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By GamGem ResearchLast updated 18 Oct 2026

Locke Build, Runes and Counters — Mid Lane · Patch 26.20

the Ashen Exorcist

Patch 26.20 · Stats from the 26.18 Master+ sample (7,409 games).

Locke, the Ashen Exorcist, marks enemies with Ritual Nails to consume with his attacks, and Purgatory can execute the champions it hits. In the Master+ count he was a mid laner on Electrocute in most games, and Lich Bane into Shadowflame opens both of his printed paths. Yasuo, Twisted Fate, Zoe and Akali beat him most often. Zed was level with him.

AssassinMage

Patch 26.18 · Mid · Ranked Solo/Duo · Master+ · EUW · KR · NA · 7,409 games · Preview sample

Role snapshot (Mid)

ATier
Win Rate
49.4%
Pick Rate
11.3%
Ban Rate
35.5%

7,409

Games

Very High

Confidence

Most common path

658 games

50.2%Win Rate

Start
FlashIgnite

Highest win rate path

184 games

79.3%Win Rate

Start
FlashIgnite

Runes

Patch 26.18

This exact page: taken in 14.1% of games·48.0% win rate over 1,044 games.

Primary

Domination

Electrocute

Hitting a champion with 3 separate attacks or abilities in 3s deals bonus adaptive damage.

Sudden Impact

Damaging basic attacks and abilities deal bonus true damage to enemy champions after using a dash, leap, blink, teleport, or when leaving stealth.

Sixth Sense

On a long Cooldown, automatically sense a nearby untracked and unseen ward, tracking it for the team. Level 11: Also reveal the ward for 10s.

Ultimate Hunter

Unique takedowns grant permanent cooldown reduction on your Ultimate.

Secondary

Resolve

Bone Plating

After taking damage from an enemy champion, the next 3 spells or attacks you receive from them deal 30-60 (based on level) less damage. Duration: 1.5s Cooldown: 55s

Revitalize

Gain 5% Heal and Shield Power. Heals and shields you cast or receive are 10% stronger on targets below 40% health.

Shards

  • Adaptive Force
  • Adaptive Force
  • Health

Other keystones taken

  • Conqueror12.2% taken · 50.9% win903 games
  • Dark Harvest6.0% taken · 48.2% win448 games
  • Stormraider's Surge2.4% taken · 41.5% win176 games

Tree pairs

  • Domination + Resolve46.9% taken · 49.5% win3,473 games
  • Domination + Precision27.6% taken · 49.9% win2,043 games
  • Domination + Sorcery5.8% taken · 47.3% win433 games

Skill Order

Which ability to max first, and the level each point goes in — Locke's most common path.

Q

Ritual Nails

Locke readies a set of Soul Nails to throw, dealing damage to and marking enemies hit.

Cooldown 10/9/8/7/6s · 70 Mana
W

Soul Ignition

Locke ignites his soul, gaining Attack Speed and Move Speed, and dealing damage to himself.

Cooldown 18/17/16/15/14s · 50/55/60/65/70 Mana
E

Ashen Pursuit

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

Cooldown 10s · 30/40/50/60/70 Mana
R

Purgatory

Locke throws a binding artifact that deals damage and potentially executes enemies hit.

Cooldown 120/100/80s · 100 Mana

Max Order

QWE

Max Q first, then W, then E. Take R whenever available (6 / 11 / 16).

Level-up Order

  • Q
  • W
  • E
  • R
Ability123456789101112131415161718
QRitual NailsQQQQQ
WSoul IgnitionWWWWW
EAshen PursuitEEEEE
RPurgatoryRRR

Matchup map (Mid)

How Locke performs against enemy mid laners

Levels 1 – 18 · Master+40%60%Locke's win rate
≥ 60%Very favorable
55 – 60%Favorable
50 – 55%Even
45 – 50%Unfavorable
40 – 45%Hard
< 40%Very hard

Conditional build matrix

Recommended items by enemy team composition

Master+ · Patch 26.18
Mythic / CoreFirst major item
Core 2Second item
Core 3Third item
BootsBoot slot
SituationalPick as needed

Scaling — minute 10–30

LockeMid average

Gold

102030

Damage to champions

102030

CS

102030

Counter plan — how to beat Locke

  • Deny the reset — it wants a kill to come back out; a warded exit removes it

  • Dodge the primary — its rotation is one skillshot; sidestep it and the rest is chip

  • Punish the cooldown — Locke is exposed while its rotation is down

  • Ward the flank — vision is what turns its best opening into a worse one

  • Respect the spike — Riot rates the kit 5/10, so a practised player gets more out of it than the average

Ability details

  • P

    Silver Stake

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

    Passive — never cast

  • 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.

