How to win the jungle race as Locke against Naafiri · Matchup data reviewed on patch 26.15
Read from Locke's seat: the race windows this plan plays for against Naafiri.
| Stage | Read | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 Clear | Respect Naafiri | Packmates plus the Darkin Daggers bleed win the level-1 numbers game, and Locke has no clean answer to it at the first buff — double Darkin Daggers bleed plus the packmate swarm wins raw early exchanges. Clear the packmates first — her damage collapses once the hounds are down, and give up your opening camps rather than the kill. |
| Level 2 Skirmish | Respect Naafiri | The window on the second camp belongs to Naafiri: the Hounds' Pursuit dash trade chunks anyone contesting their second buff. Your own line is real — the blink-auto mark consume chunks hard, but spending E in a duel spends the escape too — but it arrives second here. Clear the packmates first — her damage collapses once the hounds are down, then refuse the level-2 skirmish. |
| Level 3 Route | Respect Naafiri | At level 3 this window belongs to Naafiri: the full pack with W dash and Q reset bleed is a real early kill threat, and double Darkin Daggers bleed plus the packmate swarm wins raw early exchanges. Clear the packmates first — her damage collapses once the hounds are down. Give up the level-3 river fight and bank tempo on the opposite side of the map. |
| Levels 4-5 Macro | Respect Naafiri — Path Opposite | Levels 4-5 still belong to Naafiri in a straight fight — farm the opposite side, answer their ganks cross-map, and wait for your spike. |
| Level 6 Breakpoint | Respect Naafiri's R | Naafiri wins the breakpoint outright — The Call of the Pack shields the dive while the hounds finish whoever they touch, and the empowered pack dive shields her engage and swarms your counter-trade. Burst the packmates mid-dive — her ult damage walks on four legs, then trade objectives cross-map until your items land. |
| First Item Spike | Lich Bane / Shadowflame Spike | Lich Bane turns every blink-consume into a Spellblade chunk and Shadowflame sharpens the low-HP crunch. This is your strongest duel window of the game — cash it on a pick, not a coin-flip. Naafiri's first item is where the dagger bleed plus the pack becomes a full health bar rather than a heavy trade. |
| 2+ Items Scaling | Even Scaling — Prep Decides | Late game you are a cleanup engine, not a frontliner: enter second, blink the marked kill, and chain E resets. Every sealed soul permanently raises the totem floor — your scaling is the seal count. |
Start Red with a leash and Q the camp from max nail range — W’s grey-health refund keeps the clear honest, but full clears cost real HP, so path toward a healthy scuttle, not a fight. Naafiri clears fast because the packmates fight the camp with her, and she reaches three with the pack still up.
Ranked by the race windows in Locke's plans — the jungle race carries no win-rate sample.
The full Locke vs Naafiri report continues with scuttle & dragon rules, invade windows and safety boundaries, the top-side objective fight, macro rotations and the win condition — plus the live enemy-jungle tracker that shows their start, clear and gank timers in game.
Read the full guide — plans from $1.99/month →🔒 Secure checkout · 💰 7-day money-back guarantee on your first payment · ✋ Cancel anytime
Lane Pass $1.99/mo · All Lanes $3.99/mo · Annual $24.99/yr. Renews automatically — cancel anytime.
Naafiri pressures 5 of the 7 windows in this race — survive the early game and scale into your windows.
Not exactly — Naafiri pressures 5 of the 7 windows, so Locke is playing catch-up and has to lean on the map.
Playing the other side? Naafiri vs Locke guide →
All Locke jungle matchups →
More Locke jungle matchups: vs Maokai · vs Master Yi · vs Morgana · vs Nidalee · vs Nocturne · vs Nunu & Willump