Locke vs Nautilus — Top Lane Matchup Guide

How to win lane as Locke against Nautilus · 46.63% win rate over 2,342 Emerald+ games · Updated 2026-07-27

Verdict: Nautilus is favoured — Nautilus owns 5 of the 7 game windows. Play it patient and win your windows. Locke wins 46.63% of games vs Nautilus in top lane (2,342 Emerald+ games analysed).

Favour timeline — who owns each window

StageFavouredWhy
Level 1NautilusLevel 1 Nautilus roots you with his passive on the first auto, favouring him.
Level 2NautilusLevel 2 his W shield and root still win every short trade.
Level 3NautilusAt level 3 Dredge Line hook adds hard engage in his favour.
Levels 4-5NautilusLevels 4-5 his shield uptime and CC keep the trades lopsided.
Level 6Even / skillLevel 6 evens out because your Purgatory execute threatens him after W fades.
First itemEven / skillFirst item stays skill as you dodge Q and trade in its cooldown window.
Two+ itemsNautilusLate, full-tank Nautilus chains CC and out-scales your burst.

Early game (levels 1–5)

L1-2 favours Nautilus: his Staggering Blow (P) roots you on the first basic attack and Titan's Wrath (W) shield eats your poke, so he wins any short trade and you cannot commit Ashen Pursuit (E) safely.

Read the rest of this matchup

The full Locke vs Nautilus report continues with the mid-game plan, the late-game and teamfight plan, every power spike to play around, and the win conditions for both sides — plus cooldown tracking and the live enemy-jungle tracker inside the app.

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Related guides

Playing the other side? Nautilus vs Locke guide →
All Locke top lane matchups →