Locke vs Vi — Jungle Matchup Guide

How to win the jungle race as Locke against Vi · Matchup data reviewed on patch 26.15

Verdict: Vi pressures 5 of the 7 windows in this race — survive the early game and scale into your windows.

The jungle race — the windows in Locke's plan

Read from Locke's seat: the race windows this plan plays for against Vi.

StageReadWhy
Level 1 ClearRespect ViA charged Vault Breaker opens with a knock-back trade you can't refuse — Locke has no answer to that at level 1. Vault Breaker charge poke plus the Blast Shield wins the first short trade on their half of the map too, so skip the level-1 crossing and answer the pressure cross-map.
Level 2 SkirmishRespect ViDenting Blows shred starts beating slower kits in extended exchanges, and Locke has no clean answer to it on the second camp — a charged Vault Breaker opens with a knock-back trade you can't refuse. Juke the Q charge behind camp walls — her pattern resets slowly when it misses, and give up the second buff rather than the kill.
Level 3 RouteRespect ViThe window at the opening scuttle belongs to Vi: the full charge-engage with W shred is a clean, honest duel they slightly favor. Your own line is real — W's grey-health refund makes his short trades cheaper than they look — full clears cost him real HP — but it arrives second here. Juke the Q charge behind camp walls — her pattern resets slowly when it misses, then give up the level-3 river fight.
Levels 4-5 MacroRespect Vi — Path OppositeDo not trade windows with Vi here: she spends 4-5 charging Vault Breaker into side lanes, and Denting Blows finishes what the laner starts. Path opposite, keep your entrances warded, and answer the map, not the champion.
Level 6 BreakpointRespect Vi's RCease and Desist is point-click lockdown, which is the whole problem: her R is undodgeable lockdown that chains into the full shred combo. You cannot dodge it — respect the HP threshold where the full chain kills, and spend Purgatory to equalize rather than to open.
First Item SpikeLich Bane / Shadowflame SpikeLich 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. Vi's first item is where the charge-and-shred pattern stops being a chunk and starts closing out squishier junglers.
2+ Items ScalingEven Scaling — Prep DecidesLate 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.

How to beat Vi as Locke: the first clear and pathing

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. Vi clears quickly with Denting Blows shred and the passive shield keeps her healthy, so she paths without recalling early.

Hardest and easiest matchups for Locke in the jungle

Ranked by the race windows in Locke's plans — the jungle race carries no win-rate sample.

Hardest

Easiest

Read the rest of this matchup

The full Locke vs Vi 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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Common questions

Who wins Locke vs Vi in the jungle?

Vi pressures 5 of the 7 windows in this race — survive the early game and scale into your windows.

Is Locke vs Vi a skill matchup?

Not exactly — Vi pressures 5 of the 7 windows, so Locke is playing catch-up and has to lean on the map.

Related guides

Playing the other side? Vi vs Locke guide →
All Locke jungle matchups →

More Locke jungle matchups: vs Talon · vs Trundle · vs Udyr · vs Viego · vs Volibear · vs Warwick