You step into 2026’s expanding roster with Locke, known as the Ashen Exorcist, the 173rd champion added to League of Legends. You play him as a mobile AP assassin who excels at hunting down isolated targets and cleaning up fights with precision.
You rely on his nail-based abilities to pressure opponents and secure takedowns, which reset key cooldowns and let you continue the chase. You pick Locke when you want relentless pursuit, fast skirmishes, and the tools to dismantle vulnerable enemies in solo queue.
Locke Splash Art and Release Timing
You can play Locke, the Ashen Exorcist, on live servers with Patch 26.13, scheduled for June 24, 2026. If you use a PBE account, you gain early access starting June 9, 2026.
His launch cosmetic is High Noon Locke, which arrives alongside his official debut.
Locke’s abilities in League of Legends
Locke fights as a mobile AP assassin who thrives on burst damage and execution pressure. You weave empowered attacks, marked targets, and short cooldown resets to control skirmishes.
Passive – Silver Stake
Your basic attacks pin a fragment of the enemy’s soul, adding bonus magic damage on hit. This extra damage scales higher against targets who are low on health, rewarding you for finishing weakened enemies.
Q – Ritual Nails
You throw a spread of Soul Nails that deal magic damage and mark enemies struck. Each stack increases the slow, making it easier to stick to targets.
When you attack a marked enemy, you consume the stacks to deal additional magic damage per Nail. If you do not expend all Nails, you recover part of the cooldown and some mana, encouraging precise trades rather than reckless spam.
W – Soul Ignition
You break your restraints to gain decaying movement speed for a short time. While active, you lose a percentage of your health as true damage each second.
In return, you restore a portion of the damage taken, plus extra healing based on missing health and time elapsed. You can recast to end the effect early, which lets you manage risk during extended fights.
E – Ashen Pursuit
You blink to a target area and deal magic damage around you on arrival. Your next basic attack then dashes you to your target, striking all enemies along the path.
Both instances consume Soul Nails. Takedowns reset this ability’s cooldown, allowing you to chain eliminations in teamfights.
R – Purgatory
You send a binding relic to a location. On arrival, it erupts and fires chained Nails that damage and slow enemies inside.
If a marked champion falls below a set health threshold, the relic drags them in and executes them. Executions refresh the binding on other affected enemies, and retrieving the relic permanently raises your execution threshold while refunding part of your cooldown per sealed champion.
