:
Grave's True Grit
While some passives help with killing minions and champions quicker, like
Corki's
Hextech Shrapnel Shells or
Ezreal's
Rising Spell Force;
Graves' passive,
True Grit, adds Armor and Magic Resist the more he attacks. Obtaining this Armor and Magic Resist not only gives
Graves free defensive capabilities while staying in combat, but allows
Graves to trade better than most AD carries. With
True Grit stacking up to ten times,
Graves can make sure he'll inflict the most damage and leave with most of his HP remaining. This also becomes helpful during late game when
Graves can combine his passive with items such as
Wit's End,
Atma's Impaler, and
Maw of Malmortius.
The Deadliest Buckshot
Graves' Q Ability,
Buckshot, is a tremendous damage dealer, firing three bullets with the opportunity of all three hitting one character if fired close enough. This is
Graves' bread and butter tactic to harassing in lane, putting yourself ahead in trades, and quickly clearing minion piles. While
Graves has a slower movement speed at 305, using
Graves' E Ability,
Quickdraw, will help you get your
Buckshot into position and achieve maximum damage. As said before,
Buckshot fires three bullets, which in turn when used correctly, can effectively do damage to three specific targets. Given the range of the cone and multiple shots,
Buckshot is suited for checking bushes, firing into groups during teamfights, and synergizing harassing champions and picking up CS.
Graves' Use in Teamfights
Graves' kit gives him the ability to turn the tables during escapes and teamfight, along with doing what he does best, doing maximum damage in short periods of time. If
Graves' team is having issues escaping an ill-fated fight, or needed a way to move into a gank or teamfight,
Graves' W Ability,
Smoke Screen, is your go-to ability. It hinders the enemies' vision while in the smoke, while also being slowed in the smoke. This can be used to escape enemy champions, or slow them down to continue dealing damage.
Graves has a one-two punch that he can use to combo into his ultimate do turn the tides on a teamfight and do some serious work.
Graves' E Ability,
Quickdraw, dashes
Graves a short distance, but grants him extra Attack Speed for a few seconds, so you can use
Quickdraw to put damage quickly onto enemy champions, or set up
Graves' big Combo: his
Buckshot to
Collateral Damage.
Collateral Damage is a giant shot that explodes then the shell continues behind the explosion to do extra damage behind the initial target. This ultimate should be used right in the beginning intiation to the middle of a teamfight, to catch as many enemies as possible and to turn the tables on fights.
Graves along side of
Corki and
Vayne I feel can administer the most amount of damage among AD carries, but
Graves' combos and ability to push these combos onto multiple characters at once gives him a proper edge in his bottom lane and in the back of teamfights. With a passive Armor and Magic Resist gain while dealing out damage, The Outlaw most certainly places himself as one of the standout AD carries in Summoner's Rift.
Nice, in-depth analysis of Graves strengths. Also I really like your banner! :)
Why thank you :)