“Demons get a bad rap, but the real monsters? People.”

A new champion is making his way to League of Legends (LoL) in Patch 26.13. Riot Games has officially unveiled Locke, the Ashen Exorcist, a Demacian exorcist who wields Soul Nails and forbidden rites to hunt down enemies and expose the darkness within them. The champion arrives with a kit built around marking targets, consuming Soul Nails for additional damage, and executing opponents caught in his ultimate.

Who is Locke, the Ashen Exorcist?

Locke is described as a nail-slinging exorcist versed in forbidden rites and the son of Demacian occultists. Raised amid lies and hypocrisy, he came to believe that demons are not the source of humanity's darkness, but rather a consequence of it.

Locke's concept art.

His champion biography describes him as someone who tears through souls to expose the darkness hidden within them, determined to make the world a more honest place, one exorcism at a time.

Locke also appears to have featured in previous League of Legends comics, most notably in a recent story centred on Vayne. In the comic, he is portrayed as a childhood friend of Vayne who trained alongside someone named Niles. Beyond those appearances, little is currently known about Locke's story, though more details will likely emerge following his arrival on the live servers.

What are Locke's abilities in League of Legends?

Locke is meant to be an AP Assassin that could be effectively used in the mid-lane. Here are his abilities:

Silver Stake (Passive)

Locke pins enemies' souls with his attacks, dealing bonus magic damage on-hit. The effect deals increased damage against targets with missing health.

Ritual Nails (Q)

Locke prepares a set of Soul Nails and throws them forward, dealing magic damage and marking enemies hit. The nails apply a slow based on accumulated stacks, while attacks consume the marks to inflict additional magic damage. Any unspent nails restore a portion of the ability's cooldown and mana cost.

Soul Ignition (W)

Locke releases his seals, gaining movement speed that gradually decays. While active, he suffers percentage health true damage every second but heals for a portion of the damage taken, along with additional healing based on missing health and elapsed time. The ability can also be recast to end the effect early.

Ashen Pursuit (E)

Locke blinks to a target location, damaging nearby enemies on arrival. His next attack then dashes towards a target, dealing magic damage to all enemies in its path. Both hits consume Soul Nails, and the cooldown resets on takedowns.

Purgatory (R)

Locke's ultimate sends a binding artifact to a target location. Once it arrives, the artifact opens and fires chained Soul Nails at enemies within the area, dealing magic damage and slowing affected targets. Marked champions that fall below a certain health threshold are pulled into the artifact and executed. If an execution occurs, the binding duration refreshes on other affected champions.

After several seconds, the artifact seals itself and remains on the ground if a champion has been trapped inside. Should Locke retrieve it, he permanently increases the execution threshold and recovers a portion of the ultimate's remaining cooldown for every champion sealed.

When is Locke releasing in League of Legends?

High Noon Locke skin

Locke is scheduled to join League of Legends in Patch 26.13 on 24 June 2026. Riot Games revealed the champion as part of its Patch 26.13 preview, confirming that the Ashen Exorcist will arrive alongside the update.

With Locke's release just around the corner, we're expecting to see more about not just his story or Vayne's but maybe a bit more about what's happening in Demacia in the current story.