    Cost 70 ManaCooldown 10/9/8/7/6sRange 950

  • 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.

    Cost 50/55/60/65/70 ManaCooldown 18/17/16/15/14sRange 250

  • E

    Ashen Pursuit

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

    Cost 30/40/50/60/70 ManaCooldown 10sRange 425

  • R

    Purgatory

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

    Cost 100 ManaCooldown 120/100/80sRange 1000

Locke balance history

Riot's notes from patch 25.S1.1 to 26.20 change Locke in 2 patches. The latest is patch 26.15, published 2026-07-28.

  1. Patch 26.152026-07-28

    Base Stats

    • Health655to620

    QRitual Nails

    • Base Damage - Nail50 / 58 / 66 / 74 / 82 (+20% Ability Power)to40 / 48 / 56 / 64 / 72 (+20% Ability Power)
    • Three Nails Damage150 / 174 / 198 / 222 / 246 (+60% Ability Power)to120 / 144 / 168 / 192 / 216 (+60% Ability Power)

    WSoul Ignition

    • Move Speed40 / 45 / 50 / 55 / 60% (+2% per 100 Ability Power)to40% (+2% per 100 Ability Power)
    • Grey Health Base Value40 / 70 / 100 / 130 / 160 (+120% Ability Power)to40 / 60 / 80 / 100 / 120 (+100% Ability Power)
    Why, in Riot's words

    Locke continues to climb the mastery curve, so we’re continuing nerfs to keep him in line. Particularly, we observe his early game to be clearly over, even for a snowball reliant assassin, and we also want to avoid W 2nd max as optimal as it gives him too much safety for the risks he should need to take.

  2. Patch 26.142026-07-14

    QRitual Nails

    • Nail Recast Hold Time5 secondsto4 seconds
    • Nail Damage50 / 60 / 70 / 80 / 90to50 / 58 / 66 / 74 / 82
    • Mark Base Bonus Damage20 / 30 / 40 / 50 / 60to18 / 26 / 34 / 42 / 50

    WSoul Ignition

    • Damage Taken Grey Health Cap40 / 80 / 120 / 160 / 200to40 / 70 / 100 / 130 / 160
    Why, in Riot's words

    Locke's release has gone relatively smoothly, and we are now tuning him down a bit as players have had time to pick him up. We want to open up more counterplay by reducing how long he can pressure with his Q. And we're bumping down the healing on his W because he's not an enchanter, after all.

Locke skins (2)

Riot's data lists 2 looks for Locke with their own art, the base skin included and 8 chroma variants.

ARAM performance

EstimateS
Win Rate
53.5%
▲ 1.0%
Pick Rate
3.5%
▼ 0.6%
Ban Rate
0.9%
▲ 3.2%
Damage dealt
93.4%
Damage taken
106.5%
Healing
108.8%
Shielding
95.2%
Ability Haste
+22

Best ARAM build

Patch timeline

Riot’s notes

This champion’s win rate on each patch the preview sample spans, over its own games there. What actually changed each patch is in Riot’s own notes.

  1. 26.1950.1% over 2,097 games+0.4
  2. 26.1849.3% over 4,030 games+0.4
  3. 26.1748.4% over 1,251 games—

Locke's base stats against all 173 champions

StatLockeRankMedian
Base health620=85th620
Health per level109=38th104
Base armor32=65th30
Armor per level4.2=122nd4.6
Base magic resist32=32nd32
Magic resist per level2.05=4th1.55
Base attack damage58=95th59
Base attack speed0.688=20th0.656
Attack speed per level3.3%=31st2.5%
Move speed340=37th335
Attack range125=129th175

Locke at level 1 and level 18

  • Locke reaches 2473 health at level 18 — 620 at level 1 plus 17 × 109, the 46th-highest of 173 champions on patch 26.20, shared with 1.
  • Locke reaches 1470 mana at level 18 — 280 at level 1 plus 17 × 70, the 6th-highest of 145 mana users on patch 26.20, shared with 2.
  • Locke reaches 103.4 armor at level 18 — 32 at level 1 plus 17 × 4.2, the 63rd-lowest of 173 champions on patch 26.20, shared with 2.
  • Locke reaches 66.85 magic resist at level 18 — 32 at level 1 plus 17 × 2.05, the 5th-highest of 173 champions on patch 26.20, shared with 69.
StatLevel 1Per levelLevel 18Rank at 18
Health620+1092473=46th of 173
Mana280+701470=6th of 145
Armor32+4.2103.4=109th of 173
Magic resist32+2.0566.85=5th of 173

Riot Data Dragon 16.20.1. Growth curve: League of Legends Wiki — Champion statistic.

