Riot Games has officially unveiled the newest champion joining the League of Legends roster, a specialized ability power assassin designed for the mid lane named Locke. Armed with an occult background and a kit tailored for aggressive skirmishing, Locke focuses on tracking down high-priority targets and executing them to secure permanent advantages. The character utilizes a high-risk, high-reward gameplay loop that rewards early aggression and calculated positioning.
TL;DR
- Locke is an AP assassin designed primarily for the mid lane.
- His kit relies on stacking marks, high mobility, and health-manipulating mechanics.
- The ultimate ability features a permanent scaling execution mechanic.
- He excels at punishing squishy targets but struggles against defensive itemization and coordinated crowd control.
- Psst. Check the 26.12 patch notes NOW
Overview of Locke’s Ability Kit
Locke brings a unique combination of sustained on-hit magic damage, self-harming utility, and reset-driven mobility to the Rift. His abilities prioritize isolating single targets and executing them once they fall below specific health thresholds.
Locke’s Passive and Basic Abilities
The core of Locke’s damage relies on his ability to apply and consume marks while balancing his own health pool as a resource.
 Passive (Silver Stake) Locke’s attacks deal additional magic damage On-Hit, increased based on enemy missing Health. |  Q – Ritual 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. |
 W – Soul 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. |  E – Ashen Pursuit Locke teleports to a location before dashing to attack his next target, dealing damage to enemies passed through. |
 R – Purgatory Locke throws a binding artifact that deals damage and potentially executes enemies hit. Locke gains additional power for sealing away enemy champions. |
- Passive (Silver Stake): Locke’s basic attacks deal additional magic damage on hit. This bonus damage scales directly with the missing health of the target, making his basic attacks potent tools for securing low-health targets.
- Q (Ritual Nails): Locke throws a nail forward in a piercing line that damages, slows, and marks all enemies hit. This ability can be recast up to two additional times before triggering a cooldown. Landing multiple nails increases the slow intensity. Attacking a marked enemy consumes the stacks to deal substantial burst damage.
- W (Soul Ignition): Upon activation, Locke gains decaying movement speed and attack speed. While active, he suffers true damage every second based on his current health. When the ability ends or is recast, Locke heals for a portion of the total damage taken during the effect, including his own self-inflicted damage. This ability can be recast even while under the effects of crowd control.
- E (Ashen Pursuit): Locke blinks to a targeted location, dealing area-of-effect damage upon arrival. His next basic attack after the blink triggers a fixed-distance dash toward his target, damaging all enemies in the path and consuming any active Ritual Nail marks. Securing a champion takedown completely resets the cooldown of this ability.
Ultimate Execution
To function effectively as an assassin, Locke relies on a localized zoning ultimate.
R (Purgatory): Locke throws a totem to a target area, which damages and slows enemies inside the zone. The totem remains active for several seconds, executing any afflicted champions who drop below a specific health threshold. If an execution occurs, the soul is pulled inside, sealing the totem at the end of the duration. Locke can retrieve the sealed totem to refund a portion of the cooldown and gain a permanent stat bonus for each champion captured.
Locke Ability Summary
| Ability Name | Key Attribute | Primary Mechanism |
| Silver Stake (Passive) | On-Hit Execution | Bonus magic damage based on missing enemy health. |
| Ritual Nails (Q) | Three-Cast Pierce | Applies marks, slows targets, and bursts upon consumption. |
| Soul Ignition (W) | Self-Harm Utility | Grants speed, inflicts true damage, and heals upon recast. |
| Ashen Pursuit (E) | Blink and Dash | Teleports and dashes with a complete cooldown reset on takedown. |
| Purgatory (R) | Totem Execution | Executes low-health targets and grants permanent stat bonuses. |
Strategic Gameplay and Counterplay
Locke is engineered to dominate early skirmishes and snowball leads by roaming into the river and side lanes. Mid laners should look to land all three charges of Ritual Nails during the laning phase to maximize slows on overextended opponents, followed by an Ashen Pursuit to cut off escape routes. Soul Ignition provides the necessary survivability to attempt high-stakes plays, such as tower dives, provided players time the recast heal perfectly before absorbing fatal damage.
While Locke possesses high mobility and strong base damages against squishy targets, his kit lacks maximum health scaling. Consequently, defensive items built by opposing teams during the mid to late game significantly reduce his overall kill potential. Opponents can counter Locke by executing coordinated ganks during the early game and approaching him from multiple angles, which dilutes the piercing efficiency of his Ritual Nails. Champions with similar high-risk, high-reward playstyles include Echo and Zed.
Riot Games continues to diversify the mid lane roster by introducing complex mechanical profiles that challenge traditional resource management. Locke will undergo testing on the Public Beta Environment before his official global release on live servers.
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