Locke, the Ashen Exorcist, is the newest champion coming to League of Legends in Patch 26.13. The nail-slinging exorcist from Demacia uses forbidden rites and soul-binding magic to hunt enemies and execute weakened targets.
Unlike traditional demon hunters, Locke believes demons are merely a consequence of humanity’s darkness, shaping a kit that revolves around marking enemies, consuming Soul Nails for additional damage, and finishing low-health champions with his Ultimate.
All Locke abilities in League of Legends, explained
Here is a table breaking down all of Locke’s abilities in League of Legends, including what each skill does and how players can get the most value out of them.
| Icon | Ability Name | What does it do? | Best use |
|---|---|---|---|
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Passive – Silver Stake | Locke’s attacks pin enemy souls, dealing bonus magic damage on hit. The damage increases against targets with missing health. | Best for finishing off wounded enemies and winning extended trades thanks to its scaling damage. |
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Q – Ritual Nails | Locke throws Soul Nails forward, damaging and marking enemies hit with magic damage. The marks slow targets based on the number of stacks. Locke can consume the Soul Nails with basic attacks to deal additional magic damage. Unused Nails refund part of the ability’s cooldown and mana cost. | Use to poke, set up engages, and apply Soul Nails before consuming them for maximum damage. |
 
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W – Soul Ignition | Locke breaks his own seals, gaining decaying movement speed. While active, he continuously loses health as true damage, but heals based on damage taken, missing health, and the duration of the effect. The ability can be recast to end it early. |
Activate during skirmishes or chases when you need extra mobility and can sustain through incoming damage. |
 
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E – Ashen Pursuit | Blinks to a target location and deals magic damage around him. His next basic attack becomes a dash that damages all enemies in its path. Both portions consume Soul Nails, and the cooldown resets on takedowns. | Ideal for engaging, repositioning, or chaining kills in teamfights thanks to its reset mechanic. |
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R – Purgatory | Launches a binding artifact that fires chained Soul Nails at enemies in an area, damaging and slowing them. Marked champions brought below a health threshold are dragged inside and instantly executed. The artifact seals itself and is left on the ground if a Champion is sealed. Successfully sealing champions permanently increases the execution threshold and refunds a portion of his current cooldown if Locke retrieves the artifact afterward. |
Save for low-health targets to secure executions and permanently strengthen the ability throughout the match. |
How to best use Locke in League of Legends
Locke looks poised to become a powerful skirmisher and mid lane assassin who excels at hunting low-health targets and turning small advantages into game-changing picks. His kit revolves around applying Soul Nails with Ritual Nails, consuming them for bonus damage, and using Ashen Pursuit to stick to enemies or reposition during fights.
In lane skirmishes, players will want to consistently land Ritual Nails before committing. Once enemies are marked, Locke can use Ashen Pursuit to close the gap and quickly consume Soul Nails for burst damage. Soul Ignition gives him the mobility and sustain needed to stay in extended fights, though players must carefully manage its health cost to avoid overcommitting.
Purgatory is where Locke’s snowball potential truly shines. Without opening fights with his Ultimate, players will often find more success using it after enemies have already taken damage. Successfully executing champions not only secures kills but also permanently increases the ability’s execution threshold, making Locke increasingly threatening as the game progresses into the late game.
What meta impact could Locke have?
Based on his kit, Locke could emerge as a strong pick in solo queue and coordinated play alike. His combination of mobility, sustained damage, and an execute mechanic gives him many of the tools that have historically made champions like Pyke, Akshan, and Viego dangerous in skirmish-heavy metas.
Locke should thrive in chaotic fights around objectives like Baron and Dragon, where enemies are frequently left at low health. Teams that can reliably poke opponents down before engagements may also benefit greatly from having Locke ready to capitalize with Purgatory.
Who counters Locke?
Champions with strong crowd control and lockdown tools could pose a challenge to Locke despite his mobility. Since much of his damage relies on weaving attacks between abilities, champions such as Lissandra, Malzahar, Annie, and Nautilus may be able to shut him down before he can execute his combo.
Heavy tanks could also prove difficult matchups if they can survive his initial burst and deny him opportunities to snowball his Ultimate. Champions like Ornn, Sion, and Skarner may force Locke into longer fights where his health-draining mechanics become riskier to use.
Anti-heal effects could further reduce the value of Soul Ignition’s sustain, making Grievous Wounds an important tool against him.
Which champions could Locke perform well against?
Locke appears particularly well-suited to punishing squishy carries and immobile mages. Champions such as Jinx, Aphelios, Hwei, Xerath, and Vel’Koz could struggle if he manages to get within range and apply Soul Nails.
He may also excel against champions that rely on surviving fights at low health, as Purgatory’s execute mechanic can deny opportunities for clutch healing or escapes. If Locke gains an early lead, his ability to pick off vulnerable targets could make him one of the most oppressive snowball champions.
