Locke
Infographic (September 2023)
Character Notes & Recommendations
Have updates or suggestions? Contact us via Reddit or Discord, find our info Behind the Scenes!Summon Board Passive selections:
Odin choose 3 / 6 / 7
Bahamut choose 4 / 5 / 6
Usuals:
Ifrit, Shiva, Ramuh, Brothers 4 / 5 / 7
Leviathan, Pandemonium, Diabolos, Alexander 4 / 5 / 6
For more details and help with summons, check Summon Hub!
Sphere Recommendations
NOTE: The sphere letters below are hyperlinked to our Sphere Hub which lists all available spheres sorted by effect!A Sphere - He wants BRV or ATK to make sure his BRV hits hit as hard as possible
C Sphere - Nabaat or Garnet for self while Lluyd, Alphinaud & Maria’s spheres are all amazing while also empowering the party.
How-To-Play Notes
These notes are thanks to the work of Renki#4255, who proactively wrote these notes, allowing Cel to edit & add them here. Sneak Slash+ (S1) will move Locke’s next turn before the target if it is not already (think Noctis), grants Brigand’s Glove and either Genji Glove or Miracle Shoes.
Phoenix Ray (S2) will heal and battery the party. This is not tied to any of Locke’s buffs so it's main use is when party needs an emergency heal. However, it doesn't move Locke's turn nor does it have altered turn rate so use this to pass the turn when you don't need Locke to go sanic speed!
Mirage Dive (EX) is a fast+ charging EX, taking typically 1 skill use to charge. This grants his Treasure Hunter and Master's Scroll buffs. Treasure Hunter grants stat boosts to Locke and either HP or BRV regen at the start of his turn.
Dagger Dance (LD) grants his Heart's Chained Unbound special effect. This buff will greatly increase Locke’s damage and also allow Locke to retain a large portion of his BRV with every HP attack. This LD will also grant Brigand’s Glove & Thief's Bracer, Genji Glove, and Master’s Scroll, allowing Locke to immediately use Genji Glove x Master’s Scroll after LD. You may wish to save the LD use for longer fights but if attempting to rush the boss, can be used to repeatedly use his hard hitting HP variation.
Locke’s AA, Steal Item, will remove all debuff from Locke, grant either Genji Glove or Miracle Shoes, set enemy BRV to 0, gain the reduced amount of BRV, and dispel 4 buffs from the enemy. Lots off utility in this 1 button!
Forever-Shining Magicite (BT) provides very strong damage boosts to the party, allows the entire party to ignore defense, makes the party unbreakable, and heals the party to 50% HP every time they drop below 50% from an enemy HP attack. It also enables Locke to do more damage by raising his own HP DMG Limit
BT Phase (make sure he used FR or LD before going in):
EX -> Big HP -> FR -> Big HP -> LD -> Big HP -> Finisher
Heroic Mug (FR) also gives Locke his Genji Glove x Master’s Scroll attack and provides the party with 50% HP DMG & Limit for attacking a broken target. It asks for:
Melee ability on turn: +20%
Special effect on turn: +60% (tricky condition to hit as it has to be built-in the character's kit and cannot be added from outside)
Now for the fun BRV/HP attacks c:
The ultimate goal of Locke is to get to use his Genji Glove x Master’s Scroll attack. The numerous buffs Locke must shuffle around may seem daunting at first but is fairly simple in practice. To use this move, Locke needs his Genji Glove and Master’s Scroll buffs. Let's see some ways he can set this up.
The easiest way to set it up is by just using LD or FR, however he only has limited uses of it so let's look at other ways he can setup Genji Glove x Master’s Scroll
Master’s Scroll will come from Locke’s EX if not from LD so then how do we get Genji Glove?
Mug (Thief’s Bracer) can be used while Brigand’s Glove and Thief’s Bracer are active or after using Locke’s LD and will grant Genji Glove. This is a free turn with instant turn rate with 1 use after using Dagger Dance.
Note it has no HP attacks, but guarantees Genji Glove!
HP Attack+ (Miracle Shoes) can be used when Locke has the Miracle Shoes buff. This attack is a free turn with instant turn rate. It will remove Miracle Shoes and can be used as free damage. It will restore a use of Sneak Slash+ making it useful to chain a few attacks together if you do happen to get miracle shoes.
Example: HP (Miracle Shoes) -> Sneak Slash+ -> repeat (if Miracle Shoes buff is gained again OR Genji Glove x Master's Scroll -> Sneak Slash+ -> EX
Mug (Thief's Bracer) and this HP Attack Can be useful OUTSIDE of FR time (like in FR retain when taking a lot of turns is fine)
Sneak Slash+ gives either Genji Glove or Miracle Shoes but should realistically only be used outside of FR time. If you get Miracle Shoes, get rid of it; in FR time, use LD or FR. Outside of FR time, use the above listed options.
Genji Glove x Master’s Scroll can only be used when Locke has Genji Glove and Master’s Scroll buffs active. This is Locke’s hardest hitting attack with 16 HP attacks! It will remove Genji Glove and Master’s Scroll, increase the EX gauge, and upgrade Sneak Slash to the + variation.
Team Synergy
Melee units like his first condition, but it's only 20% bonus. If they echo they will only get 40% HP DMG Bonus so the big limiter for his FR time will be:
Overhead effects! We show them as purple buffs on our infographics!
A great example of this is Cor with his King's Power Within effect but also being melee being able to hit the full 80% (100% on Echo).
Units with overheads that we think can be relevant: WoL, Cloud (Cloud's FR is also great/better), Squall, Shantotto, Balthier, Vincent (his FR is also great/better), Aerith, Garnet, Kain, Zack, Deuce (may run into buff issues), Paine (good for Crystal Quests), Sherlotta, Ciaran, Mog, Aranea (depending on team, Aranea's FR may be better), Queen (may need planning to setup), Raines, Enna Kros (if you're lucky, but her FR is also undoubtebly better), Cissnei, Braska, Quina, Reks, Jihl and some future units/reworks.