Guide · Mid

Locke Guide

the Ashen Exorcist

Assassin

Mage

Tier B Mid

Locke, the Ashen Exorcist, is an assassin and mage champion of medium difficulty. Across our 1303 analysed ranked games, Locke is mostly played in Mid (81% of its games), with a 50.8% win rate in that role: tier B among Mid champions (#20 of 42, ranked by win rate). Locke's damage is mostly magic (85%): magic resistance items are therefore effective against this champion. 10% of that damage is true damage and therefore ignores resistances. Win rate varies with game length: 58.5% in long games (over 35 min, 82 games) versus 48.1% in medium-length games (25 to 35 min).

Averages measured over 1056 Mid games played with Locke, from our ranked Solo/Duo data collection.

Combos and how to play

Locke is an assassin-mage whose attacks deal bonus magic damage on hit, increased by the enemy's missing health. His Ritual Nails mark enemies, and he can consume those marks to deal bonus damage with his attacks. His ultimate executes the enemies it hits and empowers him by sealing champions.

The trade

Q › AA AA › W › AA AA

When: An enemy is within range of the nails.

Ritual Nails mark the target, your attacks consume the marks for bonus damage, Soul Ignition raises your attack and movement speed.

The chase engage

E › Q › AA AA › W

When: An enemy is out of range.

Ashen Pursuit teleports you and then dashes you onto the next target, damaging the enemies you cross. Mark and attack as soon as you arrive.

The execution

R

When: An enemy is low.

Purgatory deals damage and can execute the enemies it hits; by sealing champions, Locke gains extra power.

Laning phase

Mark with Ritual Nails then strike: the mark is what multiplies your attack damage. Soul Ignition makes you faster but hurts you: only activate it when you can win the trade, since you heal a portion of the damage taken at the end.

Common mistakes

• Activating Soul Ignition with no target to hit: it damages you for nothing in return.
• Casting Purgatory on full-health enemies: it is mostly a finisher.
• Forgetting to consume your marks with attacks.

Build, runes and summoner spells

The most-played core build is Lich Bane, Zhonya's Hourglass, and Shadowflame (200 games, 58.0% win rate), usually with Spellslinger's Shoes (52.3% over 763 games).

Lich Bane+Zhonya's Hourglass+Shadowflame

200 games · 58.0%

Rabadon's Deathcap+Lich Bane+Shadowflame

156 games · 59.0%

Lich Bane+Zhonya's Hourglass+Stormsurge

102 games · 55.9%

Boots

Spellslinger's Shoes52.3% · 763 games

Chainlaced Crushers56.3% · 142 games

Crimson Lucidity37.3% · 67 games

Summoner spells

Flash + Ignite50.4% · 905 games

Flash + Teleport53.8% · 145 games

Most-played runes

Electrocute + Resolve

50.3% · 537 games

Primary tree · Domination

Sudden Impact99%

Sixth Sense81%

Ultimate Hunter68%

Secondary tree · Resolve

Revitalize85%

Bone Plating74%

Shards

Adaptive force98%

Adaptive force94%

Health61%

Electrocute + Precision

53.5% · 314 games

Primary tree · Domination

Sudden Impact100%

Grisly Mementos84%

Treasure Hunter75%

Secondary tree · Precision

Cut Down80%

Triumph68%

Shards

Adaptive force90%

Adaptive force99%

Health89%

Conqueror + Domination

50.0% · 60 games

Primary tree · Precision

Presence of Mind92%

Legend: Haste100%

Cut Down80%

Secondary tree · Domination

Sudden Impact98%

Treasure Hunter53%

Shards

Adaptive force92%

Adaptive force100%

Health87%

For each row, the most picked rune among the games played with this page (share of games in brackets).

Which items to build against the enemy team?

We sort every game by the enemy team's damage. These are Locke's completed items and their win rate in each situation; "▲" marks an item that does at least 3 points better than its usual win rate.

Mostly magic-damage enemy team54.4% · 276 games

At least 50% of their damage is magic

Lich Bane 53.6%

Shadowflame 57.9% ▲

Zhonya's Hourglass 57.0%

Stormsurge 58.7% ▲

Rabadon's Deathcap 65.8% ▲

Bloodletter's Curse 53.8% ▲

The item that stands out most is Bloodletter's Curse: 53.8% win rate, +8 points versus its usual win rate.

Mostly physical-damage enemy team52.3% · 302 games

Less than 35% of their damage is magic

Lich Bane 52.4%

Shadowflame 52.9%

Zhonya's Hourglass 59.1% ▲

Stormsurge 59.1% ▲

Rabadon's Deathcap 61.6%

Bloodletter's Curse 50.0% ▲

The item that stands out most is Stormsurge: 59.1% win rate, +5 points versus its usual win rate.

Balanced enemy team47.7% · 478 games

Mixed physical and magic damage

Lich Bane 48.4%

Shadowflame 52.4%

Stormsurge 49.1% ▼

Zhonya's Hourglass 51.8% ▼

Rabadon's Deathcap 53.0% ▼

Void Staff 50.0%

No item clearly stands out in this situation: the usual build remains the reference.

Counters and matchups

Who counters Locke in Mid

Lux Locke: 26.7%15 games

Lux has the edge in 73% of the 15 Mid duels against Locke. See the Lux guide.

Twisted Fate Locke: 35.3%17 games

Twisted Fate has the edge in 65% of the 17 Mid duels against Locke. See the Twisted Fate guide.

Ekko Locke: 40.0%20 games

Ekko has the edge in 60% of the 20 Mid duels against Locke. See the Ekko guide.

Katarina Locke: 40.0%15 games

Katarina has the edge in 60% of the 15 Mid duels against Locke. See the Katarina guide.

Yasuo Locke: 42.9%28 games

Yasuo has the edge in 57% of the 28 Mid duels against Locke. See the Yasuo guide.

Who Locke is strong against

Ahri68.4% · 19 games

Akali61.0% · 41 games

Syndra60.0% · 35 games

Ryze56.2% · 16 games

Zed54.5% · 22 games

Win rates measured over direct same-role duels; only matchups with more than 15 games are listed. See all of Locke's matchups.

Abilities

PassiveSilver Stake

Locke's attacks deal additional magic damage On-Hit, increased based on enemy missing Health.

QRitual Nails

Locke readies a set of Soul Nails to throw, dealing damage to and marking enemies hit. Locke can consume the marks to deal bonus damage with his attacks.

WSoul Ignition

Locke ignites his soul, gaining Attack Speed and Move Speed, and dealing damage to himself. At the end of the duration, Locke will heal back a portion of the damage he takes during the effect.

EAshen Pursuit

Locke teleports to a location before dashing to attack his next target, dealing damage to enemies passed through.

RPurgatory

Locke throws a binding artifact that deals damage and potentially executes enemies hit. Locke gains additional power for sealing away enemy champions.

Frequently asked questions

Full Locke page · League of Legends tier list · All champion guides