Locke vs Smolder

Locke
vs
Not enough games
Smolder
Heavy AD damageHigh burstHeavy pokeSustained DPS

You are stronger early. Look to snowball before your opponent scales.

Build vs Smolder

The champion's reference build, for lack of enough games in this matchup

Recommended items for Locke: Lich Bane, Shadowflame, Zhonya's Hourglass, Sorcerer's Shoes, Rabadon's Deathcap, Void Staff, Banshee's Veil, Stormsurge.

Starting items

Scorchclaw Pup
Health Potion

Core build

Lich Bane
1
Shadowflame
2
Zhonya's Hourglass
3

Standard

Sorcerer's Shoes
4Magic pen
Rabadon's Deathcap
5

Anti CC

Mercury's Treads
4vs CC

Other options

Rabadon's Deathcap
Void Staff
Banshee's Veil
Stormsurge

Power Spikes

Strength by game phase

Smolder's abilities

Passive, spells and ultimate

Dragon Practice (P)

Hitting champions with Abilities and killing enemies with Super Scorcher Breath grants a stack of Dragon Practice. Stacks increase the damage of Smolders basic Abilities.

Cooldowns

Cooldowns by spell rank

LevelQWER
35.5s14s24s–
64.5s14s24s2m
93.5s13s24s2m
113.5s12s24s1m50
163.5s10s20s1m40
183.5s10s16s1m40

Playing as Locke

Tips to maximize your impact

  1. Nails first, then Pursuit

    Cast Ritual Nails (Q) before Ashen Pursuit (E): your hits consume the nails stuck in the target, and each extra nail adds damage.

  2. Finish them with autos

    Finish off wounded targets with autos: Silver Stake (passive) adds magic damage that grows with their missing health.

  3. Activate W as the trade starts

    Activate Soul Ignition (W) at the start of a trade: it costs you health, but at the end, you heal back part of the last damage taken, plus more based on your missing health.

  4. Save E for a kill or a gank

    Save Ashen Pursuit (E) for a sure kill or to escape a gank: it's your only instant movement, it has a 10-second cooldown, and only a takedown resets it.

  5. Save Purgatory to finish

    Save Purgatory (R) to finish: it seals marked enemies below a health threshold, and when you pick up the artifact, each sealed champion raises that threshold for good.

Playing against Smolder

How to counter and exploit weaknesses

  1. Trade early

    Take your trades early: his basic spells only gain damage with the Dragon Practice (passive) stacks he builds over the game.

  2. Save your CC for his flight

    If you have hard CC, save it for Flap, Flap, Flap (E): it's his only way to escape, and hard CC interrupts his flight.

  3. Don't stay grouped

    Don't stay grouped with your allies against him: empowered, Super Scorcher Breath (Q) also damages around its target and behind it.

  4. Leave the center of the breath

    Get out of the center of MMOOOMMMM! (R): that's where the breath hits hardest and slows.

Patch 16.21.1