Vel'Koz vs Locke

Vel'Koz
vs
50.9%

over 53 games

Locke

Skill matchup

Dive threatSustained DPSCountered by stasisHigh burst

You are stronger late game. Farm safe and avoid early trades.

Build vs Locke

Build adapted to this matchup

Recommended items for Vel'Koz: Luden's Echo, Shadowflame, Zhonya's Hourglass, Sorcerer's Shoes, Blackfire Torch, Rabadon's Deathcap, Horizon Focus, Dark Seal.

Starting items

Doran's Ring
Health Potion
x2

Core build

Luden's Echo
1
Shadowflame
2
Zhonya's Hourglass
3

Standard

Sorcerer's Shoes
4Magic pen
Blackfire Torch
5

Summoner spells

FlashBarrier59%
FlashTeleport33%

Anti CC

Mercury's Treads
4vs CC

Other options

Blackfire Torch
Rabadon's Deathcap
Horizon Focus
Dark Seal
Liandry's Torment
Banshee's Veil
Stormsurge
Seeker's Armguard
Void Staff
44.4% WR9 games
SorcerySorcery
Arcane CometArcane Comet
Manaflow BandManaflow Band
TranscendenceTranscendence
ScorchScorch
PrecisionPrecision
Cut DownCut Down
Legend: HasteLegend: Haste
Adaptive ForceAdaptive ForceHealth Scaling

Power Spikes

Strength by game phase

Locke's abilities

Passive, spells and ultimate

Silver Stake (P)

Locke's attacks deal additional magic damage On-Hit, increased based on enemy missing Health.

Cooldowns

Cooldowns by spell rank

LevelQWER
310s18s10s–
68s18s10s2m
96s17s10s2m
116s16s10s1m40
166s14s10s1m20
186s14s10s1m20

Playing as Vel'Koz

Tips to maximize your impact

  1. Three spells for the burst

    Hit the same target with three spells: at three stacks, Organic Deconstruction (passive) bursts and deals true damage to them.

  2. Poke and farm with your rift

    Stay back and poke with Void Rift (W): its two charges let you kill minions while stacking your passive on your opponent.

  3. Split your plasma to hit at an angle

    Recast Plasma Fission (Q) to split it: the two bolts fly off at 90 degrees, which lets you hit a target hiding behind their minions.

  4. Start your ray after a knock-up

    Cast Life Form Disintegration Ray (R) after the Tectonic Disruption (E) knock-up: your target can't escape, and the ray deals true damage to targets of Organic Deconstruction (passive).

Playing against Locke

How to counter and exploit weaknesses

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

Patch 16.21.1