How to Play Locke in League of Legends: Complete Guide

Locke is the newest champion to join League of Legends in Season 26, introducing a powerful AP assassin to the mid lane. Capable of bursting down priority targets and taking over games with an early lead, Locke has quickly become one of the most talked-about champions since his release.

Although he’s still new to the Rift, Locke’s kit is relatively straightforward compared to many modern mid-lane champions. However, understanding his strengths, trading patterns, roaming opportunities, and win conditions is essential if you want to consistently find success with him.

In this guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about playing Locke in Season 26, including his abilities, gameplay tips, laning strategy, teamfighting, and the key techniques that will help you maximize his potential. For the latest runes, builds, counters, and matchup information, be sure to visit our dedicated Locke Champion Page.

Locke Ability Breakdown

Before you can master Locke in League of Legends, you need to understand exactly how his abilities work and how they interact with one another. As an AP assassin, Locke excels at poking enemies down, finding opportunities to engage, and executing low-health targets before they can escape.

Below, we’ll break down every Locke ability, explain when to use them, and discuss how they fit into his overall playstyle.

Passive: Silver Stake

Silver Stake empowers Locke’s basic attacks, causing them to deal bonus magic damage that scales with both his Ability Power and the target’s missing health.

This passive makes Locke especially dangerous in extended trades, as his damage becomes increasingly threatening the lower his opponents fall. Rather than looking for short poke trades, Locke often wants to chip enemies down before committing to a full combo and finishing them off with his execute potential.

Q: Ritual Nails

Ritual Nails is Locke’s primary poke and trading tool. He throws a nail that damages and slows enemies, and the ability can be cast up to three times.

After applying stacks with Ritual Nails, Locke can consume them by auto-attacking the target to deal additional damage. Because of this interaction, successful Locke players will frequently use Q to harass opponents during the laning phase before looking for an all-in opportunity.

Landing multiple Q casts before engaging can significantly increase your kill pressure and make your combo much more lethal.

W: Soul Ignition

Soul Ignition grants Locke bonus attack speed and movement speed for a short duration. While active, a portion of the damage he takes is converted into grey health.

Reactivating the ability consumes the stored grey health and heals Locke for the same amount, giving him surprising survivability during fights.

This is one of Locke’s most important dueling tools and should be used carefully. Soul Ignition allows him to survive extended skirmishes, tower dives, and close all-ins, but using it at the wrong time can leave you vulnerable when enemies decide to fight back.

E: Ashen Pursuit

Ashen Pursuit serves as Locke’s primary mobility and engage tool.

Upon activation, Locke blinks a fixed distance before gaining increased attack range and locking onto a target. He can then dash to that target and deal damage. If the target dies, the cooldown is reset, allowing Locke to chain kills together in teamfights.

Because Ashen Pursuit is often your only escape option, positioning is crucial. Before committing with E, always keep track of enemy positions and the opposing Jungler. An aggressive dash at the wrong moment can quickly turn a winning trade into a costly death.

R: Purgatory

Purgatory is Locke’s ultimate ability and one of the strongest execute tools in League of Legends.

Locke throws a totem that damages and slows enemies while marking them. Marked enemies who fall below a certain health threshold are executed instantly. Executions refresh the mark duration on other nearby enemies, creating huge teamfight potential.

If Purgatory executes an enemy champion, the totem remains on the ground. Locke can retrieve it to reduce the cooldown of his ultimate, allowing him to have greater impact throughout the game.

Since Purgatory is an execute, patience is key. In many situations, it’s better to wait until enemies are low enough to guarantee the execution rather than casting it too early and allowing the mark to expire before securing the kill.

Locke Skill Order

The standard Locke skill order is:

R > Q > E > W

Most players max Ritual Nails (Q) first because it is Locke’s primary source of poke, wave clear, and lane pressure. Lower cooldowns and increased damage make it much easier to control the lane and set up kills.

Ashen Pursuit (E) is maxed second, improving Locke’s mobility, trading power, and assassination potential during the mid game.

Finally, Soul Ignition (W) is maxed last. While the ability remains extremely important for survivability and extended fights, it gains less value from early skill points compared to Q and E.

Following this skill order will give you the strongest combination of lane pressure, burst damage, and roaming potential throughout the game.

Locke Best Build and Rune Setup in Season 26

Choosing the right Locke build in LoL Season 26 is essential if you want to maximize his burst damage and carry potential. As an AP assassin, Locke excels at quickly eliminating priority targets before escaping to safety. His kit rewards players who can weave auto-attacks between abilities, making on-hit effects particularly valuable.

The current best Locke build focuses on Ability Power, Magic Penetration, and burst damage. One of his strongest core items is Lich Bane, which synergizes perfectly with his playstyle. Since Locke frequently combines his Passive (Silver Stake), Q (Ritual Nails), and E (Ashen Pursuit) with basic attacks, Lich Bane provides a significant increase in damage during trades and assassination combos.

With the right item build, Locke can quickly poke enemies down before committing to an all-in, allowing him to reliably eliminate squishy targets throughout the mid and late game.

Best Locke Runes

For runes, Electrocute remains the best Keystone for Locke in Season 26.

Electrocute perfectly complements Locke’s assassin playstyle by rewarding him for landing quick ability combinations. Since his goal is to burst down enemies in a short window, Electrocute adds a substantial amount of bonus damage to his combos, making it easier to secure kills during lane phase and teamfights.

Whether you’re looking to dominate lane, snowball leads, or one-shot enemy carries, Electrocute provides the burst damage needed to maximize Locke’s strengths and remain a threat throughout every stage of the game.

