Graves in short: This profile is built from three sources: the official biography, the official ability descriptions and the official tips for playing with and against Graves. The biography is short, so the character sketch stays brief. The kit and tips are read as signals of temperament, not as extra story.
Based on Riot Games Data Dragon: Graves champion data (patch 16.20.1), as read on 2026-10-13. The retelling, the analysis and every sentence are our own.
Graves is one of the few marksmen whose official text reads more like a criminal file than a combat manual. For readers who know him from the game and want the story behind the gun, this profile sorts what Riot's data actually states from what players tend to assume. The official story is thin. The biography is only a few sentences long, and it names very little beyond a rival-turned-partner and one city's underworld. Most of what follows is reading, and it is marked as reading.
Who Graves is (only what the official biography says)
Malcolm Graves is presented as a mercenary, a gambler and a thief. The biography stresses that he is known across many places, a man with a price on his head in several cities and empires. It adds that his temper is explosive, but that he keeps a firm personal code about crime, and that he enforces it with his double-barreled shotgun, named Destiny.
The official title is Graves, the Outlaw, and his role tag is Marksman. The biography is short, and that is worth saying plainly. It describes him in broad strokes and does not give a childhood, a origin, or a timeline. Its one forward-moving detail is that he has recently repaired a difficult partnership with Twisted Fate, and the two are doing well again in Bilgewater's criminal scene.
How Graves's kit tells the character
His passive, New Destiny, gives the shotgun a reload when it runs dry. Each attack fires four bullets that stop at the first unit they strike, and non-champions hit by several of them are pushed back. The official text describes a weapon that is deliberate and loud, which fits a man with a temper who also cares about control. Q, End of the Line, fires an explosive shell that goes off after a short delay or when it hits terrain. Reading it alongside the passive, one could say the character prefers to make a mess on his own terms.
W, Smoke Screen, fires a canister that spreads a cloud reducing sight, and enemies caught at the point of impact take magic damage and are slowed briefly. E, Quickdraw, is a forward dash that grants a temporary boost to armor and magic resistance, and dashing at an enemy champion grants two stacks of True Grit instead. R, Collateral Damage, fires a shell that hits the first champion it reaches with heavy damage, then bursts in a cone. This suggests a figure who uses cover, distance and surprise, then closes in once the advantage is his. That is one reading, not something the text states.
Playing Graves: what the official tips say
The official ally tips point to two habits. The first is that Smoke Screen works both as an exit and as a way to set up a kill, so a player can use the same cloud to leave a fight or to trap someone in it. The second is that Quickdraw can carry Graves into range for a close-quarters blast, which the tips describe as capable of heavy damage.
The enemy tips are the other half. An opponent should expect most of his damage to be physical, so building up defenses against that kind of harm is the sensible response. They also note that stepping out of the Smoke Screen's area ends its harmful effect straight away, so a player caught in the cloud has a clear way out.
Skin lines
The data lists several skin names for Graves. Among them are the Pool Party line, with its gem-named variants, and the Praetorian line, which includes several differently named versions. Victorious Graves appears in multiple mode-specific forms, and other single skins carry names such as Hired Gun Graves, Jailbreak Graves, Crime City Graves, Riot Graves, Cutthroat Graves and Snow Day Graves.
The data gives these names and nothing else. It does not explain their themes, designs or stories, so any reading of what each skin means would be guesswork.
Bilgewater and Twisted Fate in the official text
The biography names two places and people in its short account. Bilgewater is the region where Graves and his partner operate, and the text describes it as turbulent and criminal. Twisted Fate is the partner Graves has reconciled with after a troubled period. The data does not say how the partnership broke down or how it was repaired.
What the official sources leave open
The biography does not give Graves a backstory, an origin, an age or a home. It does not explain where his code of honor came from, or what the troubled period with Twisted Fate involved. The ability descriptions state what each skill does, but they do not say what the character thinks or feels while using them. Anything beyond those lines is an interpretation, not official lore.
Graves in the game
- Graves in Rift Lab: roles, builds and counters for Wild Rift
- Everything on The Nexus about Graves
- Wild Rift skins and gifting
- League of Legends top-ups and Riot Points
If you like Graves, read next
- Twisted Fate: named in Graves's official biography
- Miss Fortune: also tied to Bilgewater in the official biographies
What the official sources leave open
- The official biography is short and does not explain Graves's past or the events behind his partnership with Twisted Fate. The ability text describes effects only, and the skin names come with no details.
- Readers who want a fuller story will need Riot's future official material, which this profile does not cover.
Read Riot's own telling on Universe
How this article was made
This is an independent fan analysis of official Riot Games champion data, written with AI assistance and checked automatically: every figure and every name in it comes from that data, and overlap with Riot's own text is capped. We do not play-test the game for these stories. Riot Games has not endorsed The Nexus, and this site does not reflect the views or opinions of Riot Games or anyone officially involved in producing or managing Riot Games properties. League of Legends, Wild Rift and all associated properties are trademarks or registered trademarks of Riot Games, Inc. Found a mistake? Tell us and we will correct it. How we work: editorial policy.
Artwork: Riot Games
Frequently asked questions
Who is Graves in League of Legends?
Graves is presented officially as Malcolm Graves, a mercenary, gambler and thief known for his temper and his strict personal code of criminal honor. He is titled Graves, the Outlaw, and carries the Marksman role tag. His official biography is brief.
What is Graves's shotgun called?
His double-barreled shotgun is named Destiny. The official passive, New Destiny, describes how it reloads, fires several bullets that stop at the first unit they hit, and pushes back non-champions hit by multiple bullets.
Does Graves have a backstory?
The official biography does not give a detailed backstory. It describes his criminal career in general terms and mentions that he has recently reconciled with Twisted Fate in Bilgewater. Details of his past are not covered by the official data.
