Darius vs Locke
Build vs Locke
Build adapted to this matchup
Recommended items for Darius: Youmuu's Ghostblade, Dead Man's Plate, Force of Nature, Mercury's Treads, Death's Dance, Stridebreaker, Sterak's Gage, Spear of Shojin.
Starting items
Core build
Standard
Summoner spells
Other options
Power Spikes
Strength by game phase
Locke's abilities
Passive, spells and ultimate
Locke's attacks deal additional magic damage On-Hit, increased based on enemy missing Health.
Cooldowns
Cooldowns by spell rank
| Level | Q | W | E | R |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 10s | 18s | 10s | – |
| 6 | 8s | 18s | 10s | 2m |
| 9 | 6s | 17s | 10s | 2m |
| 11 | 6s | 16s | 10s | 1m40 |
| 16 | 6s | 14s | 10s | 1m20 |
| 18 | 6s | 14s | 10s | 1m20 |
Playing as Darius
Tips to maximize your impact
- Hit with the edge of your axe
Aim the outer edge of Decimate (Q): only the blade heals you and applies Hemorrhage (passive). The handle, in the center, deals less damage.
- All-in at five stacks
Go all-in when your target has five Hemorrhage (passive) stacks: you gain a massive AD bonus, and Noxian Guillotine (R) hits harder with each stack.
- Save Apprehend for runners
Save Apprehend (E) to pull back an enemy who retreats, not to start a trade: it's your only pull, on a 26 to 16 second cooldown.
- Execute to recast your R
Cast Noxian Guillotine (R) on the lowest-health target: its true damage ignores armor, and if it kills, you can recast it right away.
Playing against Locke
How to counter and exploit weaknesses
- Back instead of staying low
Back instead of staying in lane at low health: Silver Stake (passive) adds damage to his autos that grows with your missing health.
- Trade after his E
Trade after Ashen Pursuit (E): it's his only instant movement, and its 10-second cooldown only resets if he gets a takedown.
- During his W, only hit to kill
During Soul Ignition (W), only hit him if you can kill him: at the end, he heals back part of the last damage taken, yours included.
- Stay above his threshold
Marked by Purgatory (R), stay above its threshold: if you have a heal or a shield, use it, because he seals marked enemies who drop below it.
- Contest his artifact
If the Purgatory (R) artifact lands, hold the area where it fell: by picking it up, Locke raises his execute threshold for each sealed champion, for the rest of the game.
Other Darius matchups
Patch 16.21.1