Riot wants Locke to be fair, but will League of Legends’ new assassin break the meta?
After revealing the new League of Legends champion Locke, Riot Games revealed his skills and gameplay details. Corvin Locke will arrive in Patch 26.13 as a new AP melee assassin for the mid lane.
Known as the Ashen Exorcist, he is a nail-biting guardian born under Demacia of hidden magic. He’s the only new champion to be released this year as Riot continues to focus on developing League Next and its long-awaited MMO behind the scenes.
Locke’s kit focuses on marking souls, stacking power, and killing enemies with precision. Before he hits the world servers on June 24, Esports Insider takes a closer look at his abilities and how he might shake up the competitive meta.
A Kit Built Around Setup and Operation
Locke’s story fits perfectly within Demacia, a kingdom that despises magic while hiding its dark secrets. Born a magician, he learned that real monsters are usually humans rather than demons.
His vocal lines show a strong and honest personality. He is not afraid to blame people as he hunts down evil and forces the world to face uncomfortable truths. In addition, his story also connects with the demon hunter Vayne through the latter’s cinematics.
As far as Locke’s skills go, he’s a powerful fighter with a short range of attacks, and his style of play revolves around setup and timing, building momentum before hitting hard.
- Silver Stack (Passive): Locke’s basic attack deals bonus magic damage. The lower the enemy’s health, the more damage we take, helping us finish off weaker targets.
- Custom Nails (Q): Locke throws silver nails at skillsshot, with each dealing damage to the nails, slowing enemies, and using the stack. Players can throw up to three spikes in quick succession. In addition, using a basic attack or his E on stacked enemies causes a powerful burst of bonus damage.
- Soul Ignition (W): This ability is in line with Riot’s goal of giving Locke a dangerous “dark power” fantasy. He sacrifices half of his health to gain movement speed and attack speed while saving lost health as gray health that can be restored later.
- Ashen Pursuit (E): A short blink that deals area damage and enables Locke’s next basic attack with more range and bonus damage. Protecting the kill resets the cooldown, allowing him to chase enemies and fight together, providing the expected mobility for an assassin.
- Purifier (R): Locke casts an artifact that marks nearby enemies, greatly slowing them down, and dealing damage. Marked enemies can be killed when they reach very low health. A successful kill grants permanent energy stacks and reduces his ultimate cooldown.
The Philosophy of Design After Locke
As shared by Riot Games during a special round table, the developer wanted to create a fun and fair AP melee killer in the middle of the lane.
Because of this, the team is very focused on providing clear counterplay so that he doesn’t feel overwhelmed when facing, especially against champions who have reliable crowd control tools and movement tools.
“One of the design goals was to see if we could make the assassin feel like he had to adjust his maximum damage to get through a few steps. So, we’re hoping that will make him seem a little bit more ready for Modern League high play,” Riot Games said.
Locke shows Riot’s plan to release a few champions while increasing their overall quality, something that is reflected in both his theory and visual design.
When it comes to gameplay, Riot hopes to feel rewarding for players who are skilled in both casual and premium play without pushing into a single lane.
Locke may shake up the mid lane quickly, as he matches up well against slower mages and can effectively navigate due to the reset mechanic on his E. His highly focused saves make him a strong threat in skirmishes, team fights, and dives against squishy targets.
Players can start prioritizing champions through movement, crowd control, or defense to counter his explosive style of play.
Teams with champions like Leona and Neeko should match up well with Locke. He might push some older assassins into the meta or encourage players to invest more in counter magic. The increased pressure to roam from the mid lane may also affect how junglers and bot laners approach the early game.
In the long run, Locke can help revive interest in AP assassin and destructive playstyles that can punish traditional control mages like Azir, who are often vulnerable during the early stages of the game.
Most of the community praised the depth of Locke’s kit and how he felt fair compared to older assassins. Her combination of satisfying claws and her chasing power has drawn comparisons to champions like Diana, Kha’Zix, and Ekko.
“There is no spelling that goes wrong here, it fits perfectly with how the player wants to play. The kit is difficult to balance,” said Tim “Nemesis” Lipovšek.
That said, some players are concerned that Locke might be too powerful in coordinated team play, especially because of his ultimate and unlimited scaling through infinite power stacks.
While it remains to be seen how Locke will perform once players have discovered him, Riot seems to have delivered a champion that combines high skill-making with logical counterpoint.
