Sentinel Graves

First time I locked in Sentinel Graves was during the Sentinels of Light event back in 2021, and I remember thinking Riot finally gave Graves the glow-up he deserved. The whole redemption arc thing, going from outlaw to light-wielding sentinel, it just clicked. Been running this as my main Graves skin since patch 11.14 and honestly havent looked back. The visual overhaul is substantial enough that it feels like playing a different champion in the best way possible.

How Sentinel Graves actually plays different

This is a full Legendary at 1820 RP so you get the complete package. New voice lines, new VFX, new recall, new animations. Fred Tatasciore delivers on the VO and you can hear the shift in Graves’ character. Less rough smuggler energy, more grizzled warrior who’s seen some things. The interactions with other Sentinel skins are a nice touch if you’re running a comp with Sentinel Vayne or Sentinel Irelia.

Q sends out these bright golden-white shells that read completely different from base Graves. Huge visual clarity upgrade. W smoke screen gets this light-infused effect that I think actually looks cleaner against dark Rift terrain. Could be wrong here but it feels easier to track the edges of the smoke zone compared to base. E dash has this subtle golden trail. Clean.

R is where the skin really earns its price tag. Collateral Damage fires off with this massive Sentinel energy burst and the explosion on the backline hits different visually. Played maybe 150 games with this skin across Diamond ranked last season and the ult VFX never got old. (Random aside: I’ve used the R explosion as my Discord profile banner for like two years now.) The auto attacks also have reworked particles with each shotgun blast carrying that golden sentinel glow.

The recall animation tells a story. Graves plants his shotgun, pulls out a relic weapon, channels some sentinel power. It fits the event narrative without being too long or annoying when you’re recalling mid-game. Not gonna lie, I spam the recall in fountain between waves just because it looks good.

Sentinels of Light and the splash

Released July 22, 2021. Right in the middle of the Ruination event, which was polarizing for lore fans but produced some genuinely great skins. Sentinels of Light as a skinline gave us Sentinel Irelia, Sentinel Vayne, Sentinel Diana, Sentinel Riven, and Graves fit right in.

Horace ‘Hozure’ Hsu nailed the splash. The composition puts Graves front and center with his sentinel weapon, coat flowing, golden energy crackling. It captures that “reluctant hero” vibe perfectly. Hozure consistently delivers on these action-pose splashes and this one is no exception.

6 chromas available if you want variety. Tanzanite is my go-to, the deep purple swaps the golden sentinel palette for something that reads more like a dark mage aesthetic on a shotgun user. Resolute goes black and crimson which gives off serious anti-hero energy. Pearl is the cleanest option if you want something bright without the gold overload. The rest are solid but those three get the most rotation in my games.

Kinda feels like the Sentinels of Light chromas were better designed than most chroma sets. Each one changes enough of the color profile that they feel distinct rather than just a palette swap. That ranked game last Thursday where my support asked if Tanzanite was a completely different skin – yeah, they hit that different.

Graves mains, is Sentinel worth 1820 RP?

Real verdict: this is the best Graves skin if you want the full experience. New VO alone separates it from every other Graves skin in the catalog. Pool Party is fun but gimmicky. Battle Professor has the school aesthetic. Porcelain looks premium. But Sentinel Graves is the only one where Graves feels like he evolved as a character.

There’s 6 chromas if the base gold isn’t your thing, which gives you flexibility. Shop has it permanently so no vault anxiety. For jungle Graves mains specifically, the Q and R particles read well in river fights and dragon pit skirmishes. Been spamming this in Diamond since season 12 and the VFX clarity during ganking and teamfight chaos is genuinely an advantage. Not a competitive one obviously, but when you can clearly see your own smoke screen edges and ult trajectory during a 5v5, it helps your brain process the fight faster.

The voice lines carry this skin. Graves talking about fighting the Ruination, his dynamic with Lucian and Senna, the way he grumbles about being a “good guy” now. It adds layers to a champion whose base VO is mostly cigar jokes and tough guy one-liners. Season 11 I think or maybe early 12, I switched from Pool Party to Sentinel and the VO difference alone made the swap permanent.

1820 RP well spent for mains. If you play Graves even semi-regularly in jungle or bot lane, this is the one to own. Skip the 975 RP options and invest here. The only scenario where I’d say wait is if you’re holding out for a potential Legendary sale, but even at full price Sentinel Graves earns it. Top pick for Graves mains, no question.