How to win the jungle race as Nocturne against Locke · Matchup data reviewed on patch 26.15
Read from Nocturne's seat: the race windows this plan plays for against Locke.
| Stage | Read | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 Clear | Nocturne Favoured | Umbra Blades' AoE sustain clears fast and wins the raptor-pit brawl. Q nail volleys clear camps at range while banking marks for the first scuttle fight, so this is an edge and not a blowout — take the level-1 crossing only with the HP and cooldown lead. |
| Level 2 Skirmish | Nocturne Favoured | Duskbringer's trail damage plus speed wins straight-line trades, but the blink-auto mark consume chunks hard, but spending E in a duel spends the escape too. You still win the straight exchange on the second camp; keep it short, keep it decisive, and keep the scuttle line yours. |
| Level 3 Route | Nocturne Favoured | The fear-tether threat tilts every river skirmish in your favor. Locke can make it awkward — a stacked nail string into the blink-through consume deletes half a health bar — but not as the first scuttle timer lands. Trade, then walk away with the first scuttle and the gank window behind it. |
| Levels 4-5 Macro | Nocturne Favoured — Take Duels | Through levels 4-5 you remain the stronger duelist — keep taking short, decisive trades vs Locke, but only with the HP and cooldown lead. |
| Level 6 Breakpoint | Paranoia Favoured | Paranoia removes their map and delivers you to any duel you have already chunked, while the Purgatory totem turns any low-HP skirmish into a chain of executes and blink resets. You win the breakpoint against Locke, not the whole game — cash it on the first objective after both sides hit six. |
| First Item Spike | Lich Bane / Shadowflame Spike | His Lich Bane spike is real: the blink-consume chunk one-shots chipped squishies. Respect the first-item window, then note his E is still a one-way door — punish every spent blink. Locke's first item makes the mark consume hit for a real chunk, which is when the blink stops being a poke tool. |
| 2+ Items Scaling | Nocturne Favoured at Full Build | Late-game Locke scales with his seal count, not his items — deny executes and his floor never rises. Focus him when E is down and never let "almost dead" linger inside Purgatory. |
Standard start — his level-1 clear is ranged but mana-hungry and his duel is honest at best; you dictate the early tempo, not him. Locke clears at range with Ritual Nails and banks marks while doing it, so his first scuttle arrives with stacks up.
Ranked by the race windows in Nocturne's plans — the jungle race carries no win-rate sample.
The full Nocturne vs Locke 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's race plan controls 7 of the 7 windows — Nocturne holds the tempo advantage in this jungle matchup.
Not exactly — Nocturne's race plan controls 7 of the 7 windows, so Locke is playing catch-up and has to lean on the map.
Playing the other side? Locke vs Nocturne guide →
All Nocturne jungle matchups →
More Nocturne jungle matchups: vs Kindred · vs Lee Sin · vs Lillia · vs Maokai · vs Master Yi · vs Morgana