How to win the jungle race as Locke against Nocturne · Matchup data reviewed on patch 26.15
Read from Locke's seat: the race windows this plan plays for against Nocturne.
| Stage | Read | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 Clear | Respect Nocturne | At level 1 this window belongs to Nocturne: Umbra Blades' AoE sustain clears fast and wins the raptor-pit brawl, and Unspeakable Horror's fear tether turns any extended trade into a lost one. Dash out of the tether's leash range the instant it attaches — never tank the fear. Skip the level-1 crossing and bank tempo on the opposite side of the map. |
| Level 2 Skirmish | Respect Nocturne | Unspeakable Horror's fear tether turns any extended trade into a lost one — Locke has no answer to that at level 2. Duskbringer's trail damage plus speed wins straight-line trades on their half of the map too, so refuse the level-2 skirmish and answer the pressure cross-map. |
| Level 3 Route | Respect Nocturne | The fear-tether threat tilts every river skirmish in their favor, and Locke has no clean answer to it at the opening scuttle — Unspeakable Horror's fear tether turns any extended trade into a lost one. Dash out of the tether's leash range the instant it attaches — never tank the fear, and give up the first scuttle rather than the kill. |
| Levels 4-5 Macro | Respect Nocturne — Path Opposite | Do not trade windows with Nocturne here: he spends 4-5 on Duskbringer trails into side lanes and takes camps in the gaps between them. Path opposite, keep your entrances warded, and answer the map, not the champion. |
| Level 6 Breakpoint | Respect Nocturne's R | Paranoia darkens the map and delivers a fear-tether dive straight onto you — Locke loses the straight post-6 duel. Hug terrain near allies on the cast — the darkness punishes whoever stands alone, and shift your pressure to the side of the map Paranoia is not on. |
| 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. Nocturne's first item is where the Duskbringer trade stops being a chunk and becomes a kill on any squishy. |
| 2+ Items Scaling | Respect Nocturne Late — End Early | 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. Nocturne clears fast off Umbra Blades sustain and Duskbringer, and he is at full health almost every camp.
Ranked by the race windows in Locke's plans — the jungle race carries no win-rate sample.
The full Locke vs Nocturne 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.
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Nocturne pressures 6 of the 7 windows in this race — survive the early game and scale into your windows.
Not exactly — Nocturne pressures 6 of the 7 windows, so Locke is playing catch-up and has to lean on the map.
Playing the other side? Nocturne vs Locke guide →
All Locke jungle matchups →
More Locke jungle matchups: vs Morgana · vs Naafiri · vs Nidalee · vs Nunu & Willump · vs Olaf · vs Qiyana