Yasuo vs Locke
Build vs Locke
The champion's reference build, for lack of enough games in this matchup
Recommended items for Yasuo: Blade of The Ruined King, Immortal Shieldbow, Infinity Edge, Berserker's Greaves, Death's Dance, Kraken Slayer, Lord Dominik's Regards, B. F. Sword.
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 Yasuo
Tips to maximize your impact
- Charge your whirlwind on minions
Hit twice with Steel Tempest (Q), on minions if needed, to charge the whirlwind. Cast it during Sweeping Blade (E): the strike becomes a circle.
- Move to charge your shield
Keep moving before taking a trade: Way of the Wanderer (passive) builds your shield while you move, and it triggers on the first hit you take.
- Dash from minion to minion
Chain Sweeping Blade (E) on different targets to reposition or dodge: each target has its own cooldown, so the spell comes back almost instantly.
- Save Wind Wall for what matters
Save Wind Wall (W) for a projectile that decides the teamfight, like Jinx's ult, rather than for poke: it blocks for 4 seconds, on a 25 to 17 second cooldown.
- Use your allies' knock-ups
Watch for your allies' knock-ups: Last Breath (R) can be cast on any airborne champion, whether the knock-up comes from your whirlwind or Malphite's ult.
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 Yasuo matchups
Patch 16.21.1