How to Play Locke in League of Legends

While Locke has a relatively straightforward kit compared to many modern mid laners, mastering him requires understanding wave control, roaming opportunities, and teamfight positioning. As an AP assassin, Locke thrives when playing aggressively and snowballing early leads, but poor decision-making can quickly leave you behind.

Below are the most important tips to help you win more games with Locke in Season 26.

Wave Management Tips for Locke

One of the biggest mistakes new Locke players make is constantly pushing the minion wave during the early game.

Since Locke excels at chasing enemies down long lanes with Ashen Pursuit (E) and Soul Ignition (W), keeping the wave closer to your side of the map often creates better kill opportunities. If you permanently shove the wave into the enemy tower, opponents can farm safely while remaining difficult to engage on.

During the laning phase, try to maintain a slow push or freeze whenever possible. This allows you to:

• Farm safely without being denied CS or experience.
• Create longer lanes for all-in opportunities.
• Reduce your vulnerability to enemy jungle ganks.
• Force your opponent into dangerous positions.

Once you reach the mid game and have additional points in Ritual Nails (Q), wave clearing becomes much easier. At this stage, you can quickly push waves and use your lane priority to impact other areas of the map.

Roaming as Locke

Roaming is one of the most effective ways to carry games with Locke.

In difficult matchups, or against opponents who refuse to interact with you, forcing trades isn’t always the best option. Instead, push the wave and look for opportunities to influence side lanes.

Before roaming, try to use your abilities to quickly clear the minion wave while simultaneously harassing your lane opponent. This forces them to choose between following your roam or staying to collect farm.

The best lanes to gank are usually those where:

• The enemy has no Flash available.
• The enemy Ultimate is on cooldown.
• Your ally is not overextended.
• An opponent is already low on health.
• Your team has crowd control available.

Successful roams can quickly snowball your lead and help secure objectives across the map.

How to Teamfight as Locke

Teamfighting as Locke revolves around patience and target selection.

Rather than diving in immediately, use Ritual Nails (Q) to poke enemies and soften them up before committing. Once key enemy cooldowns have been used, look for an opening to engage alongside your team.

Locke performs exceptionally well in jungle skirmishes and objective fights around Dragon and Baron. The confined terrain makes it easier to hit multiple enemies with Purgatory (R) and maximize your impact.

One of the most important rules when playing Locke is to avoid using your Ultimate too early. Since Purgatory has execute mechanics, waiting until enemies reach the appropriate health threshold often results in significantly more value.

Flanking as Locke

In many situations, the best way to teamfight is by approaching from an unexpected angle.

As an assassin, Locke can struggle when engaging directly into multiple enemies because crowd control can instantly shut him down. Instead, use side angles, fog of war, and vision denial to create flanking opportunities.

Before major fights:

• Swap to Oracle Lens.
• Clear enemy vision.
• Position away from your frontline.
• Wait for enemies to become distracted.

Once the fight begins, look for a path onto the enemy backline and focus on eliminating priority targets such as carries and squishy champions.

Locke Tips and Tricks

Here are some additional tips that will help you improve your Locke gameplay:

• Avoid taking unnecessary poke from ranged champions during the laning phase.
• Move forward only when securing minions, then immediately reposition.
• Always check the minimap before engaging with Ashen Pursuit (E).
• Play aggressively when opportunities present themselves, as Locke scales well with early kills.
• Track enemy cooldowns and look to engage after important abilities have been used.
• Use Ritual Nails (Q) repeatedly to weaken enemies before committing to an all-in.
• Save your mobility tools until you’re confident the fight is favorable.
• Prioritize squishy targets during skirmishes and teamfights.

Mastering these fundamentals will dramatically improve your success rate on Locke and help you take full advantage of his powerful assassination potential throughout Season 26.

FAQs

Is Locke a good champion in LoL Season 26?

Yes, Locke is one of the strongest AP assassins in Season 26. He has excellent burst damage, strong snowball potential, and the ability to quickly eliminate priority targets during skirmishes and teamfights.

What lane does Locke play in League of Legends?

Locke is primarily played in the mid lane. His kit is designed around roaming, assassinating enemy carries, and creating pressure across the map after pushing waves.

What is the best rune for Locke?

Electrocute is currently the best Keystone rune for Locke. It synergizes perfectly with his burst-oriented playstyle and helps him secure kills more easily during the laning phase and throughout the game.

What is the best item for Locke?

Lich Bane is one of Locke’s most important core items. It works exceptionally well with his abilities and passive, allowing him to deal massive burst damage when weaving auto-attacks between spells.

Is Locke difficult to learn?

Locke is easier to pick up than many modern League of Legends champions, but mastering him still requires good positioning, wave management, roaming decisions, and proper use of his Ultimate. Players who enjoy aggressive assassin champions will likely learn him quickly.

Conclusion

Locke is one of the most exciting additions to League of Legends in Season 26, offering a powerful AP assassin playstyle that rewards aggressive gameplay, smart positioning, and strong decision-making. While his kit is relatively easy to understand, mastering Locke requires knowing when to trade, roam, engage, and commit to fights.

By learning his abilities, following the optimal build and rune setup, managing waves effectively, and looking for opportunities to snowball your lead, you can quickly become a major threat in every game. Whether you’re dominating lane opponents, roaming to side lanes, or executing enemies in teamfights, Locke has all the tools needed to carry games from the mid lane.

As the champion continues to evolve, builds and strategies may change, so be sure to stay up to date with the latest Locke guides, runes, item builds, and matchup advice. With enough practice, you’ll be able to unlock Locke’s full potential and climb the ranked ladder throughout Season 26.