Graves Jar Of Dead In Deadlock: How Deadheads, Death Collection, And The June Nerfs Work

Short answer: Jar of Dead is Graves’ death-bank ability. Passively, Graves collects death when anything dies nearby. Actively, she throws a jar to summon Deadheads that repeatedly deal spirit damage to enemies and prioritize the target of her weapon.

Image	Ability
	Jar of Dead Graves collects death nearby, then throws a jar to summon Deadheads that repeatedly deal spirit damage and prioritize her weapon target.

Current Mechanics

Deadlock.one’s current Graves data lists Jar of Dead with a 0.15-second cast delay, 4 charges, 13-second charge delay, 120 death required, 40m collection range, 10-second Deadhead lifetime, 20 Deadhead health, 4 Deadheads, 16 damage with 0.3 spirit scaling, 7m search range, and 15m dash range.

The key is that Jar of Dead has two jobs. It rewards Graves for being near death events, then turns that stored value into pressure. If no enemies are nearby, the Deadheads follow Graves; when enemies appear, they become a problem with a small health bar and a very direct opinion.

Upgrade Path

• 1 AP: collecting death heals 5 health per pickup.
• 2 AP: Deadheads apply 30 percent slow for 1 second on hit.
• 5 AP: gain +2 Deadheads and +4s Deadhead lifetime.

The early upgrade adds sustain to the passive loop. The 2 AP upgrade makes Deadheads harder to ignore because every hit can drag movement down. The 5 AP upgrade is the swarm moment: more bodies, longer uptime, and more chances to force the enemy to spend attention on the wrong thing.

The June Nerfs

Valve hit Jar of Dead twice in official notes. In Minor Update – 05-31-2026, Jar of Dead damage was reduced from 20 + 0.31 spirit scaling to 17 + 0.27. In Minor Update – 06-11-2026, Valve reduced its collection rate by 20 percent, reduced damage again from 17+0.27 to 16+0.25, and increased its bounty from 5+0.25 per boon to 7+0.5 per boon.

That is the clearest signal in Graves’ recent balance file. Jar of Dead is still central to her identity, but Valve has been trimming both the speed of the engine and the reward/punish math around the summons.

How To Use It

Use Jar of Dead when the enemy has to respect multiple angles. A jar thrown into a lonely target can work, but it is much nastier when the enemy is also dealing with Grasping Hands, a gravestone from Borrowed Decree, or a fight around troopers and objectives where Graves keeps collecting value.

The Deadheads prioritizing Graves’ weapon target means her aim still matters. Treat Jar of Dead as a pressure multiplier, not an autopilot button. Mark the target, force them to spend movement or damage on the summons, then let Graves keep farming the fight.

Counterplay

Kill the Deadheads, move out of their search path, and punish Graves before she has enough stored death to keep repeating the play. The June 11 bounty increase also matters: clearing Graves’ little problems is more rewarding than it used to be.

Sources

Current mechanics and the ability icon were checked against Deadlock.one’s Graves page and the Jar of Dead modal. Patch context was checked against Valve’s May 31 and June 11, 2026 Steam News items.

For the broader Graves file, see DramaLock’s best heroes tracker guide, Street Brawl tier list, pro-builds guide, and May 31 Graves patch context.