Locke is the newest champion to join the League of Legends roster, bringing an aggressive assassin/mage playstyle built around finding openings and taking down vulnerable targets. His kit rewards players who enjoy aggressive decision-making and knowing when to commit to a fight.
In this guide, we will cover Locke’s abilities, recommended build, best runes and gameplay tips to help you understand how to play this champion and counter him effectively.
Abilities
Ability icons (Passive, Q, W, E and R) - Source: leagueoflegends.com
The official Locke Champion Spotlight provides an overview of his gameplay and playstyle, while this guide takes a closer look at how each part of his kit works.
Passive – Silver Stake
Locke’s basic attacks deal additional on-hit magic damage based on the target’s percentage of missing health, allowing him to deal more damage against low-health targets and giving him strong finishing potential when enemies are already low on health.
Q – Ritual Nails
Locke throws piercing Soul Nails that damage and slow enemies hit, applying Soul Nail stacks. This ability can be recast twice at no additional cost.
W – Soul Ignition
Locke ignites his soul, gaining Attack Speed and decaying Move Speed for a limited time at the cost of health per second. While active, Locke stores the health lost from Soul Ignition and damage taken from enemy champions as grey health. When this ability is recast or reaches the end of its duration, Locke restores a portion of the stored health.
E – Ashen Pursuit
Locke teleports to a target location, dealing magic damage to nearby enemies. Afterwards, his next attack is empowered, causing him to dash in the target direction, deal magic damage along the way, and apply on-hit effects to the primary target hit. If Ashen Pursuit scores a takedown against an enemy champion, its cooldown is refunded.
R – Purgatory
Locke throws an artifact that fires nails at enemies in its area, dealing magic damage and slowing all targets hit. Enemy champions are also revealed and marked for 5 seconds, causing them to be executed when they fall below a portion of their maximum health. Successful executions refresh the mark duration on all affected targets.
Ability Level Up Priority
Prioritise Ritual Nails (Q) first, as it is Locke’s main source of poke and damage during the early game. Follow this by levelling Ashen Pursuit (E) for additional mobility and trading potential, while putting points into Purgatory (R) whenever available.
Recommended Build
Recommended items
Boots:
- Sorcerer’s Shoes: Standard choice for additional magic penetration.
- Mercury’s Treads: Alternative option against heavy crowd control or magic damage.
Situational Items:
- Banshee’s Veil: Useful against magic damage and key crowd control abilities.
- Stormsurge: Alternative option for additional burst damage.
Recommended Runes
Rune Shards:
- Adaptive Force
- Adaptive Force
- Health
Summoner Spells
- Flash: Essential for additional mobility, engaging and repositioning.
- Ignite: Recommended secondary spell for increased kill pressure.
Gameplay
Early game
During the early game, focus on building towards Lich Bane. This allows you to pressure opponents by consistently landing Ritual Nails while using empowered basic attacks between abilities. Use your range advantage when playing against melee champions, but be careful when facing champions who can outrange you, as Soul Ignition is your main sustain tool and has a long early-game cooldown.
Mid game
The mid game is where Locke starts to become a major threat. Take the time to look for opportunities across the map and use your mobility to punish enemies who overextend or move between lanes without their team during rotations. This will allow you to create advantages before fights around objectives even begin.
When those opportunities arrive, remember that Locke is strongest when he can enter fights on his own terms, so look for flanks or wait for your team to engage before committing so you can focus on vulnerable targets and secure important takedowns.
Late game
In the late game, positioning becomes even more important. While Locke can still eliminate vulnerable targets, forcing fights or diving into multiple enemies can quickly leave him exposed, making it important to wait for the right opportunity to enter. Look for flanks and use vision to find openings where you can commit without being immediately punished. When the game slows down, continue applying pressure on side lanes with the help of Lich Bane, forcing enemies to respond while staying ready to join your team when needed.
Counters
Locke’s biggest strength is finding openings and punishing vulnerable targets, so the best way to play against him is to deny him those opportunities. During the laning phase, avoid giving him easy openings to trade or engage, and punish him when he misses Ritual Nails, as his pressure becomes much lower without consistent ability hits.
Once Locke reaches level 6, be careful when moving around the map alone and keep track of his position when he leaves lane to avoid giving him isolated targets. In team fights, save important crowd control abilities for Locke and avoid fighting in areas where he can easily find flanks or group enemies together with Purgatory.