How to win lane as Graves against Nautilus · 48.78% win rate over 82 Emerald+ games · Updated 2026-07-27
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Even / skill | Both of you are weak at level 1, but his Dredge Line hook plus passive auto-root is the most punishing single ability in the lane — just last-hit and never line up for the hook. |
| Level 2 | Even / skill | Neither of you is fully online yet; trade short and never give him a straight-line hook angle while you're still one ability down. |
| Level 3 | Even / skill | You get End of the Line and your shell spread, but his hook-root-Riptide CC arrives on the same timer — it's a genuine trade race, so weave in and out rather than committing. |
| Levels 4-5 | Graves | Your True Grit armor and double Quickdraw charges let you win extended melee trades, and a whiffed Dredge Line leaves him hookless and free to punish. |
| Level 6 | Even / skill | Your Collateral Damage nuke and his Depth Charge knockup come online together — it's a mutual all-in window, so it stays even unless one of you whiffs the hook or the ult. |
| First item | Graves | Your Eclipse/Youmuu's spike and lethality punch through his tankiness faster than his armor and True Grit stacks recover — this is the cleanest window you own. |
| Two+ items | Even / skill | He out-scales the duel: his stacking tank durability eats your burst while his hook-into-knockup CC stays just as lethal, so the solo kill dries up and the lane settles even. |
Level 1 is a coin-flip — neither of you has the kit yet, but his Dredge Line hook plus the passive auto-root is the scariest single button in the lane, so never walk in a straight line at him. The instant you have E and Q (2-3) you can play your game: Quickdraw in for the point-blank 4-shell spread, drop End of the Line, and dash back out on your second E charge before his hook can reel you. Your Smoke Screen is for disengage and zoning, not for stopping his CC — the blind only cuts auto-attacks, and Nautilus locks you with abilities, so don't expect to smoke your way out of a landed hook.
The full Graves vs Nautilus report continues with the mid-game plan, the late-game and teamfight plan, every power spike to play around, and the win conditions for both sides — plus cooldown tracking and the live enemy-jungle tracker inside the app.
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Playing the other side? Nautilus vs Graves guide →
All Graves top lane matchups →