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Viktor vs Locke

Mid Lane Matchup

Viktor vs Locke MID matchup tips: who wins, how to trade, wave control and common mistakes.

You

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Who Wins

Pre-6, you win extended poke trades because your Q shield absorbs Locke's Q nail stacks and your E range lets you punish her attempts to stack nails safely — Locke needs 3 Q stacks plus an E dash to deal meaningful burst, and you can interrupt that setup with W stun before she closes the gap.
Post-6, the matchup shifts dangerously in Locke's favor because her R marks you for execution and her W true damage ignores your shield, meaning a full combo can delete you before your R storm deals meaningful damage.

Your best trading pattern is to Q for the shield first, then immediately E to poke before Locke can stack nails on you — if she tries to W-E all-in, drop your W gravity field at your feet to interrupt her dash momentum and force her to either take the stun or disengage.
Never trade without your W available, as it is your only reliable way to stop her E-W burst sequence once she has nail stacks on you.

Push the wave consistently to deny Locke the passive farm she needs to stack nails safely in lane, since she wants a slow wave to poke you with Q repeatedly — crashing waves also forces her to choose between farming under tower or following you, limiting her roam windows where her R execution threshold becomes dangerous.
Prioritize Hex Fragment collection on siege minions and cannon waves to accelerate your augment path, as your augmented E aftershock dramatically increases your zone control and makes her E dash into you far more punishing.

Do not stand still after getting hit by even one Q nail stack — Locke's passive on-hit damage scales with your missing health, so once you are poked down, her auto attacks during a W-E all-in deal exponentially more damage and can kill you faster than you expect.
Avoid using your R as an offensive tool to chase Locke, since she can simply W through the damage and E out, wasting your ultimate while she heals back the true damage taken.

Created on 07/14/2026

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