Extremely in-depth Loki ADC and/or Jungle guide

Loki is an extremely high damage assassin and is most effective when payed like one. Because of the 100% scaling on all of his abilities his late game kill potential is extremely high, but this means building even one defense item will greatly reduce his kill potential and therefore overall effectiveness. Loki’s greatest strength lies in his ability to get into a fight quickly, burst down one (maybe two) backline enemies, and get out without taking too much damage.

ADC- Loki is a viable ADC not because of his late game teamfight presence, but because of his ability to shut down the enemy ADC. This can be just as effective when it comes to late game because your team will be able to push objectives much more efficiently without having to worry about the high damage from the enemy ADC.

Jungle- Loki can play this role effectively because his invisibility allows for high gank potential. His decoy if good for clearing jungle camps because is allows him to easily apply his passive to the camp monsters.

To effectively play Loki in conquest he should focus on helping as much in teamfights as possible. To do this he should be build with a high amount of utility while maintaining his ability to quickly 100-0 backline squishies. Starting with Bluestone and Bumbas allows him to clear jungle camps effectively and have at least some lane presence. Buy Warrior Tabi as soon as possible, followed up by Hydras Lament. After you build Hydras, you gain a lot more kill potential and therefore want to build Rangdas Mask next to fully stack it as soon as possible. Although this is only a starter item, you should not sell this item even after the rest of your build is finished. The movement speed is important for chasing down enemies and escaping. The penetration is as much as you can get from any physical item, and the 10% CDR will allow you to have a full 40% when your build is finished. Then build Jotunns Wrath for the power, penetration, and most importantly CDR. After these 4 you can begin to sell your starter items for extra gold as they wil become less and less effective as the game goes on. Titans Bane is important to build next as your enemies will most likely have built defense by now. After these 5 items, you have one flex pick to choose whatever you want. I recommend Heartseeker because it greatly increases burst potential plus the extra movement speed is great. Crusher can also be a good option because although the attack speed isn’t very effective, the power and penetration are extremely good for the price. Plus the passive works great because even with 40% CDR you can still benefit from it. I would only build Brawlers Beat Stick if your enemy has a lot of healing on their team because Loki will not be able to apply it to more than 1 or 2 targets very easily. Bloodforge is also a luxury item that can be purchased if you are far ahead. The lifesteal is not great on loki, but everything also about it is.

To be an effective Loki player you need to utilize the AA chain resets offered by his abilities. You can use all of his first 3 abilities to AA cancel as long as they are on instant casting. Try to only use his ultimate to either secure kills when there isn’t another option or as an escape. With that in mind, here are a few basic Loki combos:

1>AA3>AA - This is really only for poke when you don’t want to completely burst someone down, or you can do this to kill someone when your decoy is on cooldown.

1>AA>3>AA>2AA - This is the most common 100-0 method used (without your ult). Using those three abilities in quick succession with basic attacks mixed in allows you to proc Hydras Lament three times in the process. If your ult is up and you need it to kill you can just ult them after the last AA then AA them again afterward.

4>AA>3>AA>1>AA>2>AA - This is another way to burst someone down but you initiate with your ult. Again, it is not recommended to initiate with your ult unless you know for a fact that you or your teammate can kill the target.

1>3>AA - This isn’t so much a combo, more of a way to secure a kill on someone that may have gotten away from your teammate with 1 hp.

Passive- Pretty straightforward... your basic attacks do 20% more damage when you hit an enemy from behind. Remember this when you stealth and attack someone.

1st ability - Vanish - You become invisible, are immune to slows, move faster, and take reduced damage. This is Loki’s bread and butter. Do not misuse this ability as it is great for offense but also on of your only escapes.

2nd ability - Decoy - Most inexperienced Loki players only see this ability as a farming tool (which it is great for). It is one of the best abilities in Loki’s kit because of the fact that it can block attacks from enemies and body block the enemies themselves. If you are in a 1v1 with a hunter and your other abilities are on CD, throw down your decoy and run around staying behind it to block their basic attacks. Also, if you are on the run and your 1 and ult are on CD, throwing down your decoy at a corner and running to one side will force whoever is chasing you to take a longer route around the corner as they are not able to run through your decoy.

3rd ability - Aimed Strike- Not much to this ability. Basically, it increases the damage of your next basic attack and applies a slow to whoever you hit.

Ultimate ability - Assassinate - This can be used as an engage or as an escape. If your enemy has Aegis, you might want to use this in the middle of your combo (after your 1) to ensure you can apply the damage from your 3.

I always level Loki’s 2 first, followed by his 1, then 3, then 2 again, then Ult. After this I level up my 2 to rank 4 then keep it there until I have to level it again. This is because 4 points are all you need for your decoy to instantly kill the archer creeps and deal enough damage to the melees so you get gold from them. I will then level my 1 before my 3 in almost every case because with the bleed damage, your 1 ends up doing more damage than your 3. I only level my 3 first if I really really need that high burst potential earlier on. I will level my Ult last because even though it is technically my highest damaging ability, its long cooldown doesn’t allow me to use it as often as my other abilities. I mainly use it for either escapes, securing kills, or setup.

Loki is by all means not a top tier god pick for conquest because of his lack of presence in a team fight, but he is still very effective at shutting down the main damage dealers on the enemy team. Loki is thought of as an easy god, but to master the combos and play him correctly in team fights can be very difficult. I hope this guide was informative and helps out fellow Loki players.