Naafiri vs Locke
Hard matchup
Build vs Locke
Build adapted to this matchup
Recommended items for Naafiri: Voltaic Cyclosword, Black Cleaver, Death's Dance, Ionian Boots of Lucidity, Axiom Arc, Hubris, Edge of Night, Serylda's Grudge.
Starting items
Core build
Standard
Summoner spells
Anti CC
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 Naafiri
Tips to maximize your impact
- Second dagger on a bleeding target
Recast Darkin Daggers (Q) on a target that's already bleeding: the second dagger deals the rest of the bleed plus damage based on their missing health, and heals you.
- Call your pack back to heal it
When your pack has taken hits, cast Eviscerate (E): your packmates come back to you at full health.
- Empower your pack before you engage
Cast The Call of the Pack (W) just before you engage: you're briefly untargetable, your pack grows, and you gain AD and move speed.
- Push, then look for an isolated target
Push your wave, then roam toward an isolated champion: with Hounds' Pursuit (R), you and your pack dash onto them, and a takedown lets you recast it.
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 Naafiri matchups
Patch 16.21.1