Quick answers about Locke

How does Locke do against Yasuo?
Locke won 41.6% of 202 counted Master+ games against Yasuo. Yasuo is one of the opponents that beat Locke.
How does Locke do against Twisted Fate?
Locke won 41.4% of 174 counted Master+ games against Twisted Fate. Twisted Fate is one of the opponents that beat Locke.
How does Locke do against Zoe?
Locke won 40.8% of 130 counted Master+ games against Zoe. Zoe is one of the opponents that beat Locke.
How does Locke do against Akali?
Locke won 46.4% of 338 counted Master+ games against Akali. Akali is one of the opponents that beat Locke.
How does Locke do against Zed?
Locke won 48.4% of 190 counted Master+ games against Zed. It is close to even.
How does Locke do against Anivia?
Locke won 40.5% of 74 counted Master+ games against Anivia. Anivia is one of the opponents that beat Locke. A small sample — read it as a lean, not a rule.
What class is Locke?
Riot classes Locke as Assassin and Mage. This site files the champion under Mid.
How hard is Locke to play?
Riot rates Locke's difficulty 5 out of 10.
What resource does Locke use?
Locke's abilities spend Mana.
What is Locke's attack range?
125 units — the lowest of 173 champions on patch 26.20 (shared with 44 others).
What are Locke's abilities?
Passive — Silver Stake, Q — Ritual Nails, W — Soul Ignition, E — Ashen Pursuit and R — Purgatory.
How many skins does Locke have?
Riot's data lists 2 skins with their own art, the base look included, plus 8 chroma variants.
How much health does Locke have at level 18?
2473 — 620 at level 1 plus 17 × 109 per level, Riot's own values, before items and runes.
What is Locke's ultimate cooldown?
Purgatory (R): 120/100/80 seconds by rank, before ability haste, in Riot's Data Dragon 16.20.1.
When did Riot last change Locke?
Patch 26.15, published 28 July 2026 — the latest of 2 patches that change Locke in Riot's notes from 25.S1.1 to 26.20.

Locke at a glance

Locke, the Ashen Exorcist, is a Assassin and Mage champion in League of Legends. Riot rates the kit 5/10 for difficulty, 6/10 for attack, 4/10 for defense and 2/10 for magic. Locke spends Mana and has 2 skins with their own art.

Attack6/10
Defense4/10
Magic2/10
Difficulty5/10

Locke's story

A nail-slinging exorcist versed in forbidden rites, Corvin Locke is the progeny of Demacian occultists. Born into lies and hypocrisy, he learned young that demons aren't the cause of humanity's darkness, but the consequence. Now, Locke tears through every soul, exposing its darkness, intent on making the world a more honest place… one exorcism at a time.
— Riot Games, Data Dragon 16.20.1. League of Legends Universe

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Methodology

Data window
Preview sample — a one-time snapshot of 65,406 ranked games (Master+, EUW/KR/NA, patch 26.18), counted by GamGem while our Riot production key is under review. Figures will update daily once it is approved. Counted 26–27 Sept 2026; patches 26.18 (35,477) · 26.19 (18,580) · 26.17 (11,048) · 26.16 (293) · 26.15 (8); by server EUW 22,382 · KR 21,922 · NA 21,065 · EUNE 20 · TR 17. 642 games without a result — remakes ended by vote in their first minutes, and games recorded with no winner — were not counted.
Rank aggregation
Master, Grandmaster and Challenger, pooled — the three ladders the count read its players from. Splitting further leaves samples too small to separate a real effect from noise.
Role assignment
A champion is filed under every lane that holds at least a tenth of its counted games — the position the match itself reports, not the champion’s class. Its headline win rate is across all of them; each lane’s own win rate and games are counted too, and a lane’s tier list ranks by them.
Counters
The two champions in the same position on opposite teams, over that pairing’s own counted games — ranked on the edge pulled toward zero by its sample size, printed raw.
Minimum sample
None — no figure is hidden for being thin. Every rate prints its games, and the confidence band is its 95% margin: Very High within ±1.5 points, High ±2.5, Moderate ±3.1 (1,000 games), Low wider.
Why a build is not a cause
An item is counted when the match ENDS with it, so late items show long games and an item bought when already ahead shows games that were being won. Correlation is what a rate can show; it is not evidence that buying the item caused the win.
Where the numbers come from
Names, classes, abilities, items and runes are Riot Data Dragon. Win, pick and ban rates, builds, keystones, spells and matchups are counted by GamGem from Riot's ranked match records. An estimate, not a count: this panel is not in the preview sample, and is labelled so.

Locke on video