How do I actually fight Riven

Big Lincoln·Dec 12, 2016·2 votes·1,173 views

Every single time I go up against this whore the lane is decided by how well they can play Riven. Every fight is on her terms, and even though she can all-in and juke me with ease , I can't actually outplay her in any of the same manner. If she's losing the fight then I can't chase her; if she's winning I can't run away.

So I have to wonder; is there actually 'counterplay' to Riven's relentless streams of damage? Does she have any of those windows of power that Riot jerks themselves off every time they mention it?

7 Comments

Brutalitops01Dec 12, 20162 votes

There is. However, it's pretty reliant on cooldown-based trades. Riven is pretty tough to deal with as a Darius, but if you wait until she blows her abilities, then E, W, Q her, she should be helpless for long enough for you to give her back some damage. If you have ult, you might even be able to kill her before she gets away.

Your other option is to just sit back and let her push you in. Farm under turret, using the fact that your W cooldown and mana cost are halved if you kill a unit with it to last hit. She's a lane phase champion, meaning that, if you don't let her get fed, she won't be able to do much mid and late game. Darius, on the other hand, can build tanky and thrive in the teamfight phases of the game when played well. If she tries to dive you, you should be too tanky for her to handle, unless she's already fed. Also, I recommend running Courage, since your E will proc it, instead of Grasp. Courage is just better, especially on Darius, who can cc someone and then they still have nearly the full shield duration to try to get through it.

Obviously, the third option is hoping you get camped so you can get fed against her, but honestly that's unreliable. It's just better for a jungler to get a mid laner or an ADC snowballing than Darius, especially considering that ganking top lane puts you at threat of losing Dragon.

Big LincolnDec 12, 20161 votes

yeah, i probably should have taken courage to survive her burst. old habit

main issue is that i would rather use E to re-engage after they back up but CoC is more effective if I open with it

LordofEntropyDec 12, 20161 votes

Get your jungler to gank early just a couple of times. Once Riven is down 2 deaths and 10 cs, she'll "gg afk" and it's free lane!

Shac NorrisDec 12, 20161 votes

Just DDoS her, you get a kill everytime!

No but seriously, you should just hide under a rock and put a leash on your jungler if you struggle against her :)

Big LincolnDec 12, 20161 votes

fun game

HrbrtDec 12, 20161 votes

I personally enjoy playing Garen Garen into Riven. Anytime she goes in to fight you wait for her first q then immediately follow with your silence then spin on them. They will generally back off at that point. Also take with a grain of salt cause i suck and may just be playing against people that also suck.

Wînter FoxDec 12, 20161 votes

Darius is the biggest lane bully on ~~Earth~~ Runeterra. Stay close to the minions and push her to her turret. You'll keep her at bay for the most part, which also gives you opportunities to harass with Q. If she E's into you when you Q, force her to take your minion damage and make the fight last as long as possible with your W and E when she tries to back out. Riven is all about quick in and out trades she won't last in long fights, especially during the early levels with her shield on CD.