League of Legends New Champion Locke: Release Date

League of Legends just revealed Locke, a new mid-lane AP assassin arriving in Patch 26.13 on June 24, 2026. He's built around burst damage, high mobility, and AoE chain execution, using soul nails as his primary weapon. If you've been waiting for a high-skill-ceiling assassin that can wipe multiple targets in one sequence, Locke looks like exactly that.

In this article, we'll explore everything we know about Locke so far, including his abilities, playstyle, and release date.

Who is Locke

Locke's story begins in the Wildwoods near Demacia, picking up after a comic arc in which Vayne lost her mentor, Niles, and was corrupted by a demon in the process. Locke is an exorcist and demon hunter whose eyes, enhanced by specialised glasses, let him see into the spirit realm and track demonic corruption.

He uses tools made of petricite steel to banish demons that take the form of corrupted wildlife, and carries a coffin along with soul nails to trap and contain the spirits he hunts. When he finally tracks down Vayne, he uses a skull-based device housed inside his coffin to pull the demon out of her and seal it away for good.

Locke's Abilities

Locke's kit is built around one core idea: set up your burst before you deliver it. Every ability feeds into the next, and understanding how they chain together is what separates a good Locke from a great one.

Passive – Silver Stake

His passive makes his attacks deal bonus magic damage based on the target's missing health. The lower the enemy's HP, the harder he hits.

Q – Ritual Nails

Locke throws soul nails that mark and slow enemies. The mark stacks up to three times, and attacking a marked target consumes those stacks to deal damage while restoring cooldowns and mana. This is what keeps him functional in extended trades despite being a pure assassin.

W – Soul Ignition

This ability grants him decaying movement speed while dealing self-inflicted percentage health damage. The damage he takes and deals during this window gets stored, and he can reactivate it to heal himself. High risk, high reward.

E – Ashen Pursuit

A blink that deals AoE magic damage, followed by a dash on his next attack. Both parts consume soul nails, and the ability resets on takedowns, making it his main tool for chaining kills across a fight.

R – Purgatory

Locke throws a skull totem that marks and slows nearby enemies. Champions below a certain health threshold get pulled in and executed. Executing one resets the bind on the others, and picking up the totem permanently raises the execution threshold. Get him rolling in a team fight, and it can spiral fast.

Final Words

Locke releases with Patch 26.13 and is already shaping up to be one of the more unique assassins added to the game. If you enjoy champions that reward patience and setup over raw aggression, he's worth keeping an eye on when he drops.